SC - Sugar, Flour and Bread (Longwinded;)

[L Herr-Gelatt and J R Gelatt]

Warning: Longwided Post to follow!

Berengaria wrote:
>I'd be curious to hear other people's knowledge on these questions.
>
>I tend to use raw sugar instead of refined white sugars when I cook.
Is raw sugar now legal for purchase in the US? I attempted to buy some about
12 years ago, having been given it for my coffee in a Covent Garden coffee bar.
It turned out (or rather I was told by the US Sugar suppliers) that raw
sugar was illegal to import or produce and sell in the US. I was told the
sugar industry had a lock on sources (and a strong lobby), and wanted us to
buy the expensive white purified sugars. I'd be thrilled to know if it is
now available.
>
>Also, we were talking about bleaching flour earlier.  My 
>understanding is that much modern bleached flour comes about because 
>of chemical bleaching, not storage methods.  I have also been going 
>for the unbleached white flour, which is still fine and white, and 
>using that in my SCA cooking attempts.  Any thoughts on this?

I have listened to the flour debate quite a bit. The latest "in" arguement I
have heard was that only modern "biscuit" flour had the appropriate texture
and color to resemble period fine white bread. These "statements of
unmaleable fact" make me nervous. Others insist that a percentage of whole
wheat and/or rye must be added to the mixture to get an accurate
representation of "real" period flour (various errant grains having been
reaped with the wheat, y'see, or partions of bran remaining in the flour).
I feel that the truth is somewhat less sweeping. For many of us, we have to
use what is available. Add to that factor the "scientific hypothesis"  about
Biscuit flour, and what you get is this: We don't know for sure. However,
from SCA baking experience and source reading it is possiible to draw some
conclusions: 

Period European White Bread (Manchet) was very similar to our modern dense
home-made white loaves, at least from written descriptions. It is possible
to duplicate the few period bread recipes with good results. You can be
confident that you are arriving close to the reality if you use unbleached
white flour (or biscuit flour). Mostly these recipes have been gaurded by
baking guilds who, naturally, were loath to part with their secrets, and
thus did not write them down.

Just as now, all sorts of breads were available in period, made from many
types of grains. Pulse, for instance, was a flour made of at least a portion
of pea- or bean-meal. Add in other factors: colder climates with poorer
soils and little imports used more oats or other hearty grains. Warmer, more
accessible, soil-rich areas preferred wheat, but barley, Rye, etc. were
common and had wide usage.

In general, the higher in society one went, the lower the proportion of
unleavened/whole grains that were included in the "daily bread".

At least in Russia, bread and other food was used as a form of monetary
exchange for servants and vassals. A weekly portion was alloted for each
servant in the form of a huge loaf (or a half-loaf). This was supposed to
last for the week, so it must have been very large indeed (see the
Domostroi). The French brought over to the colonies a tradition for Miches,
or large, round loaves of "commom" bread, which weighed sufficient to last
for several days without going stale. My source says that they could weight
up to 16 lbs. (English Bread and Yeast Cookery, Elizabeth David, Viking
Press, NY 1980--but I'm quoting second hand).  

Not all breads were leavened. Some breads were leavened by captured yeast
(a/k/a spontaneous leaven), some by "starters" or "mothers" or "trees"
(portion of the dough reserved for the next batch). Some breads were leavend
with brewing yeast borrowed from the scum (for top-brewing strains more
common in period) or the lees (sediment leftover).

So, although we have a great deal of information, we once again are stuck
with the fact that, not having eaten bread in period, we can only make
educated guesses about texture, flour quality, leavening and grain content.
But as far as I'm concerned, that's the fun part.

Now, I have a question for the other bread-lovers out there:
  
I have seen recipes for "plain" bread, and rich bread with fruit included
(called Diet Bread!?!). Has anyone out there seen recipes for what we'd call
"herb" bread, or bread incorporating any other ingredients like cheese? Just
curious. I've seen nary a one(well, a few cheese-fritter recipes, but I'm
looking for loaf-bread recipes here). That doesn't mean they weren't
consumed, however, in period. I tend to have a rather narrow focus, not
looking much past central Europe unless an autocrat hands me a different
theme for the feast.  

Cheers,

Aoife
"Many things we need can wait. The child cannot."
				---Gabriela Mistral, Chilean Poet 1889-1957