bappir

{{Short description|Sumerian Dish of Twice-baked barley bread}}

{{more citations needed|date=February 2022}}

{{Infobox food

| name = Bappir

| image = File:Bappir.jpg

| caption =

| alternate_name =

| country = Ancient Mesopotamia

| region =

| creator =

| course =

| type = Bread

| served =

| main_ingredient = Malted barley, barley flour, honey, water

| variations =

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| other = Used for brewing beer

}}

Bappir was a Sumerian twice-baked barley bread that was primarily used in ancient Mesopotamian beer brewing. Historical research done at Anchor Brewing Co. in 1989 (documented in Charlie Papazian's Home Brewer's Companion ({{ISBN|0-380-77287-6}})) reconstructed a bread made from malted barley and barley flour with honey, spices{{cite web | title = Brewing ancient Sumerian beer | url=https://pietrow.net/sumerianbeer.html | accessdate = 18 February 2022}} and water and baked until hard enough to store for long periods of time; the finished product was probably crumbled and mixed with water, malt and either dates or honey and allowed to ferment for a few days, producing a somewhat sweet brew. It seems to have been drunk flat without bottling or conditioning with a straw in the manner that yerba mate is drunk now.

It is thought that bappir was seldom baked with the intent of being eaten; its storage qualities made it a good candidate for an emergency ration in times of scarcity, but its primary use seems to have been beer-making.

A modern interpretation of Sumerian bappir bread was brewed and bottled in 2016 by Anchorbrew.{{cite web | title = Sumerian Beer Project | date=26 March 2016 | url=https://www.anchorbrewing.com/blog/sumerian-beer-project/ | accessdate = 18 February 2022}}