Bread. The Mesopotamians based their diet on barley, from which they made unleavened bread and beer. (It has been noted that eating only barley could lead to severe vitamin deficiencies.) They also used other grains—including millet, emmer wheat, and rye—to make bread or cereal. They ground grain with portable millstones and then mixed the flour with water (usually without any leavening agent) to produce various kinds of breads. In the grave of queen Pu-abi (circa 2500 B.C.E.) in the Royal Cemetery at Ur, archaeologists found pieces of unleavened bread made from finely ground flour. Breads were described as first quality, ordinary, black, or white.

Flavored Breads. Breads were also made by beating in fats such as sesame oil, lard, mutton "butter," and fish oil. Occasionally, flavoring was added to the oils to disguise the fact...