SC - Cordial question

[William Seibert]

Hi Caroline & all
Just some more 'bready' thoughts to pass onto you cooking info circle.
I'd have no problems about you also passing on my bread experiment article
in the WC newsletter 67. if that might help people - there is also my
research (in a 1997 WC newsletter) on the quantities of food given to
soldiers and galley marines which might be of interest but I don't have an
electronic copy of either text anymore.

The bread(s) I've been experimenting with are the various mixed grain
types. 
At least one of these was called 'horse bread' during the C15th and this
appears to have been an inferior quality bread (if we are to believe the
complaints of soldiers issued with it as rations) made from a mixture of
pea/bean flour and wheat flour. I've also experimented with rye/wheat and
barley/flour mixes as well. There is also refferance to a 3 grain bread -
wheat, rye & bean/pea - but I've not tried this yet.

Why it was called 'horse' bread is open to various interpretations but
there are C15th documented refferances (I'll try & get you the exact source
details) in hunting manuals to the fact that bread was to be specifically
baked for both horses and hounds. The reason for having the latter was that
it was used in the hunt at a 'kill' - (the bread for the dogs was dipped
into the blood of the kill and fed to the dogs) - I suppose this was to
keep them off the meat whilst still maintaining their interest in the hunt.
Whether the horse bread & hound bread was made from the same recipe I have
no idea.
Another theory about the name 'horse bread' is that the beans used were
what are still called 'Horse Beans' in parts of the west country (UK) even
today. These are a small beaned version of the broad bean family, grown
today as a feed crop for livestock and a nitrogen 'fixing' agent, which
when dried produce a very 'powdery' flour. I personally think this is an
unlikely reason for the 'horse bread' name as peas were used as well as
beans - but its a thought.  

Another possible reason for the mixed grain is that the resulting 'bread'
is a lot harder & denser in it's constituency than ordinary wheat bread -
more like a biscuit. This does make it ideal material for platters and
serving (a bit like modern German rye breads) but I doubt if bread was
specifically baked for this purpose - there are C15th household accounts
that mention that platters should be made from the cheaper darker bread but
also this should ideally be at least 3 or 4 days old (eg. stale). Again
going back to the hunting theme - both dogs and horses are still fed
biscuit today so maybe the mixed grain 'breads' were baked without yeast
and included some fat in them making them much harder. This would make them
less bulky and breakable in transit and therefore more suitable for taking
on a hunt or a longer journey. My own experiments have produced mixed grain
bread which have not risen at all well which, leaving aside my poor baking
skills, is probably the result of the low gluten in the pea/bean flour.
Also the resulting 'bread' has come out very 'yeasty' in taste & smell
which would seem to indicate that maybe yeast was not used.
I've not tried the mixed wheat/pea or bean flour in biscuit recipes but
will be doing so in the next few weeks and will report back on the
results.The fact that the bean bread also retains it's salty taste more
than either the rye, pea or barley flour could result in a more 'savoury'
biscuit.
If we also consider another possible link to biscuits (this is a bit
tenuous) - C14/15th Italian galley marines were issued with a considerable
amount of dried beans per head per day, as rations - but no bread or flour.
Beans (& the resulting biscuit) would keep much better onboard ship than
pre-ground flour or bread and could be easily ground with hand mills or
taken ashore to be ground in larger mills if required. Without the need for
yeast it would be simplicity itself to bake the bean flour into flat
biscuit type 'bread' on-board ship. In addition the beans could be used in
pottages as well. 
  
The recipe I've based all my experiments on is an adaptation of the Maggie
Black recipe from the Weald & Down Open Air Museum Cookbook (I think this
is now out of print which is a great shame as it's a great source of modern
adaptations of medieval & renaissance recipes) :-
BAYLEAF FARMHOUSE BREAD
1 lb (450g) - Pea/ Bean/Barley/Rye flour*
1 lb 14oz (850g) - strong white baking flour~
2 oz (50g) - rice/corn flour^ 
1 oz (25g) - dried yeast (fresh is much better)
11/2 tablespoons salt (you will need to reduce this for the beans)
4 tea spoons clear honey
1/4 pint (150 ml) strong brown ale# 
1 - 11/4 pint (575-850 ml) warm water

(* I used dried butter beans, yellow split peas and dried pearl barley,
which I ground in an electronic coffee grinder bought specifically for the
purpose. The rye flour came from a health food shop. Dried marrow fat peas
are actually more 'period' than any other form of modern pea/bean, but I
have heard that the flour from these starts to 'de-grade' very quickly once
mixed with water - but I've not tried this yet).
(~ You could use a 50/50 strong white to rye flour mix which produced a
very acceptable loaf - which did rise - just keep the total flour weight
consistant). 
(^ I'm not too sure about this as it's a bit 'rich' for inclusion in a
'cheap' bread ?).
(# Possibly this was included by Maggie to represent the fact that most
C15th yeast was a brewing by-product but that's only my own personal
guess).

Maggie also has some recipes for oatmeal 'cakes' which I've tried and which
went down very well with my various guinea-pigs at events. They're made
from a 50/50 oatmeal/wheat flour mix with suet but also include parsley
(I've made them with veggie suet & they work just as well). I'll dig out
the recipe for these and forward them onto you in my next communication.

I hope all of this is 'useful' ?
The C13th refferace to bean bread is very interesting and I'd like to have
a look at the original text for any other 'clues'.
Regards
Mark Fry  
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