Plausibly Period: Gluten-Free in the Middle Ages (Class held at Pennsic 2017)

Second Trip to Pennsic, First Time Teaching at Pennsic!

I was lucky enough to attend Pennsic War 2017 this summer.  While there I taught a class on gluten-free food in the Middle Ages.  I've done quite a few classes elsewhere specifically about how to prepare a gluten-free feast and on allergy/diet awareness but this time I wanted to include some of the history I have discovered over the last few years as well as my personal philosophy and thoughts on the subject.  And of course, I wanted to share samples too!  I had anticipated perhaps 8 people per class, but I was overjoyed to host about 20 people in peace week and 10 in war week.  I ran out of hand-outs, recipe pages and samples!  My audience was generally made up of about two thirds with celiac disease/gluten intolerance and one third simply interested in how to incorporate gluten-free food into their feasts.  The feedback was overwhelmingly good with much gratitude for holding a class on this particular diet restriction.  As nervous as I was to teach, it was all worth it, my favourite moment being when one lady came up to me and exclaimed, "Thank you!" and gave me a big hug!

So, in case you missed it, here's the tutorial:

Plausibly Period:  Gluten-Free in the Middle Ages

Covered in this tutorial:

·         History about celiac disease and gluten-free dining.

·         Gluten-free grains and other ingredients in the Middle Ages.

·         A bit of the science behind gluten-free baking.

·         Tips on how to incorporate gluten free selections into your feasts.

·         Recipes and samples.

About Me:

In 2005 I was diagnosed with celiac disease, which, for those who may not know, medically requires a gluten-free diet.  When I joined the SCA a couple of years later I realized I would have to find safe ways to enjoy feasts, especially dessert!  So I began making gluten-free treats to bring to events.  Once people tasted my gluten-free goodies and started asking how to make them I began to do various classes on gluten-free feasting because it was obvious the interest was there and I wanted people to know how to safely prepare it.  My favourite thing to make is pies and pastries because there are so many medieval fillings that are naturally gluten-free.  However, when I offered to teach a class on how to make my gluten-free pastry I was challenged with an opinion that offering a class on making gluten-free pastry did not subscribe to period cooking because it was a modern day recipe.  I never taught that class, but that opinion inspired me to de-bunk the myth that gluten-free food was not within the parameters of the Middle Ages.  I eventually developed a plausibly gluten-free pie crust with oat flour.  I continued playing with more period dessert recipes and cooked my first event on April Fool’s Day this year called “Fool’s Paradise” …basically a backwards kind of day with a dessert day-board and breakfast for dinner feast!  And yes, it was 100% gluten-free!  And just this past week I finished a project on medieval gluten-free bread I call “Breadventures”.    I basically spent the last few months experimenting with over 30 different recipes to come up with something I consider edible and would serve to other people. 

My Philosophy:

•          Just because people didn’t know about celiac disease in the Middle Ages doesn’t mean it didn’t exist. We just happen to know more about it now.  And there are people, doctors even, who don’t know about celiac disease today.
•          In the SCA, when we do A&S projects, there is a high emphasis on historical documentation, especially extant examples from museums or as pictured or described in manuscripts.  My philosophy when it comes to gluten-free recipes that I consider medieval is as long as the ingredients and methods are plausible and documented, why shouldn’t I create my own recipes?  I don’t see why people in the Middle Ages wouldn’t be inspired to try different foods and alter recipes and diets for their own personal taste and well-being.
•          There is no reason why small substitutions such as switching from wheat flour to rice flour or regular breadcrumbs to gluten-free breadcrumbs should be an authenticity issue or taste issue when preparing feasts.  Cooks already make many substitutions for taste, availability of ingredients, and differences in quality and processing of ingredients today compared to medieval times.  Gluten-free substitutions won’t destroy the integrity of most recipes.
•          With that said, I personally believe that everyone in the SCA should be allowed to do what they love without limits.  Cooks prepare feasts because they enjoy it.  I actually DON’T believe guests should expect cooks to cater to every diet because it can take the joy out of it.  In my personal experience, as long as the cooks can give a detailed list of the feast and ingredients I can make my own decisions on what I can or can’t eat and will bring my own food to supplement.

Interesting History:

•          Celiac disease considered a modern disease. 
•          Actual cause of celiac disease was not discovered until the 1950s:  During the Dutch famine of 1944-45 during World War II, wheat supplies were very low due to the war.    Despite the famine, it was found that children with celiac disease seemed to thrive during this time and once the wheat supplies returned after the war, their illness returned.
•          Celiac disease has been known for centuries.  It was first described by Greek physician Aretaeus of Cappadocia who wrote a treatise on diseases circa the 1st century AD.  He did not know the correlation between gluten and the disease, which he named the Coeliac Affection, but his description of the symptoms is of the disease we know today.
•          In 2008, the skeleton of a young woman was discovered at the Cosa archaeological site in Italy, which showed signs of celiac disease.  DNA analysis of the remains tested positive for a gene variant that is found in nearly all celiac patients in modern populations. 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.

 Diet and Health in the Middle Ages:

•          Diet and health were very closely related in the Middle Ages.
•         Food was a main consideration for medieval physicians because of its relation to health.  Those who were on staff in noble homes were quite involved in decisions about menus for the cooks.
•         Medieval cooks were not only knowledgeable about food, but also familiar with the “humours” or well-being of the body.
•          Many manuscripts from the late Middle Ages were medical treatises and recipe books combined. A well-known manuscript called The Forme of Cury from 1390 actually has a quote about the contribution of physicians:  A translation goes something like:  “…compiled by consent and deliberation of the masters of medicine and of alchemy that dwelt in his (Richard II’s) court…”
•          Environmental change and low social rank would force the use of ingredients that were naturally gluten-free.  Examples:  1) Ergotism, a disease resulting from rye grain infected with the ergot fungus, killed many people in the early Middle Ages.  2) Wheat prices soared due to famine in 1314.  3)  Crop failure lead to famine and plague in 1364.  4)  Records mention the poor and victims of famine would stretch their grain supply for bread by adding barley, oats, beans, chestnuts, lentils, green beans, peas, sawdust, grass and weeds.

 Gluten-Free Grains and Other Ingredients Existed and Were Used in the Middle Ages:

•          Wheat may have been the most popular and esteemed flour in the Middle Ages but it certainly wasn’t the only one used.
•         Other grains and ingredients included barley (not gluten-free), rye (not gluten-free), oats (gluten-free if pure), peas, beans, lentils, green beans, millet, rice, fava beans and chickpeas (garbanzo beans), almonds and other nuts.

Recipes:

•         Recipes in the Middle Ages were not the exact science we know today.  Most extant medieval cookbooks that have survived include names of ingredients but little information on quantities, measurements, exact seasonings, temperatures, or cooking times.
•         Many recipes were more than likely passed down among bakers and families by mouth or by hands-on experience.  Especially for bread, it was such a common act that it has been compared to boiling water.

Binding Agents:

•          Binding agents are the key to the difference between an edible baked good and a rock.·         Found in grains such as wheat, barley, rye and spelt, gluten is a blend of proteins attached to the endosperms of the grain that, when combined with liquid, will bond, giving elasticity, air pockets, shape and chewiness to the baked goods we love the most.
•          Xanthan gum, giving elasticity and body to gluten-free baking, is the result of a bacterial fermenting process that provides a slimy substance that is dried and ground into a powder.  Unfortunately, if strict authenticity is desired, it is not a medieval ingredient because it was not discovered until the 1950s.
•          Some gluten-free bakers rarely use xanthan gum at all due to its tendency to be hard to digest, so they use other binding agents that ARE found in the Middle Ages.  Eggs, gelatin, and ground flax mixed with water are all possibilities that are documented to have been used in the Middle Ages.

Incorporating Gluten-Free Selections Into Your Feast:

•          The easiest and safest way to incorporate gluten free items into a feast is to use prepared gluten-free baking mixes or gravy mixes, etc. that you can find at most stores these days.  And though I’ve managed to come up with an edible medieval gluten-free bread recipe, the easiest way to offer gluten-free bread at feasts is to buy a package for just those people who need to eat gluten-free and make sure to keep it completely separate from regular bread.  This goes for pastry shells as well.
•          Slight tweaking to other recipes with gluten-free ingredients can be easy and make hardly a difference to taste or texture.
•          Flouring Meats: Rice and millet flours are both medieval ingredients.
•          Breadcrumbs:  Gluten-free bread crumbs work well…there are some pre-packaged ones available at stores, but many of them contain a lot of cornmeal which will change texture and taste of a recipe.  I prefer to allow gluten-free bread to sit on the counter for a day or two to dry out and then either break it into crumbs with my hands or use a blender to produce a very fine mixture.  No one will likely notice the difference.  I’ve used gluten-free breadcrumbs to make gingerbread candy.
•          Gravies and Sauces: Rice flour is a medieval ingredient and works well to thicken hot liquids. If you’re not worried about authenticity, corn starch alone or combined with rice flour works very well.  There are also prepackaged gluten-free gravy mixes available.  Unless you’re using homemade broth, make sure to check ingredients on packages of bouillon cubes and other broth products…many are not gluten-free.  Barley malt or wheat are the ingredients that you will see on non-gluten-free packages.
•          Puddings and Pie Fillings:  Cornstarch, potato starch, tapioca or arrowroot will substitute well.
•          Gluten-free is a Sticky Business!:  Gluten-free cake batter, bread dough and pastry dough tend to be “wetter” and much stickier than regular batter and dough.  Don’t be tempted to reduce the liquid needed in a recipe.
•          Parchment Paper and Foil Are Your Friends:  Because of the sticky batter and dough, lining dishes and pans with parchment paper will make it a lot easier to remove the final product and will save you from a lot of scrubbing!  Cross contamination is a huge issue when baking gluten-free.  Parchment paper will allow you to use your own pans and baking dishes without worry of cross-contamination.  Foil can be used to line cutting boards or plastic serving trays that might hold gluten in them.  Foil roaster pans, pie pans, and cake pans will eliminate cross contamination and are disposable too!