No subject

herbs were added to rye breads, thus caraway rye and dill rye are late
period and probably occur much earlier.  A translation of part of the bread
section was provided by Nanna some time ago and should be in the
Florilegium.

As a generalization, northern Europe used ale barm for leavening while
southern Europe tended to sourdough.  These are probably cultural variations
based primarily on how often beer is used and how quickly it spoils.  There
is some supporting evidence in some of the baking regulations, but
definitively proving the generalization is probably impossible.  There is
also a strong possibility that both barm and sourdough starter were used to
prepare sponges which would be used to leaven a batch of bread.

Bear

>Bear, a friend of mine asked me this: "Did Germans or Scandinavians use
>cheeses or fruits in their breads in period?And if they did, did they use
>extra water or start with a sponge for a base?" What I remember from my
>history of breads class was that no, they didn't- cheese was too expensive,
>and I couldn't remember about the fruits, either dried or fresh.  So could
>you please share some of your cast knowledge of period breads with the
list?
>
>Finnebhir Moon Dancer
>Rhiallu Ulfhednar
>Vanished Woods Shire
>Middle Kingdom