Brain Soda Podcast - Episode 18 - The Rye or the Kaiser

Episode Date: June 3, 2023

On this week's episode we'll be discussing the parody musician Weird Al Yankovic and the history of our most staple food, bread!

Brainsoda Don't go chasing waterfalls. It's the Brainsoda Podcast. I, as always, am your host, Kyle. Here with my co-host, Brad. How's it going? Frog is out on an adventure this week. We will be discussing bread, but first, Dr. Demento broadcast, unknown artist, who we will go on to know as weird, Al Yankovic, and we will be discussing him today. Oh man, I'm excited. Yeah, I actually really am too, and like in the time in which we were starting this podcast, it's simple discussions and things like that. Weird, the Al-Yankovic story was coming out and I was hype. I was really hype. I was too, but that hurt it wasn't the great, or it was like he made it a parody. It is absolutely, listen. Spoilers to a certain extent for the film.

About three quarters of the way through the movie, you get the plot that is the final arc that Pablo Escobar is a huge weird alpha in and kidnapped Smedana to get him to play his birthday party. And like, once I realized that was the way the film was going, I was like, this went off the rails, bro. Like, you got this guy playing Pablo Escobar doing a Ricky shooting his gun in the air? Like, but, yeah. But I feel like if you know Weird Al, even just the projects he's involved in that aren't his musical endeavors,

Even just the projects he's involved in that aren't his musical endeavors. Dude is that. I also learned in my research that he had done a previous Tho-Parity biopic called the Complete Owl. Really? What do you do that? What year? Oh, early 80s. I didn't even write it down.

Because it is more like a compilation tape, I would say from the things I was reading about it. It is more like a home video release. There is very much promotional material laid in without. It was of note to me that this isn't even the first time I would have done it. And the fact that I'll did it came from a funnier die sketch.

For a number of people growing up, they don't have the 10 or however many years previous of Al covering most popular music to base it on. His last album is 2000. I was just going to say, yeah, like his last album 2014 would have been what, 2425, exactly. Man, that's right. So like he kind of was just on the tail end, but he was still producing songs, trying to catch me white and dirty,

is the one that comes to mind with that, right? It's actually one of his better performing singles of all time, right? Really? Okay. So, so let's get into it. So around the time that I was graduating high school, now his musical chops really came from a

door-to-door music salesman who he was giving the choice between a guitar, you know what, however many dudes have used to pick up chicks in the history of guitars or an accordion, and of course his parents chose the accordion. Okay. Around the time that he was graduating high school, of which he was the valedictorian of his class. Wow.

He actually began to earn a bachelor's in architecture. He was the head disc jockey at his college radio station. And during all of this time, Al is throwing tapes at Dr. Demento. So initially he had a very crude recording of a song called Belvedere cruising that was about his dad's Plymouth Belvedere. And Demento hears this tape and like, thinks there's some clever funny lines in it, throws out stuff out there. During college

he comes up with the My Shirona cover and covers it and records it in the bathroom from I've alone. Okay, so that was like was that his first single though That is actually the first record Contry act he ever gets okay spins out of that recording so he meets the knack the band that made my Shirona and Tells them like hey, yeah I did this cover the lead singer like said he goes to the Had a Capitol records and was like should give this guy a deal you should put this out on a single yeah and they do and he had like a six-month recording contract like he did not stay with

Capitol records for long but I did find it to be very funny that like yeah he records it in the bathroom. Now in the film to reference that again, it's a local, it's just a local like big dormitory us bathroom and like, it was his college radio stations bathroom and the acoustics within that that he used, but anyway, so he then like is is becoming more and more well known on the Dr. Demento circuit and in his little crowd of performers and stuff

like that. And another one rides the bus was actually a recorded live on Dr. Demento and had kind of gained enough note that there's a recording of him doing it on what they called like the tomorrow show. Which I believe is like a like late show of its day, right? The late late show and things like that. I believe that's why tomorrow is named as such. But at that point in like, well, fast forward, he had been on the road with them in 81, developed his own band across 82, about 83. He is coming out with his initial release record. And I weird out on 3D, his second record is one of the ones you hear about the most. And people love it so much. Like, what kind of what hits you? Eat it. Eat it is probably the biggest

known song often stuff like that but I'm gonna go out and just say this really quick. I feel like if you're familiar enough with the music of the time Al records a record, they're all worth a listen. The only one I ever hear people really like knock on in my research was Pocoparty. Pocoparty has about the same production level and quality as the regular Weird-Oll,

Yankeic record, first record. And I think maybe just some of the cover choices, things like that. That is one of the things that people don't really enjoy. And that's really about it. And out of all those 14 albums, obviously there's some upticks and downturns. But if you know music from 1983, you're probably really gonna weird out.

3D. Yeah. Yeah. No, like what I didn't realize until I got older and actually listened to some of his albums was that like he made songs of his own. You know, like he didn't, I mean, well, I guess they're all of his own, but like they're not covers, you know. A lot of them are polka songs too. But like really, there's not really like too many that became like big hits except for like I lost on Jeopardy, right?

Or is that even, is that a cover of something? Okay, so I lost on Jeopardy is actually a cover. I cannot remember the band's name. I listened to it this morning, but yeah, it was a cover of a song called Jeopardy. Yeah, and it looks so crossed all of Al's albums. You hear typically four things. You hear direct parodies of hit singles or what they call pastiche. Like Dare to Be Stupid is a

Devo cover in Airquotes but there's no Devo song that sounds like Dare to Be Stupid. It is a like interpretive song in the style of divo. This is the common conception for divo. I will do this divo, air quote song. Then you have the melodies which is like here's a random assortment of songs and I'm just gonna do them poke a style for like 30 seconds a piece kind of matched in and over arcing across the song and then you have as original works. Now the thing that I would say shines through in most of those original works is dark sense of humor. For me I think the most successful one and a lot of people argue that it's

a parody of extreme which the music video is but you don't love me anymore I think but amongst fans in the fact that it was a single with a video might be his most successful. I don't think I've heard of that one. Original. You might have heard me sing back then. I probably have. I've been on many weird albinges too you know like I just sometimes just go on let's do a bunch of his songs. So I learned this within my research Albuquerque is actually like a pastiche of essentially there's like some okay not very well-known band that performed a song or a couple songs in that style that like weird narrative conversational at the same time Talksing style while like somebody's jamming out in the background as like an underlaid track

Before it it broadens out to a bit worse. Yeah, when I heard that I was like wait, what? Albuquerque is not an original song from where it out the pastiche. Like, no. Like, I was just flung it. So like, it's really, yeah. Like, it's almost all of this hits are that. The one question I do have is, did you research it all as like what he's like as like a person?

You know, like, because like, even when he's acting and stuff, he still acts like, you know, like joking and stuff like that. Like, is he like that really, you know Or is it more of just an act? So I think I think even just in his media appearances You can tell that Alice like a I don't want to say well read, but definitely like a Regular guy like he is yes a totally normal dude But then like like if you were to have a

work relationship with Al Yankovic you know what I mean like you see him at the office and everything's cooler whatever else and then you guys have this project that you have to weird interests and you would be like man I worked with Al from work the other day and he was weird but like in a good way that I feel like this exactly what somebody would say coming home to their significant other walking in the door. Hey honey, how was work? Listen That's kind of that's how I get like the feeling you know like I don't know because I've seen a few interviews and stuff

He seems just like he seems like a type of guy that would like just be like a normal guy I don't know. I don't know celebrities are normal people still, but you know what I mean like yeah No, I think when you're Al Yankovic in 1985 through 1995, everything you have to do is as the persona of Weird Al. And then once you get that 10 years of being in the spotlight, I mean, he had a little bit of a slump after UHF. That's what I was getting into next and we'll go there after this. But like after that and like you have a television show and things like this and that, you've been cemented into the legacy of pop culture. And like once people are coming up and asking you things as fans, as other members of media, and you're not just the guy who does parodies. You know, you're not just the random celebrity for whatever.

You know, random film you decide to drop in on it or whatever it may be. Exactly. You be the common hit of celebrity on to his own. Right. He's not just a parody of celebrities. So around 85 within 3D, you have the fact that like he's covering the biggest songs of the day, he's being featured on MTV very heavily, and I think that's another thing that lends to part of Al's success is the fact that like even his early recordings, many of them have,

of course, very cheap, but part of, for the course in the day, music videos. Like, Al being featured on MTV very regularly because he was someone who had music videos to go into rotation. Like, is one of it. Obviously, you have to have a level of talent and comedic value and things like that to make those parodies work and be getting their coverage

of them. Yeah, they're good, they're good parody music videos. They really are. Right, exactly. You eat it maybe one of the ones that I feel works the best because it is like shot for shot. Almost like. Yeah, that's one I always think of.

Yeah, right. And to be honest, it feels like some of them The concept has to kind of get in the way to make it the way that it is Mm-hmm, and some of them it is just because it's a send up about food or send up about His weight or whatever like his Michael Jackson ones are in in Michael Jackson's music videos We're so iconic too, but like it is again literally like one You could parody of Michael Jackson video and like it as long as it's good production. It's gonna be nice Yeah, just because of the Michael Jackson video and those were usually like the lead-offs

To his stuff and like so after I would say in 3d if not is one of people's favorite early records. You have even worse. Which like if we're talking about parodying Michael Jackson the fact that you have the black zikra jacket, the pose, the designing of the record is to be bad. The bad. But it's just even worse. It is good. Shops kiss me. I loved it so much the first time I ever seen that.

It's good. But, yes, I just saw it today. It is one of those things that... The song you sent me. It's his first from that album. Yeah, that's where I saw it from. Okay, so let's get into that. So, even worse has some covers that...

I watch several different people doing like tear list videos of his stuff and like, nobody likes the money, money cover, Alamoni. Here she comes now, wants to Alamoni. Bounce. Bounce. I have heard that one. I like that one.

I like that one and I've never. Okay, so I was a little misogynistic. Well, I, okay, yeah, I guess you could, but like that one and I've never. Okay, so I was a little massageristic. Well, I, okay, yeah, I guess you could, but like it, and then okay, so that is one thing. Like out of all of the things I've ever heard or seen weird out do, the only one I think I've ever gotten any smoke in the era that we're in now is probably fat. Yeah, I guess, because like, yeah, that's not, yeah.

It's, yeah, it is like able to still, whatever you would want to consider it. You know what I mean? But so after that, you had UHF, which like Orion Studios had really been banking on and it's just called UHF, or is that stand for something? If you don't know what that means, it's ultra high frequency.

Most broadcast television early days were on very high frequency and this is ultra high. So essentially anything after like 15 channels is on ultra high frequency. And then the thing is too is like, if you were to try to modernize it to today's domestic television, it would be like, you have channel five, five point,

two, five point three, five point four, and five point four just shows Westerns. You know what I mean? Like, it's just stuff that's in public domain or they've licensed it. Yeah, right? So in that, you have all of these different trailer callbacks and big gags and things like that.

And like UHF is a cult classic to this day for a reason. It is a really funny film and like despite whatever controversy he's had, Michael Richards in the film is great. And Weird Ow is too. But Orion really was banking on this as a production company and it did not go very well. Now mind you, they were up against a heavy summer because that's like the year Batman came out and like so much different stuff, but like yeah, the film financially did absolutely horrible

and slowly over time though, more and more people really really have caught onto the film and gave it an audience after the fact, which I mean to be fair, you know, you're facing some of the largest films of the day in your time of release, but like, you know what I mean to be fair, you know, you're facing some of the largest films of the day in your time of release, but like, you know what I mean? Aside from those films, he's probably outlived however many other ones that were more successful than UHF in its time in theaters, which I would say is a big success. But so he had pretty much most of an album in the bank in the years following this, but didn't really have a good lead-off cover for set album. And like with so many other things in music, then Narvana happens. It smells like Narvana. And yeah, one thing about Al is, though legally he is not required out of his decency and a

professionalism In courtesy he will always obtain permission like if you notice Prince Never has a cover or even a pastiche. Yeah, I don't believe But it's because Prince would never give him the clearance to cover his music now and I bet okay Because Prince would never give him the clearance to cover his music. Now. And I bet, okay, no, I think the reason why he did that was because he didn't want to deal with any like backlash. You know, like I think, yeah, it's a good move though to do that because like, yeah, you

don't want to, like, how are you going to get big if like you constantly stepping on toes? Like especially nowadays, I just imagine. So he wasn't able to contact Nirvana until they were on the set of Saturday night live. He calls Kurt Cobain and asks him if they would be willing to allow him to do a parody. And Kurt kind of famously, at least for me, says like, well, what is it gonna be about food?

And Al goes, well, no, it's actually about how nobody can understand your singing. And he goes, oh, yeah, that is pretty funny. And later, Kurt apparently, he really felt Nirvana had made it as a band being covered by Weird Al. And like, if you really look at how much made it, may or may not mean, in my eyes, with hindsight obviously, it means a lot because even worse, in 3D, but it probably is two most successful albums up to that point. We're both covered by two of the most well-known Michael Jackson songs of their day.

You know what I mean? That is a huge deal to be the lead off single. And also the thing that you parody the late, the front album cover, because it is instead of being the baby chasing the dollar bill and the pool, it's Al in a pool going after Adona. I think I've seen that one, that's funny.

That actually kind of like revitalized Al's career throughout the early 90s and some would say inspired a lot of his best work. Yeah. Then he gets a television show for one season known as the Weird Al's Show and that theme was on running with scissors, the album that he does in 99 after he had had lacing eye surgery, he had grown his hair out, and like for the large part, there's a generation or two now that has grown up without not having the huge like aviator glasses and curly hair and mustache. He's always had that, hasn't he? Like the curly hair and everything? Like, isn't that like his signature? Well, look at it. Look at a picture of him now. He versus 1985.

No, he has long, he has curls to his hair, but like, in 85, it looks like he's got like, it looks really, like, perm. It looks like he has a pull. Oh, okay. And in the 80s, yeah, versus now where it's really like Perm. It looks like he has a poor in the 80s. Yeah, versus now where it's more like, I have curls to my long hair. I see your saying.

You have all of these albums that spin out after that whole look change. And I feel like that also is around the time where Al is getting more and more Involved in other media, but like he had been in every naked gun film he had been in a couple other Leslie Nielsen films Like he does the opening for spy hearts. He was in Johnny Bravo What you think is funny, it does show. But yeah, no, I was gonna say cartoons is really one of the places I feel like

you could have any different person that you'd ask. Where's the first place you ever heard of Weird Al? And it would be just that. There was some random episode of one of my favorite childhood cartoons, like I don't remember it happening, but when I was looking up stuff, he appeared on Eek the Cat. Really? And I loved Eek the Cat as a kid, if I remember. Yeah, Eek the Cat, yeah.

It was just another thing on the Fox Kids channel. That's all that it was was just another cartoon of its day, but like, for me, it was one of my cartoons. Yeah. You know what I mean? Sure, yeah, exactly. But yeah, he had an appearance on that. So like, I can only imagine how many other little kyle mores there were in the world

that were watching Eek the Cat one day. And then, you know, hey, Alan, I'm a big fan. And you know what I mean? I love your song. And he's like, don't sing that idiot. As soon as you do, we'll be paying royalties for the rest of eternity. Do you really want that? And like, being like, who is this guy? I want to know more about Weird Al. But at this point, now, today, you have Al's life

becoming film and, and again, parody. He is a a long time although he's not like straight edge but he doesn't abuse or use alcohol or drugs right and he is also vegetarian okay minimum I think he's actually vegan in weird though by the by the end of the film he's like slam in a fifth of Jack Daniels on the stage and just being like, you know, out their alcoholic rock star and like that's not out. And like that's part of the point though, is that like he is parroting with weird the biopic of musicians. Yeah, the whole, because like they'll really, I mean, a lot of those aren't very truthful. You know, it definitely paints a story, a positive story on every single musician.

Yeah. And like, like, it cuts out a lot of the crappy stuff. It is actually on the Roku channel. And that is one thing, that is one thing I will say. It's like, I don't know why it's on Roku. Like I feel like if anything Roku is pulling in an Orion and banking off the fact that Weird Al by this point has been in the mainstream consciousness of pop culture for 40 years. 83 to 23. You know what I mean?

Like Grand of the film came out in 22, but yeah, But yeah exactly you know that they're banking off the weird owl name and all the cameos that because that film is just Written with cameos and it is an excellent film. I love it. I suggest it to everyone. Yeah, but it is definitely Like you HF This one's a film nerds Loving interest because of all the cameos. The other one I would say and it's a pastiche of films, right? Like, if you like musical biopics, this film is like dissecting them and working with them, making them malleable.

UHF is because it's parodying trailers of films and things like that and like Conan the librarian and things like that. I don't know, like he is, I would say he's probably one of the most iconic people in America at least, you know. Like it's like, yeah. He's on the Hollywood Walk of Fame as a 2018 too. Okay, that was another thing. By fan campaign. I mean, you know, I feel like he might get some pushback from certain people because he is the parody guy air quotes, right? But like, you know what I mean?

Like I feel like there's enough people who recognize it. He's like an elder statesman of comedy let alone of music and pop culture exactly like he really is I don't think one thing that he does not have is a bread song He has the rye or the case the Kaiser so I guess that is a bread song matter of crust never mind Matter of crust he does I don't ever heard it. I just had to look it up, but So I guess we're done. That's how a bread song. But yeah, so bread. Kyle, have you ever heard of it? Do you know anything about it? Are you familiar with bread? Well, yes. Okay. It's pretty, I mean, it's pretty common. It was like one

of the first inventions of modern humanity. So it's been around for a while. So really quick, one of the things that once you said that I was thinking about, I've been playing this game called Surviving the Aftermath, which is just like a sim city type simulation game, but it's set in a post-apocalyptic thing. And like there's resource trees and development trees that you get to develop new buildings and things from that. And one of the hardest foods to make in the game is bread. And I literally, when you told me this was gonna be your topic, I was like, why is this so hard to make? I mean, it's not that hard to make.

I think it's the flower. Exactly, yes, it depends on what. It's filling the flower. Yes, because like, I mean, if's not that hard to make. I think it's the flower. Exactly. Yes, it depends on what. It's filling the flower. Yes, because like, I mean, if you're talking wheat, then yes, it's pretty, it's a complicated process to actually like, especially if you want white flower, you know, or the flower, they are like,

if you want the bread that you get. So you have to bleach it. Yes, with the bleaching, I didn't really look up the bleaching process, unfortunately. But that's where you would get white flowers. Yes, with the bleaching, I didn't really look up the bleaching process, unfortunately. But that's where you would get white flowers. Exactly, yeah, but I know you strip everything out of the flower. So like, not everything, but you strip all the germ and everything from it, the outer parts of it.

The wheat germ? Exactly. I think they do add some chemicals, but I think it's not something like acid or something that are salt. Exactly. But, I mean, bread in your basic form is literally just water, salt, often yeast, naturally contaminated or not, and then a type of flour. So, it doesn't have to necessarily be wheat for it to be bread, obviously, right?

It could be all sorts of stuff, and we'll get into some of the different grains and stuff later. The big thing about bread is that, to be called bread, you know, you're mixing those things together, you often need it, you usually keep it nice and moist. So it's not something that you dry out, like some things you wanna dry out when you cook.

Or, you know. It has to be a dough first essentially. Essentially, yeah, like you want it to be a dough. Like, I don't think there's any like breads that you like mix up and then let's adult. Like I don't think there's any like breads that you like Mix up and then let's sit like there's no no-bake breads Yeah, because the chemical processes that happens when it cooks it it changes the structure of it Okay, and it's also it's it's fermented too and the fermentation is something that really makes bread to me

Extremely interesting because you're like you're eating almost you're eating like you're eating mold every time or fun And the fermentation is something that really makes bread, to me, extremely interesting. Because you're eating almost, you're eating like, you're eating mold every time, or fungus, every single time you're eating bread. And I don't think a lot of people realize that. You're like, they know there's yeast. Yeah, because I thought cheese. Like that was when you were like, you're eating mold, am I like, like, cheese? Yeah, so sorry.

I'm sorry. I misspoke. It's not a mold, but it is a fungus. Right. So, like, apoke it's not a mold, but it is a fuck right so like a fun guy consists of Yeasts and mold so yeasts are almost a separate from molds, but and like mushrooms, you know, I guess So the first evidence of like any like bread making which this might not even been bread making But there was evidence of starch residue on rocks and like this from like like pounding plants on them you know or like oh my god the initial mill yeah yeah grinding stones with with some fabrics yeah like they were thinking like mostly like starches from like roots of

the plants or like I mean like cat tail like stems or I think roots of cat tails and stuff like that but this was back in like 30,000 years ago, okay? So like humans have been around, you know, modern humans about 400,000 years, okay? So really we're talking, you know, I mean, I'm not saying that 30,000 years ago is what it first happened, but still, this is pretty late.

No one recorded evidence is, yeah, it's saying it's closer to like us than we would think, right? Exactly. It's closer to modern humans than it is to the beginning of humans. You know, it's actually pretty crazy to think about it. When you like really put it into perspective, like we haven't bet like agriculture and all that stuff has not been around agriculture is even shorter earlier than that, you know, which we'll talk about right now. 2000 BC, right? Exactly. yeah, around 10,000. Now, the oldest evidence though of actual bread making,

though, was about 14,500 years ago. And that was in the Tufian site in modern day Jordan. So do you know where Jordan's at, or a general area where that is? It's adjacent to Nus, yeah, Tufia, Arabia. Yes, it's in the Levant, right? So like it's north, I think of Israel and all that. You know, it's like, it's like by Syria, Israel, Jordan,

Lebanon, that area, right? Right. So like, you know, the Middle East, you know? But that, like it probably can't, consistent of like a crushed grain, with mixed with water, and then like the, the resultant dough was probably like laid on to like a rock in a fire, right? Or like a crushed grain with mixed with water and then like the the resultant dough was probably like laid Onto like a rock in a fire right or like a rock on embers and like so like this was like a flatbread

All these things to talk about you know like the the earliest one with the with the beaten starches and stuff was definitely a flatbread Right like you need the glue to make an expanded risen bread, but we'll get into that later So around 10,000 BC, like you said, was when agriculture spread and Agriculture kind of agriculture and bread making kind of go hand in hand, right? Really like there's arguments over still like whether alcohol or bread was the first thing they like kicked off agriculture You know, because like it's one of those two things. I kind of lean towards alcohol. Like if you think about it, man,

I mean bread is great, right? Bread's awesome. But people can hunt and gather very easily. You can live and survive and just be, go throughout your whole life great. Especially in ancient times. There's no bread and steak in between. Exactly, I mean, yes.

Sure. That's very true though, right?. There's no bread and steak in between. Exactly. I mean, yes. Sure. That's very true though, right? Like, you could have meat and potatoes. You know, like, you don't need, you can scavenge both those things, you know? Like, that's literally a tuber and meat. You know, so like, but like, beer is something else. Like, you have to like, grow something.

Like, yes, you could gather enough grain or enough fruit or something like that to make it, but like it's much easier if you were to like plant something and then you know have a big stock of it to make this alcohol that gets y'all messed up right? Yeah, I want to give up, let's make this beer, right? Even the slaves of Egypt were given fermented alcohol at the end of the day, right? Yes, the slavery in Egypt was not, we're not gonna talk about that today, but I definitely want to talk about Egypt and pyramids and all that stuff.

Okay, okay, even in the Asian Egypt building pyramids, people had alcohol. Yeah, definitely, yeah, they were actually one of the first people to make alcohol. I think we're the first people to make beer. And the other thing is Dissertary. At several different points in early civilization, people who didn't drink as much water as they did alcohol, unless it was like through some serious for purification process,

were X amount of times less likely to get Dissertary. I die. Exactly. Yep, no, that was a big thing without alcohol. Is that you could drink it? Like, I was kind of joking when I said, you know, they just wanted to get dysentery and die. Exactly. Yeah, no, that was a big thing without haul, is that you could drink it. Like what I was kind of joking when I said, you know, they just wanted to get messed up. Like, yeah, really the biggest thing was you could drink it and not worry about getting sick, because alcohol killed the microbes, you know.

I mean, yes, you know, obviously people do like to get intoxicated and get an ebriated, right? But like, yeah, I think the main reason was what you were saying, you know. And the Egyptians were actually like, you know, like I said, I think the main reason was what you were saying, you know, and the Egyptians were actually like, you know, like I said, we're the first to create beer, but they were also the first people like to refine the fermentation and use wheat to make bread, right? Now there was like, the first evidence for leaven bread,

leaven means like, you know, bread that's rose, like, you know, puffy bread, right? Oh, okay, yeah. Yeah, like a leavening agent right is like yeast or baking salt soda or baking powder those are called leavening agents typically baking soda baking powder called that I don't think yeast is called leavening agent maybe it is like in Mesopotamia around 6000 BCE so you're talking you know 8000 you 8000 years ago they that's the first evidence of a leaven bread but that was using ash.

That wasn't using yeast, right? And this was the Samarians that were doing this, okay? In Southern Mesopotamia, which is like modern, modern day Iraq, Iran. And that's like the cradle of civilization, people talk about. But the Egyptian, though, around, like this was, I think around more like 3000 BC,

they refined this process or it seems like they took a lot of the knowledge from the Samarians you know or maybe got the not a lot of like the bread making knowledge from it but they were able to refine it and like realize that like yeast is the thing that lets it grow better you know like net and that you can get it naturally yeast is floating around the air all over the place you know or on the grains of the of the wheat or whatever grain you're using.

Right. Well, so if we go back to, say, episode three or whatever it was where we were talking about it, and I think it was Frog who brought it up, but all the trading from back in the day, I mean, it wouldn't be that hard to imagine that some Mesopotamian trader would come over and then like either show someone, bring it and have it be deconstructed, or even with like traveling with it, the way that it would sit and whatever container or out in the open or whatever. Yeah, for sure, man. That is definitely like, so this is around like the early Bronze Age was like 3,500 BCE,

you know, in the late Bronze Age, like around 1200. So like, yeah, I'm talking Bronze Age was like fermented dough was I think really when it like took off, okay. And during that time, yeah, like there was a ton of trade, especially in the Mediterranean. It was like, there's evidence of so much different like trading networks and stuff like that. Really good podcast. I listened to Ty's of History. If you want to know about that, like it's well researched to plug something. Yeah. Just to plug somebody's not us.

Yeah, exactly. But so the Egyptians, they also developed ovens too. So like it wasn't just the fermentation all that. Like they developed like instead of like cooking it on a rock, you know, like they're like, hey, what if we just like made a little chamber to put the bread in. Yeah, that is crazy, dude. No one I didn't know that they did that, but then to know that, literally, the advent of bread as we know it and ovens as they came to be is from Egyptians and almost like cross correlated. It's interesting.

Yeah, the Egyptians, they did so much. Like, I don't know if they necessarily contributed. Like, I want to say they contributed to a lot of things, but they were the first to do a lot of things. Yeah. And maybe they contributed through like trading stuff like that, but like, they were such an ancient civilization. And we've talked about this.

I think back in episode three and stuff like that, like they're just, they better out for so long. You know, for so long. But, you know, so like the Egyptians, the Greeks, the Romans, all these people, like being able to bake bread and stuff like that, like they consider that a sign of civilization, right? And kind of agree with that, you know, like,

I mean, not necessarily like, I can't say that because even in Asia, they don't use, Asians don't really make bread, or especially in South Asia. They're more rice and noodles, but they're very advanced civilization, but I would say, at that time period, in Europe and stuff like that.

Not being a hunter, gatherer, tribe for every amount of square miles per capita or whatever is what they're saying, I would guess. Exactly. Like, yeah, because you need like, you know, special, again, you need agriculture to do that. Like, you know, so yeah, all this stuff's invented, right? Right.

And then bread really doesn't change for like 3,000 years, essentially. Like, it wasn't really until like the 1800s where like there was like new inventions in the way to make bread and things like that. Like, you know, it's always just been this painstaking, laborious process that like really isn't ever been mass-produced until the Industrial Revolution. And that came, like I said, in 1800s, 1862, this industrial process was developed by a guy named John Douglish. I think it's spelled, yeah, I spelled DAU,

but I think it's Douglish or Douglish. It's kind of Dougish. Yeah, he's a little, he's not too much. He's a little Douglish. He's Douglish. Yeah. Yeah. But he used carbon, he's a little, he's a little, a little Douglas, he's Douglas. You know, right? Yeah. But he used carbonated water, you know,

and like instead of yeast, and that made the dough rise. So like by doing that, he was able to like quickly make bread, right? Because to go to make bread, like it's a look, like it's a time consuming thing. It's not necessarily laborious, but it's like, you mix everything up, then you let it sit. You let that rise. Then often you put your back down, mixes some more of them, let it rise

again. But sometimes you just, after that, you roll it up, put it in a pan. Either way, you put it in your baking pan. And then you let that rise again. You have to proof, you know, it has to rise up inside the loaf pan, and then you cook it. So like this can take, you know, anywhere from four to 48 hours or more, you know? And like that's, you know, if you're trying to make bread like in a mass-produced- For dinner. Not even for dinner.

Like for, yeah, but yeah, for exactly, for dinner. But like to mass-produced bread, you can't be, like that takes too much time, right? Yeah, the way worse. Yeah. Yeah. Exactly. So like to be able to make this, this dough rise that quickly and everything, like that was a big thing and like that actually dominated for like a hundred years.

But like it wasn't, it didn't taste good. Like it didn't have yeast in it. Yeast adds the flavors, adds the aroma and everything. Right. Like, oh man, like make it, I love making bread. Like I actually have been like almost making a different type of bread every single week lately. Oh, okay. Like every weekend, it's, oh man, like make it I love making bread like I actually have been like almost making a different type of bread every single week lately Like every weekend. It's oh man. I love it like the smell of it and everything It's just my mom would make homemade bread, dude

And that is one of the things like even just seeing it because you would do that too like you know Lay it out need it in in there in the dough and then it rises up before you're even able to put it in the oven And exactly yeah, like even just seeing that I would always be like oh snap nice during the dough and then it rises up before you're even able to put it in the oven. And love it. Exactly. Yeah, like even just seeing that, I would always be like, oh snap, nice. Because you're right, like having that loaf and smelling it, even though like, I feel like modern sensibilities, like it's almost different.

Bread to a lot of people is probably your average everyday bag of bread, right? But then like you get that spats or a homemade loaf or something like that. And it's the texture and the smell of it is so different that you're like, it's like bread plus. Yeah. And you know, well, this is the thing. This is perfect lead in Kyle because in 1961, there was a guy that, well, not even a guy.

It was an institute in Great Britain that created the Charliewood bread process. And that is why bread that you buy at the store nowadays doesn't take anything like the bread that you make at home is this Charliewood process. What that is is they add a bunch more yeast, a bunch like some vitamins and a fat, and they need to crap out of it. Like way faster than you would be able to do with like even like a stand mixer, you know, at home, like a kitchenator, something like that.

And that like heats everything up and makes it like rise from the heat and all that. And they do that in like three minutes. From that, that's like the initial proof, right? So like that just cuts out, you know, tons of hours of work and then they also are able to use like a lower protein dough to do that and that makes like a lighter area dough, which is why like, you know, it's like that and it also rises faster because of that. That's that's how modern bread is made and why it's so cheap also like because they use like a crappier wheat and all that you know. So like that blew my mind

when I read that. I didn't know anything about that until I started researching the subject. And because I never knew like why is this so much I've always tried to like I mean you know I don't want exactly yeah like I don't want like you know you're don't want, you're a wonder bread, but I wanted to make a nice sandwich bread. That's what I've been trying to achieve. Like, well, that glass doesn't dry out and all that. Yeah, I can never do that. I can never make a wonder bread, even if I wanted to.

I could never make a wonder bread because I don't have equipment and the chemicals industrial level needing. Yeah, so it is crazy. But ever since then, that's been the big thing. But I want to talk about some of the different types of breads in the world, because there's tons of different types of breads, grains.

So flat bread is most common in the Middle East and Asia in Africa. And flat breads are awesome. You're talking about to non-breads. Yeah, I was just about to say, you're not. You're pedas. All of them Yeah, I was just about saying you're not your pedas You know all them like oh love a man like a lover of hummus non bread is We're talking a kid go peda and hummus peda, but no, I love non bread

Because I never do we're that's true. That's true. I guess you know mix them Peter bread is adjacent to hummus, but I'm saying non-bread with hummus is better because you get that like that soft doughy texture with your hummus and it literal chef's kids But continue that does sound good. Yes, so these flatbreads, right? Like I said earlier the earliest forms of bread unleavened I think none might be leaven or let a little bit, you know, but definitely peeda's not. Peeda, actually, I just made it.

I just made peeda last week. You throw it in the fridge. You want it cold so it doesn't rise. So if it rises, you want to push it back down because if you want to keep it, yeah. Yeah, yeah. It's really simple. It's literally just like water, flour, salt, and oil. Like that's it.

I just think it's crazy. You can make that. You know, just add a couple things, salt, and oil. Like that's it. I just think it's crazy you can make that. I don't, you know, just add a couple things you got yourself red. But the early things though, the main grains we were used were like corn or maize, like in South America, or like barley and millet and buckwheat. Barley and buckwheat, I think we were more in it. Gear up millet was more like an Africa and things like that.

But like those, you know, those things, they like gluten and gluten, which you know, like is a bad guy nowadays and a lot of things, but like, I mean, there is people with celiac, obviously like that is bad. But like, I think some people freak out about gluten a little bit too much, right? Because like, it's actually super important to make bread

because like that lets it hold the gas from the yeast in is the gluten. Like it's a protein that binds all that together And though the two main grains that have that are wheat and rye So that's why you see like rye bread all the time and then obviously you got your weats Millet cake and non And rote which I don't know rote is but I might have to look that up because I love Indian food Those are popular in India, but Tef wheat and sorghum are used to make in Jira

Which is like the spongy flatbread in Ethiopian and rich Ria Which I need to look that up because like there's a lot of good African recipes and they're not you don't see them Or that much in in America or at least in our area in Michigan. You don't see African recipes very often Yeah, delicious African dishes There's just Chapati, which is a wheat flatbread. That's popular in East Africa. So I'm gonna have to flip that one up too. I've heard of that before it's chapati.

Yeah, I think so too. But like wheat, peanut bread, like we were saying, is that they use wheat to make it a Mediterranean Middle East. Corn, like I was saying, was made as used for tortillas in South America. Corn itself, you know, like corn's actually was a name for like just grains in general in old, you know, ancient days. Oh, okay.

Maze, yeah. You'll like see it, like, you know, he made a bunch of bread with corn and like that, the 1200s you're like, wait. Yeah, what? It's just a new world thing, right? Yeah, no, so Maze, they use that to make tortillas. And then in Brazil, they make cakes with cassava, which that's like a root.

Yeah. Yeah. But like I said, you know, in Asia, especially in Japan and stuff, like in Japan, Vietnam, Southeast Asia, they use rice. But after World War II, bread became a little more popular because I think of the US presence. Like, rye bread, that's big in like Germany, Russia, and the Scandinavian countries. Those are really where you see a lot of rice. Okay.

In the US, we use wheat. Like, we're big wheat guys in the US, right? And like, white bread's most common. Sorry to look up leaching. I don't know why. That was like, that should have been the first thing I looked up at. To me, it's one of the things that's normalized, but realistically, I don't even want to promote it that much,

because I feel like one of the reasons bread is, like you were talking about with gluten, like it has this kind of like, hold your crucifix out, back up from the bread, it's dangerous, is because like, you're eating homogenized, processed food, you're eating good. When really bread can be the most basic thing you ever eat.

Seriously, it's like, again, it's water, salt, and flour. Like that's all bread, that's all you need. Yeah, if you're over indulging in it, or you're not like, if you're on a diet, I understand you're going like, I'm avoiding bread. To expound about that, right? Whole wheat flour is like,

that's where they contain some of the outer germ, right? That's where they, like, whole wheat, like when you see whole wheat, that is, that's good, right? You should use whole wheat, but it's not like, it's not the entire grain, like you could be like broken up and everything like that,

or like, it only contains partially the whole grain. Like you could be like broken up and everything like that. Or like, only contain partially the whole grain. Like half of it is the whole grain, half of it is the, you know, just the inner part, right? Like so what you want to, like if you really want good bread, you should get whole grain, not whole wheat. So look for whole grain bread. If you're like, that's what you're like, and especially multi-grain is the best.

Like that's what, you know, that's what you got. A bunch of different types of grains and stuff like that. But yeah, so that's where you're like in especially multi grain is the best like that's what you know That's where you got a bunch of different types of grains and stuff like that But yeah, so that's what you should look for you know It is like I don't know some people don't like the taste. I love the taste of multi grain I prefer it over white bread So and then you know you got all your sweet breads and stuff all your buns and your rolls and your sweet sweet spice breads I'm not gonna go into those today

Ed sugar add fruits add all these random things and the end of bread and that makes a different, makes delicious stuff. Right. Just quickly to go over the science of the way bread works and I'm not gonna get in super detailed, but the species of yeast is actually used in both beer and bread, the same species.

It's saccharomyces, syruvici, and that, like there is different subspecies within that species that are used for specific ones, but I thought that was pretty cool. Like it's really super cool. Yeah, it's the same thing, like so like, which again leads back to the ayyagr culture and beer and bread and being the same thing,

and mixed together, I guarantee, like they were one of the, or you know, if they weren't, if one wasn't invented before the other, it was at the same time. Do you ever wonder if it was like made on accident at one point? Like one guy spelled like a bunch of water in there and it was like, Hey, wait a minute, siphon that out.

Let's cook it. Yeah, no, beer definitely had to have been. Bread probably, maybe, bread probably not. I don't know, bread, they probably just like, let's mix this stuff and add some water so it's easier have been. Bread probably, maybe, bread probably not. I don't know, bread they probably are just like, let's say mixed the stuff and add some water so it's easier to mix and then they cooked it. You know, then like yeah. When the dough ferments, like I was saying,

the yeast releases gases, mostly CO2. And from like eating the sugars within the bread and that releases gases, the gluten within there holds the gases in. And from that, that causes the expansion. Like that's how bread expands. The mixture of like all the different fats and the proteins and the carbohydrates in there

are kind of like what create this mass. It's really, it's really cool how, you know, this flour, this dry product, can be mixed with water, and it creates like a completely different thing, liquid or a salad. It's almost like a solid liquid in a way. It's a dough. There's not many things that are doughy in nature,

or in cooking either. You know? It's just really cool. I highly suggest baking bread at home. and nature or like in cooking either, you know. It's just really cool. I highly suggest baking bread at home. It's super easy, so bake some bread people. And you know what that Kyle, you wanna leave us out? And with that, we'd love to thank you for joining us here at the Brain Soda Podcast.

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