St. Patrick (was Re: SC - Haggis shop???)

[Elysant1@aol.com]

> > > +I don't know if tops of the loaves were slashed in medieval Poland, > 
>Probably not for a trencher.  Table loaves are a different matter.
>
>That makes sense. (One of my books suggested slashing bread dough inorder
>to direct the rise, so that the bread would spread out one way and not
>another?)

I have been picturing that slashes around the loaf (either right around the 
edge in a circle, or four slashes squaring the circle at the edges, would 
usefully direct the rise straight upward.  Which would make the job of 
splitting the trencher through the middle of the loaf easier.  Using 
somthing like a wooden spoon handle to punch directly in the center top of 
the loaf would keep the top from being inconveniently rounded.

Then again, I thought they 'peeled' the crust and trimmed the horizontal 
slices into nice squares of bread that would be replaced often throughout 
the meal.  The half loaves with crusts we seem to be imagining sound likely 
to survive most of an SCA feast without replacement.  Are we aiming for the 
right thing here?

Bonne
(who is recently home from travelling cross-country to visit her neice, the 
beautiful Sophia.  Oh, and my brother and sister-in-law were there too, 
conveniently at hand to take the little darling when she was doing anything 
other than burble and smile.  It is good to be the Auntie!)

BTW Huette--some of your avocados were taken as gifts,and much apprecieated!
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