[Sca-cooks] Manchet

[Phil Troy / G. Tacitus Adamantius]

On Sep 11, 2007, at 2:19 PM, Michael Gunter wrote:

> That's why I went with 350F. Any hotter and I didn't consider it a
> "gentle oven". I also just used the modern bread recommendation.
> 325F could work.

I'm thinking if you want them pale brown, with a soft crust, it might  
work, especially if you scale them down a bit.

>> Also, how big did you make them?
>
> It was bigger than recommended in period. I probably would have
> been better off cutting the risen dough in two pieces and making two
> loaves. The loaf was formed in about a 6" diameter circle and 3" or so
> domed. It rose to around twice that size when baked.

My vague recollection is that manchets are bigger than a modern roll,  
but otherwise a rather small loaf: maybe twice the size of a man's  
fist when baked. Bearing in mind this is not trencher bread, but  
"eating" bread, it probably equates to two decent-sized servings,  
especially sensible if you trim them, and allow for the shared two- 
serving cover concept... I haven't looked it up, but I wonder if the  
name is intended to indicate size.

Adamantius