[Sca-cooks] Period Bread-The Update

[Terry Decker]

>It is my understanding that period
>trenchers were made from a rougher flour, not the same stuff the
>manchets were made from. And that they were purposefully made
>with three day old bread, to make them harder and the food less
>likely to soak through.

English trenchers were wastel, which is a step down from manchet.  Depending
on the source, trencher bread is from 2 to 4 days old.

>Welcome to the "wonders" of breadmaking. :-) At least you didn't
>have a feast waiting on these. Think of the extra complexity of
>doing this using a period oven and naturally occuring yeasts... :-(
>
>--
>THLord Stefan li Rous    Barony of Bryn Gwlad    Kingdom of Ansteorra

Stefan, all yeasts are "naturally occurring."  Sourdough is still sourdough
and modern baker's yeast is ale barm in a convenient package.  The big
advantage to modern yeast is that some varieties have been tailored to work
better with heavily enriched doughs.

Period or modern oven, if it can handle the quantity required in the
necessary time, there is no real problem.  If it doesn't have the necessary
capacity, you are in a world of hurt.  Most baking, then and now, can be
done a day in advance.

Bear