SC - Rastons experiment

[Stefan li Rous]

I just tried my hand at making Rastons using the following message posted
here recently:

> Date: Mon, 9 Nov 1998 23:03:44 -0600
> From: "Decker, Terry D." <TerryD at Health.State.OK.US>
> Subject: RE: SC - Rastons (was: dumb Bread trencher Question)
> 
> > My rastons recipe (from Two Fifteenth Century Cookery Books) calls for you
> > to crumble the inside of the bread while keeping the sides and bottom crust
> > whole, adding butter to the crumbs and mixing, putting the top back on, and
> > rebaking the whole thing briefly.  No frying and no spices. Where is your
> > recipe from?
> >
> > Elizabeth/Betty Cook
> 
> No recipe.  The only reference I had handy was a set of general notes.  I'm
> running some comparisons between various authors.  This particular entry is
> from the general commentary in Sass's To The King's Taste.
> 
> As you raised the question, I located my copy of Sass and checked the raston
> recipe, rather than the commentary.  It is from Harleian and is as you
> stated.  Sass interprets this as mixing the butter and crumbs in the skillet
> used to melt the butter.
> 
> Bear

I started with a nine inch round sourdough loaf from the deli area of my local
grocery. It was several days old when I got around to making it. I would think
this would actually be more likely than a freshly baked loaf, anyway.

I cut off the top. I had originally thought I could crumble the bread inside
the crust, but ended up scooping it out into a bowl first, crumbling it there
and mixing it back into the bread while adding margarine (I didn't have any
butter). I first cooked it for six minutes at 400 degrees. When I checked it,
the center was still cool and the margarine unmelted. So I put it back in
the oven at 200 degrees for about 15 minutes more. I cooked it in a cake pan
on the top rack of a gas oven.

The end result was good, but not great. When I tried to cut it, the crust
burst into pieces. I don't think that is what I wanted.

On re-reading Bear's comments, I think next time I will try mixing the butter
and crumbs in a hot skillet and then putting them in the hollowed out bread
loaf. I assume you don't want so much butter that the crumbs get soggy but 
just how much butter (or margarine) would you use? I think I might try butter 
next time. Perhaps 300 degrees for 15 minutes instead of 200? Or maybe less
time if the butter and crumbs are already heated?

My only source has been the above message as I don't have the mentioned
cookbooks and I doubt these things are covered in there, anyway.

Suggestions? Comments? My appologies if this is too elementry for some.

Thanks.
  Stefan li Rous
  Ansteorra
  stefan at texas.net
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