[Sca-cooks] Prince-Bisket Question

[Terry Decker]

>From the instructions as given, I would say that a ceramic loaf pan is 
called for.  However, no size is given.  Generally, loaf pans tended to be 
small, while larger ceramic coffins tended to be round.  And this does not 
rule out smaller ceramic molds that would be similar to the biscuit molds of 
the 18th Century.  In terms of getting the proper crispness practically, I 
would either use a loaf pan then slice the result and do a second bake as 
for biscotti or use a flat mold to produce a thin crisp cookie.

Linguistically, the issue is that Platt doesn't actually call for a second 
bake.  It may be that this is the period where the English usage of biscuit 
changed from referring to a twice baked bread product to meaning any small 
hard baked cookie or cracker.  If that is the case, we can't rule out your 
interpretation of small biscuits on a baking sheet.

Bear


I haven't made prince-bisket for many years but thought I would do a
batch for this year's Pennsic, since it keeps. Looking over the recipe,
it occurred to me that I had interpreted "biscuit" as something close to
the size and shape of a modern biscuit. The term actually means "twice
cooked," although the Hugh Platt recipe I use doesn't actually say to
cook it a second time. It does say to "bake it in coffins, of white
plate, however, which sounds to me closer to a loaf pan or pie tin than
to the 3" biscuits on a cookie sheet that we used to make.

Any opinions on how one should interpret the final part of the recipe?

---

Take one pound of very fine flower, and one
pound of fine sugar, and eight egges, and two
spoonfuls of Rose water, and one ounce of
Carroway seeds, and beat it all to batter one
whole houre: for the more you beat it, the better
your bread is: then bake it in coffins, of white
plate, being basted with a little butter before you
put in your batter, and so keep it.


-- 
David Friedman
www.daviddfriedman.com
http://daviddfriedman.blogspot.com/