[Sca-cooks] Generys' Feast/Rolls and butter

[Terry Decker]

A trencher loaf is a loaf of bread 6 to 8 inches in diameter and three to
four fingers thick.  Depending on where and when it is produced, a trencher
loaf is generally of coarse wheat or mixed wheat and rye (maslin).  It is
used between two and four days after baking.  Originally, they were split
and used in the round, but over time were trimmed and carved into squares
with attending ritual.  My research suggests that trenchers were used
primarily in Northern Europe from England to Poland, excluding Scandinavia
between the 9th and 13th Centuries with their use declining between the 14th
and 17th Centuries.

Table loaves would have been of wheat flour, bolted at least twice and
probably served as a 1 pound round loaf or an 8 oz manchet.  The larger
loaves were cut at the table by the diners, there being some illustrations
to that effect.  Rolls are mentioned in Platina but whether they resemble
modern dinner rolls is open to question.

There is evidence of butter being used as a condiment for bread, but the
extent of use is difficult to determine.  Flavored butters appear in
Elizabethean writings.  Honey butter appears only as a medicine.  You might
want to check Stefan's Florilegium for more detail about bread and butter.

Bear

>
>Generys wrote that she made rolls for her feast because they were easy, but
>wasn't sure if they were more period than bread.  For a formal occasion,
>wouldn't rolls be more appropriate?  Wouldn't loaves be used for trenchers?
>Also, is there any documentation for butter being served at a meal as
>restaurants do today?  This has been puzzling me for some time.
>
>Nancy Kiel