Perfectly Plausible and Period! Gluten Free Pastry and Shortbread: Celiac Disease and Gluten Free Food...More Medieval Than You'd Think

Perfectly Plausible and Period!  Prepared for the Tir Mara Arts and Sciences Competition, November 2014

Following a rather fierce discussion about the credibility of holding a class on preparing gluten free pastry for medieval cooking, I was inspired to research and prepare plausible gluten free pastry that would exist in the Middle Ages.  The result uncovered some surprising history and the expansion of my idea into 2 recipes, including shortbread as well as pastry.

A definition of celiac disease from the Canadian Celiac Association:  “Celiac disease is a medical condition in which the absorptive surface of the small intestine is damaged by a substance called gluten. This results in an inability of the body to absorb nutrients: protein, fat, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals, which are necessary for good health…Gluten is a protein found in wheat, rye, triticale, barley… Common symptoms are anemia, chronic diarrhea, weight loss, fatigue, cramps and bloating, irritability…At present there is no cure, but celiac disease is readily treated by following the gluten-free diet.” (1)

People generally consider celiac disease to be a modern disease, since the research discovering the ingestion of wheat proteins as the cause of the disease by Dutch pediatrician, Willem Karel Dicke, MD was recognized in 1952. (2) In actual fact, celiac disease was first described by Greek physician Aretaeus who wrote a general treatise on diseases around the 1^st century AD. (3)  Though he had not found the correlation between celiac disease and gluten, his description of the disease, which he named the Coeliac Affection described the symptoms of the disease we know today. (4)  The works are extant, having been translated into English by Francis Adams in 1856. (5)

In 2008, the skeleton of a young woman was discovered at the Cosa archaeological site in Italy, which showed signs of celiac disease and in addition, DNA analysis of the remains tested positive for a gene variant that is found in nearly all celiac patients in modern populations. (6) Carbon and nitrogen isotopes related to food intake analyzed indicated that the woman likely ate more meat and freshwater fish and fewer plants than other people living in the same area which lead scientists to believe she may have been attempting to alter her own diet to relieve symptoms. (7)  Malnutrition due to lower status would have been unlikely since the woman was found with gold and bronze jewellery, indicating she was likely wealthy and would have had access to plenty of food. (8)

These findings would have me conclude that celiac disease has been in existence before and during the Middle Ages and, in at least a minor part, has moved people to attempt to alter their diets or in the very least notice a difference in symptoms by eliminating some foods despite not understanding what they were up against.

Moving on to the availability of gluten free grains, I would turn to the northern regions of Europe and the British Isles.  In the north, wheat was generally considered a rich person’s grain as the wealthy were the only ones who could afford to grow it.  (9) Among others, oats were a common grain found in the diets of peasants and those in regions suffering from famine because it was a cereal that thrived in cool, moist climates such as Wales, Scotland, Scandinavia, and parts of Germany and Russia. (10) Though famine, climate and geography were an equalizing force for the rich, there were also sumptuary laws for different classes of people to the point of stating that peasants would be healthier by eating the coarse and rough food, which also happened to be the most economical to grow. (11) There are accounts available from the 13^th and 14^th centuries in British manors that list oats as part of the rations for farmservants. (12)  When it comes to celiac disease, though regular oats are not recommended as part of a gluten free diet because they are often contaminated with gluten containing grains, pure uncontaminated oats are permitted with discretion.  (13)

Using this information, I would conclude that one could bake with oats as a plausible gluten free option for medieval recipes.

When it comes to recipes available in the Middle Ages, it is important to point out that “…cookbooks were compiled and copied by members of the educated elite, the clergy, nobility, and rich bourgeoisie, and are generally silent on the food of the lower classes, which made up the vast majority of medieval society.…cookbook writing in the late Middle Ages was truly in its infancy.” (14) In addition, the recipes available were not as accurate as the recipes we use today, often leaving out quantities and cooking times. (15) Interesting enough, I would often ask my British mother how long to bake or cook her recipes and her answer would be “Till it’s done.”

Because the extant recipes from the Middle Ages were written for the noble class and because recipes were not necessarily very accurate, I believe substituting oat flour for wheat flour in any medieval recipe would not be out of the question.

One particular food that portrays the use of oat flour is shortbread, which originated in Scotland in medieval times. (16) Despite our modern recipes for shortbread, it was originally made using oat flour and not wheat flour.  (17) In fact, shortbread itself was a food for the poor.  (18)

With the major ingredient in place, I would like to exhibit the use of oat flour in medieval recipes for shortbread and pastry.

The Scottish shortbread recipe demonstrates the use of non-exact measurements very well.  Simply put, it’s as easy as 1, 2, 3:  1 part granulated sugar, 2 parts unsalted European butter and 3 parts unbleached flour…more specifically 4 oz sugar, 8 oz butter and 12 oz flour. (19) Another source listed the same ratio listing oat flour for those wanting to make a gluten free version and included the amounts in cups as well as ounces. (20)  Both sources had slightly different baking techniques.

This is what I did in my recipe and technique:

12 oz oat flour (Bob’s Red Mill Wheat Free Rolled Oats, ground into a flour with my blender on “grind”)

8 oz butter (regular)

4 oz granulated sugar

  

I chose to use weighed amounts as I believe they tend to be more accurate than amounts measured in cups.  As well, I used regular butter as that is what I have available to me.

To make it up, I mixed the oat flour and sugar together, then mixed in the butter using cold butter in chunks and then rubbing the mixture between my fingers until the mixture was uniform.  I then pressed it into a round 8 inch round ceramic baking dish lined with parchment paper.  The prepared dish is refrigerated while the oven is warmed to 325 F.  It is then baked for approximately 55-60 minutes or until just starting to brown (*Less time if using metal pan)  Cool slightly before cutting into wedges, then cool completely before lifting from the dish (the parchment paper comes in handy for lifting it out!)  The results are rather good, though slightly more crumbly than regular shortbread.

The pastry recipe was a little more of a struggle.  The main reason for this is not being able to use a magical ingredient that is used in a lot of modern gluten free cooking called xanthan gum.  Xanthan gum, the result of adding the bacteria “xanthonomnoas campestris” to sucrose or glucose, was discovered in the 1950s in the U.S. and is widely used in gluten free baking today because it helps to bind ingredients and give good texture which simulates the missing gluten.  (21) Unfortunately, since this ingredient wouldn’t be available in the Middle Ages I would have to make do without it.

I decided to start with a known medieval recipe for pie crust:

Paest royall

Period:  England, 1545, Source:  A Propre new booke of Cokery

Original Recipe:  To make Pyes…And if you will have paest royall/take butter and yolkes of eggs & so temper the floure to make the paest.

Modern Recipe:

4 cups pastry flour

1 tsp. salt

1 ½ cup butter

4 egg yolks, slightly beaten

2-4 Tbs. ice cold water            

From:  A Boke of Gode Cookery Recipes (22)

I simply substituted the pastry flour with oat flour (Again, Bob’s Red Mill Wheat Free Rolled Oats ground into flour with my blender on “grind.”) and followed the recipe, though I halved it since I didn’t need quite so much.

My first attempt came out crumbly and was very difficult to handle…very sticky and kept falling apart as I tried to get it into the pie dish.

I experimented with varying amounts of each of the ingredients and the best result finally came back to the original recipe simply without the water.  The part that made the difference was technique.

For best results, I used cold butter, cut into cubes into the dry mixture (oat flour + salt), then rubbed it between my fingers until it blended together.  I then added the beaten egg yolks, mixing with a fork.  Once everything was combined I molded it into a dough ball, flattened it slightly, then put it into the refrigerator to cool for about an hour.  Once cooled, I took it out to roll.  The best way to roll out gluten free pie pastry of any kind is to use two pieces of parchment paper.  Put one down, sprinkle with some oat flour, put your dough on it, then sprinkle more flour, then add another piece of parchment paper to sandwich it together.  Roll it out to the desired thickness between the paper…you may have to hold onto the corner so it doesn’t slip (that’s what hips are for!).  Then when you are ready to transfer to the pie plate, peel off the first later of parchment, then gently put the piece back on, flip it and peel off the other side (this helps the dough not to stick while you are transferring it).  Then place the pie plate to be used over it and use the parchment paper to flip it, then gently press the dough into the pie plate.  There may still be some crumbling and breakage, but I found this was the best way to do it and if anything needed repairing I would simply press a small piece of extra dough into place (As my Mum always used to say, “There are no failures in this kitchen!”)  Then, you guessed it…refrigerate again for about an hour!  The refrigeration yielded the best results as it helped the dough stay together and stopped it from “melting” into the dish.  For baking, follow your recipe’s directions.

I have provided a plain crust and filled crust for taste testing.  The filled crust is filled with a custard tart recipe as follows:

2 cups light cream

4 eggs

½ cup sugar

¼ tsp salt

Pinch ground saffron

Recipe calls for baking at 450 F for 10 minutes, then at 300-325 F for 30 minutes.

From:  Pleyn Delit (23)

*I baked it at 400F for 10 minutes, then 325F for 45 minutes.

In my opinion the results are rather good.  The pastry by itself tastes good and holds up fairly well for not being able to use xanthan gum, though I don’t think it would work well with a filled turnover type recipe.  A good comparison of its texture is to say that it is not unlike a modern graham cracker crust used for some pies.

Above is a photo of my project as it was displayed at the Tir Mara A&S Championships

in November of 2014.  I didn't win, but there was nothing left at the end of the day!

In conclusion, I believe these recipes would definitely be used in medieval times even if they are not copies of extant recipes.  With the knowledge that ingredients, measurements, temperatures, techniques and times are not exact in extant recipes, we can’t be 100% sure exactly what the original recipes were in the first place.  Not only that, considering that the original recipes were written with the higher class in mind and using the best ingredients possible, written recipes using lower class ingredients such as oat flour would not be found.  And finally, knowing that there is evidence that celiac disease did exist in medieval times, preparing gluten free pastry, shortbread and other food for modern SCA feasts is perfectly plausible and period.

Sources:

1.      Ancient Bones Show Signs of Struggle With Coeliac Disease by Eren Callaway, 30 April 2014, Nature International Weekly Journal of Science, nature.com, http://www.nature.com/news/ancient-bones-show-signs-of-struggle-with-coeliac-disease-1.15128

2.      A Boke of Gode Cookery Recipes, James L. Matterer, http://www.godecookery.com/goderec/grec81.htmlCanadian Celiac Association, http://www.celiac.ca/?page_id=882

3.      British Food:  An Extraordinary Thousand Years of History by Colin Spencer, copyright 2002, Columbia University Press, page 56-57.Celiac Support Association, http://www.csaceliacs.org/history_of_celiac_disease.jsp

4.         Cook’s Info:  Xanthan Gum, http://www.cooksinfo.com/xanthan-gum.

5.      Digital Hippocrates http://www.chlt.org/sandbox/dh/aretaeusEnglish/page.102.a.php?size=240x320” The Extant Works of Aretaeus, The Cappadocian, By Aretaeus:  On the Causes and Symptoms of Chronic Disease http://www.chlt.org/hippocrates/

6.      Easy as 1-2-3-Traditional Scottish Shortbread , Dec 3, 2009,  Culinary Alchemy  http://culinaryalchemist.blogspot.ca/2009/12/easy-as-1-2-3-traditional-scottish.htmlFood and Feasts in the Middle Ages by Imogen Dawson, copyright 1994, Zoe Books Limited, pages 6-7.

7.        Food in Medieval Times by Melitta Weiss Adamson, copyright 2004, Greenwood Press, pages xix, xvii-xviii (Introduction), pages 2, 4, 63

8.      The History of Shortbread Cookies by Karen Hochman The Nibble:  Great Food Finds  A Magazine about Specialty Foods  March 2009, http://www.thenibble.com/reviews/main/cookies/cookies2/history-of-shortbread.asp

9.        Scottish Shortbread:  Gluten-free Baking Ahead of Its Time, Comestibles Blog, June 7, 2010, http://blog.kathrynmcgowan.com/2010/06/07/scottish-shortbread-gluten-free-baking-ahead-of-its-time/

10.    Pleyn Delit:  Medieval Cookery for Modern Cooks by Constance B. Hieatt and Sharon Butler, copyright 1976, University of Toronto Press, recipe #118.

11.  Wikipedia:  Areteaus of Cappadocia:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aretaeus_of_Cappadocia

  

Footnotes:

1)      Canadian Celiac Association, http://www.celiac.ca/?page_id=882

2)      Celiac Support Association, http://www.csaceliacs.org/history_of_celiac_disease.jsp

3)      Wikipedia:  Areteaus of Cappadocia:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aretaeus_of_Cappadocia

4)      Digital Hippocrates http://www.chlt.org/sandbox/dh/aretaeusEnglish/page.102.a.php?size=240x320” The Extant Works of Aretaeus, The Cappadocian, By Aretaeus:  On the Causes and Symptoms of Chronic Disease http://www.chlt.org/hippocrates/

5)      Canadian Celiac Association, http://www.celiac.ca/?page_id=882

6)      Ancient Bones Show Signs of Struggle With Coeliac Disease by Eren Callaway, 30 April 2014, Nature International Weekly Journal of Science, nature.com, http://www.nature.com/news/ancient-bones-show-signs-of-struggle-with-coeliac-disease-1.15128

7)      Ancient Bones Show Signs of Struggle With Coeliac Disease by Eren Callaway, 30 April 2014, Nature International Weekly Journal of Science, nature.com, http://www.nature.com/news/ancient-bones-show-signs-of-struggle-with-coeliac-disease-1.15128

8)      Ancient Bones Show Signs of Struggle With Coeliac Disease by Eren Callaway, 30 April 2014, Nature International Weekly Journal of Science, nature.com, http://www.nature.com/news/ancient-bones-show-signs-of-struggle-with-coeliac-disease-1.15128

9)      Food and Feasts in the Middle Ages by Imogen Dawson, copyright 1994, Zoe Books Limited, pages 6-7.

10)    Food in Medieval Times by Melitta Weiss Adamson, copyright 2004, Greenwood Press, page 2, 4

11)    Food in Medieval Times by Melitta Weiss Adamson, copyright 2004, Greenwood Press, page xix (Introduction).

12)    British Food:  An Extraordinary Thousand Years of History by Colin Spencer, copyright 2002, Columbia University Press, page 56-57.

13)    Canadian Celiac Association, http://www.celiac.ca/?page_id=882

14)    Food in Medieval Times by Melitta Weiss Adamson, copyright 2004, Greenwood Press, page xvii-xviii (Introduction).

15)    Food in Medieval Times by Melitta Weiss Adamson, copyright 2004, Greenwood Press, page 63

16)   The History of Shortbread Cookies by Karen Hochman The Nibble:  Great Food Finds  A Magazine about Specialty Foods  March 2009, http://www.thenibble.com/reviews/main/cookies/cookies2/history-of-shortbread.asp

17)    Easy as 1-2-3-Traditional Scottish Shortbread , Dec 3, 2009,  Culinary Alchemy  http://culinaryalchemist.blogspot.ca/2009/12/easy-as-1-2-3-traditional-scottish.html

18)    Scottish Shortbread:  Gluten-free Baking Ahead of Its Time, Comestibles Blog, June 7, 2010, http://blog.kathrynmcgowan.com/2010/06/07/scottish-shortbread-gluten-free-baking-ahead-of-its-time/

19)   Easy as 1-2-3-Traditional Scottish Shortbread , Dec 3, 2009,  Culinary Alchemy  http://culinaryalchemist.blogspot.ca/2009/12/easy-as-1-2-3-traditional-scottish.html

20)    Scottish Shortbread:  Gluten-free Baking Ahead of Its Time, Comestibles Blog, June 7, 2010, http://blog.kathrynmcgowan.com/2010/06/07/scottish-shortbread-gluten-free-baking-ahead-of-its-time/

21)    Cook’s Info:  Xanthan Gum, http://www.cooksinfo.com/xanthan-gum.

22)    A Boke of Gode Cookery Recipes, James L. Matterer, http://www.godecookery.com/goderec/grec81.html

23)    Pleyn Delit:  Medieval Cookery for Modern Cooks by Constance B. Hieatt and Sharon Butler, copyright 1976, University of Toronto Press, recipe #118.