[Sca-cooks] Bread and yeast history (Re: Period Pretzels, yet again...)
JIMCHEVAL at aol.com
JIMCHEVAL at aol.com
Mon Feb 18 22:04:30 PST 2013
Following up on this:
"The bread of Gonesse is considered good and yet it is made without yeast."
Traité de la police, où l'on trouvera l'histoire de son ..., Volume 2
By Nicolas Delamare page 503
"It is why the large bread of Gonesse, in which there is only simple
leavening [that is, sourdough],... dries more promptly than any other bread."
Descriptions des arts et métiers, Volume 1
Dr. Malouin, in Elie Bertrand's series page 200
So no, the bread of Gonesse was not only not made with yeast, it was known
for being made with the standard leavening (sourdough).
These are eighteenth century references, following the introduction of
yeast into French bread-baking in the late seventeenth century. But from a
medieval point of view, what is important to know is that, in bread-baking at
least, the standard leavening - by all evidence, from the Romans on - was
sour dough.
Jim Chevallier
www.chezjim.com
Newly translated from Pierre Jean-Baptiste Le Grand d'Aussy:
Eggs, Cheese and Butter in Old Regime France
In a message dated 2/17/2013 11:50:36 P.M. Pacific Standard Time,
JIMCHEVAL at aol.com writes:
I know quite a bit about Gonesse (whose water was credited with the
excellence of its bread), but I've never seen it claimed that yeast was
used
there. Can you cite a source that says as much?
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