SC - Early Medieval Irish Bread and Porridges

[David Dendy]

> Master Cariadoc said:
> > What we used to do for trenchers long ago was to get a baker to make us
> > small, flat, round loaves and then cut them in half, giving two circular
> > bread "plates."
> 
> However, do you have any evidence to trenchers ever being round? The
> pictures
> I've seen all show the trenchers to be almost square, with the crust cut
> off on all sides. I believe there are some period instructions on cutting
> trenchers that also support this.
> 
This is open to question.  Cutting a square trencher is very tricky without
a good bread knife.  Having played with this a little, I think that the
square trencher is primarily to show off the carver's skill.  To my
knowledge, the instructions for cutting trenchers are only in late period
English carving and manners manuals.

> However, round with crust, or square with the crusts cut off, trenchers
> are
> still a very period thing that I don't think has been done much in the
> SCA.
> 
This is a matter of economics and time.  A trencher loaf is about 10 ounces
and provides two trenchers.  The trencher is not eaten and several may be
used per person during a feast.

A cheat to get around this is to use a coffee can loaf cut into 1 inch
slices.  It is not authentic and it is not as effective as a real trencher,
but it provides the illusion of using bread trenchers.  Relatively dry foods
can be served to the trenchers while more liquid foods should be served in a
bowl.

> Also, there is evidence that trenchers were not made of the best bread.
> A denser bread may have lessened the chance of juices seeping through the
> trencher as well as being cheaper to produce.
> 
Trenchers were wastel made from wheat flour of the second quality.  I've
used both 1:1 and 2:1 mixtures of stone ground whole wheat and all purpose
flour in my trencher experiments.

The trenchers are used four days old, soft enough to cut, dry enough to be
absorbent.  They appear to have been changed out during a feast to avoid
leakage.

> Perhaps a whole-wheat bread produced in a bread-machine, which often
> produce square loaves would be a reasonable substitution and be more
> economical than cutting off large sections of a round loaf. You
> could get about half-a-dozen trenchers from one loaf I would expect,
> perhaps more with the bigger machines. I've not priced modern grains.
> I wonder if using a substatial amount of rye or oats would be both
> more accurate still and even cheaper.
> 
> -- 
> Lord Stefan li Rous    Barony of Bryn Gwlad    Kingdom of Ansteorra
> 
The bread machine loaves would probably be similar to the coffee can loaves.

When you consider the cost and use of trencher loaves, they represent
conspicuous consumption.  They are less desirable than the white loaves
served at a noble's feast, but they are far superior to the loaves the poor
can afford and therefore represent significant alms.  To adulterate such
loaves with oats or rye would be pleading poverty and might be considered
uncharitable.

As for today, all purpose wheat flour is the cheapest flour available.  Rye,
oats, barley and whole wheat carry premium prices. 

If you want to make experimental trenchers, take a basic bread recipe which
uses only flour, water, yeast and salt.  Use a blend of all pupose and whole
wheat flour.  Follow the recipe.  For the second rise, take a ball of dough
about 3 1/2 inches in diameter.  Flatten it into a round loaf about six to
seven inches in diameter about 1 inch thick.  Put it on a greased baking
sheet and let it rise for an hour or two.  Gently press down on the top to
flatten, then bake as directed.

The more whole wheat flour, the denser the loaf and, generally, the less
rise you get.

Bon Chance 

Bear  
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