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dough-contain-msg - 9/6/09

 

Dough as the baking container. Free-standing pie crusts. Coffins, Coffyns.

 

NOTE: See also the files: pies-msg, meat-pies-msg, tarts-msg, pastries-msg, fish-pies-msg, flour-msg, ovens-msg, cooking-oils-msg, eggs-msg.

 

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NOTICE -

 

This file is a collection of various messages having a common theme that I have collected from my reading of the various computer networks. Some messages date back to 1989, some may be as recent as yesterday.

 

This file is part of a collection of files called Stefan's Florilegium. These files are available on the Internet at: http://www.florilegium.org

 

I have done a limited amount of editing. Messages having to do with separate topics were sometimes split into different files and sometimes extraneous information was removed. For instance, the message IDs were removed to save space and remove clutter.

 

The comments made in these messages are not necessarily my viewpoints. I make no claims as to the accuracy of the information given by the individual authors.

 

Please respect the time and efforts of those who have written these messages. The copyright status of these messages is unclear at this time. If information is published from these messages, please give credit to the originator(s).

 

Thank you,

    Mark S. Harris                  AKA:  THLord Stefan li Rous

                                          Stefan at florilegium.org

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Date: Thu, 9 Mar 2000 00:44:34 -0500

From: "Bethany Public Library" <betpulib at ptdprolog.net>

Subject: Re: SC - Traps?

 

Actually, the crust in which the meat pies were often cooked could be

referred to as Coffins in many English recipes. Sometimes one might

receive the instruction to "raise" the coffin. Now, if  one were deceased,

that might prove an interesting feat. However, the coffin was actually a

box-shape (coffin being a generic word for Box in Middle English, IIRC), and

the contents of the coffin was usually fowl or pork or game, rarely beef,

though there are always exceptions. Naturally I don't have my sources with

me here at work, but I have looked into it in the past. Usta teach a class

on the subject. My favorite English butcher has departed this earth, but she

always made her Melton Mowbray pies square or rectangular, using just such a

, well, not a ring, but a bottomless rectangle with a rolled upper edge.

That's not evidence of period practice, however, just a fond memory.

 

Raising the coffin referred to the process of using a stiff dough to mold

the shape: perhaps with the aid of a trap (mold), perhaps not. I know that

clay pot-making skills have always been handy for me, and sometimes I use

the outside of a handy container for the mold. We know those solid pies were

meant to stand on their own after cooking, without the aid of a pan or form.

You'd need a very hard-baking, stiff crust  to do that. It has been

postulated that the crust, at least in earlier pies, was meant to be

discarded and was used primarily for containment (I have even read a

description of the crust in a modern discussion as part of those ubiquitous

"alms" that were given to the poor though I am not sure if this is

verifiable). There is no doubt that the contents were the main "thing"

however, and the crust may have served the purpose of a temporary container,

helping to preserve the food inside for a few more days of it's limited

shelf life.

 

Adamantius could probably give us a good exposition on the make-up of a

good, hard crust, if he was feeling so inclined on this nice spring day. I

go for hot-water crust myself, made with real butter. Butter always hardens

well for me, and is much harder than most other fats are when cold IMO. I

usually need the use of a collar to restrain the sides of the pie while

baking.

 

And given my modern background, I usually serve meat pies cold. How else

would done get that wonderful, flavorful jelly?

 

Aoife

 

 

Date: Thu, 9 Mar 2000 19:32:28 -0600

From: "RANDALL DIAMOND" <ringofkings at mindspring.com>

Subject: SC - RE:SC Traps

 

Aoife comments:

>>>Adamantius could probably give us a good exposition on the make-up of a

good, hard crust, if he was feeling so inclined on this nice spring day. I

go for hot-water crust myself, made with real butter. Butter always hardens

well for me, and is much harder than most other fats are when cold IMO. I

usually need the use of a collar to restrain the sides of the pie while

baking.<<<

 

I have always made my Melton Mowbrays in raised pastry coffins, though

usually round.   Hi-gluten flour and boiling lard are what I use to make the

dough, coiling on an inch thick base like making pottery.  This is what

Elisabeth Ayrton instructs in _Provential English Cooking_.   She notes

that her recipe comes from the 14th century.  Arundel Castle I think.

Actually, the crust if you pour in sufficient stock becomes quite tasty

and a good deal usually is eaten by the feasters in my experience (about

a third of the crust)

 

Akim Yaroslavich

 

 

Date: Mon, 15 May 2000 07:29:15 -0500

From: "RANDALL DIAMOND" <ringofkings at mindspring.com>

Subject: SC - Re: Lard

 

Cedrin remarks:

>>>>With that in mind, I'll agree that lard makes wonderfully flaky pastry. It,

however, makes a terrible crust for a free standing tall coffin shape. You look

at it funny and you have a pile of flakes. Don't even think about trying to

cut through it. <<<<

 

Whoa!!! You must be doing something wrong.  The

English have been using lard to make tall coffin pyes

like Melton Mowbrays for 500 years!  Lard is the ONLY

good period ingredient for making tall coffins. Are you

using a high gluten flour and pouring in the lard boiling.

I have no trouble making 8" or so high coffins.  I can

even do high relief sculpture on the lids with it.  The pyes

are very free standing.   Did you prebake your crust

shell slightly to set it before filled it?  That is often

nescessary with very large and tall coffins. "Setting"

the shell properly depends on the right procedures

in mixing dough and having correct oven temperature

control. In modern gas ovens I find I have to protect

the top crust though as the top clearances are less

than traditional dome ovens and it will darken too

fast and burn instead of a glorious golden brown.

Incidentally, you also need to liberally paint the shell

in beaten egg yolk too for best results.

 

Akim Yaroslavich

 

 

Date: Thu, 18 May 2000 21:53:25 -0500

From: "RANDALL DIAMOND" <ringofkings at mindspring.com>

Subject: SC - Re: Lard

 

Balthazar says:

>>>>Allright...I think I am clueless again.  Can anyone send me the recipe

for

this? I would like to see what you are talking about.  I think my idea of a

"coffin" pastry is different than the one you folks are thinking of.<<<<

 

Here is the recipe I use for raised (coffin) pyes:

1 Kg high gluten wheat flour (2.2 lb.) (NEVER self rising)

15g Salt (1 Tbsp)

1/2 Kg Lard (1.1 lb.)

1.5 dl milk (5/8 cup)

1.5 dl water (5/8 cup)

2 large eggs well beaten

1 stick butter

 

Sift the flour and salt together and rub the

firm butter into the flour with the fingertips

until crumbly.  Boil the lard with the milk and

water. (Warning: do not add either to already

boiling lard.  Bring them to a boil together!)

Make a well in your mixed flour and pour in the

boiling (actually boiling, not just hot) lard. Stir

with a stout wood spoon until cooled enough to

knead with your bare hands... still very hot, mind

you. You may wear rubber gloves, but I find the

very hot dough and grease to be very good for

my arthiritis and very moisturizing to the skin.

Knead well and let stand for 10 minutes.

Roll out some of the dough for the bottom of

the coffin 2cm to 3cm thick (3/4" to1 1/4" +/-)

and cut to shape of pye (round is easiest) and

about 1cm (1/3") bigger than you think you want

the finished coffin to be.  The dough/ paste must be

worked while hot or at least warm. The taller the coffin,

the thicker the base and walls required, so adjust

your dough amounts prepared accordingly.  Build

up the sides with coiled dough like a potter builds

a pot until you get it the height you want.  Smooth

the outsides carefully outside and in, always working

the paste upwards.  If you are using a soild meat

filling like small pieces of pork with currants and such,

you can pack it in solidly and put on a lid piece without

setting the pastry.   If your filling is more liquid like

a fruit filling, you will need to set the form before filling.

I recommend using long sheets of aluminum foil folded

several times lengthwise to make a kind of "bellyband"

to help keep the form from bowing or collapsing.  I use

paperclips to hold the joined folds of foil closed.

 

Brush the pye with the beaten egg, reserving some for later.

Bake at 190C (375F, Gas Mark 5) for 20 minutes to set

the pastry.  If already filled, reduce to 170C (325F, Gas Mark

3) to continue baking.  If not filled, cool and fill, then bake at

170C (325F, Gas Mark 3).  Obviously, the filling will have

a great deal to do with the time of baking required, as will

the size of your creation.  A soild raw meat filling will take 1 3/4

to 2 1/2 hours for a largish pye like this one.  Fruit/ mincemeat

will take about 1 to 1 1/2 hours.  Success requires some

experimentation, but generally even the failures are delicious.

About 10 minutes before the end of cooking time, baste the

whole thing with the remaining beaten egg to give the pastry

a good gold gloss.  Let the pye become quite cool before

serving.

 

A few notes:  For the pork pye, trim picnic shoulder to bite

sized gobbets, including fat (but not skin or gristle).  Season

with fresh rubbed sage, basil, salt and pepper; maybe some

rosemary or galingale if you like the taste).  Leave a 5cm (2") hole

in the top crust to let out steam and to pour in some reduced

stock if you like to fill the pye after it comes out of the oven.

You can use leftover paste/dough to ornament the lid with

flowers or heraldic critters.  It is very easy to do fairly elaborate

sculpture as long as you do it in high relief and not freestanding.

Baste liberally with beaten egg and use foil tents to keep it from

browning unevenly.   For the less adventuresome, I suggest using

a large springform to mold the coffin, however, the bottom and

sides must still be thick so as not to fall apart from the weight of

the filling when you release it from the form.

 

This is not a period method, though I assume pyes were raised

by the coil method in period.  I would think they had some kind

of clay pottery forms though, as they made these quite reqularly,

whereas a special form for our ocassional use is not very

practical. The dough ingredients are traditional to English cookery,

allegedly back to the 14th century.  Of late, the English have been

substituting half of the lard with butter though.  The particular

recipe for Melton Mowbray Pyes supposedly has its roots in 14th c.

Arundel Castle.  Perhaps some of our list members across the pond

could see if they can find a period source from there?

Have fun experimenting!

 

Akim Yaroslavich

 

 

Date: Thu, 4 Nov 2004 13:54:31 -0500

From: Daniel Myers <edouard at medievalcookery.com>

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Pillsbury pie crusts

To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>

 

On Nov 4, 2004, at 11:48 AM, Chris Stanifer wrote:

> Another reason you may wish to make 'pie crusts' by hand for period

> feasts is that there appears

> to be a bit of evidence that the 'pie crusts' used in many of the

> extant recipes were not all that

> flaky or tender to begin with.  It all depends on how authentic you

> want to be.  A crust used to

> encase a rabbit (Hare Pie???), and take the shape of the original

> creature would need to be

> sturdy.  A modern flaky pie crust may well crumble under its own

> weight if used in this manner.

 

Having done a good amount of research and experimentation on pie

crusts, I'm inclined to disagree.  There are many paintings from just

after period of standing crust pies where it can clearly be seen that

the walls are less than a quarter of an inch thick.  I've also made a

number of dishes using standard pie crust recipes that are sculpted and

stand up quite well on their own (see the pics at the URLs below).

None of them had a tendency to crumble.  As long as there's something

that the crust is wrapped around, then it has plenty of support.

 

        "Still-life with Turkey-Pie" (detail), Pieter Claesz, c. 1630

        http://www.medievalcookery.com/images/standing1.jpg

 

        "Breakfast Table with Blackberry Pie" (detail), Willem Claesz Heda

(1631)

        http://www.medievalcookery.com/images/standing4.jpg

 

Some of my own experiments:

        A Dish of Artichokes  -

http://www.medievalcookery.com/images/artichoke.jpg

        A chicken pie shaped like a fish  -

http://www.medievalcookery.com/images/fish.jpg

 

        Standing crust experiment -

http://www.medievalcookery.com/images/crust.jpg

       (the final version of this one was larger and thinner)

 

Also see the painting "Kitchen" (Vincenzo Campi, 1580s) in which there

is a woman rolling out a thin top crust for a double crust pie in a

modern-shaped pie pan.

 

        http://www.wga.hu/art/c/campi/vincenzo/2kitchen.jpg

 

> There are those, like myself, who believe that some of these crusts

> were not even meant to be

> eaten, but rather acted as sturdy little pastry ovens to help keep the

> contents moist and

> protected from excessive heat.  When the dish was served, the crust

> was cut away and discarded.

 

While some standing crusts may have been used as a preservation method

and were not intended to be eaten, this is certainly not the case for

all crusts, as evidenced by the following (emphasis added):

 

"To make Paste, and to raise Coffins. Take fine flower, and lay it on a

boord, and take a certaine of yolkes of Egges as your quantitie of

flower is, then take a certaine of Butter and water, and boil them

together, but ye must take heed ye put not too many yolks of Egges, ***

for if you doe, it will make it drie and not pleasant in eating ***:

and yee must take heed ye put not in too much Butter for if you doe, it

will make it so fine and short that you cannot raise. And this paste is

good to raise all manner of Coffins: Likewise if ye bake Venison, bake

it in the paste above named. "

 

Source [The Good Huswifes Handmaide for the Kitchen, Stuart Peachey

(ed.), c. 1588]

 

- Doc

 

 

Date: Sat, 19 Feb 2005 10:34:32 -0500

From: Johnna Holloway <johnna at sitka.engin.umich.edu>

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Re: Coffyns

To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>

 

Phil Troy / G. Tacitus Adamantius wrote:

> Now, I have no compelling evidence to suggest that this method was

> used in period, nor that anything like a hot-water dough appears until

> the seventeenth century, but it's tempting to assume such a thing

> could have been done (whether or not it actually was is another

> story), since the technology clearly existed for other types of

> manufacture.

>

> As for the question of the thickness of the pastry and whether you

> need support, it also becomes more stable when the pastry is filled

> with something fairly solid, and a lid sealed in place.

>

> Adamantius

 

I am on my way out the door but Markham does include a

"rye paste would be kneaded only with hot water and a little

butter, or sweet seam and rye flour very finely sifted, and it

would be made tough and stiff that it may stand well in the raising

for the coffin thereof must ever be very deep: your coarse wheat crust

would be kneaded with hot water, or mutton broth and good store of butter,

and the paste made stiff and tough because that coffin must be deep also..."

 

Best edition on pages 96-98.

 

Johnnae

 

 

Date: Sat, 19 Feb 2005 22:22:38 -0600

From: "Terry Decker" <t.d.decker at worldnet.att.net>

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Re: Coffyns

To: "Zelina Silverfox" <zelina at gmail.com>,        "Cooks within the SCA"

        <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>

 

> Um..question...may sound odd but here goes.

> How thick should the pastry be to free stand 8 inches on the sides

> without collapsing on itself? I am assuming ( I know... bad word) that

> the top would have been done seperately and put on towards the end of

> the final baking stage.

>

> ~Zelina~

 

How stiff is the pastry dough?  The less pliable the dough, the thinner the

wall can be.  I'm of the opinion that a freestanding pastry can made at a

thickness of 1/4 to 1/8 inches, but that it would take considerable practice

to be able to do it consistently.

 

Bear

 

 

Date: Sat, 19 Feb 2005 23:28:45 -0500

From: Daniel Myers <edouard at medievalcookery.com>

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Re: Coffyns

To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>

 

On Feb 19, 2005, at 11:41 AM, Phil Troy / G. Tacitus Adamantius wrote:

> Also sprach Daniel Myers:

>> Source [Liber cure cocorum]: For lyoure best. Take drye floure, in

>> cofyne hit close, And bake hit hard, as I suppose. Thou may hit kepe

>> alle thys fyve 3ere, There-with alye mony metes sere. (England, c.

>> 1430)

>

> Hmmm. In the above instance, are we reasonably sure the coffin in

> question is, in fact, dough? As far as I can tell, this appears to be

> a recipe for processing a thickening starch by baking flour in a

> sealed box or pot of an unspecified nature, but which may be a sealed

> pie crust, which would also make some sense, given the availability of

> the materials in a kitchen. Does LCC (a source I haven't looked at in

> a while) have these two recipes in sequence?

 

Actually, the recipes do show up one right after the other, but when I

pasted them into the email I reversed the order.  They should have been

presented as:

 

To keep herb3 over the wyntur.

  Take floure and rere tho cofyns fyne,

  Wele stondande withouten stine;

  Take tenderons of sauge with owte lesyng,

  And stop one fulle up to tho ryng;

  Thenne close tho lyd fayre and wele,

  That ayre go not oute never a dele,

  Do so with saveray, percil and rewe;

  And thenne bake hom harde, wel ne3e brende;

  Sythun, kepe hom drye and to hom tent;

  This powder schalle be of more vertu,

  Then opone erthe when hit gru.

 

  For lyoure best.

  Take drye floure, in cofyne hit close,

  And bake hit hard, as I suppose;

  Thou may hit kepe alle thys fyve 3ere,

  There-with alye mony metes sere;

  Here endys oure sawce, that I foretolde.

 

- Doc

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

  Edouard Halidai  (Daniel Myers)

  Pasciunt, mugiunt, confidiunt.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

 

 

Date: Sun, 20 Feb 2005 15:00:47 -0500

From: Daniel Myers <edouard at medievalcookery.com>

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Re: Coffyns

To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>

 

On Feb 20, 2005, at 2:17 AM, Phil Troy / G. Tacitus Adamantius wrote:

> Stefan, can you tell us more about your reasoning in reaching this

> conclusion? I'm not sure I buy the rectangular pie coffin idea: there

> are illustrations of what appear to be pies in various manuscripts,

> and they seem to me to mostly round or elliptical.

 

I agree that the majority of pictures I've seen are exactly as you saw.

However, I vaguely recall seeing a primary source that described

making a rectangular pie (I remember because it surprised me at the

time), but I can't find the reference at this time.  I'll keep looking.

 

> As for the thickness required to make an eight-inch high side which

> will remain standing, there are some things that we need to consider.

> I'm not sure if eight inches in height is a reasonable expectation

> (maybe there's some textual reference I'm not familiar with, but apart

> from the various English recipes for pies in the shape of Towers,

> eight inches sounds a little high, when most specific recipe

> instructions that refer to height tend to call for one, or in some

> cases two, inches in height for tarts).

 

Mind you, these paintings may not be to scale, but relative to the size

of the hands of the people nearby I'd guess that the standing pies are

about 4 or 5 inches tall.

 

        Les festins, Roman de Lancelot en prose, France (15th c.)

        http://expositions.bnf.fr/gastro/grands/131.htm

 

      La succession des plats, Grandes Heures d'Anne de Bretagne (late 15th c.)

        http://expositions.bnf.fr/gastro/grands/130.htm

 

As long as there's some kind of support during the baking process, the

crust of a free-standing pie can easily be eight inches high and still

be 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick.  Without such support though they (at least

the ones I've made) tend to warp and deform.

 

The bowl I made for the "dish of artichokes" was a crust that was blind

baked upside-down, using a handy kitchen bowl as a form (the crust was

on the *outside* of the bowl).  [logical warning: "slippery slope"

reasoning follows] While I have absolutely no documentation that this

was ever done in period, it's such an obvious solution that I'm

reluctant to say it wasn't done.

 

        A Dishe of Artechokes

        http://www.medievalcookery.com/images/artechokes.jpg

 

- Doc

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

  Edouard Halidai  (Daniel Myers)

 

 

Date: Sun, 20 Feb 2005 15:35:32 -0500

From: Johnna Holloway <johnna at sitka.engin.umich.edu>

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Re: Coffyns

To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>

 

Karen Hess in her commentary to Martha Washington's Booke of Cookery writes that

"A coffin is a mold made of pastry. the word comes from

Old French cofin and finally from Greek cophinos, meaning basket

(OED). While they could be any shape, they seem to have been rectangular

as often as not, judging by the occasional specification for a round coffin,

as in this recipe. They were closed unless directed otherwise."

Page 83.

 

Johnnae

 

>> While I understand that a coffyn is rectangular in

>> shape, hence the transference of the word to the box we bury people

>> in.

>>

>> Stefan

 

> Stefan, can you tell us more about your reasoning in reaching this

> conclusion? I'm not sure I buy the rectangular pie coffin idea: there

> are illustrations of what appear to be pies in various manuscripts,

> and they seem to me to mostly round or elliptical.

>

> I think (and I could be wrong here) that we bury people in long,

> rectangular boxes because, well, a human body is oblong (spherical

> peers notwithstanding). A coffin, though, is simply a case, usually

> roughly in the shape of whatever it's supposed to contain, so it can

> be any shape and still be a coffin, as far as I know: the name does

> not directly imply oblong-ness.

> Adamantius

 

 

Date: Sun, 20 Feb 2005 15:45:27 -0500

From: "Phlip" <phlip at 99main.com>

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Re: Coffyns

To: "Cooks within the SCA" <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>

 

> Karen Hess in her commentary to Martha Washington's

> Booke of Cookery writes that

> "A coffin is a mold made of pastry. the word comes from

> Old French cofin and finally from Greek cophinos, meaning basket

> (OED). While they could be any shape, they seem to have been rectangular

> as often as not, judging by the occasional specification for a round coffin,

> as in this recipe. They were closed unless directed otherwise."

> Page 83.

>

> Johnnae

 

Dunno how much can be read into an instruction in terms of implying other

coffins were frequently rectangular. It seems to me that if they could and

were often any shape, the choice might as easily be between round and oval,

as opposed to circular and rectlinear. In otherwords, using a coffin

frequently to make, say, a roasted chicken, it might make sense to normally

have an oval shape, but if one were doing something else, where you wanted

to assure the ingredients were cooked evenly- an eggy sort of thing,

perhaps- you might specify round, so that all areas of the item were evenly

cooked. The rectilinear types tend to have the corners more cooked than the

centers, which is fine for many things, but might not be fine for an

amalgamation that is a bit more sensitive to temperature and cooking time

variants. In many cases, medieval folks didn't necessarily know WHY

something worked best a particular way, they just knew that it DID work best

a particular way. Very practical, if not theoreticly sound, people.

 

Saint Phlip,

CoD

 

 

Date: Mon, 21 Feb 2005 01:23:02 -0800 (PST)

From: Huette von Ahrens <ahrenshav at yahoo.com>

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Re: Coffyns

To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>

 

--- Stefan li Rous <StefanliRous at austin.rr.com> wrote:

> Okay, this does make sense. Anyone have the OED

> definition handy for "coffyn" or "coffin"?

 

[ME. cofin, coffyn, etc., a. OF. cofin, coffin,

little basket, case, etc., ad. L. cophin-us

(later cofin-us), a. Gr.  basket.]

 

  4. Cookery.    a. A mould of paste for a pie;

the crust of a pie. Obs.

 

  c1420 Liber Cocorum (1862) 41 Make a cofyne as

to smalle pye. c1420 Cookery Bk. 45 Make fayre

past of flowre & water, Sugre, & Safroun, & Salt;

& an make fayre round cofyns &#948;er-of. 1588

SHAKES. Tit. A. V. ii. 189 Of the paste a coffen

I will reare. a1654 SELDEN Table-t. (Arb.) 33 The

Coffin of our Christmas Pies in shape long, is in

imitation of the Cratch. 1750 E. SMITH Compl.

Housewife 157 Season your lamb with pepper,

salt..So put it into your coffin.

 

    b. A pie-dish or mould. Obs.

 

  1580 in Wadley Bristol Wills (1886) 225 Twelve

voyders; a Custerd coffyn. 1596 SHAKES. Tam. Shr.

IV. iii. 82. 1602 PLAT Delightes for Ladies,

Coffins of white plate. a1662 HEYLIN Laud II. 302

Which Notes..he kept in the Coffin of a Pye,

which had been sent him by his Mother.

 

Huette

 

 

Date: Mon, 21 Feb 2005 21:50:37 -0500

From: "Nancy Kiel" <nancy_kiel at hotmail.com>

Subject: RE: [Sca-cooks] Re: Coffyns

To: sca-cooks at ansteorra.org

 

I don't want to say that pie crusts weren't made this way, but I'm not sure

why one would want to make the crusts this way.  I've worked with the

stuff----it's basically clay, or Play-do, or Sculpey in consistency, and

it's quite easy to roll out a bottom of whatever shape you like, roll out a

strip that's the side, and pinch and "glue" it together.  If you want to

bake it blind, so you can put your blackbirds in later, you can fill it with

flour, or bread.

 

Nancy Kiel

 

> From: "Phil Troy / G. Tacitus Adamantius" <adamantius.magister at verizon.net>

> To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>

> Subject: RE: [Sca-cooks] Re: Coffyns

> Date: Fri, 18 Feb 2005 07:59:09 -0500

>

> Also sprach Nancy Kiel:

>> Also, if the pastry is thick enough to stand on its own, you don't need a

>> form.

>

> True, but I was just talking about using a form for mass-producing

> identical shells somewhat more quickly than you might otherwise. At least

> that's the rationale in modern pork pie production when the wooden block

> form is used (there are also extremely fancy hinged molds you can buy for

> larger pies and pates, but that's not really to address mass production

> issues).

>

> The way it works is, you roll your pastry into a smooth ball (having first

> determined, more or less, how much you'll need to do the job, either

> through past experience or a trial attempt), and then squoosh (that is a

> technical term) the wooden block, which resembles a hockey puck on a stick,

> with the stick protruding from one of the flat surfaces, into the dough,

> which spreads it out and forces the surface of the dough ball to begin to

> wrap itself around the block and up the sides. You then pat the sides,

> turning the whole thing occasionally via the stick, a la a potter's wheel,

> until they come evenly up the sides of the form, taking on its shape. You

> have the option of trimming the sides to smooth the edges.

>

> To remove the dough from the form, you roll it on its edge on your pastry

> board, which thins it slightly and, consequently, increases its

> circumference and diameter accordingly, which tends to create a space

> between the form and the dough (hot-water pastry isn't sticky), making the

> form easy to remove with a twist of the stick. The pastry will also harden

> pretty dramatically as it cools off.

>

> Now, I have no compelling evidence to suggest that this method was used in

> period, nor that anything like a hot-water dough appears until the

> seventeenth century, but it's tempting to assume such a thing could have

> been done (whether or not it actually was is another story), since the

> technology clearly existed for other types of manufacture.

>

> As for the question of the thickness of the pastry and whether you need

> support, it also becomes more stable when the pastry is filled with

> something fairly solid, and a lid sealed in place.

>

> Adamantius

 

 

Date: Tue, 22 Feb 2005 09:39:29 -0800 (PST)

From: she not <atamagajobu at yahoo.com>

Subject: [Sca-cooks] Re: coffyns

To: sca-cooks at ansteorra.org

 

Bear (referring to the interesting conversation with Adamantius) asked:

Do we know anything about the shape of raised coffins prior to 1600? Do we have any references as to their place in a feast? What do we know about raised coffins other than the recipes? If one has trappes, why raise a free standing pie shell rather than form the shell inside or outside of the trappe ?

 

I don't have any of the sources to hand at the moment, working from

memory, but..

 

"If," Indeed. Think period solutions to period problems! raised pies,

as far as I can tell, were expedient to replace pans and dishes,

although now they're often baked in pans. (keep in mind that not

everybody had the resources  a court cook like Taillevent had. Since

the royal kitchen always needed to feed lots of people, he would have

had more pans on hand than most of his contemporaries) Using a trap is

easier, but not necessary. and after all, why put hot food on a cold

dish when you can send it out in  nice  filling pastry that won't suck

the heat right out of it?

 

I had a very good collection of articles on food and traveling items

published as a memoriam for a Canadian archeologist/anthropologist- ca

1950's, which included a prewar study from a Polish peasant village on

household distribution of cooking utensils. It found that most

households had 2-5 pans of different sizes, small to medium, very small

households (widows, etc) had just one or two small pots, and wealthy

households and large farms with many workers had 8-12 pots, including

2-3 large ones and  a few special purpose pans.  occasions like

holidays and weddings were community efforts: the host provided the

food, but borrowed pots to cook it in. (loaning these pots was a social

duty affirming communal relations and mutual dependency, as well as a

custom enabling suitable display for a celebration, comparable to the

borrowed lying-in gear gathered from various noble connections you will

see in the Lisle letters.)

 

the thickness of the pastry and whether you need

> support, it also becomes more stable when the pastry is filled with

> something fairly solid, and a lid sealed in place...

 

Most modern raised pies, pork pies being the most common,  are pretty

much a galantine, i.e., are baked with a dry filling, which is then

sealed with a jellied stock poured in hot. (hence the required hole cut

in the top pastry-you remove it, fill the pie with stock, then replace

it) This does slow down spoilage, by sealing air away from the food, in

the same way later pies are filled with butter, and of course, as pates

and other cooked meats are sealed with lard in charcuteries. This in

itself is a pretty good argument that it's a period practice-

preservation methods developed pre-refrigeration are probably survivals

from medieval times. (think how popular galantines were in high

medieval and renaissance cookbooks, often using vinegar or wine as some

part of the liquid.  they didn't NEED to be made in a fancy mold, they

could just as easily be made in a coffyn.)  Pouring in liquid after

baking also flavors and moistens the crust as well as the filling,

similar technique to pouring the syrup on baklava -try eating a pork or chicken pie without that jelly! Also, putting the lid on, sealed with water ( and flour, for choice) DOES help keep the crust from flopping before it's baked.

 

This crust needs to be about 1/4 inch thick or more to work.  

Elizabeth David's English book had the best recipe i've used for a

traditional raised pork pie with hot water crust- I manage to do it

without a pan, and I am notoriously all thumbs.  (I  use her suggestion

of forming it first on an upside down loaf pan, but it can be done

freestyle...just not by me)

 

the long oblong shape is very practical, since it yields many

attractive cross sections (slices) with minimal crust, but  the filling

isn't so heavy it breaks under its own weight, which were doubtless  

concerns in period too.

 

Pies may have been molded, when possible, but most of what I've seen

indicates that they are built up or raised: later recipes suggest a

strip of paper attached around the upper part to stabilize it, and I

have seen a "twist" of hay or straw suggested for the  purpose in other

descriptions. Baking flour in a shell is sometimes suggested the same

way we use beans to bake a blind-as for live birds in a pie- and

there's no reason to suppose the flour was tossed afterward, since

there are several uses for toasted flour. (and rice)

 

"some manuscript

illuminations that show free-standing pastries: I'd guess (scale

being what it is in such drawings) that a pie in a medieval feast

might have been anywhere from maybe six inches high and ten inches

across, to larger, looking vaguely like a hatbox with a slightly

domed, but inset/flanged lid. "

 

some bird shaped pies were simply formed around the bird to be baked;

this is especially good for a boned stuffed bird. the flange is the

doubled crust that holds it together. I think I've seen this in

illustrations -probably the same ones! It would be relatively easy to

do with the pretty mosaic of arranged multiple meats for a galantine

too, since the crust would keep a mound of meats together for baking,

and the jelly stabilizes the whole thing  afterward. The construction

is useful when you're dealing with the mixed game "bag"  result from a

recreational hunt, which may not yield enough ducks or quail for a

separate dish, but plenty, combined with the rabbits and some ham,

chicken, etc, for pies to supplement the roast. Raised pies lend

themselves to decoration outside too- coats of arms, flowers, etc, can

be cut out of leftover paste and laid on top and "glued" to the sides

with egg, gilded or otherwise colored. Remember too, these pies are

served COLD, so are much more stable (and portable) than when hot, and, of course, can be baked and kept for use as needed, hence the preservation/sealing angle.

 

Martino's live birds in a pie uses a trappe to form the shell

and a filling of flour to hold the shape of the top crust. Why raise a

coffin, rather then mold a shell? Habit? even baking? lack of a suitable mold?

 

"aren't there menu references and recipes to Great Pies and Pies de Paris in

fifteenth century England?  I was struck by the absence of recipes in

earlier English sources, while Chiquart and Tallevent mention these pies, and give fairly detailed instructions for, at least, the fillings.

 

One could argue the 15th century English recipe for a Grete Pye is an

evolution, or (and more likely) importation from the Continent."

 

Can't check references on England's sumptuary laws, but the great pie

was a fine way to get around restrictions on the number of dishes -

conspicuous consumption being very popular, especially for the

merchant class primarily affected by them.

 

Not entirely apropos, but possibly a survival of the towers and great

pyes;:) England's traditional layered wedding cake was actually several

different cakes, one to be eaten fresh, longer lasting cakes to send to

absent friends, and the top a fruitcake to be shared on the first

anniversary- lots of ceremony involved in deconstructing it-I think

Eliza Acton had that recipe.

 

Gisele

 

 

Date: Tue, 22 Feb 2005

From: "Terry Decker" <t.d.decker at worldnet.att.net>

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Re: coffyns

To: "Cooks within the SCA" <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>

 

> Bear (referring to the interesting conversation with adamantius) asked:

> Do we know anything about

> the shape of raised coffins prior to 1600? Do we have any references as to

> their place in a feast? Whatdo we know about raised coffins other than the

> recipes?

> If one has trappes, why raise a free standing pie shell rather than form

> the shell inside or outside of the trappe ?

>

> I don't have any of the sources to hand at the moment, working from

> memory, but..

 

My question is "what do we know?"  I'm asking for facts, not speculation.

I have found that when I gather facts and examine them, they produce a very

different picture from what "everyone knows."

 

> "If," indeed..think period solutons to period problems! raised pies, as

> far as I can tell, were expedient to replace pans and dishes, although now

> they're often baked in pans. (keep in mind that not everybody had the

> resources  a court cook like Taillevent had. Since the royal kitchen

> always needed to feed lots of people, he would have had more pans on hand

> than most of his contemporaries) Using a trap is easier, but not

> necessary. and after all, why put hot food on a cold dish when you can

> send it out in  nice  filing pastry that won't suck the heat right out of

> it?

 

Most of the recipes we reference are from noble households which had to feed

lots of people.  They had considerable resources including well stocked

kitchens and, often, well stocked bakeries.

 

As for the trappes, they are baking pans.  The pastries are baked in them.

The pastry can either be removed from them or served in them.

 

> I had a very good collection of articles on food and travelling items

> published as a memoriam for a canadian arheologist/anthropologist- ca

> 1950's, which included a prewar study from a Polish peasant village on

> household distribution of cooking utensils. It found that most households

> had 2-5 pans of different sizes, small to medium, very small households

> (widows, etc) had just one or two small pots, and wealthy households and

> large farms with many workers had 8-12 pots, including 2-3 large ones and

> a few special purpose pans.  occasions like holidays and weddings were

> community efforts: the hst provided the food, but borrowed pots to cook

> it in. (loaning these pots was a social duty affirming communal relations

> and mutual dependency, as well as a custom enabling suitable display for a

> celebration, comparable to the borrowed lyig-in gear gathered from

> various noble connections you will see in the Lisle letters.)

 

Interesting, but of little import unless it can be demonstrated that peasant

families in the High Middle Ages baked raised coffins.  The fact that raised

coffins appear lower on the social scale in Late Renaissance and Early

Modern does not necessarily support their use at those social levels in the

Middle Ages.

 

> Martino's live birds in a pie uses a trappe to form the shell

> and a filling of flour to hold the shape of the top crust. Why raise a

> coffin, rather then mold a shell?

>

> Habit? even baking? lack of a suitable mold?

 

From the woodcuts I've seen baker's had the habit of using pans

(trappes) for baking pastries.  The medieval heat mass oven produces an even

heat matched only by a modern convection oven.  Possibly the lack of a

suitable pan, but I want to see the evidence.  Professionals have and use

professional tools, and the cooks and bakers of the Middle Ages were no

exception.

 

> "arent

> there menu references and recipes to Great Pies and Pies de Paris in

> fifteenth century England?  I was struck by the absence of recipes in

> earlier English

> sources, while Chiquart and Tallevent mention these pies, and give

> fairly detailed instrctions for, at least, the fillings.

>

> One could argue the 15th century English recipe for a Grete Pye is an

> evolution, or (and more likely) importation from the Continent."

>

> cant check references on England's sumptuary laws, but the great pie was a

> fine way to get around restrictions on the number of dishes - conspicuous

> consumption being very popular,  especially for the merchant class

> primarily affected by them.

>

> not entirely apropos, but possibly a survival of the towers and great> pyes;:) > Englands tradtional layered wedding cake was actually several

> different cakes, one to be eaten fresh, longer lasting cakes to send to

> absent friends, and the top a fruitcake to be shared on the first

> anniversary- lots of ceremony involved n deconstructing it-I think Eliza

> Acton had that recipe.

>

> gisele

 

This argument may have some merit.  I don't have a copy available, but if

anyone can locate one, may I suggest:  Baldwin, F.E., Sumptuary Legislation

and Personal Regulation in England, John Hopkins Press, 1926.

 

Bear

 

 

Date: Wed, 23 Feb 2005 20:25:43 -0500

From: Johnna Holloway <johnna at sitka.engin.umich.edu>

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Re: coffyns

To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>

 

As we continue to go round and round on coffyns

I still think that Countess Alys was correct in pointing out that

much can be learned by looking at Ivan Day's website.

Here I'll provide the links--

http://www.historicfood.com/Pie%20recipe.htm

http://www.historicfood.com/Banniet%20tort%20recipe.htm

http://www.historicfood.com/Pie%20recipe2.htm

http://www.historicfood.com/medlar%20tart%20recipe.htm

http://www.historicfood.com/Setcustards.htm

 

I suspect that it will take a major research effort to really come up with some answers and not just speculations on this topic and even then there's a good chance that the practice varied over time and place depending upon ingredients

and use. I am sorry but I just don't have the time at the moment to do it.

 

Johnnae

 

>>>

from 18 February 2005

 

Greetings! Ivan Day has some "fancy pies" on his website

(historicfood.com). With one of them is a carved wooden mould to produce

leaves which are placed as decoration on the lids.  That would be a fast

way for non-artistic types to produce quality decorations in quantity.  He

also shows some  metal tins for making the decorative sides.  I think these

are from the mid-1600s and later.

 

Alys Katharine

<<<

 

 

Date: Sun, 27 Feb 2005 12:15:05 -0400

From: Micheal <dmreid at hfx.eastlink.ca>

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Re: coffyns

To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>

 

My final thoughts on the matter no one elses, nor is anyone required to

accept them.

We do not have a solution on the question, simply opinions, as to how, and

who made them. We do know they were used.

 

This is what I used:

Flour, lard, salt, egg, and water

Blended flour and salt worked in the lard till it be came mealy added

slightly higher then room temperature water to form a ball let it rest for 30

min. Rolled it flat cut a circle the size of what I thought was right. Cut

strips of dough, egg washed the edges and worked them on edge up from the

bottom till I reached four of my fingers high. Why because it looks right.

Baked for 15-20 min at 375 to set dough. Mixed flour and water paste and

coated the  outside to fill in any gaps or separations worked from the

bottom until smooth to the  top inside and out. Filled with stuffer . I

formed (of the same dough) a lid which fitted inside and crimped the edge

to the sides while the paste was still damp. Put the whole thing into the

oven at 375 and cooked until there was bubbles coming out the center. Pulled

it out, egg washed the entire outside except the bottom, replaced in oven.

Tested with a thermometer to check internal temp and removed when done. If I

had the ability to send photos I would. looks like the painted raised pies I

have seen in the national gallery.

Ingredients

5 cups of stone ground Bread flour non raising

1 cup of spelt for looks

1.5 cups lard

3 teaspoons salt

  water to form ball added slowly

  1 egg to wash.

 

I am stubborn it took twelve tries before I finaly came up with the above

recipe. Fully knowing it maybe right and it maybe wrong, but it worked for

me. It is not easy get rid of 30 years of modernistic cooking styles. Some

things you don`t even notice become habit. But I learned an appreciation

for the person in the pastry shop from hampton court to the lowly town

bakery I didn`t have before. Even though I despised the fact they didn`t

write it down. Isn`t that what its all about in the end.

 

Da

 

 

Date: Wed, 06 Sep 2006 23:36:23 -0400

From: Johnna Holloway <johnna at sitka.engin.umich.edu>

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Coffins was beets...

To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>

 

As regards coffyns-- Ivan Day has pictures of raised pies

along with a description of various recipes.

http://www.historicfood.com/Pie%20recipe.htm

http://www.historicfood.com/Pie%20recipe2.htm

 

Coffins need not be casket shaped.

A coffin also was a basket. OED says

*coffin*

 

*1. * A basket; transl. L. /cophinus/, Gr. /ko/enticons/acute.giffinoj/.

 

[So in OF. and many mod.F. dialects.]

 

    * *C. 1380* Wyclif /Serm./ Sel. Wks. I. 62 ?ei gedriden and filden

      twelve coffynes of relif of fyve barly loves;

    * *1382* Wyclif /2 Kings/ x. 7 Thei..slewen the seventy men, and

      putten the hevedis of hem in cofynes.

    * *1432-50* tr. /Higden/ (Rolls) I. 15 Gedrenge..the fragmentes of

      the cophinnes remanent.

    * *1542* Elyot /Dict./, /Tibin/, a baskette or coffyn made of

      wyckers or bull rushes, or barke of a tree: such oone was Moyses

      put in to.

 

*. * Cookery.* * A mould of paste for a pie; the crust of a pie. Obs.

 

    * *C. 1420* /Liber Cocorum/ (1862) 41 Make a cofyne as to smalle pye.

    * *C. 1420* /Cookery Bk./ 45 Make fayre past of flowre & water,

      Sugre, & Safroun, & Salt; & ?an make fayre round cofyns ?er-of;

    * *1588* Shaks. /Tit. A./ v. ii. 189 Of the paste a coffen I will

      reare.

    * *A. 1654* Selden /Table-t./ (Arb.) 33 The Coffin of our Christmas

      Pies in shape long, is in imitation of the Cratch.

 

It was also

A paper case; spec. a receptacle made by twisting paper into a conical

form or `cornet', to contain groceries, etc., or for use as a filter;

still applied by printers to small paper bags of this shape to hold

spare type, superfluous sorts, etc.*1577* Frampton /Joyful News/ (1580)

42 The smoke of this Hearbe, which they receaue at the mouth through

certaine coffins, suche as the Grocers do vse to put in their Spices.

 

There are various reasons why pies might have been round. Stability

is one aspect. It's also probably far easier to raise a piecrust in a

round shape.

 

Johnnae

 

Stephanie Ross wrote:

> Also, I have another question.

> Were there certain shapes for making cofyns/coffins, and did the shapes

> change over the centuries? I can't imagine anything more wasteful of space

> in an oven than a round pie tin. Weren't coffins square for the most part?

> What could you use to imitate a coffin pan? I think an 8 X 8 pan would be

> too deep, but I'm really not sure.

> ~Aislinn~

 

 

Date: Fri, 08 Sep 2006 07:51:53 -0400

From: Johnna Holloway <johnna at sitka.engin.umich.edu>

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Pie Shapers:  Was Speaking of Beets

To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>

 

The web sites that I gave in the posting on coffins

also show several illustrations from Robert May

and several raised pies--

 

See also the marvelous cutwork custard pies at

http://www.historicfood.com/Setcustards.htm

 

As regards coffyns-- Ivan Day has pictures of raised pies

along with a description of various recipes.

http://www.historicfood.com/Pie%20recipe.htm

http://www.historicfood.com/Pie%20recipe2.htm

 

Johnnae

 

Terry Decker wrote:

> One of the great skills of a baker is to be able to cut and form dough by

> hand to produce decorations for breads and other bakegoods (I haven't

> practiced enough to be anywhere near good).  The little that I have found

> makes me think molds were used where freehand decoration wasn't practical

> (as with ginger bread) or where standardization was required (as  

> with the Eucharist).

>

> Using molds with a pie shaper or for a pie cover would probably work, but I

> haven't seen anything to suggest it occurred.  It's an interesting  

> question.

>

> Bear

 

 

Date: Sun, 4 Mar 2007 21:57:19 -0600

From: "Terry Decker" <t.d.decker at worldnet.att.net>

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Cofyns

To: "Cooks within the SCA" <sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>

 

> Here's a question that came up while I was helping to judge the Royal

> Baker competition in Atlantia:

>

> When a recipe refers to a "Cofyn", does it ALWAYS mean an inedible pie

> crust or is there room to assume/prove that it was an edible crust?

>

> Vitha

> Lady Hrosvitha von Celle

 

Coffin, in any of its various spellings, is usually a reference to a

container; a basket, a box, a chest or a pie shell.  There are some more

obscure meanings, but let's stick with the container.  The word in this

usage appears from at least the early 15th Century into the 18th Century.

In most references, they are talking about a pastry pie shell, but Hugh Plat

makes reference to "coffins of white plate" in Delights for Ladies.

 

Coffins range from a hard paste of flour and water to Elizabethean pie

shells that are apparently meant to be eaten.  According to the OED, there

is a reference to coffins from "1420 Cookery Bk." that reads, "make fayre

past of flowre & water, Sugre, & Safroun & Salt; & then make fayre, round

cofyns thereof." (substituting "th" for the Middle English thorn symbol).

In this case, the addition of sugar makes me think this coffin was meant to

be eaten.  From the 1420 date, the source is probably Harleian 279.

 

IIRC, the earliest addition of fat to a pie shell recipe, which would

improve the edibility, is mid-16th Century.

 

Bear

 

 

Date: Sun, 4 Mar 2007 23:01:49 -0500

From: Daniel Myers <edoard at medievalcookery.com>

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Cofyns

To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>

 

On Mar 4, 2007, at 10:01 PM, Kerri Martinsen wrote:

> Here's a question that came up while I was helping to judge the

> Royal Baker competition in Atlantia:

>

> When a recipe refers to a "Cofyn", does it ALWAYS mean an inedible

> pie crust or is there room to assume/prove that it was an edible crust?

 

There is some clear proof that raised coffins weren't always inedible

- note the marked text.

 

From "The Good Huswifes Handmaide for the Kitchen", Stuart Peachey

(ed.) -  England, c. 1588

To make Paste, and to raise Coffins. Take fine flower, and lay it on

a boord, and take a certaine of yolkes of Egges as your quantitie of

flower is, then take a certaine of Butter and water, and boil them

together, but ye must take heed ye put not too many yolks of Egges,

for if you doe, ***it will make it drie and not pleasant in

eating***: and yee must take heed ye put not in too much Butter for

if you doe, it will make it so fine and short that you cannot raise.

And this paste is good to raise all manner of Coffins: Likewise if ye

bake Venison, bake it in the paste above named.

 

I've got some notes collected about pie crusts online, but not too

many conclusions yet.

 

        http://www.medievalcookery.com/notes/piecrust.shtm

 

- Doc

 

 

Date: Wed, 20 Jun 2007 11:23:40 -0400

From: Cindy Renfrow <cindy at thousandeggs.com>

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Help!!!  Camp Ovens

To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>

 

Regarding pie shells able to resist transportation?

 

Elizabeth, have a look at: http://www.thousandeggs.com/gretepye.html

The dough I used is far heavier and stiffer than ordinary pie dough and

will hold up well to moulding around a cookie tin. Hint: wrap the

upside-down tin with greased foil before applying the dough to the

?outside* of the tin, and don't press it down too tightly. You will be

baking your "castle" upside down. Heavy cardboard mailing tubes work

fairly well if you want to make castle towers (if you don't mind the

smell of cooking cardboard).

 

After baking, let the dough cool completely before carefully unmolding

it. Then pop it back in a very slow oven with the door cracked open a

bit to dry the shell out completely. This may take several on/off

cycles. During this final phase, you may also glaze and decorate your

castle walls with seeds, egg yolks, etc.

 

The filling can be heated & the whole thing assembled on site at the

last minute. A chef's propane torch can be used to melt the final sugar

glaze, but be careful.

 

Regarding your oven dilemma, now is not the time to experiment!  Find a

friend with a working oven or chat up your local pizzeria owner.

 

Also, if you haven't seen it already,

http://www.florilegium.org/files/FOOD/illusion-fds-msg.html is quite

interesting.

 

Cindy Renfrow

 

 

Date: Fri, 06 Jun 2008 21:13:42 -0400

From: Johnna Holloway <johnnae at mac.com>

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Coffyn Paste

To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>

 

Hot Water Crust for Raised Pie Pastry

 

1 pound plain flour   450 grams

1/4 ounce salt

4 ounces lard      100 grams

one half pint hot water 300 ml

 

Sift the flour and salt into a warm bowl and make

a well in the centre. Boil the lard in the water until melted

and pour into the flour; mix quickly with a wooden spoon.

Knead the dough by hand while the mixture is still warm, until all the

flour is worked in and the pastry is smooth and free from cracks.

Use while still warm and before it hardens. It cannot be stored

at this stage although it may be stored after moulding to the desired shape.

 

Lizzie Boyd, ed. British Cookery. 1976, 1984. page 96.

 

The measurements are the British measures used in the 1970's.

The gram equivalents come from the suggested conversion chart in the book.

This makes a great strong crust for standing pastry.

 

If you have a microwave, you can heat the lard and water in the microwave

until it is super hot. The lard will melt and sit on the surface. This

is one of instances where shaking the measuring cup can in fact make the liquid suddenly explode or release steam. Be warned.

 

Johnnae

 

Lilinah wrote:

<<< We've had some lively conversations about the dough needed to make an

inedible, free-standing coffyn in the past few months.

People have mentioned ingredients - flour - lard and/or water - salt -

sometimes eggs. But i don't recall seeing one with some idea of

proportions. I know that flours vary in the amount of water they'll

absorb, so i'm not asking for an exact recipe. But i was hoping to get

something with more details than just a list of potential ingredients.

 

I realize this would be based on the experience of cooks on the list

and not an actual historical recipe. >>>

 

 

Date: Tue, 15 Jan 2008 14:38:47 -0600

From: "Terry Decker" <t.d.decker at worldnet.att.net>

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Coffyn pan?

To: "Cooks within the SCA" <sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>

 

<<< But, Gunthar, weren't Medieval coffyns round?  I sort of got that impression

from most of the existing illustrations, but I may be wrong <sigh>

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Meisterin Katarina Helene von Sch?nborn, OL >>>

 

The term coffyn has it's origins in a Greek word meaning "basket" was

transferred into Latin then came into English via Old French, where it meant

"little basket," "case," etc.  Thus the shape may be immaterial to the

definition as the coffin was created to meet the needs of the contents.  The

idea in the SCA that the coffyn should be rectangular may be an artifact of

the modern usage of the word, a box to hold a body.  This usage first occurs

in English around 1525 (although the same usage in French dates from  

around 1330).

 

In the sense that coffyn is used on this list, it is: (1) a shaped mold of

dough to hold a pie, (2) a pie crust, and (3) a dish to hold a pie.

 

I haven't seen much about the size and shape of hand raised coffyns, but for

pies shaped in a pan I suspect that many of the baking dishes were

terracotta or ceramic and that circular baking dishes are easier to  

produce than square or rectangular ones.

 

Bear

 

 

Date: Tue, 15 Jan 2008 16:05:28 -0500

From: Johnna Holloway <johnna at sitka.engin.umich.edu>

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Coffyn pan?

To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>

 

I don't know that all coffyns would have been baked in forms or pans.

If one uses a sturdy pastry made with lard and enough flour, you can raise

pastry case that is strong enough to survive without the need of a pan.

(This is pastry as container.)

 

Take a look at the Tudor Cooks Blog-- there's a video there plus pictures

http://tudorcook.blogspot.com/2007/12/get-back-in-that-kitchen.html

 

Also you might run through Ivan Day's photos and recipes for his various

pies and pastries.

http://www.historicfood.com/Pie%20recipe.htm

 

He has listed a new course in pastry and pie making.

http://www.historicfood.com/Pie%20Making%20Course.htm

 

Johnnae

 

 

Date: Tue, 15 Jan 2008 17:01:20 -0800 (PST)

From: Katheline van Weye <kat_weye at yahoo.com>

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Coffyn pan?

To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>

 

> Also you might run through Ivan Day's photos and recipes for his  

> various pies and pastries.

>

> http://www.historicfood.com/Pie%20recipe.htm

 

Hee! I was there on Boxing Day (which he talks about in the linked blog) with

my husband and two SCA foodie friends and spoke to the Hampton Court - Tudor

Kitchen people at length.  Their pies are not baked in a pan.  They use a

thick, tough dough as the container for the filling and they do not eat the

dough but just toss it away (although likely in period it would've gone to the

animals or such).  I have pictures of these pies.  They also talked about items

that were baked in pottery and how the pottery wasn't reused.  Instead the

pottery was broken to get at the food inside.  The pottery was just a  

temporary form.

 

Katheline van Weye

 

 

Date: Wed, 16 Jan 2008 06:53:55 -0500

From: Nancy Kiel <nancy_kiel at hotmail.com>

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Coffyn pan?

To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>

 

I always assumed these types of pies were made without pans, using a  

thick stand-alone crust (sometimes made with rye flour) that was not  

intended to be eaten.  That way the cook could make any shape he  

wanted, such as a fish or a lobster.  Robert May, although post  

period (1685), has a number of pie designs throughout his cookbook  

that would have to be made free-hand.

 

Nancy Kiel

 

 

Date: Wed, 16 Jan 2008 08:17:50 -0500

From: "Phil Troy / G. Tacitus Adamantius" <adamantius1 at verizon.net>

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Coffyn pan?

To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>

 

On Jan 16, 2008, at 6:53 AM, Nancy Kiel wrote:

> I always assumed these types of pies were made without pans, using a

> thick stand-alone crust (sometimes made with rye flour) that was not

> intended to be eaten.  That way the cook could make any shape he

> wanted, such as a fish or a lobster.  Robert May, although post

> period (1685), has a number of pie designs throughout his cookbook

> that would have to be made free-hand.

 

One problem to be dealt with is the fact that it's popular in the SCA

to assume that free-standing pies and tarts are made with what amounts

to a modern-ish hot-water-and-lard, or equivalent, pastry, when the

relatively few pie crust recipes available don't really establish this

as a given.

 

It'd be interesting to use malleability versus strength (the ability,

say, to hold a filling or a liquid without leaking, breaking, or

collapsing before, during, or after baking) as a test for various

dough types, such as rye not-very-short-crust, wheat crust with cream,

a hot-water dough of wheat, wheat and egg yolks, etc.

 

Of course, one thing to look for would be the ability to tolerate, and

hold through baking, molded or otherwise fine detail.

 

Over this past weekend I had occasion to make a hot-water-and-lard

dough (steak, mushroom, and egg, no kidneys on hand I wasn't using),

and in spite of using AP flour, boiling liquid, lard, _and_ letting it

rest before baking, I was surprised to note the amount of what one

might call glutinous distortion of my design in baking.

 

Not that it was a big deal; it wasn't the Palace at Versailles or

anything, just some hand-fluting and a few cutouts to mark the

location of some marrowbones inside. But after having taken all those

steps to prevent it from changing shape while baking, I was a little

surprised. It'd be interesting to see which of our available pie dough

recipes works the best, and under which conditions.

 

Adamantius

 

 

Date: Thu, 17 Jan 2008 15:20:25 -0500

From: "Phil Troy / G. Tacitus Adamantius" <adamantius1 at verizon.net>

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Coffyn pan?

To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>

 

On Jan 17, 2008, at 6:50 AM, Nancy Kiel wrote:

> Can you give some examples of free-standing pies made with a crust

> of something other than hot-water-and-lard?

 

Several examples of something other than hot-water-and-lard? No. Maybe

a couple: I believe there's a reference to a free-standing tart in Ein

Buoch Von Guter Spise whose crust is made with flour and egg yolks

only (and that basic formula is repeated in numerous other sources,

although not in detail, unfortunately).

 

I vaguely recall a reference to a short dough made with chopped

lardons (but not hot water, IIRC); this would be more like an English

suet crust for steamed puddings; I think that's included in some

edition of Le Viandier (Pichon edition???). Unfortunately, it seems

like most medieval pie recipes don't really talk about the pastry,

other than to tell you to make one, and then fill it with X.

 

Later in the SCA period, there's a piecrust recipe in, I think, A Newe

Proper Boke of Cookery, and I don't recall details and don't have it

handy, but I don't recall it being made with any hot liquid. I think

it may call for butter and yolks. I think Digby's cheesecake crust

calls for yolks and cream.

 

Gervase Markham is the only one I can think of that routinely calls

for hot water to be used, along with butter or sweet seame, basically

the fat skimmed off the top of boiled, fatty meats, to make stiff rye

crusts for pies to be kept a long time. He also talks about crust

height, so we have to assume falling and cracking crusts would be a

concern, so that suggests at least a good chance we're talking about a

free-standing pastry shell.

 

Now, that is quite sketchy at best, but how many examples can you

think of that actually call for lard (or even other fat) melted with

boiling water and added, while still hot, to flour, which is what I'd

define as a hot-water crust?

 

Adamantius

 

 

Date: Thu, 17 Jan 2008 14:54:48 -0600

From: "Terry Decker" <t.d.decker at worldnet.att.net>

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Coffyn pan?

To: "Cooks within the SCA" <sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>

 

"Twelve voyders, a custard coffin."  (1580, as quoted in Wadley, Bristol

Wills, 1886).

 

Shakespere, The Taming of the Shrew iv iii 82 (1596)  "PETRUCHIO:  Why, thou

say'st true; it is a paltry cap, A custard-coffin, a bauble, a silken pie:

I love thee well, in that thou likest it not."

 

"Coffins of whyte plate."  (1602, Plat, Delightes for Ladies).

 

To be fair, Shakespere refers to hand raised coffins in Titus Adronicus

(1588), so both definitions were used in Elizabethean England.

 

Bear

===========

Can you give some examples of the late 16th century usage?

 

Nancy Kiel

 

> In general, I would agree with you, but given a 1000+ year span, word usage

> changes.  In the 14th Century these would likely be the hand raised mold of

> dough, by the late 16th Century, the dish to hold the pie and possibly crust

> is included.  Modernly, these usages are considered archaic and obsolete.

>

> Bear

 

 

Date: Thu, 17 Jan 2008 15:03:12 -0600

From: "Terry Decker" <t.d.decker at worldnet.att.net>

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Coffyn pan?

To: "Cooks within the SCA" <sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>

 

A hand raised pie crust isn't much of a display of wealth.  It's far less

expensive than bread trenchers and cheaper than breaking crockery.  I would

think a functional decoration might be more to the point.

 

While it wouldn't be eaten at table, the pie shell would probably be

accounted for by voiding it for dispensing by the almoner.

 

Bear

 

 

Date: Wed, 16 Jan 2008 21:21:56 -0500

From: "Phil Troy / G. Tacitus Adamantius" <adamantius1 at verizon.net>

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Coffyn pan?

To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>

 

On Jan 16, 2008, at 8:39 PM, Audrey Bergeron-Morin wrote:

>> free-standing pies and tarts are made with what amounts

>> to a modern-ish hot-water-and-lard, or equivalent, pastry,

>

> Waitaminute... We have the eternal questions about bread bowls... it

> shouldn't be *bread* bowls, it should be *pastry* bowls! Cook

> something in a coffyn, take off the upper crust... voil?!

 

Well... yeah.

 

What eternal question about bread bowls? Around here in my local group

many people tend to think they're just a little bit silly...

 

But sure. Pastry coffins are used for other things besides what we

think of as pies and tarts. The Romans baked hams in them (and then

removed them). There are some late-period candy recipes that call for

one stage or another to be placed in a coffin, or some other box that

can be sealed, and "cured" in a warm oven or near the hearth.

 

I've seen stew-like pottages served in pie shells with a lid, and I've

also made free-standing pies with a rock-hard side and bottom crust as

a container, and distinctly edible puff pastry on top, which, if I say

so myself, is pretty spectacular-looking. Looks like a golden hat-box

full of food...

 

Adamantius

 

 

Date: Thu, 10 Apr 2008 12:39:33 -0500

From: "Terry Decker" <t.d.decker at worldnet.att.net>

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Flour Recommendation?

To: <alysk at ix.netcom.com>,    "Cooks within the SCA"

        <sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>

 

To quote Ivan Day, "Pies of this kind were constructed from a 'standing

crust' made by mixing boiling water and butter into the flour.  Once cold,

this stiff gluten-rich pastry was ideal for raising these complex

structures, though it did not make for particularly good eating."  (Eat,

Drink & Be Merry)

 

From the above quote, all purpose or high gluten bread flour would be the

choice, since the plan is to make a high gluten, not so flakey crust.  A

soft modern pastry crust (IIRC) is roughly 3 parts flour, 2 parts fat, and

1 part water by weight, so 2:1 or 3:1 might be a good ratio of flour to

butter. To form the requisite gluten, you'll probably want to work this

like a bread dough rather than a pastry dough.

 

Bear

 

> Greetings!  It was pointed out that perhaps the somewhat floppy dough that

> resulted (in my attempt at a hand-raised tart case) could have been the

> type of flour.  I used what was in the cannister - all purpose flour.  I

> want to try the dough again.  It will be twice as much flour by weight as

> butter.  Water is the only liquid.  What type of flour might be better for

> a sturdier dough?  Bread flour?  Pastry flour?  Something else?

>

> Alys Katharine, going from sugar to flour

 

 

Date: Thu, 10 Apr 2008 12:52:59 -0500

From: "Terry Decker" <t.d.decker at worldnet.att.net>

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Flour Recommendation?

To: <edoard at medievalcookery.com>,   "Cooks within the SCA"

        <sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>

 

Of the Mixture of Paste.    Your course Wheat-crust should be kneaded with

hot water, or Mutton broth, and a good store of butter, and the paste made

stiffe and tough, because that Coffin must be deep.

 

Gervase Markham, The English Hous-wife

 

To make Paste another Way.   Take butter and ale, and seeth them together:

then take your flower, and put there into three egs, sugar, saffron and

salt.

 

The Good Huswives Handmaid

 

From these the chosen fat is butter, but it is likely to be melted into the

liquor for the pastry dough.  It also suggests to me that it might be worth

trying this with a whole wheat flour that has been sifted to remove the

bran. And, IIRC, there is a recipe for a rye pastry dough as part of a

recipe in Sabina Welser.

 

If your dough is soft, then you may have too much fat in the mix or you

haven't worked it hard enough to properly form the gluten.

 

Bear

 

> It might be.  I'll be interested in hearing the

> thoughts of others on this, since I also use all

> purpose flour and have been having the same issues

> with pie crusts.

>

> However, I also suspect that it may be the choice of

> fat.  Using the same methods, I find that dough made

> with butter is much softer and delicate than dough

> made with Crisco.

>

> My suspicion is that we both need to use lard - and

> since I'll be making a pie tonight, I'll try it out

> just to see what (if any) difference it makes.

>

> - Doc

 

 

Date: Thu, 10 Apr 2008 11:19:55 -0700 (PDT)

From: Doc <edoard at medievalcookery.com>

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Flour Recommendation?

To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>

 

--- Terry Decker <t.d.decker at worldnet.att.net> wrote:

> If your dough is soft, then you may have too much

> fat in the mix or you

> haven't worked it hard enough to properly form the gluten.

 

I used the same quantities of fat and flour, and

worked them both the same amount - dough using butter

is softer than that using Crisco.

 

As for the kind of fat used in period, I have found

references to fats other than butter being used as

well.

 

Source [Das Kuchbuch der Sabina Welserin, V. Armstrong

(trans.)]: 61 To make a pastry dough for all shaped

pies. Take flour, the best that you can get, about two

handfuls, depending on how large or small you would

have the pie. Put it on the table and with a knife

stir in two eggs and a little salt. Put water in a

small pan and a piece of fat the size of two good

eggs, let it all dissolve together and boil.

Afterwards pour it on the flour on the table and make

a strong dough and work it well, however you feel is

right. If it is summer, one must take meat broth

instead of water and in the place of the fat the

skimmings from the broth.... (Germany, c. 1553)

 

Many of the recipes state to use fat, but do not

specify what kind.

 

-=-=-

 

> To quote Ivan Day, "Pies of this kind were constructed from a 'standing

> crust' made by mixing boiling water and butter into the flour.  Once

> cold, this stiff gluten-rich pastry was ideal for raising these complex

> structures, though it did not make for particularly good eating."

> (Eat, Drink & Be Merry)

 

What source does he provide for this?  This sounds

like the traditional English method for making pie

crusts, but isn't the only method I have seen in the

primary sources (e.g. rubbing or cutting the fat into

the flour).

 

Further, one recipe for pie crusts in "The Good

Huswifes Handmaide for the Kitchen" specifically warns

the cook not to use to many egg yolks as it will "make

it drie and not pleasant in eating" which contradicts

the common assertion that standing crusts were

*always* inedible (I will grant that they may have

sometimes been inedible).

 

- Doc

 

 

Date: Thu, 10 Apr 2008 13:49:23 -0500

From: "Terry Decker" <t.d.decker at worldnet.att.net>

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Flour Recommendation?

To: <edoard at medievalcookery.com>,   "Cooks within the SCA"

        <sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>

 

> --- Terry Decker <t.d.decker at worldnet.att.net> wrote:

>> If your dough is soft, then you may have too much

>> fat in the mix or you

>> haven't worked it hard enough to properly form the gluten.

>

> I used the same quantities of fat and flour, and

> worked them both the same amount - dough using butter

> is softer than that using Crisco.

 

I was speaking in the general case rather than as a differentiation between

fats.  Different fats will give varying results, but the more of any  

fat you add, the softer the dough in general.

 

<clipped>

>> To quote Ivan Day, "Pies of this kind were constructed from a 'standing

>> crust' made by mixing boiling water and butter into the flour.  Once

>> cold, this stiff gluten-rich pastry was ideal for raising these complex

>> structures, though it did not make for particularly good eating."

>> (Eat, Drink & Be Merry)

>

> What source does he provide for this?  This sounds

> like the traditional English method for making pie

> crusts, but isn't the only method I have seen in the

> primary sources (e.g. rubbing or cutting the fat into

> the flour).

 

I gather he has quite a bit of practical experience at raising standing

crusts and has written on the process.  In this case, the information is

taken from a recreation of the Duke of Newcastle's feast from the latter

half of the 17th Century as given in Patrick Lamb's Royal Cookery, with pie

designs taken from Robert May Accomplisht Cook and Edward Kidder Receipts in

Pastry and Cookery.  All three sources are well outside SCA period but

probably of use in considering this subject.

 

> Further, one recipe for pie crusts in "The Good

> Huswifes Handmaide for the Kitchen" specifically warns

> the cook not to use to many egg yolks as it will "make

> it drie and not pleasant in eating" which contradicts

> the common assertion that standing crusts were

> *always* inedible (I will grant that they may have

> sometimes been inedible).

>

> - Doc

 

But is it a "standing crust?"  I've encountered a few recipes that make

interesting and edible crusts, but really need a tart pan to hold their

shape.  I suspect the "inedibilty" may be more likely for the hard,

hand-raised coffin, than some of the softer pie shells.  It might be

interesting to assemble all of the pastry recipes and try to categorize them

by the ratios of their ingredients, but that is work for the future.

 

Bear

 

 

Date: Thu, 10 Apr 2008 15:21:45 -0400

From: "Elise Fleming" <alysk at ix.netcom.com>

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Flour Recommendation?

To: "Terry Decker" <t.d.decker at worldnet.att.net>,       "Cooks within the

        SCA" <sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>

 

Bear responded to my query:

 

> To quote Ivan Day, "Pies of this kind were constructed from a 'standing

> crust' made by mixing boiling water and butter into the flour.  Once cold,

> this stiff gluten-rich pastry was ideal for raising these complex

> structures, though it did not make for particularly good  

> eating."  (Eat, Drink & Be Merry)

 

I had asked Robin about the texture of the tart's crust and he had said it

was edible, not just a container as Ivan is referring to, which is what I

was trying to go for.  I can see on the Hampton Court blog's video that at

least for his chewitts, the dough is a little on the "floppy" side since

when he raises the sides he smooshes the top rim into a narrower opening

than would result if he just raised the side and fluted it.  My gripe about

my dough is that it was too floppy to lift onto a wide knife as the fluting

video shows.  The completed tart with lid actually did keep its shape

pretty well when baking but I certainly wasn't able to lift it and lay it

on the dough for the lid to use as a template the way Robin does it  

in the video.

 

> From the above quote, all purpose or high gluten bread flour would be the

> choice, since the plan is to make a high gluten, not so flakey crust.  A

> soft  modern pastry crust (IIRC) is roughly 3 parts flour, 2 parts fat, and

> 1 part water by weight, so 2:1 or 3:1 might be a good ratio of flour to

> butter.  To form the requisite gluten, you'll probably want to work  

> this like a bread dough rather than a pastry dough.

 

Thanks for the numbers.  I've done the 2:1 and thought that I'd do the same

the next time, only adding some extra flour so that it is a bit more than 2

parts flour to one part butter. Sheesh!  Where are apprenticeships at

Hampton Court when you want them??!?

 

Alys Katharine

 

 

Date: Thu, 10 Apr 2008 11:13:36 -0400

From: Johnna Holloway <johnna at sitka.engin.umich.edu>

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Flour Recommendation?

To: alysk at ix.netcom.com, Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>

 

Ivan's posted recipe from Mrs Marshall is

 

Raised Pie Paste

Take one pound of fine flour and rub into it a quarter of a pound of

butter, a pinch of salt, one whole egg, then mix it with cold water into

a stiff paste and use. From *Agnes B. Marshall* /Cookery Book/ (London: 1880)

So it's 4 flour to one part butter. That's the tested recipe that he

uses for his raised and molded pies, according to the website.

Don't know what recipe you are using but

the Proper Newe Booke of Cokerye from 1545 writes:

 

/*Take fyne floure and a cursey of fayre water and a dysche of swete

butter and a lyttel saffron, and the yolckes of two egges and make it

thynne and as tender as ye maye.*/

 

It doesn't specify 2 to one so maybe you might increase the flour to

butter ratios. King Arthur has a nice whole wheat pastry flour.

 

Johnna

 

 

Date: Thu, 1 May 2008 12:34:51 -0400

From: "Barbara Benson" <voxeight at gmail.com>

Subject: [Sca-cooks] Coffin Construction

To: "Cooks List" <sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>

 

I know that I have been pestering the list a goodly bit in the past

couple of weeks - this feast is driving me nuts! I don't know why this

one is proving to be so challenging.

 

My newest obstacle is coffin construction. I want to redact this

recipe this weekend:

 

Anon Tuscan Translated by Vittoria

A cup of chicken or other fowl.

[125] Cut chickens or fowl into pieces; dilute flour with hot water,

and make it very stiff: then make the shape of a cup from said dough

and put in it the aforementioned chickens with whole green grapes,

saffron and spices, and a bit of cold water, and close it on top with

dough, and put it in the oven or rather on top of pans; and on the top

of the cup put a big piece of lard.

 

And I wanted to take advantage of the experience of anyone on this

list who has attempted coffins before. What formula did you use for

the coffin dough (I say formula because recipe implies that someone

will eat it)? Any tips on raising the durn things? Pitfalls? Also, one

of the major tools I have on the site is a convection oven - do you

think that since the coffin is sealed it would be fine in there or can

anyone foresee problems with a convection oven.

 

From the recipe it seems that the crust is flour + water. Any thoughts

on proportions?

--

Serena da Riva

 

 

Date: Thu, 01 May 2008 13:11:34 -0400

From: Johnna Holloway <johnnae at mac.com>

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Coffin Construction

To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>

 

Barbara Benson wrote:

> From the recipe it seems that the crust is flour + water. Any thoughts

> on proportions? I look forward to your replies.

> Grazie, Serena da Riva

 

I still recommend what I did in January

 

/>/ If one uses a sturdy pastry made with lard and enough flour, you can raise

/>/ pastry case that is strong enough to survive without the need of a pan.

/>/ (This is pastry as container.)

/>/

/>/ Take a look at the Tudor Cooks Blog-- there's a video there plus pictures

/>/ http://tudorcook.blogspot.com/2007/12/get-back-in-that-kitchen.html

/>/

/>/ Also you might run through Ivan Day's photos and recipes for his various

/>/ pies and pastries.

/>/ http://www.historicfood.com/Pie%20recipe.htm

/>/

/>/ He has listed a new course in pastry and pie making.

/>/ http://www.historicfood.com/Pie%20Making%20Course.htm

/>/

/>/ Johnnae

 

 

Date: Thu, 1 May 2008 15:38:07 -0400

From: "Elise Fleming" <alysk at ix.netcom.com>

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Coffin Construction (Pastry!)

To: "sca-cooks at ansteorra.org" <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>

 

Greetings!  Regarding raising a flour and water coffyn, you might  

want to look at the "molds" at

 

http://sca.4th.com/photos/events/2006/alys-england?page=9

 

and scroll down to "alys2006-387".  There are two  

wooden, cylindrical molds that Ivan Day uses for raising pies whose  

crusts aren't to be eaten.  I got to thinking that if you wanted to  

make one of these dough "coffyns", you could mold your dough over a  

coffee tin or similiar-sized item.  

 

Johnnae and I, with two other  

women, attended one of Ivan's classes where we made up the flour and  

water dough and pressed the dough over the molds. Johnnae, do you  

recall the exact procedure?  Seems to me we put the mold in the  

center of a mass of dough and then, with our hands, pushed the dough  

upwards to the top of the mold.  I think we rolled out the "lid",  

wetted it with water, and then sealed it to the outer part of the  

dough coffyn after the contents had been added.  (We didn't have time  

for real food in the coffyn so I suggested using a wadded up towel, which we did!)  The coffyn was moderately thick since it didn't have to be edible.

 

Alys K.

 

 

Date: Thu, 1 May 2008 17:06:06 -0400

From: "Elise Fleming" <alysk at ix.netcom.com>

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Coffin Construction (Pastry!)

To: "Barbara Benson" <voxeight at gmail.com>,        "Cooks within the SCA"

        <sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>

 

> Hmmm, forming it on the outside of a mold had not occurred to me, an

> interesting idea. So do you form it on the mold and then let it dry

> for awhile before you remove the mold?

 

I don't think we did.  If you look at the photo I listed, the coffyn that

we made is in front of the two molds.  We didn't intend to bake it, but

from other experience, I would recommend sliding the empty coffyn on your

baking sheet before filling it.  The filling would make it much  

heavier and it would be harder to move to the baking sheet.

 

> I had been assuming that this would not be a edible container from the

> get go. That is where my head is at. I like the idea of spring form

> pans, but they are pretty darn expensive and I don't know if I can

> swing enough for a full feast.

 

The advantage of making an inedible container is that you don't need any

baking pans.  And, the recipe you cited certainly should be an inedible

paste - just flour and water.

 

Alys, getting hungry now

 

 

Date: Thu, 01 May 2008 20:17:51 -0400

From: Johnna Holloway <johnnae at mac.com>

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Coffin Construction (Pastry!)

To: alysk at ix.netcom.com, Cooks within the SCA

        <sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>

 

It's put in the middle of a mass of dough and raised on the outside.

It's the way that they make the raised pork pies like those made in Melton

Mowbray.

picture here of the wooden mold-- http://www.porkpie.co.uk/

ourheritage.asp

If you browse down the page-- you'll come to drawings of how they are made under:

How to make the authentic Melton Mowbray Pork Pie...

Does that help explain it?

(Sutton Press actually put out a great book on the history of these pies

which I bought

years ago. Lots of pictures. *The History of the Melton Mowbray Pork Pie

(The Best of British in Old Photographs) (Paperback)*)

oh jeez used copies are $47 now.)

 

These hot water pastries with lard set up fairly fast, so if made thick

enough they stand on their own.

 

Johnnae

 

 

Date: Fri, 2 May 2008 06:52:23 -0400

From: Nancy Kiel <nancy_kiel at hotmail.com>

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Coffin Construction

To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>

 

I'm not certain that fat was that expensive in period; the big cost  

in making coffin (inedible) pastes seems to me to be in the flour and  

the actual time & skill for production.  Mrs. Beeton, of Victorian  

cookbook fame, provides ratios---1 lb of flour and 1 1/2 oz each of  

butter and lard---so for 5 lbs of flour you only need one lb of fat.  

This kind of pastry is certainly not for everyday, though.

 

Nancy Kiel

 

 

Date: Fri, 6 Jun 2008 19:52:39 -0500

From: "Terry Decker" <t.d.decker at worldnet.att.net>

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Coffyn Paste

To: "Cooks within the SCA" <sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>

 

If I were trying to make a free-standing coffin, I would probably try two

recipes. The first would be flour and water at 3:1 by weight, adding flour

about an ounce at a time until it reached the consistency I thought would

work. 2:1 gives a semi-liquid or semi-solid starter consistency.  3:1 gives

a soft dough.

 

If I were using a fat in the mix, I would start with a standard 3:2:1,

flour, fat and liquid, again adding flour an ounce at a time.  Using simply

flour and fat, 3:2.

 

Unless it is in very large quantity, salt is immaterial.  Large quantities

of salt produce a variant of putty, which can be prepared by feel.  This is

an experiment I would not want to repeat outside of Kindergarten.

 

Eggs are both liquid and fat.  I would estimate a large egg as 1 ounce of

fat and two to three ounces of liquid.

 

Bear

 

<<< We've had some lively conversations about the dough needed to make an

inedible, free-standing coffyn in the past few months.

 

People have mentioned ingredients - flour - lard and/or water - salt -

sometimes eggs. But i don't recall seeing one with some idea of

proportions. I know that flours vary in the amount of water they'll

absorb, so i'm not asking for an exact recipe. But i was hoping to get

something with more details than just a list of potential ingredients.

--

Urtatim (that's err-tah-TEEM)

the persona formerly known as Anahita >>>

 

 

Date: Thu, 22 Jan 2009 18:21:18 -0600

From: "Terry Decker" <t.d.decker at att.net>

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Best bulk pie crust recipe?

To: "Cooks within the SCA" <sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>

 

<<< I am embarrassed to admit I have never made pie crusts from scratch for a

feast. >>>

 

Having done it, I can assure you it is no great virtue and a lot of work.

To save time I generally use purchased pie shells.  I purchase ones made

with vegetable shortening rather than lard as there are a number of

vegetarians running around and at least one of the people I feed on occasion

has an allergy to pork and pork products.

 

<<< I am making chard and ricotta pies for a feast coming up, and I'd like to

do covered coffin-style pies but I'm afraid a period hard crust would be

seen as just "bad pie crust" around here.

 

I would prefer not to use vegetable shortening (yuck), but butter would be

too expensive and lard means even fewer vegetarian dishes. Oil pastry

doesn't have enough stability for a coffin-style pie.

 

What is your favorite bulk pastry recipe? Have you made hard pastry cases

for feasts? How were they received?

 

Madhavi >>>

 

You might just let people know that the coffin shell is not meant to be

eaten.

 

Or you might try the Elizabethean pie shell recipe that follows.  I would

recommend blind baking the pie shell and cooking the filling seperately.

I've used it successfully for sweet spinach torts/

 

Bear

 

Elizabethan Pie Shell

 

Another Way. Then make your paste with butter, fair water,

and the yolkes of two or three Egs, and so soone as ye have

driven your paste, cast on a little sugar, and rosewater, and

harden your paste afore in the oven. Then take it out, and fill

it, and set it in againe.

 

The Good Huswifes Handmaid, 1588

 

1/2 cup butter

1 1/2 cup flour (approx.)

2 egg yolks

1/3 cup water

sugar

 

In a bowl, cut butter into 1 cup of flour, until it crumbs.

Add egg yolks and cut into mixture. Add additional flour a

Tablespoon at a time until the moisture is absorbed into the

crumbs.

 

Add the water and cut into mixture. Add additional flour a

Tablespoon at a time, as needed, until the moisture is absorbed

into the crumbs.

 

Push the crumbs into a ball, working the dough gently for a few

seconds to smooth it.

 

Let the dough rest for 15 to 30 minutes.

 

Roll out the crusts on a floured surface and transfer to pie pans.

The recipe makes two 8 or 9 inch pie shells.

 

Prick the pie shells to let air vent from between the shell and

the pan.

 

Sprinkle sugar on the shell before baking. I used about a scant

1/4 teaspoon granulated white.

 

If the shell is to be filled after baking, bake the shell at 325

degrees F for about 35 minutes or until very light brown.

If the filling needs to be baked in the shell, bake the shell at 325

degrees F for about 10 minutes, remove, fill and continue

baking as per the filling recipe.

 

Notes: This recipe makes very light, crisp pie shells. If the

dough is worked minimally, the result is flaky and very similar

to modern pie shells. The more the dough is worked, the more

the pie shell resembles a crisp or cracker.

 

By taste, salt is noticeably missing from the crust, but the sugar

modifies the taste. A fine ground white sugar or a brown sugar

might present interesting differences.

 

As written, this recipe appears to be for a dessert shell, but it

might also represent an interesting contrast for a savory filling.

 

 

Date: Thu, 22 Jan 2009 20:04:31 -0500

From: Gretchen Beck <grm at andrew.cmu.edu>

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Best bulk pie crust recipe?

To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>

 

I've used this shell with savory filling (herb tarts) -- it's quite nice

and fairly sturdy.  I have a friend who took the leftover dough home and

made empanadas (her mother still refers to me as "the girl who made the

good dough")

 

toodles, margaret

 

<<< Elizabethan Pie Shell

 

Another Way. Then make your paste with butter, fair water,

and the yolkes of two or three Egs, and so soone as ye have

driven your paste, cast on a little sugar, and rosewater, and

harden your paste afore in the oven. Then take it out, and fill

it, and set it in againe.

 

The Good Huswifes Handmaid, 1588

 

1/2 cup butter

1 1/2 cup flour (approx.)

2 egg yolks

1/3 cup water

sugar >>>

 

 

Date: Fri, 23 Jan 2009 07:43:59 +1300

From: Antonia Calvo <ladyadele at paradise.net.nz>

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Best bulk pie crust recipe?

To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>

 

jimandandi at cox.net wrote:

<<< I am embarrassed to admit I have never made pie crusts from scratch for a feast. >>>

 

That's ten lashes with a gluten-free noodle for you!

 

<<< I would prefer not to use vegetable shortening (yuck), but butter would be too expensive and lard means even fewer vegetarian dishes. Oil pastry doesn't have enough stability for a coffin-style pie.

 

What is your favorite bulk pastry recipe? Have you made hard pastry cases for feasts? How were they received? >>>

 

I usually make hot water pastry.  It's not quite as tender as cold-water

pastry, but if you really want free-standing crusts, you need the

stiffest, least-short version. Keep in mind that a coffin isn't really

meant to be eaten.

 

Anyway, recipes:

 

Hot Water Crust

 

500g flour

150g butter, shortening, lard, or other hard fat, or a combination of

butter and one other.

200ml water

pinch of salt

 

Put the flour in bowl with the salt.  In a small pot, heat the water and

fat 'til it just boils and all the fat is melted.  Pour the hot liquid

into the flour and mix together.  Knead a little 'til you have a smooth

ball.

 

For a richer crust, use the following amounts

300g fat

150ml water

 

For a stiff version that will make standing crusts

90g fat

300 ml water

 

The first two versions are quite edible, although not as tender as

cold-water pastry.  The final version is a bit marginal for

palatability, but is very sturdy.  I don't do hard cases very often--

it's a bit tricky, and I'm not very good at it, so for the sake of

expediency, I usually use pie pans.

--

Antonia di Benedetto Calvo

 

<the end>



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