Event bread (was SC - Flours)

[david friedman]

Brandu wrote:
>
>PS  I am planning to cook an event --about 130 -- soon(my first!), with
>7 working full size ovens. But I have limited storage. I was hoping to
>do fresh baked breads or good meat pasties (or hopefully both).
>I figure that means about 14 loaves and 28 large pasties.
>Does any-one have any ideas how I can do this with a minimum of
>precooking, and not tear my hair out?
>
My standard loaf (about 3 1/2 c flour, ends up about 1 3/4 lb, fits in a
9"x5" loaf pan) will feed about 8 people along with the rest of dinner.
(Note that loaf pans are not period; as far as I can tell, the typical
period loaf was just a hemisphere.) That would mean 16 loaves of this size
for your expected turnout.  I would mix up the dough the night before in
two very large (6-gallon?) pots, knead the dough in the pot, being careful
to mix in all the flour in the corners of the pot, cover with a wet cloth
and set to rise somewhere cool overnight (so it doesn't rise too fast).  In
the morning when you get to the site, shape your loaves (I bake
period-shaped loaves on a large cookie sheet, about three loaves per
sheet), let rise again and bake; your ovens are now clear for pasties or
whatever.  You have enough ovens (seven ovens! what luxury!) that you can
bake on only one rack in each oven, which works a lot better than trying to
get an even baking doing it on more than one level.  As ovens often have
hot or cool spots in them, it is probably worth turning the cookie sheets
around when the bread is half baked. Have one oven thermometer for each
oven--and test them all in your oven at home before the event to see if
they all agree.  Do one oven's worth of bread (using the recipe you will be
using for the event) at home sometime before the event just to make sure it
works.

For advice on how to cook a feast, see our article in the _Miscellany_; if
you can't get to the online copy, tell me and I will email it to you.

Elizabeth/Betty Cook


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