[Sca-cooks] manchets

[Linda Peterson]

Do you think the stiffness of the dough might relate to the humidity 
differences?  Mirhaxa

   mirhaxa at morktorn.com

On Mon, 29 Nov 2010, Terry Decker wrote:
> Interesting.  I don't think you have my latest experimentation with manchets 
> from the recipe in The Good Huswife's Handmaide for the Kitchen in the 
> Florilegium.
>
> I have tried to determine the actual weight of the flour in the recipe 
> because bushels used in trade varied in weight between 56 and 60 pounds 
> avoir. depending on what measures were used.  Using these weights in the 
> recipe did not produce the expected results.  Research brought me to the 
> Tower pound, which was in use at the time the recipe was written.  A bushel 
> would have weighed 64 Tower pounds.  A Tower pound was roughly 350 grams, 
> which means a bushel weighed 22.4 kg or 49.25 lb avoir.
>
> By using the Tower pound, which would likely be the common measure, as the 
> measure produced results that I believe are more in keeping with the recipe. 
> While this is home recipe, the weights also mean that the heavier bushels of 
> flour would produce a few more loaves, an advantage for a commercial baker.
>
> Using a half bushel of 32 Tower lbs, subtract 8 Tower pounds of chesill, 
> leaving 24 Tower lbs of fine flour (8.4 kg).
>
> Liquid measure is the Elizabethean wine gallon of 128 fluid ounces which is 
> also the modern U.S. gallon measure.
>
> A handful of salt is estimated to be 1/2 cup or 24 teaspoons.
>
> Translating this to 1/10th of the original recipe:
>
> 29.5 oz avoir (or 840 g) flour
> 14.5 fl. oz. water (includes the additional fluid of the ale barm)
> 2.5 teaspoons salt
> 1 scant Tablespoon of dry active yeast (approx. 1/4 oz avoir. or one packet)
> Additional flour for kneading
>
> Proof the yeast in the liquor (which emulates an ale barm), then add the 
> liquor to the mixed dry ingredients.
>
> This makes a very stiff dough that is hard to knead by hand, so I used the 
> Kitchenaide to do most of the kneading and finished it by hand, adding a 
> little flour to keep the dough from sticking..
>
> Divide into 6 equal pieces.  Scatter coarse meal (I used corn meal) on the 
> baking sheet to keep the dough from sticking.  Shape dough and place on 
> baking sheet.  Let rise 30 minutes.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Bake for 
> about an hour.
>
> Unbleached flour will produce a white crumb.  Whole wheat pastry flour will 
> produce a light brown crumb.
>
> Bear