Grain in the form of bread and also a porridge (mixure of wheat and
water called puls) was the basic staple of the Roman diet.
In the picture we see a baker selling loaves of bread, which have the standard
round shape of Roman bread. The Roman baker, however, not only
baked and sold the bread, but also milled the grain to produce flour.
The mill consisted of two stone funnels joined at the neck. The grain was dumped through an opening in the upper funnel while at the same time the mill was rotated by means of a wooden beam attached to the upper part of the mill. The mill depicted above is powered by a mule and a slave. The grain was ground in the space between the lower funnel and an inner stone structure of the same shape, but slightly narrower. The flour collected on a circular shelf with a rim.
Here are some mills (on the right) and an oven (on the left) from a bakery in Pompeii.
Click here to see the funeral monument
of a very successful baker at Rome.