[Sca-cooks] Period Flour Query and shortbread
Phil Troy / G. Tacitus Adamantius
adamantius1 at verizon.net
Fri Feb 9 03:31:36 PST 2007
On Feb 9, 2007, at 1:55 AM, Stefan li Rous wrote:
> I'm not sure that wheat was grown in Scotland in period, much less
> rice. Yes, it could have been imported, but I don't remember that
> much grain/flour trade going on over long distances in medieval times
> or even the 16th century. Certainly not on the level that was
> apparently being done in Classical times. However, I'm willing to
> listen to contrary info. Wool out and wheat in?
>
> However, the period recipes that I was referring to, don't specify
> the type of flour.
I believe the addition of rice flour is a modern one (or more so than
the earliest printed shortbread recipes, anyway), designed to reduce
total gluten content: I think they may be simulating some of the
finer and more expensive pastry flours.
Adamantius
"S'ils n'ont pas de pain, vous fait-on dire, qu'ils mangent de la
brioche!" / "If there's no bread to be had, one has to say, let them
eat cake!"
-- attributed to an unnamed noblewoman by Jean-Jacques Rousseau,
"Confessions", 1782
"Why don't they get new jobs if they're unhappy -- or go on Prozac?"
-- Susan Sheybani, assistant to Bush campaign spokesman Terry
Holt, 07/29/04
More information about the Sca-cooks
mailing list