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Manchet
Bread1
1/2
ounce (1 package) yeast
1/2 pint
(1 cup) warm water
10
ounces (2 - 2 1/2 cups) white whole-wheat flour
5 ounces
(1 cup) all-purpose flour 1
teaspoon salt 2
ounces (4 tablespoons) softened butter
Dissolve
the yeast in half the warm water. Put the
two types of flour and the salt into a bowl;
make a well in the flour and add all the water
and butter. Mix well. Add more flour
if the mixture is too sticky to knead. Knead for
10 minutes until smooth and elastic and then put
into a greased bowl, covered with a cloth.
let the dough rise for 1 - 1 1/2 hours, or until
it has doubled in bulk. Punch
it down and shape it into rather flat, round
loaves. Put these on to a greased baking
sheet, cover with a cloth and leave to rise for
45 minutes (or until twice the size). The
loaves can be brushed with egg wash, to "endore"
or gild them before baking, and the tops can be slashed
and priced with a fork. Bake at 375
degrees (Mark 5) for 35-40 minutes.
Saffron
Bread1
This is
the English pre-Reformation Lenten bread, probably made in the late fifteenth
or early sixteenth century. It used to be made sweet, and you can still
do this by adding 1/4 pound (1/2 cup) sugar and 3 ounces (1/2 cup) raisins and
currants. This sweet version makes a delicious tea bread, and is very
good oasted. The crust is shiny and golden and the crumb a delicious
yellow.
The bread
keeps for a long time and makes attractive crumbs for breading veal and fish
fillets, while stale slices baked very slowly in the oven can be turned into
excellent rusks. Rub these with garlic and use them as a garnish for
fish soup:
makes 1
loaf
1/4
- 1/3 pint (3/4 cup) milk
1/4
teaspoon saffron
1/2
ounce (1 package) yeast
4
tablespoons lukewarm water
1
pound (3 1/2 cups) flour
2
teaspoons salt
2
eggs
Scald
the milk with the saffron. Let it cool. Dissolve the yeast in the
lukewarm water. Sift together 3/4 pound (3 cups) of the flour and the
salt. Make a well in the flour, spoon in the eggs, milk and yeast
mixture and blend. Add enough flour to prevent it becoming sticky.
Knead, adding more flour as needed, until the dough is smooth and
elastic. Put in a greased bowl in a warmish place and leave to
rise until it is double in bulk (about 45 minutes). Punch down and shape
into a round loaf. Place this on a greased baking sheet and leave to
rise until it has again doubled in size.
Bake
at 375 degrees (Mark 5) for 25-30 minutes, then cool on a rack.
If
you decide to use raisins, knead them in after punching the dough down the
first time. The sugar should be mixed in with flour at the beginning.
1Seven
Centuries of English Cooking, A Collection of Recipes by Maxime de la Falaise,
Grove Press, New York
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