SC - Long-Period food, bread, etc.

[david friedman]

At 9:43 PM -0600 11/20/97, Decker, Terry D. wrote:

>I've got Markham's recipe and I was planning to experiment with it.  I
>do not have the recipe for the rastons and would appreciate it if you
>could post it when opportunity permits or if you know where it can be
>found online, point me in the right direction.

from our Miscellany:
Rastons
Two Fifteenth Century p. 52

Take fayre Flowre, and the whyte of Eyroun, and the yolk, a lytel; than
take Warme Berme, and putte al thes to-gederys, and bete hem to-gederys
with thin hond tyl it be schort and thikke y-now, and caste Sugre y-now
ther-to, and thenne lat reste a whyle; than kaste in a fayre place in the
oven, and late bake y-now; and then with a knyf cutte yt round a-boue in
maner of a crowne, and kepe the crust that thou kyttyst; and than pyke al
the cromys with-ynne to-gederys, an pike hem smal with thyn knyf, and saue
the sydys and al the cruste hole with-owte; and than caste ther-in
clarifiyd Botor, and mille the cromes and the botor to-gederes, and keuere
it a-gen with the cruste, that thou kyttest a-way; than putte it in the
ovyn agen a lytil tyme; and than take it out, and serue it forth. [end of
original--I think I replaced all the thorns with th's, but if something
looks funny I probably missed one]

2 1/4 c flour 	1/2 T dried yeast (mixed with 1/2 c water)
2 egg whites 	1/2 c sugar
1 egg yolk 	1 c butter

After mixing all ingredients except for butter, let the dough rise 45
minutes to an hour. Mold the dough on a greased cookie sheet, let rise a
little more. Bake at 350° about 1 hour. Cut off top as described, mix
insides of loaf with melted butter, and replace top. Second baking is about
5 minutes at the same temperature.

and also from the Miscellany...
On Bread
Platina pp. 13-14 (Book 1)

... Therefore I recommend to anyone who is a baker that he use flour from
wheat meal, well ground and then passed through a fine seive to sift it;
then put it in a bread pan with warm water, to which has been added salt,
after the manner of the people of Ferrari in Italy. After adding the right
amount of leaven, keep it in a damp place if you can and let it rise. ...
The bread should be well baked in an oven, and not on the same day; bread
from fresh flour is most nourishing of all, and should be baked slowly.

1 1/2 c sourdough 	1 c whole wheat
2 1/4 c warm water 	5 3/4 c white flour: 5 1/4 c at first, 1/2 c later
1 T salt

Put sourdough in a bowl. Add warm (not hot!) water and salt, mix. Add whole
wheat flour, then white, 1 or 2 c at a time, first stirring in with a
wooden spoon and then kneading it in. Cover with a wet towel, set aside.
Let rise overnight (16-20 hours). Turn out on a floured board, shape into
two or three round loaves, working in another 1/2 c or so of flour. Let
rise again in a warm place for an hour. Bake at 350° about 50 minutes.
Makes 2 loaves, about 8" across, 3"-4" thick, about 1.5 lb, or three
smaller loaves.

>>> To be a little closer to period, I would use a pinch of sugar in the
>>> water to help start the yeast and leave out the rest of the sugar.  I'd
>>> probably also use less yeast, but those are just minor arguments of
>>> technique.
>>

Sugar is not necessary to start the yeast; yeast does just fine on flour
(see Platina recipe above).  Also, given how expensive sugar was and how
basic a food bread was, I find it hard to believe that sugar would have
been a standard ingredient, even in small quantity.  For my ordinary home
baking, I normally use a scant tablespoon (= 1 envelope) dried yeast per
1.5-1.75 lb loaf; Marian of Edwinstow, who uses the sponge method, I
believe uses a third of that.

Elizabeth/Betty Cook



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