[Sca-cooks] Arts and Sciences; bread

[Terry Decker]

> Personally, I find it's best not to worry too much about measuring the 
> flour-- I just measure the liquid and add flour 'til it be enow.
>
> 10 cups of flour does sound like an awful lot to mix with just 1.5c. of 
> water, though... just on a notional basis, I would have said ~5c. would do 
> it.
>
>
> -- 
> Antonia di Benedetto Calvo

When I adapted the manchet recipe from the Good Huswife's Handmaid for an 
Elizabethan feast in 2001, I got 5-6 cups of flour to 1.5 cups of water.  So 
I'm a lettle curious about the calculations.

When doing seriously large batches of bread, measuring by weight is the only 
way to go to get the ingredient ratios right.  Small batch recipes have 
enough wiggle room that the measures approximate the correct ratios.  I too 
tend to measure the liquids, add yeast, sponge or starter, as appropriate, 
then add any other solid ingredients with the first couple of cups of flour, 
adding additional flour a cup or a half cup at a time until I get the 
consistency of dough I want.

Bear