[Sca-cooks] true medieval bread recipes

[Galefridus Peregrinus]

It is true that I have the original Arabic for nearly all of the extant medieval Islamic cookbooks, but I am afraid that I have not been following this thread closely. When I try to sort out the source of the original recipe, I get lost in the nested postings. If someone would provide a recap of the discussion and tell me which recipe in what cookbook, I will do my best to find the original Arabic and sort out whether the translation is accurate.

-- Galefridus 

> Message: 6
> Date: Sat, 24 Sep 2016 22:33:00 -0700
> From: David Friedman <ddfr at daviddfriedman.com>
> To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>
> Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] true medieval bread recipes
> Message-ID: <c1beaaaa-c51e-3f8b-9142-bb05864598ad at daviddfriedman.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8; format=flowed
> 
>> 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/