SC - Stefan's recent wafer experiment

[ChannonM at aol.com]

In a message dated 9/29/99 2:27:08 AM Eastern Daylight Time, stefan at texas.net 
writes:

<< Admantius' recipe definitely is not as sweet as the Polish one and of
 course, doesn't have the saffron taste. I think I would like it sweeter
 for a dessert course, but that may not be a medieval thing. I also
 brushed melted margarine on the iron this time, instead of trying to pour
 on almond oil. I'm not sure it needed the butter or oil though as I never
 recoated the iron, but I didn't have any problems with the second or third 
 or fourth wafers sticking. >>

I apologize for stepping in midstream, but I thought I would offer some info 
that may be of some help. If it's duplicating info someone has already put 
forth, please bear with me.
I did a feast a few years back and made "A dish of Snowe" and wanted to serve 
it with wafers as is mentioned in the original recipe. Here is my work on the 
wafers.
The original recipe is found in Le Menagerie de Paris, 1393

Wafers (Gauffres) be made in five ways.  By one method you beat up the eggs 
in a bowl then add salt and wine and throw in flour and mix them, and then 
put them on two irons, little by  little, each time, as much paste as the 
size of a leche or strip of cheese, and press them between the two irons and 
cook on both sides and if the iron doth not separate easily from the paste 
grease it before hand.
The third method is that Strained Waffles (Gauffers couleisses) and they be 
called strained for this reason only, that the paste is clearer and it as it 
were boiled clear, after theaforesaid manner and onto it one scatters grated 
cheese and all is mixed together.

The fourth method is flour made into a paste with water, salt and wine 
without either eggs or cheese.
Item, the wafer makers make another kind called big sticks (gros bastons) 
which be made of flour made into a paste with eggs and powdered ginger.
  
My Recipe
8 eggs
1c sugar
1 c oil
2 1/2 c flour
2/3 c red wine
 Combine all ingredients. Using a “pizelle” waffle maker ( an Italian waffle 
like cookie press) pour approximately 1/8 cup of batter into the base. Press 
down and release in about 30 seconds or so. If a pizelle maker is not 
available you can simply drop batter onto a hot griddle, although the pizelle 
maker creates a beautiful lace like wafers. I don’t own one myself but 
enquired with all of my Italian friends and their  relatives and finally came 
up with someone who was happy to lend it to me. The results were great.
 This too did tend to brown, and I thought about using white wine, but the 
flavour was soooo much better with red. I incorporated the oil into the 
batter, this relieved any sticking issues and I never had to oil the iron. 
However, this was a teflon iron, which may have helped although in my early 
trials, they stuck anyway. In making these waffles for 150 people, the day 
before, I new that re-oiling the iron was going to be very time consuming.  
However the end result was everyone enjoyed them and I was not worse for wear.

Hauviette
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