SC - flour milling

[Decker, Terry D.]

In a message dated 3/30/99 12:54:00 AM Eastern Standard Time, stefan at texas.net
writes:

<< Is "stone ground" just a more homey way of saying a vertical axis mill
 rather than actually referring to the material of the grinding surface? >>

No stone ground means exactly that. The millstones are made of stone. Stone
ground flours are readily available, at least in my neck of the woods in any
food market. The SCA cook who  added pebbles to his bread a few years back to
produce  'authentic' stone ground' flour obviously had not visited his
supermarket on top of being completely  in the dark about the milling process.

Many things that we try to do 'ourselves' in the SCA would have been done by
'commercial' enterprises during the MA just as they are done today. Various
common sauces, breads, cakes, rolls, and even pastries, meat pies, smoked and
freshly butchered meats, etc. as well as, spice mixes were as readily
available in the market place as they are now. Folks living in an urban
setting made extensive use of these products. Folks on the 'farm' would have
made their own  with the surplus supplying the market. In order to understand
the MA and it's culture, one must always think highly advanced 'agricultural'
society. Failing to do so results in a skewed perception of the culture and
many false assumptions such as the pebbles in flour absurdity or the equally
ludicrous 'primitive' peoples viewpoint.

Ras
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