[Sca-cooks] researching recipes

[Stefan li Rous]

Lady Hrosvitha von Celle asked:
> Greetings!  I have riecently become interested in baking and on Nov 2nd I am
> planning on entering my first "real" competition.  I have 2 problems:
>
> 1) I have a recipe that I love, know how to make and want to use.  I am fairly
> certain that it is period, but I can't prove it.  Suggestions on how to "work
> backwards" with the documentation?  I can give more specifics as needed.

It's almost always better to start with the period evidence or recipe and
work forward, rather than back. However, give us more details (if you haven't
by now) and let us see what we can recommend.


> 2) Bread.  When subsitiuting sourdough starter for "dry active yeast"  what is
> a good amount to use? And were can I find a period starter recipe?  I have
> seen them with flour & water  and also flour/milk/sugar combos.


The resulting bread is like to differ depending upon which yeast version
you use. We only have a half-dozen to dozen period bread recipes so a
"period" starter is questionable. Also, I think it would be almost
impossible to not have the yeast strain change a bit over the intervening
time period. How much that would change the bread is unknown.

However, perhaps these files in the FOOD-BREAD section of the Florilegium
(www.florilegium.org) might be of use:
BNYeast-art       (14K)  4/24/97    "A Brief Note on Yeast" by Katerine Rountre.
bread-msg        (185K)  9/19/01    Medieval breads and grains.
brd-mk-sour-msg   (58K) 11/13/00    Breadmaking -Period sourdough bread recipes.

yeasts-msg        (72K)  7/ 6/00    Medieval use of yeast. Using it in the CMA.


Stefan li Rous
StefanliRous at austin.rr.com