SC - Byzantine Bread Stamps

[CorwynWdwd@aol.com]

In a message dated 3/14/00 6:24:51 PM Eastern Standard Time, 
owner-sca-cooks at ansteorra.org writes:

<<  Okay, I give. What's Paine Pardu? I've been so steeped in
 > Platina over the last few months that maybe if you describe
 > what it is I can tell you if there's an equivalent. I've been
 > *dreaming* Platina, for pity's sake. (Why can't I dream in
 > my own time period? Spain and Portugal. Nice comfy
 > countries. Yeah, right.)
 
 French toast, basically.  Soak slices of bread in egg yolk, spinkle with
 cinnamon, fry in grease, spinkle on sugar, serve it forth.
 
 toodles, margaret >>


I should have looked at this earlier Jasmine. I worked on some recipes last 
fall, here they are; 

Two 15th Century Cookbooks (Take a Thousand Eggs)
Harleian MS. 4016
80. Payn purdeuz.  Take faire yolkes of eyren, and try hem fro the white,
and drawe hem thorgh a streynour; and then take salte, and caste thereto;
And then take manged brede or paynman, and kutte hit in leches; and then
take faire buttur, and clarefy hit, or elles take fressh grece and put
hit yn a faire pan, and make hit hote; And then wete the brede well there
in the yolkes of eyren, and then ley hit on the batur in the pan, whan
the buttur is al hote; And then whan hit is fried eyowe, take sugur
ynowe, and caste there-to whan hit is in the disshe, And so serve hit
forth.   

An Ordinance of Potage  (15th Cent.)
110. Payn purdyeu.
Take payndemayn or fresch bredd; pare awey the crustys.  Cut hit in
schyverys; fry hem a lytyll yn claryfyd buture.  Have yolkes of eyren
drawyn thorow a streynour & ley the brede theryn that hit be al helyd
with bature. Then fry in the same buture, & serve hit forth, & strew on
hote sygure.


A Period Recipe Recreated


Platina (1475) 8.63  Golden Balls

Toast chunks of bread crust a little on both sides.  When they are
toasted, soften with rose water in which there are both beaten eggs and
ground sugar. When they are taken out, fry in a pan with butter or fat,
far apart so that they do not touch each other.  When they are fried and
transferred into a serving dish, sprinkle with sugar and rosewater
colored with saffron.  This pleases M.
Antonius, not undeservedly, for it fattens the body, helps liver and
kidneys, and stimulates passion.

Recipe Recreation


Ingredients;
1 loaf of sourdough bread, cut into cubes (2” by 2”)

.25 LB of butter or lard

Dip;
12 large egg yolks

.66 cup rosewater

6 tsp. ground sugar (place sugar in a mortar or food processor and turn to 
powder like consistency)


Drizzle;
Combine .25 cup rosewater  and 4 saffron  threads, bring to a boil over low 
heat or place in a microwave oven for 30 seconds on high. Remove from heat 
and with a pestle or the back of a spoon, mash the saffron to release the 
colour and flavour.

.25 cup ground sugar  for sprinkling.

Method; 

Toast the bread cubes in a 400 degree oven. Turn to ensure toasting on all 
sides. Or for simplicity, cut into 1.5 inch slices and toast in a wide slot 
toaster.

Combine the egg yolk, rosewater and sugar. In a large bowl toss the bread and 
egg mixture to coat. If there is not enough coverage, combine 1 or 2 yolks 
and 2-4 tsp. rosewater with .5 tsp. sugar and add to the bowl, continue.

Heat butter in a large frying pan. Fry soaked bread for 3-5 minutes, shaking 
pan to ensure all sides are browned fully.

Place browned bread into a serving dish. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and 
drizzle with the rosewater syrup.

Serve warm.

This dish is wonderful served on it’s own or as an accompaniment to a simple 
pork sausage. 

Hauviette