looking for period bread recipe

muttman · Post by **muttman** » Wed Apr 09, 2003 12:41 pm

My wife who is still a newbie to the SCA and getting involved with stuff, is trying to get involved with our local cooks guild. The theme for this week is period breads and she needs a period bread recipe so she can make something to bring Saturday. She is having some trouble finding something so figured I`d give a shout out here to help her out.
Any Ideas/suggestions?
Thanks in advance
John

Xander · Post by **Xander** » Wed Apr 09, 2003 2:21 pm

white bread:

3.5 lb. strong white bread flour
3 oz lard or butter (lard works better)
0.5 oz frsh yeast
0.5 of a teaspoon of sugar
0.5 of a teaspoon of salt
0.75 pint of half milk half water (hand hot)

Add sugar to liquid and crumble in the yeast. Put flour on worksurface make a "well" in the middle sprinkle salt over it add the fat in small lumps around the edges. Add the liquid into the well and cover over with flour. Leave for 10-15 mins until frothy. work flour into liquid by hand until a soft dough is formed. Shouldnt stick to your hands.

Knead for 20-30 minutes.

Put aside covered with a damp cloth until it doubles in size, beat out all the air (knock back) Knead for 10mins. Cover with cloth and leave until doubled in size, knock back and shape.

for loaves prove again (leave covered with cloth)for 15 mins bake at 475f gas mark 9, for 30-45 mins. When you tap on the bottom and it sounds hollow it is cooked. Leave to cool do not cut for at least 20 mins but it is best to cut when it is completly cold.

For wholemeal bread use different flour (wholemeal i suppose) and use more liquid, for "poor mans bread" substitue half the ammount of whole meal flour for rye, oat meal or gram flour. not very tasty but perfect for "poor beggars".

recipe comes Gareth Riseborough's book "The recipe book of Gareth The Baker" if Any one wants some I can tell you where to get them.

Xander

Ohh btw the more you knead the better the bread will be.

WaaaghBoss · Post by **WaaaghBoss** » Wed Apr 09, 2003 3:55 pm

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>Originally posted by Xander:

Ohh btw the more you knead the better the bread will be.

<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

The more you need the bread the better it will be too! ;-)

Owen · Post by **Owen** » Wed Apr 09, 2003 5:16 pm

What period?

Bread is simple; flour, water, salt, yeast. Until very recently, they didn't even add the yeast, it was endemic and most breads were basicly sourdoughs. Eggs, butter or other fats, milk, are all fripperies to make it fancier.

------------------
Owen
"Death is but a doorway-
Here, let me hold that for you"

jester · Post by **jester** » Thu Apr 10, 2003 9:05 am

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>Originally posted by Owen:
What period?

Bread is simple; flour, water, salt, yeast. Until very recently, they didn't even add the yeast, it was endemic and most breads were basicly sourdoughs. Eggs, butter or other fats, milk, are all fripperies to make it fancier.

<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

One of the Roman writers describes bread being made in Gaul. The yeast was taken from the barm (the scum on top) of a batch of ale.

Owen · Post by **Owen** » Fri Apr 11, 2003 5:32 pm

It was also very common to bake and brew in the same place, as it worked. As it happens, bread yeast and beer yeast are the same species. I've seen the recipe you mention, it's basicly using a "sponge"; mixing yeast with a small amount of flour and water, or just mixing the flour and water and letting the wild yeasties do their thing, and letting it work so as to get an actively fermenting culture to pitch. In any case they didn't know WHAT it was, just that it helped.
Yeast is so endemic that it's hard to NOT make bread or beer, it gets into everything. Funny tidbit- Matza, unleavened bread, must be baked within 18 minutes of the water hitting the flour to be considered unleavened and kosher for Passover; "18" being the numerologic translation for the Hebrew word for "life" ("chai")! They knew if you leave it laying about, it leavens whether you want it to or not!
------------------
Owen
"Death is but a doorway-
Here, let me hold that for you"

[This message has been edited by Owen (edited 04-11-2003).]

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Fri Apr 11, 2003 6:56 pm

Greetings.
I doubt that a common period bread recipe would contain sugar...
Check out:

http://www.florilegium.org/

and go to the "Breads" section.
You will find recipes, information on grains etc and helpful tips.

Olga

Friedrich · Post by **Friedrich** » Fri Apr 11, 2003 9:33 pm

Unless it was very late period, sugar wouldn't have been available or used.

If you are looking for a sweetener, honey would have been much more likely.

Home-made brown ale (beer) also makes a great yeast starter and adds a rich flavor.

Xander · Post by **Xander** » Sat Apr 12, 2003 12:40 pm

I was thinking that too but It isn't my recipe as I already said. Just for taste I suppose leave it out if you want to make it perfectly period.

Xander

muttman · Post by **muttman** » Sat Apr 12, 2003 6:24 pm

thanks all, she found a recipe that she liked some Roman one with ricotta cheese and bay leaves. She`s at cooks guild now presumably having fun!
Thanks
John