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brd-mk-flat-msg - 1/19/08

Breadmaking -Period unleavened or flattish shaped bread recipes. Griddle cakes.

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From: Kevin Riley <lindo at radix.net>

Newsgroups: rec.org.sca

Subject: Re: Camp Bread, In period

Date: Wed, 02 Oct 1996 20:19:50 +0000

TJorDan001 wrote:

> Recent readings have started my brain bubbling and certain questions are

> driving me nuts. Foremost among them, at the moment, is the question of

> bread on the march. Bread appears to have been the staple food of

> soldiers on campaign yet I have yet to find more than vague references to

> the ovens used to cook them.

(snip)

This doesn't exactly answer the question about ovens, but here's a

recipe for Bannocks that can be cooked either on a griddle (or other

flat piece of metal). If anyone can tell me what might have been used

to substitute for the baking soda...

I imagine you could get a cakey bannock by using an egg and some milk

instead of baking soda and water. Haven't tried it yet.

Griddle Bannocks:

1-1/3 c. med. oatmeal

large pinch salt

1 T. dripping or lard

1/4 t. baking soda

6 T. hot water

Mix dry ingred. together. Melt dripping and pour it into center, then

stir enough hot water to make a stiff dough.

Knead thoroughly on floured board. Divide into two halves. Roll each

into 8" circles, 1/4" thick. Cut into quarters (known as 'farls').

Cook on a griddle over medium heat. Should only take a few minutes;

done when edges begin to curl. (I tend to roll them too thick, which

means they cook longer; I figure they're done when they get crumbly and

brown.)

Can also be baked in an oven at 325 degrees for 30 minutes.

Newsgroups: rec.org.sca

Subject: Re: Camp Bread, In period

Date: Tue, 8 Oct 1996 15:09:57 -0600

Organization: Calgary Free-Net

On 4 Oct 1996 bard at csnsys.com wrote:

> Kevin Riley <lindo at radix.net> wrote:

> >This doesn't exactly answer the question about ovens, but here's a

> >recipe for Bannocks that can be cooked either on a griddle (or other

> >flat piece of metal). If anyone can tell me what might have been used

> >to substitute for the baking soda...

> >

> >I imagine you could get a cakey bannock by using an egg and some milk

> >instead of baking soda and water. Haven't tried it yet.

> Just be sure you don't burn them!

Greetings my lords and ladies. re the questions above:

1. substitutes for baking soda ; one that was often used in the eighteenth

and nineteenth centuries in the back-blocks of western canada was wood-ash

from trees such as poplars. the ash was (is?) relatively high in the

active ingredient of baking soda. Note : I am not recommending that

anyone experiment with this.

2. effect of adding milk and/or egg to a bannock recipe. If you

substitute milk for water in bannock you gett a richer tasting result, but

the consistencey of the bread is not noticably different.

effect of adding an egg : beat the egg well before adding it, and mix it

with the water or milk before adding it to the dry ingredients. You will

need a little less water or milk. Again the results are richer tasting

but not otherwise much different.

For the richest tasting bannock in the world, make the following

substitutions :

instead of lard or shortening, use unsweetened butter

instead of water, use whole milk

add 1 egg (reduce liquid by an equivalent amount, approximately)

add a generous handfull of raisins to the dry ingredients, before

adding the liquid. Rinse the raisins before adding them so that they will

distribute evenly through the batter, (due to each one now being coated

with flour.)

The relative consistency of cake compared to bread/bannock etc. is due to

1) the raising agent and 2) the proportions of flour and liquid.

Substituiting (sp?) milk for water doesn't materially affect the

consistency of the dough.

Leaving out the baking powder, as the orriginal sender seems to imply will

give you something the consistency of a brick, unless you add some other

rising agent.

Hope this is of some help.

Aldreada of the Lakes (D. Booker, Montengard, Avacal, An Tir)

From: david friedman <ddfr at best.com>

Date: Fri, 6 Jun 1997 00:10:43 -0700 (PDT)

Subject: Re: SC - Period Recipes

A few of my relatively recent discoveries are two frying pan pastries (13th

c. Islamic) and a frying pan bread (16th c. North Indian--Mughal). The

recipes are in the current Miscellany, but may not be in the online

version, which was based (last I checked) on the previous edition:

Recipe for Murakkaba, a Dish which is Made in the Region of Constantine and

is Called Kutmiyya

Andalusian p. A-62

Knead a well-made dough from semolina like the "sponge" dough with yeast,

and break in it as many eggs as you can, and knead the dough with them

until it is slack. Then set up a frying pan of clay [hantam] on a hot fire,

and when it has heated, grease it with clarified butter or oil. Put in a

thin flat loaf of the dough and when the bread is done, turn over. Take

some of the dough in the hand and smear the surface of the bread with it.

Then turn the smeared surface to the pan, changing the lower part with the

upper, and smear this side with dough too. Then turn it over in the pan and

smear it, and keep smearing it with dough and turning it over in the

tajine, and pile it up and raise it until it becomes a great, tall loaf.

Then turn it by the edges a few times in the tajine until it is done on the

sides, and when it is done, as it is desired, put it in a serving dish and

make large holes with a stick, and pour into them melted butter and plenty

of honey, so that it covers the bread, and present it.

From "Making of Elegant Isfunja ("Sponge")," Andalusian: You take clear and

clean semolina and knead it with lukewarm water and yeast and knead again.

When it has risen, turn the dough, knead fine and moisten with water,

little by little, so that it becomes like tar after the second kneading,

until it becomes leavened or is nearly risen. ...

How I do it:

2 1/4 c semolina flour 2 eggs 1/2 c butter

1/2 c water 1/4 c more water 3/8 c honey

1/2 c sourdough (for starter) 1-2 T oil for frying

Combine flour, 1/2 c water, and sourdough and knead smooth. Cover with a

damp cloth and leave overnight to rise. In the morning knead in an

additional 1/4 c water, making it into a sticky mess, and leave another few

hours in a warm place to rise. Add the eggs, and stir until they are

absorbed into the dough.

Heat a frying pan over medium to high heat and grease it with oil or ghee

(clarified butter). Pour on enough batter to make a thick pancake about 7"

in diameter. When one side is cooked (about 2 minutes) turn it over. Put

onto the cooked side about 1/4 c more batter, spreading it out to cover.

When the second side is done (1-2 minutes more), turn it over, so that the

side smeared with batter is now down. Cook another 1-2 minutes. Repeat.

Continue until the batter is all used up, giving you about 8-10

layers--like a stack of pancakes about 3" thick, all stuck together. Turn

the loaf on its side and roll it around the frying pan like a wheel, in

order to be sure the edges are cooked.

Punch lots of holes in the top with the handle of a wooden spoon, being

careful not to get through the bottom layer. Pour in honey and melted

butter, letting it soak into the loaf. Serve.

Note: Scale the recipe up as desired to suit your ambition and frying pan.

If you don't have sourdough you could use yeast instead, with shorter

rising times.

- ---

Preparation of Musammana [Buttered] Which Is Muwarraqa [Leafy]

Andalusian p. A-60 - A-61

Take pure semolina or wheat flour and knead a stiff dough without yeast.

Moisten it little by little and don't stop kneading it until it relaxes and

is ready and is softened so that you can stretch a piece without severing

it. Then put it in a new frying pan on a moderate fire. When the pan has

heated, take a piece of the dough and roll it out thin on marble or a

board. Smear it with melted clarified butter or fresh butter liquified over

water. Then roll it up like a cloth until it becomes like a reed. Then

twist it and beat it with your palm until it becomes like a round thin

bread, and if you want, fold it over also. Then roll it out and beat it

with your palm a second time until it becomes round and thin. Then put it

in a heated frying pan after you have greased the frying pan with clarified

butter, and whenever the clarified butter dries out, moisten [with butter]

little by little, and turn it around until it binds, and then take it away

and make more until you finish the amount you need. Then pound them between

your palms and toss on butter and boiling honey. When it has cooled, dust

it with ground sugar and serve it.

How I do it:

2 c semolina flour

1/4 c clarified butter for frying 1/4 c

butter at the end

aprox 5/8 c water

1 T+ sugar

1/4 c honey at the end (or more)

1/4 c == 1/8 lb butter, melted

Stir the water into the flour, knead together, then gradually knead in the

rest of the water. Knead for about 5-10 minutes until you have a smooth,

elastic and slightly sticky dough that stretches instead of breaking when

you pull it a little. Divide in four equal parts. Roll out on a floured

board, or better floured marble, to at least 13"x15". Smear it with about 4

t melted butter. Roll it up. Twist it. Squeeze it together, flatten with

your hands to about a 5-6" diameter circle. If you wish, fold that in

quarters and flatten again to about a 5-6" circle. Melt about 1 T of

clarified butter in a frying pan and fry the dough about 8 minutes, turning

about every 1 1/2 to 2 minutes (shorter times towards the end). Repeat with

the other three, adding more clarified butter as needed. Melt 1/4 c butter,

heat 1/4 c honey. Beat the cooked circles between your hands to loosen the

layers, put in a bowl, pour the honey and butter over them, dust with

sugar, and serve. If you are going to give it time to really soak, you

might use more butter and honey.

For regular flour, everything is the same except that you may need slightly

more water. You can substitute cooking oil for the clarified butter (which

withstands heat better than plain butter) if necessary.

- ---

Bread

Ain i Akbari

There is a large kind, baked in an oven, made of 10 s. flour; 5 s. milk; 1

1/2 s. ghi; 1/4 s. salt. They make also smaller ones. The thin kind is

baked on an iron plate. One ser will give fifteen, or even more. There are

various ways of making it; one kind is called chapati, which is sometimes

made of khushka; it tastes very well when served hot.

1 lb == 3 1/2 c flour 2.4 oz ghee (clarified butter) == 3/8-1/2 c

1/2 lb == 1 c milk .4 oz salt == 1/2 T

Melt the ghee, stir it into the flour with a fork until there are only very

small lumps. Stir in the milk until thoroughly mixed, knead briefly. Put

the ball of dough in a bowl covered by a damp cloth and leave for at least

an hour. Then knead the dough until it is smooth and elastic, adding a

little extra flour if necessary. Either:

Take a ball of dough about 2" in diameter, roll it out to about a 5"

diameter circle. Cook it in a hot frying pan without grease. After about 2

minutes it should start to puff up a little in places. Turn it. Cook

another 2 minutes. Turn it. Cook another 2 minutes. It should be done. The

recipe should make about 11 of these.

Take a ball of dough about 3" in diameter. Roll it down to a circle about

7" in diameter and 1/4" thick. Heat a baking sheet in a 450=B0 oven. Put the

circle of dough on it in the oven. Bake about 6 minutes; it should be

puffing up. Turn it over. Bake about 4 minutes more. Take it out. The

recipe should make about 5 of these.

David/Cariadoc

http://www.best.com/~ddfr/

Date: Fri, 19 Sep 1997 15:05:04 -0500

From: L Herr-Gelatt and J R Gelatt <liontamr at ptd.net>

Subject: SC - oat recipe

Oatcakes are traditional Scottish fare, somewhat descended from bannocks,

which are thicker and softer. Contemporary accounts say that medieval

Scotts merchants would bring their own bake-stone and oats with them when

traveling south, since they didn't trust the "sissy" white bread of England.

There is a traditional story of an old woman who heard about a Scotts Army

defeat. Hearing that the retreat was through her neck of the woods, she

gathered her supplies together and made oatcakes which she gave to the weary

soldiers as soon as they were baked, right by the side of the road.

It is said by contemporary accounts also that the Scotts soldiers were

hardier and stronger because they carried their own oatcake supplies and a

bakestone with them, rather than eat stale camp bread.

While these are not documented recipes, Cheese and other food was potted in

late period, and oatcakes are so simple to make that I am unaware of an

historical example of their recipe, although I have read accounts of their

existence. Somewhere on a disc in Word Perfect I have a paper about

Scottish food. It's such an old version that my 'puter can't interpret it

now. Sigh.

Oatcakes, Potted Stilton adapted from Farmhouse Cookery...Recipes from the

Country kitchen, Reader's Digest, London 1980.

Oatcakes

1 lb. fine oatmeal (NOT ROLLED OATS...THEY WON"T WORK)

1/2 tsp. salt

4 tbsp. melted bacon fat

1/2 pint boiling water

Mix together oats and salt. Combine bacon fat and water. Pour over the oats

and quickly mix to combine. Let sit a few minutes under a towel to cool

slightly. When just barely cool enough to handle, knead quickly and turn

onto a board dusted with more oatmeal. Give a top-coating of oatmeal and

roll out as thin as possible, dusting with oatmeal all the while. Pinch any

cracks together. Use an oat-dusted glass to cut into rounds (re-roll scraps

if necessary), or make one large round and cut into triangle wedges

(traditional).

Bake at 375 degrees on an ungreased baking sheet 20-30 minutes turning once,

or longer if it's humid out, until they are gently toasted. It may be

necessary to turn off the oven and leave them to dry in order to get the

proper crisp texture/fawn color. Sprinkle liberally with salt when finished.

Serve warm or cold with potted cheese. Store in an airtight container as

they take on moisture readily. Do not pack away hot.

<snip>

And that, folks, is what makes Oats an Artform.

Aoife

Date: Wed, 24 Sep 1997 23:31:12 -0700 (PDT)

From: rousseau at scn.org (Anne-Marie Rousseau)

Subject: SC - Ruzzige cake: A german foccacia, sorta.

Hi all from Anne-Marie. Here's the recipe you asked for. Remember the

first rendition is from Alia/Caterina ("german girl" in Carolingia, Ijust

tweaked it a bit. So if you want to publish it anywhere, you should ask her.

from _Das guch von guter spise_ (1340, German)

52. A Good Filling

He who wants to make a good dish chops parsley and sage, exactly as much.

And fry them in butter and beat eggs soft. And mix that together. And

grate cheese and bread therein. And make a loaf from eggs. And pour

batter thereunder. And pour this thereon. Give it flowers on top. And let

it bake. This is Ruzzige Cake.

1 1/4c. grated mozzerella

1 1/4c. grated provolone or cheddar

3 eggs

1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley

1/2 cup chopped fresh sage

2 tsp butter

1/4 cup bread crumbs

1 loaf unbaked bread dough

fresh edible flowers for garnish.

Preheat the oven to 350o. Sautee the parsley and sage in the butter for

about 5 minutes. Mix the eggs, cheeses and bread crumbs, then add the

herbs. Roll the bread dough out and place in foillined, AND oiled baking

pan. Spread the cheesy stuff evenly on the dough. Dot with edible

flowers. Bake for 30 min or until the cheese is all brown and toasty looking.

Reconstruction notes: One could interpret this to use a batter like cake,

rather than bread dough. Also, I usually double the filling:bread ratio

(I like cheese). Pansies are espeicially pretty on this.

enjoy!

- --ANne-Marie

Date: Wed, 29 Oct 1997 22:51:53 -0600

From: "Decker, Terry D." <TerryD at Health.State.OK.US>

Subject: SC - Galette Persane - OOP

Sitting here enjoying the fruits of two days of patience, I though I

would share the recipe for what the Parisians call Persian Flatbread

(bappi (sic?) it ain't).

The bread produced is a medium brown loaf about nine inches in diameter

and an inch and a half high with a hard crust and a lovely soft

interior. It is a very flavorful bread without a single overpowering

taste. Served hot from the oven with butter, it was worth the wait.

Enjoy

Bear

Galette Persane (Persian Flatbread)

Recipe By : Bernard Clayton Jr., The Breads of France

Serving Size : 3

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method

- -------- ------------ --------------------------------

STARTER

1 package dry yeast

1 cup water (70-75 F)

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

------

SPONGE

all of the starter

1 cup water (70-75 F)

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

------

DOUGH

all of the sponge

2 teaspoons salt

1/2 cup water (70-75 F)

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/3 cup wheat germ

2 1/2 cups unbleached flour

READ THE NOTES BEFORE YOU START

Starter:

Dissolve the yeast in the water.

Pour in the flour and blend to make a thick batter.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and leave at room temperature (70-75 F)

for 24 hours.

Sponge:

Pour all of the starter in a large bowl.

Add water and whole wheat flour to make a thick batter.

Cover bowl with