[Sca-cooks] true medieval bread recipes

[David Friedman]

On 9/24/16 12:35 PM, Susan Lord wrote:

> Since I was criticized by an SCA reader, when I have a recipe that is 
> not based on a specific medieval manuscript, it is stated - like "Emma 
> Cohen’s" or "the Medieval Spanish Chef’s" etc. I do not believe I am 
> misleading people. Take for instance fried testicles. Ok there is not 
> MS recipe that I have found to date but I think it is elementary that 
> they were fried. 
I couldn't always tell whether you were citing a period source--in 
particular, "FROM THE ARCHIVES OF BARONESS OF ALMISERAT"

As I mentioned, none of your footnote links seem to work, at least for me.
> Since I was criticized for not publishing the original recipe of those I used, I am publishing it. The reader can check me to verify if I am sticking to the original and if not what the variations might be.
Wonderful. I wish all secondary sources did that.
> Please tell me what discrepancies you might have.
I believe I already did so for two of the recipes on your blog:

Masador.  "Your recipe had lots of manipulations not described in the 
text and two ingredients, eggs and goat milk powder, not in the 
original. It may have produced tasty rolls but it wasn't consistent with 
the original."

For your acorn bread:

"No acorns in the original, so when you describe it as "a variation of" 
you mean that you have changed the main ingredient. You also add fat or 
oil and honey or sugar and an egg, none of which are in the original."

In the notes to your translation in the Floriligium you have:

/soba//bien sobada/, to knead; to add lard or oil dough during the 
kneading process. Literally, this consists of dipping hands in grease 
when kneading dough.

That explains the oil but not why the words mean that. Looking at a 
modern dictionary "sobar" seems to mean "knead," so I'm guessing that a 
literal translation would be "knead well kneaded." How do you (or your 
source) get from that to adding lard or oil to the dough? Is the phrase 
used in modern Spanish for that style of kneading? Is it translating 
something in the Arabic that implies that?

I believe Galefridus has the Arabic text, so perhaps he can check. 
Looking at the Perry translation (from the Arabic) of the other 
Andalusian cookbook, I'm not noticing anything similar.

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