Types of Bread

As a rule, the higher your position in society, the whiter your bread was. Manchet bread, or pain-demaine (baron's bread) was the best. It was made from carefully sifted wheat flour, but it was still brown by today's standards.

More humble people at a greyer or browner bread made from flour that had been less thoroughly sifted (ironically enough more nutritious).

I know that barley, peas and beans were a component of horse bread from some reasearch a friend of mine did. What I'd really like to know is what kind of peas and beans?

I don't squat about legumes etc of the medieval period. Anyone have some insights or research sources?

We thought we would try it out on Normandie for his Birthday in April. Yes, we celebrate horsie birthdays. Usually with something special other than the usual apples and carrots. And the meal comes with a toy (last year it was a Jolly Ball)!

But another thought did occur to me. If one were going to make "horse bread" with peas and beans, do you think the beans were soaked to soften them and then crushed to add to the mix without cooking prior to the baking? This is becoming a quest, I just know it...

I've done it for classes to show what famine food was. Grind your dried peas in a clean food mill until a flour and mix with your regular whole wheat flour. Its actually rather tasty....
(modern split peas are not medieval but yield an identical result to dried whole peas in my experiments)

dont forget, too, that "beans" means things like garbanzos and fava beans; but not kidney, green beans, lima beans etc!

also every should know that bread cut with this stuff was the stuff you ate when you were so hungry the furniture looked tasty. Bread was cheap and readily available. Even if you were the poorest guy in the village you could get bread and grain as wages, etc. (or so my reading has suggested...)

I was wondering about that. So, in your opinion, would I take a period correct bread recipe and then "replace" a portion of the regular wheat flour with the flour made from the beans?

I did know that garbanzo beans and fava beans were available, but I didn't know about the kidney beans and such. Where do you suggest I might look to find out more about those darlings of the masses, the humble bean?

quote:

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Originally posted by Brenna:
Thanks, Anne-Marie.

I was wondering about that. So, in your opinion, would I take a period correct bread recipe and then "replace" a portion of the regular wheat flour with the flour made from the beans?

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depends on what you mean by "period correct"...there are two different philosophies, but if I was trying to guestimate a "less than fancy" bread, I would make my normal yeast risen bread and sub out 1/3 or less of the flour for ground peas. It yeilds a very pretty and nice tasting green loaf.

re: beans...basically if they're Fasiolius (beans), they're new world, and Vibrium (peas) are old world. It would be fun to play with lentil flours...never have!

there are a couple recipes for "beans" in the medieval cookbooks from the 14th and 15th century and they're quite tasty!