5. Bread was very much the staff of life
Bread was made from a variety of grains, as with all foods based on what was grown locally, during the early medieval period. Barley, rye, oats, and wheat were the most often used. The wealthy had their own mills on their estates, the less well-off purchased their flour from a miller. Often they took their own grains to the miller for grinding, paying for the service with a portion of the resulting flour. The finer the grind, the more expensive the grinding, and bread made from finely ground flour was a privilege of the wealthy. The rest subsided on coarser bread made from less finely ground flour. Cakes emerged during the medieval period as food for the rich.
The rich also consumed darker brown breads, often in the form of the plate or bowl in which their foods were served. The sauces and juices from the other components of their meal soaked into the bread, which was eaten by tearing off small portions one at a time, using the only pieces of cutlery available at the beginning of the medieval period, spoons and knives. Forks were a relatively late development of the culinary arts. Meat was not presented finely sliced on the bread plate, often it would still be on the bone, to be eaten in a manner similar to how a leg of fried chicken would be consumed centuries later. At poorer tables, bread also served the functions of the modern-day napkin, assisted by the sleeve.