Kyboi (Dice Bread) is a traditional Ancient Roman recipe for a bread flavoured with dill and cheese and leavened with sourdough that's cut so it emerges as cubes. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Ancient Roman version of: Dice Bread (Kyboi).
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I've been looking for a good modern recipe on which to base a reconstruction of the kyboi (dice bread) mentioned in Athenaeus Deipnosophists (The Partying Professors) and I think I've come across the right thing in an adaptation of a Sicilian focaccia. The bread really does come out cuboid in shape.
English Translation
How would you know that dice — not the sort that you always play with — are loaves in the shape of a cube, seasoned with dill and cheese and olive oil, as Heracleides says in his Art of Cooking?
Athenaeus Deipnosophists [The Partying Professors]
Modern Redaction
Ingredients:
500g of white bread flour
2 tablespoons of sourdough starter (eg sourdough starter or biga acida)
150g of aged pecorino cheese
olive oil
4 tsp dried dill
salt
Method:
Combine the flour, half the dried dill and two pinches of salt in a bowl. Form a well in the centre and pour in the warm water and sourdough starters. Start mixing the flour into the liquid, bringing everything together to form a dough. Knead well for 10 minutes, until the dough is smooth and elastic then cover the bowl and set aside in a cool place to prove over-night.
The following day pre-heat your oven to 180C, then knock the dough back then scrape out onto into an oiled square or rectangular pan. Make sure the dough is even and enters every corner of a pan. Using a sharp, oiled, knife cut the dough into small squares.
Grate the cheese then sprinkle over the top of the dough with the remaining dill and olive oil.
Transfer the dough to the centre of your pre-heated oven and bake for 35 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool for at least 20 minutes.
Serve the bread by dividing the cubes with your hands.
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