SC - Pig parts - OOP, OT - now tomato leaves

[Decker, Terry D.]

Thank you for the recipe.  That brings to 6, the number of period bread
recipes of which I am aware, four of which are for rastons (or bastons, or
restons).  Two of these recipes are in the Harleian manuscripts and are the
same recipe with typographical differences.

The raston is an enriched dessert bread which becomes more elaborately
spiced over time.  The bread is much like brioche.  I would not liken it to
biscuit, because it is fairly obvious from the various recipes that it is
not twice baked.  

While the recipe is appropriate to the time, as an enriched bread it
probably would not have been used as trenchers.  Because of its use, I would
expect trencher bread to be denser than a loaf baked "as french bread."
"French bread," also known as "poufe" or "puffe," is a lighter bread which
appears in the latter half of the 13th Century.

Although not contemporary with your recipes and just out of Period, I think
Gervase Markham's recipe for cheat may be suitable for making trenchers.

Bear
 

> Bastons, Beinecke Manuscript, 15th Century
> Make a stif bature of yolkes of eyron, & paryed flour, & 
> sigure, a grete
> dele, & a lytle yest of new ale. set hit by the fyre, or els in a pot
> boylyng, that hit may take a lytyl hete. When hit is rysyd, 
> sweyng hit well
> togedyr that hit fall doun ayene. Loke thy oven be hote, & 
> clene swepyd;
> poure hit on the floure of the oven & bake hit as french bred. 
> Trenchers, Salt Cellars, and Breadcrumbs
> 26 C water (6 qt + 2C)
> 3-4 T yeast
> 1 C + 2 T honey
> 1 C + 2 T salt
> 9 lb. King Arthur white whole-wheat flour
> 16.25 lb. King Arthur all-purpose flour
> Proof yeast in water with sugar.  Add half the flours and let the
> sponge/biga rise.  Add the rest of the flours and knead until 
> elastic.  Let
> rise until doubled.  Shape into flat round loaves and let rise at room
> temperature until doubled again. Bake at 375 for 35-40 mins. 
> 	As you can see and as Terence Scully explains, Le 
> Ménagier mentions
> bread several times but offers no recipe. I selected an 
> English bread recipe
> from approximately the same time as the French dishes 
> selected for this
> meal. Note that it contains eggs and a lot of sugar, so it 
> was intended more
> as a biscuit recipe than a bread recipe. However, medieval 
> bread recipes are
> very scarce, so this is the best I could come up with from 
> the time period!
> -  Katja