Friday 6 March

 

Within itself, bread is not a meal but it was a vital part of the Medieval and Renaissance diet.  The Medievalists already did an excellent run down on bread in the middle ages so I won't bore you here with repeating what they've already done.

For my bread, I used mostly what I had around the house.  The all-purpose baking flour would have been for the rich in the Renaissance but it is something that was used.  I also used olive oil, honey, salt, and a cheater starter.  Honey I've previous documented as being used specifically during lent.  The cheater starter is just half flour, half water, and a teaspoon or so of yeast left for 24 hours before I made the bread.  

This isn't too out there for what they did in the medieval period.  Ale-barm has been used since the Romans, really.  All ale-barm is is the yeasty foam on top of ale.  Bakers would collect this and use it in breads and cakes.  This still happens today though the practice mostly lessened in the 18th and 19th centuries.  While the English Housewife is from the early 17th century (the link says 1660, but it also says it's the seventh printing.  The original is from 1615.), it at least shows multiple uses for barm as a leavening agent.  

The cheater starter also happened to smell like ale after 24 hours.  :-)  

To Make a Cheater Starter

1/2 cup of flour 

1/2 cup of warm water

1 teaspoon of yeast ( I used Fleischmann's Active Dry Yeast)

Mix it all together in a jar.  I used a cleaned out jalapeños jar.  Leave with only a cloth or a napkin covering it somewhere out of the way but warmish.  It will smell fermented after 24 hours.  

To Make Bread

3~ cups of flour

1 tablespoon of salt

1 tablespoon of olive oil (any oil or fat will do)

3 tablespoons of the charter starter

1/4 cup of honey (sugar is also fine here)

1 cup of water

I added half a cup of water to start to the above mix.  KEEP THE FLOUR ON HAND!  You'll want to add more to the mix as you are blending and kneading it.  Once you've mixed everything to a dough consistancy, add some more flour and just mix it in with your hands.  Keep kneading it until the dough no longer feels sticky.  You'll have to play with the water versus flour levels as you are mixing it and kneading it.  If it's all clumpy and not forming one bit clump, add more water.  If it's not doughy enough and too wet, add more flour.  

Once it feels not sticky, put it in a pan.  Let it rise for a few hours and then punch it down.  Put some olive oil over the top of the dough and let it rise overnight.   

Bake at 375F/190C for 35 minutes.   

The bread is honestly really good.  I had some this morning with just a bit of my butter flavored olive oil (Yes, it's a thing) and salt.  I'll have more later but it's good it's a fasting day or I'd eat the whole thing!