Traditional flat breads spread from the Fertile Crescent: Production process and history of baking systems

The “flat” breads include a multitude of bread types different from each other but are always relatively thin, ranging from a few millimeters to a few centimeters in thickness. These breads, whose origin is very ancient, fit well into the context of a subsistence economy: i) they can be obtained from cereals other than wheat, such as pseudocereals or legumes, allowing the use of sustainable local productions from marginal lands; ii) they do not necessarily require an oven to be baked; iii) they can serve as a dish and as a spoon/fork; iv) they can be dehydrated by a second baking process, preventing the growth of molds and extending the shelf life; v) they are transported with little encumbrance. These strong points make flat breads very popular, traditionally in Near East and Central Asia and also in some Mediterranean areas, in the Arabian Peninsula, and in the Indian subcontinent. By a multidisciplinary approach, this review gives an insight into the variety of traditional flat breads from the Fertile Crescent and related regions, classifying them on the basis of their production process. Moreover, the baking systems adopted to prepare flat breads are reviewed, such as vertical ovens ( tannur and tabun ) and griddles ( saj ), whose structure, origin, history, and values are described in detail. This overview shows that these breads have survived until today because of their versatility. In fact, flat breads can be produced both in the same way as they were made thousands of years ago and in modern fully automatic industrial lines, allowing tradition to meet innovation.