[Sca-cooks] A Dublin Archeologist Tries to Recreate Medieval Bread

[Terry Decker]

xxv. Rastons.—Take fayre Flowre, & þe whyte of Eyroun, & þe ȝolke, a lytel; 
þan take Warme Berme, & putte al þes to-gederys, & bete hem to-gederys with 
þin hond tyl it be schort & þikke y-now, & caste Sugre y-now þer-to, & þenne 
lat reste a whyle; þan kaste in a fayre place in þe oven, & late bake y-now; 
& þen with a knyf cutte yt round a-boue in maner of a crowne, & kepe þe 
cruste þat þou kyttyst; & þan pyke al þe cromys withynne to-gederys, an pike 
hem smal with þin knyf, & saue þe sydys & al þe cruste hole with-owte; & þan 
caste þer-in clarifiyd Boter, & Mille*. [melle A. (mix). ] þe cromeȝ & þe 
botere to-gedereȝ, & keuere it a-ȝen with þe cruste, þat þou kyttest a-way; 
þan putte it in þe ovyn aȝen a lytil tyme; & þan take it out, & serue it 
fortℏ.

Austin, Thomas, ed., Two Fifteenth-Century Cookery-Books, 1888.

Rastons should be classed as a dessert rather than a bread, as they were the 
province of the cook rather than the baker.  They evolve so that by the 16th 
Century they are further enriched and spiced with ginger, cinnamon, sugar, 
cloves and mace and are referred to as restons.

Bear

The article mentions a twice-baked raston:
"One type of medieval bread she makes with the students is from an old
English recipe. The “twice-baked raston” is bread that’s scooped out of the
crust, mixed with butter, put back in, and baked again."
Does anyone have a source for this? It sounds really interesting.

Penn