The first competition I entered was our local Baronial Arts and Sciences Championship for the Barony of Ruantallan at our Twelfth Night event in February. I had but 3 pages to stuff it all into! I was rather busy helping to organize and cook for the event at which the championship was held, so it was a struggle to get it done in time. In the end, I didn't win, and from what I could tell, I didn't rank particularly well in the competition...there were, I think, 8 entries. Although discouraged, a competition isn't all about winning. Judges will often leave helpful comments for you and my judges did just that! I was able to see the holes in my argument for a medieval gluten-free bread and I was also able to see the overall appearance of the project display through someone else's eyes.
After recovering from the event hangover from Twelfth Night, my next goal was to be ready to enter the Tir Mara Crown Principality Arts and Sciences Championship on March 3rd. With my comments from the Baronial competition I dove back into the documentation and appearance of my project display. For the Tir Mara competition I was lucky to have a 5 page limit for documentation, so I was able to expand it. I also did some further research and added in some new information which helped to corroborate my original thoughts. As well, instead of merely having the bread on display for judges and populace to taste test, I also made up a "story-board" tri-fold display which included the main body of information and a few illustrations and had my ingredients on display with an appendix of all the photos from my journey. One of the most challenging aspects to this competition was that it was being held a twelve hour drive away from home! Imagine me, in my hotel room, mixing the bread dough and steaming it on a butane stove on the bathroom floor because it was ceramic and I didn't have to worry about accidentally burning a surface, not to mention the use of the bathroom fan to disperse the steam so I didn't accidentally trip the fire alarm in the room!
A photo of my gluten-free medieval bread display at the
Tir Mara Arts and Sciences competition.
The result: I didn't win...but...I was chosen as the Tir Mara Prince's Champion in Arts and Sciences. This is generally a second place standing, but when I approached His Highness in court, He explained that He did not know a lot about Arts and Sciences so He relied on His judges to choose His champion. Knowing that the judges chose me means a lot to me.
Me in my spiffy new Prince's Arts and Sciences cloak being congratulated by His Highness Prince Brennan.
So, although I have previously shared this project in a past blog post, I'd like to share the updated "winning" version for you. I'd like to say this is the end of it, but who knows. I can definitely say that it inspires me to experiment even more with gluten-free ingredients in medieval baking.
Breadventures: Gluten-Free Bread in the Middle Ages by Isolda Fairamay
*Updated with new information*
Hypothesis: The existence of gluten-free bread in the
Middle Ages is plausible, it can be made using period ingredients, and it can
taste good.
My Philosophy: If people of the Middle Ages were inspired to
alter their diets for intolerance or other health reasons, it is plausible that
the changes they made could have produced gluten-free options. As we experiment with recipes in modern
times, so would have those living in the Middle Ages. There were also likely situations that
created an environment that would have forced people to prepare food that
contained grains other than those containing gluten.
Desired Goal in the Final
Product: My
goal was not to re-create gluten-free bread into a close replica of gluten
bread, but to invent gluten-free bread that could have been made in the Middle
Ages that is edible even if it does not resemble general preconceived ideas of
“bread”.
My Parameters: Recipes for bread were almost non-existent in
the Middle Ages. (Newman, 2001) I would have to make it up as I went along. Having little to no experience in baking
regular gluten bread, much less gluten-free bread, I would need to consult some
modern-day recipe books. I would not be
able to use xanthan gum (the modern-day gluten-free baking wonder binding ingredient)
due to its non-existence in the Middle Ages, so I would have to find other
binding agents. I would only be able to
use gluten-free ingredients available in the Middle Ages. My final product would ideally avoid other
gluten-free ingredients that tend to bother my stomach such as oats and nuts. Although experimenting with oven baked
gluten-free bread I would like to have a bread that I could plausibly cook on
the “stove-top” as would be available to me during SCA camping. No electric beaters would be used. Elbow grease is my beater. Ingredients such as water, milk, salt, honey,
apple cider vinegar (common to gluten free baking) and fats would not be
discussed in depth in a historical sense because the main focus is on flours,
yeast, binding agents and method. My
main focus would be on leavened bread.
Diet and Health History: Celiac disease has been known to exist for
much longer than people realize. A
Greco-Roman physician living in approximately the 2nd Century AD,
Areataeus of Cappadocia, wrote a medical treatise entitled On the Causes and Symptoms of Chronic Disease which included the
first historical and medical narrative of celiac disease and in fact, the name
of the disease comes from his title for it.
(Tekiner, 2015) An excerpt from The
Extant Works of Aretaeus, The Cappadocian translated by Francis Adams in
1856: “Chapter VII: On the Coeliac
Affection: The stomach
being the digestive organ, labours in digestion, when diarrhœa seizes the
patient… and if this does not proceed from a slight cause of only one or two
days' duration; and if, in addition, the patient's general system be
debilitated by atrophy of the body, the Cœliac disease of a chronic nature is
formed.” (Aretaeus, circa 2nd Century)
Diet and health were very closely
tied together in the Middle Ages. Food
was a main consideration for medieval physicians as they were involved in
making decisions on food preparation and were part of the staff for high
ranking people. (Scully, 1995)
Congruently, medieval cooks were not only knowledgeable about food, but also
familiar with the “humours” or well-being of the body. (Scully, 1995) Many manuscripts from the late Middle Ages
were medical treatises and recipe books combined, evidenced by the well known The Forme of Cury from 1390 quoting
“…copiled by assent and avyssement of maistress phisik and of philosophie that
dwelled in his court…” (Scully, 1995)
Loosely translated “…compiled by consent and
deliberation of the masters of medicine and of alchemy that dwelt in his
(Richard II’s) court…” The Tacuinum Sanitatis
is a medieval health handbook written in the early Middle Ages by the Christian
physician born in Baghdad, Ibn Butlân, that became a
definitive book on health in the 14th and 15th centuries.
(Miró, 2014) The handbook is divided into six
areas, describing what is needed for good heath in each area; food and drink is
one of those areas. (Miró, 2014) Within the section on food and drink there are
descriptions of different types of bread and grains and how they affect the
body. (Anderson, 2017)
Tacuinum Sanitatis f. 61
Original description of the miniature f. 61:
Panis opus. Complexio: calida in 2º.
Electio: qui minus habet furfuris et steterit per noctem ante coctionem.
Iuuamentum: optemperat uentrem. Nocumentum: inducit pruritum et scabiem.
Remotio nocumenti: cum copanagio unctuoso. Quid generat:
nutrimentum bonum. Conuenitomnibus complexionibus etatibus temperatibus et
regionibus habitatis.
Translation:
Brown bread. Nature: hot in the
second degree. Optimum: with little crust and risen overnight before baking.
Benefit: it moves the bowels. Harm: it causes itching and scabies. Remedy for
harm: with fatty food. Effects: good food. Advisable for all temperaments,
ages, seasons and inhabited regions.
Photo and Description Accessed Online:
Medievalist.net, Medieval Manuscripts: Bread in
the 15th-century by Natalie Anderson
Tacuinum Sanitatis f. 61
Panis azimus Complectio temperate
frígida in 2º Electio salitus et bene coctus Iuuamentum corporibus lapsis et
exerccitatis Nocumentumgenerat inflationem et uentositatem et opilationem
Remotio nocumenticum vino ueteri bono Quid generat flegma viscosum et multum
Conuenitcalidis exercitantibus iuuenibus yeme frigidis regionibus.
Translation:
Unleavened bread. Nature: moderately
dry in the second degree. Optimum: salted and well baked. Benefit: for untoned
and exercised bodies. Harm: it causes bloating, flatulence and obstructions.
Remedy for harm: with good, mature wine. Effects: much thick phlegm. Advisable
for hot [temperaments], those who take exercise, youth, in winter and in cold
regions.
Photo and Description Accessed
Online: Medievalist.net, Medieval Manuscripts: Bread in the 15th-century by Natalie
Anderson. f. 62
Millet, one of the main ingredients that made it into my gluten-free bread recipe, is recommended for weak stomachs and colic in the Tacuinum Sanitatis. (Schaus)
XXII. Millet (Milium)
Nature: Cold and dry in the second
degree.
Optimum: That which is left in the
fields for three months.
Usefulness: Good for those who wish
to refresh the stomach and dry out superfluous humors.
Dangers: Not very nourishing.
Neutralization of the Dangers:
Consumed together with nourishing foods.
From the Tacuinum of Paris
Text and Photo
Accessed Online: A Boke of Gode Cookery Tacuinum
Sanitatis, James L. Matterer.
Tacuinum Sanitatis XXII. Millet (Milium)
Although the concept of balancing
the “humours” might seem rather naive, physicians would carefully manipulate
the intake of foods in the attempt to relieve the suffering from illness or
even cure it. (McCleary, 2011) Even if they were wrong about how to treat
illness with different foods compared to what we know today, physicians of the
past in the very least saw the validity of it.
Diet Alteration: There
is evidence that people in the past have altered their diets for environmental,
religious, and health reasons.
There
are many cases where social rank as well as change in environment forced use of
ingredients that were naturally gluten-free.
For example, ergotism, a disease resulting from rye grain infected with
the ergot fungus, killed many people in the early Middle Ages. (Adamson, 2004)
Wheat prices soared due to famine in 1314 and crop failure lead to famine and
plague in 1364. (Adamson, 2004) It has
been recorded that 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.
(Adamson, 2004) There were also accounts of bread made of beans and peas
called horsebread that would be fed to horses but would be eaten by people as
well. (Fjellman, 2004)
In
the article: Diet, Society, and Economy
in Late Medieval Spain: Stable Isotope
Evidence From Muslims and Christians from Candia, Valencia, the diets of
neighbouring Christians and Muslims in late medieval Spain were compared using
a stable isotope analysis of the remains of adult bone collagen. (Alexander, et al, 2014) This technique is
well- established and provides direct evidence of the diet of archaeological
populations down to a level of an individual.
(Alexander, et al, 2014) The study resulted in the ability to note the
vast differences in diet of the two religion populations. (Alexander, et al, 2014)
Similar
analysis of carbon and nitrogen isotopes was performed in a study on the
skeleton of a woman found at the Cosa archaeological site in Italy who lived in
Tuscany 2000 years ago. (Callaway, 2014)
DNA analysis of the remains done earlier tested positive for a gene variant
that is found in nearly all celiac patients in modern populations. (Callaway, 2014) Once the carbon and nitrogen
isotope analysis was performed, it revealed that the woman likely ate more meat
and freshwater fish and fewer plans than other people living in the same
location, where the area’s economy depended on the growth of wheat, leading
scientists to believe she may have been attempting to alter her own diet to
relieve symptoms of celiac disease.
(Callaway, 2014)
Social
rank, religion, environmental conditions and health issues are all cause for
diet alternation as evidenced in historical findings. It is my belief that the
existence of gluten-free bread in the Middle Ages is very plausible.
Types of Bread, Grains
and Other Bread-Making Ingredients in the Middle Ages: While considering a gluten-free medieval
bread invention, it is helpful to understand that the bread of the Middle Ages
was not one size fits all. There were
many types of bread available including:
1) Pandemain/Paindemaigne
(later called Manchet) which was the
most desirable and expensive, made with the best wheat flour and was white in
colour, 2) Wastel
which was a good quality bread and remained white in colour, 3) Cocket
which was an even cheaper white bread, 4) Cheat
which was whole wheat with the bran removed (no colour mentioned), 5) Tourte
contained husk as well as flour and was brown, 6) Horsebread which was made of beans, peas and any other grain and 7)
Clapbread which was essentially
barley bread or oatcakes. (Newman, 2001, Adamson, 2004) The Tacuinum Sanitatis by Ibn Butlân also describes whole
wheat bread, semolina bread, unleavened bread, rice bread, millet bread, brick
oven bread, baked pan bread, and ash bread. (Mendelsohn, 2013)
It
is clear from the types of bread available that there were many ingredients
available other than wheat that could be ground into flour for
bread-making. A list of ingredients
available in the Middle Ages according to Melitta Weiss Adamson in Food in Medieval Times includes wheat,
barley, rye, oats, peas, beans, lentils, green beans, millet, rice, and almonds,
hazelnuts and walnuts. (Adamson,
2004). The Tacuinum Sanitatis lists these ingredients and in addition includes
acorns, spelt, sorghum, fava beans, grass peas, cowpeas, lupin beans,
chestnuts, and chickpeas. (Mendelsohn,
2013) From these lists here are the considerations for my experiments:
Not Considered:
*Wheat,
Rye, Barley and Spelt: These grains are
not gluten-free, so would definitely not be used to make my gluten-free bread!
*Almonds
and Other Nuts: There are many
choices for use of ground nuts, however, nuts of all kinds (including almonds)
tend to bother my stomach and are a major allergy consideration when cooking
for others, so I decided to omit them. I did try some almond milk in a couple
of my recipes but since it bothered my stomach and didn’t make much of a
difference to the final product, it was omitted as an ingredient.
*Sorghum: Although sorghum was available in the Middle
Ages, its origins are from Northeastern Africa. (United
Sorghum checkoff program, 2016) I
wanted to limit my choices to ingredients that were more readily available in
Northern European areas at the time.
*Grass
Peas, Cowpeas, Lupin beans and Green Beans:
As flour ingredients, these were not common enough to be considered and
are also difficult to source as flour ingredients.
Considered and Used:
*Oats: Oats can be considered gluten-free if they
are pure and uncontaminated. I did try
oat flour in a couple of the recipe attempts, but oats tend to bother my
stomach, so they did not make it to the winner’s circle.
*Rice: Historically speaking, rice, which is a
widely used ingredient in gluten-free baking, has been around since early
ancient times; with Greeks and Romans used it not only in cooking, but also as
a medicinal use. (Adamson, 2004) Today,
white rice flour is milled from polished white rice while brown rice flour is
milled from unpolished brown rice.
(Hagman, 1999) Both types have a delicate flavour. (Katzinger, 2012) Being a very common
gluten-free baking ingredient, rice was used in most of my recipe attempts
including white rice, brown rice and sweet rice flour.
*Millet: Millet, a mild tasting grain, is part of the
grass family of rice and corn. (Hagman,
2004) It was cultivated in Europe
before 2000 BC with Greeks and Romans using it for porridge or unleavened
bread. (Adamson, 2004) It has a good level of protein and gives
lightness to bread. (Katzinger, 2012) I
used millet flour in many of my recipe attempts.
*
Fava Beans and Chickpeas: Native to
Europe, fava beans were eaten by monks and were also consumed during
Lentenfare. (Adamson, 2004) Chickpeas were particularly popular in the
Mediterranean regions of the Middle Ages. (Adamson, 2004) Chickpea or garbanzo
bean flour adds fat which adds moisture to a dough as well as protein. (Katzinger, 2012, Hagman, 1999) A mix of fava
beans and garbanzo beans is today called Garfava or Garbanzo and Fava
flour. (Hagman, 1999) I used a garbanzo/fava
flour mix in many of my recipe attempts.
Considered But Could Not
Find a Good Source:
*Peas
and Lentils: Though these
ingredients are gluten-free and were available in the Middle Ages, I did not
consider them because cross-contamination with other gluten containing legumes
can be high. I did find some pea flour
at a local bulk store, but did not feel good about using it.
Yeast: (Red Star Yeast, 2014-present) This is
the closest I can get to a period ingredient.
Binding Agents: Binding agents are 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.
(Katzinger, 2012) Discovered in
the 1950s and commercially available in the 1960s, xanthan gum is the modern
day magic ingredient that saves many gluten-free baked goods from turning into
rocks. (Oulton, 2014) Not being a period
ingredient, I could not use xanthan gum, but other binding agents such as eggs,
gelatin and flax are period. (Brady,
2016, Hagman, 1999, McNamara, 2017) Flaxseed originated in Mesopotamia and was
used widely in ancient Roman and Greek gastronomy. (McNamara, 2017) In the Middle Ages, flax was grown on
Charlemagne’s farms in 812. (Adamson, 2004) When ground flaxseed is mixed with
boiled water and left to stand for a few minutes a goopy slurry is created that
gives the binding properties gluten-free bread needs. (Ahern, 2005-2017) Ground
flaxseed became my choice binding agent.
Methods: When it comes to gluten-free bread…GOOD
gluten-free bread…the process is slightly different from regular gluten
containing bread. Ingredients are mixed
well, but there is no kneading, mainly because the dough is not like gluten
dough in that it has more of a cake batter consistency making kneading rather
messy. (Hagman, 1999) When it comes to
rising of the dough, most commonly only one rising is done for most gluten-free
recipes. (Katzinger,
2012).
There is chemistry involved that explains the reduced or no rise
time. Gluten is a mix of proteins that
are attached to endosperms of grains such as wheat, barley, rye and spelt and
when combined with liquid, the proteins bond and become very strong and
resilient, resulting in “oven spring” of the final product. (Katzinger, 2012)
The protein bonds in gluten-free dough are much less resilient and cannot
handle too much rising. (Katzinger,
2012) Once in the oven, the heat causes the feeding process of the yeast to
accelerate and eventually die. (Katzinger,
2012) Gluten dough is strong enough to hold up the bread when this happens but
gluten-free dough is not. (Hagman, 1999)
Gluten-free dough relies solely on the yeast activity in the oven to create
oven spring; if the yeast has already done most of its work during rise time on
the counter, it will die faster.
(Katzinger, 2012) Over-proofing of gluten-free dough will result in a
crumpled, shrunken loaf that comes out of the oven crumbly and dry. (Hagman, 1999) Other considerations when it
comes to making bread are temperature, humidity, oven temperature and oven type. All of these things can change how your bread
behaves. As in medieval times, no exact
rising or baking time can produce exactly the same results every time. I recorded the best timing results which made
it into my final recipe.
My Recipe: I experimented with over 30 different
recipes. Changes were made in
ingredients, ratio of ingredients, times and temperatures, and methods of
baking/cooking with my main concern being the resulting taste, texture and
longevity of the final product. The
final magic recipe and method that worked best for me is as follows: *(For
photos and a complete report on my experiments, please refer to appendix A)
Isolda
Fairamay’s Gluten-Free Leavened Medieval Bread Recipe:
2 tablespoons lard, melted
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon yeast
¼ cup + 2 tablespoons hot water
¼ cup hot water
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 oz garbanzo/fava flour
2 oz
millet flour
2 oz
rice flour
1 oz ground flax
Method:
Mix garbanzo/fava, millet and rice flours together with salt in a
bowl. In a separate bowl, mix melted lard
with ¼ cup + 2 tablespoons of hot water and stir in the ground flax. Meanwhile, mix the honey with the hot water
and sprinkle the yeast over it and stir a little. Let stand for about 5 minutes. Stir the flax mixture with the yeast mixture
together then add to the dry ingredients.
Beat with a fork or spoon until the mixture comes together and for as
long as your arms can stand mixing.
Place into a parchment lined metal dish, cover lightly with plastic wrap
and let rise for approximately 40 minutes.
On the stovetop, prepare a pot with a pressure cooker rack (metal sieve
with holes in it), a sieve that will fit in the bottom of your pot or simply
crumple up some aluminum foil to make a place for your baking bowl to sit
on. Pour enough water in so that it will
come up about a quarter of the way up the side of your baking bowl when the
bowl is set in and bring to boil. Remove
the plastic wrap from the baking bowl and cover it securely with aluminum foil. Place bowl in prepared pot, cover and steam
for about 60 minutes. Remove from dish
and place onto a cooling rack, cover lightly with a tea towel and let rest for
10-20 minutes before cutting.
A Short Discussion on My
Final Results: Millet
flour and rice flour are both mild tasting, but I was most surprised by the
garbanzo/fava flour since the taste of unbaked dough of any kind with bean
flour is not good. Once it’s baked,
however, the flavour is much better. As
it happens, the garbanzo/fava flour results give the best texture since the
protein and fat content adds moisture.
Millet also adds lightness to bread with a good level of protein. The one ingredient that provided the most
change in results was the use of ground flaxseed. Author Shauna James Ahern inspired me to mix
the flaxseed with boiling water and let it sit for a few minutes before adding
to my mixture with the resulting goopy mixture becoming the binding agent
needed. (Ahern, 2005-2017) Finally, the
method I used to “bake” the bread changed from oven baking to stove-top
steaming. This idea came to me after
making one of my mother’s “steam puddings”…why not cook my bread the same way
and see what happens? The steaming
allowed the bread to retain a lot of moisture and as a result it gave it
longevity. It tasted good out of the pot and into the next day, not just
directly from the oven. It is also a
great way to make the bread in a camping environment as I proved on my trip to
Pennsic in 2017.
*For References Please Contact the Author
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