Showing posts with label Bread. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bread. Show all posts

Flatbreads (Scandinavian) - A Harvest Day Lunch with the Vikings

 


The Ribe Viking Center offered an intriguing recipe for making flatbreads from various flours and then gave suggestions on how to flavor them. This is their recipe, with a few tweaks of my own.

First, I was unable to locate barley flour, so I made my own. I also added the milk that separated from the butter when I made it along with some of the whey from making the fresh cheese. In lieu of dried bilberries or dried lingonberries, I used the dried cranberries as suggested, along with hazelnuts. You could also substitute blueberries or raisins, or any dried fruit you favor.

To make your own flour

You do not need a grain mill to make your own flour. If you have a blender you can make your own flour.

I make the flour 1 cup at a time. Simply add the flour to the blender, pulse for a few seconds, and then turn it up to your highest setting, and allow it to continue to blend until the flour reaches the consistency you want. It's that easy. It should go without saying that if the blender seems like it is struggling, stop.

Before using the flour you might want to sift once or twice. You should only grind enough flour to use immediately. However, if you do make extra it can be stored in the refrigerator for about ten days, or in a freezer for a month.

Full disclosure, I have ground rice, barley, and a grain and pea mix to make various flours. The grain and pea mix was for soup originally, and it contained wheatberries.

Basic Flatbreads

Makes approximately 8 flatbreads

Ingredients

3 cups flour (I used the mix that was suggested on the Ribe Viking Site - 1 cup each of stoneground whole wheat, stoneground dark rye, and barley.

1 cup whey

Butter milk or water (in this case it was about 2 tablespoons) to make a dough that does not stick to the table

1-2 tsp. salt

Instructions

  1. Mix salt and flour together

  2. Add whey and water (buttermilk) and mix until the dough is formed

  3. Cover the dough and set it aside for approximately 30 minutes

  4. Mix in optional add-ins before dividing into 8 pieces and shaping into rounds approximately 1/2" thick. Allow the bread to set again for 20 more minutes.

  5. Heat a dry pan over medium heat. Cook the flatbreads until they are golden. Serve.

NOTE: I placed the still hot bread into a ziplock bag because I was not going to serve it right away. Don't be alarmed when you see moisture build-up, leave the bag open, and the moisture that builds up will keep the bread from turning into hockey pucks.

Opt. Flavorings

Hazelnuts

Hazelnuts and dried fruit

Honey & Thyme

Garlic or Savory

Let your conscious be your guide

(German) Precedella - Sweet "Pretzels"

 Originally published Sep 17, 2022


Try to research pretzels and you will find a lot of unverified information on their origins. What appears to be the most strongly supported theory would lead one to believe that the humble beginnings of the pretzel can be traced back to a monastery in France, or Italy. It is believed that the monks created "pretiola", Latin for "little rewards", from leftover dough which was then given out to children. It was such a popular treat that it traveled beyond France and Italy to Germany and Austria, where it became known as a "bretzel". That is a tidy tale and a great way to use leftovers - historic cooks were nothing, if not ingenious in how they used leftover food. Yesterday's roast is today's soup.


This is a recipe for an early "pretzel" which is unlike regular pretzels because it is sweet and made with wine and anise. (Thank you Frank Andrew for catching the mistake--it has been corrected.)


I cannot claim this recipe as my own. The original is located at the Cunnan wiki for Precedella.


Original Recipe


55. Nimm ein schönes Mehl/ lauter Eierdotter/ und ein wenig Wein/ Zucker und Aniß/ mach ein Teig damit an/ walg jn fein länglicht und rundt mit saubern Händen/ und mach kleine Bretzel darauß/ scheubs in ein warmen Ofen/ und backs/ daß du es nit verbrennest/ sondern fein außtrucknet/ so werden sie auch mürb und gut. Du magst auch Zimmet darunter nemmen oder nicht. Und man nennet es Precedella.


Interpretation


55. Take a fair flour/ clean egg yolks/ and a little wine/ sugar and anise/ make a dough with it/ roll it nicely long and round with clean hands/ and make little pretzels from it/ shove in a warm oven and bake/ that you do not burn it/ but until nicely dry/ like this they will be also crispy and good. You might also take cinnamon with it or not. And one calls them Precedella.


From Max Rumpolt, Ein new Kuchbuch, 1581 Translation by Ranvaig (Sharon Palmer)


Ingredients


5 egg yolks

3/4c. sugar

1/4c. sweet white wine

1/2tsp. ground fennel seed or aniseed

1/2tsp. ground cinnamon

1/4tsp. salt

2c. flour


Instructions


1. Preheat oven to 180C (350F).

2. Beat the egg yolks and sugar together until thick and pale, and then beat in the wine.

3. Stir in all the dry ingredients. The dough will be fairly sticky.

4. Roll the dough into "snakes" a little less than a 1/2 " or 1 cm. wide and curl them into pretzel shapes.

5. Place on silicone paper or well-greased baking sheets and bake for 10-15 minutes or until slightly browned.


Sources


Precedella - Cunnan". Cunnan.Lochac.Sca.Org, 2022, https://cunnan.lochac.sca.org/index.php/Precedella. Accessed 17 Sept 2022.


Rumpolt, New Kochbuch, Von Allerley Gebackens". Justus-Liebig-Universität Gießen, 2022, https://www.uni-giessen.de/fbz/fb05/germanistik/absprache/sprachverwendung/gloning/tx/rump-gbk.htm. Accessed 17 Sept 2022.


The Virtual Medieval Abbey - Monastery Life In The Middle Ages". Newyorkcarver.Com, 2022, http://www.newyorkcarver.com/inventions5A.htm. Accessed 17 Sept 2022.