Rastons: A Medieval Pastry Disguised as Bread
A loaf baked and sliced into “sops.”
This month I’m focusing on sops and pottages from Harleian MS 279. In medieval cuisine, sops were thick slices of bread soaked in broth and served at the start of a meal—think of the bread on top of French onion soup. Pottages were simple soups or stews, common fare for all classes, yet rarely highlighted in SCA feast menus.
To complement these dishes, I recreated a historical recipe for Rastons—a small, enriched round loaf found in 15th-century manuscripts. Traditionally, the top was cut from the bread like a crown, the crumb scooped and mixed with clarified butter, and then baked again. For my purposes, I simplified this process and sliced the loaf into sops instead.
Wondering how this fits into a medieval day? Rastons can be served in the early morning hours as a sop—bread meant to soak up warm broth, milk, or wine. Learn more in my post on What Did People Eat for Breakfast in the Middle Ages?
Original Recipe – Harleian MS 279:
.xxv. Rastons.—Take fayre Flowre, & the whyte of Eyroun, & the ȝolke, a lytel; þan take Warme Berme, & putte al þes to-gederys, & bete hem to-gederys with þin hond tyl it be schort & þikke y-now, & caste Sugre y-now þer-to, & þenne lat reste a whyle; þan kaste in a fayre place in þe oven, & late bake y-now; & þen with a knyf cutte yt round a-boue in maner of a crowne, & kepe þe cruste þat þou kyttyst; & þan pyke al þe cromys withynne to-gederys, an pike hem smal with þin knyf, & saue þe sydys & al þe cruste hole with-owte; & þan caste þer-in clarifiyd Boter, & Mille (mix) þe cromeȝ & þe botere to-gedereȝ, & keuere it a-ȝen with þe cruste, þat þou kyttest a-way; þan putte it in þe ovyn aȝen a lytil tyme; & þan take it out, & serue it forth.
Modern Interpretation by Dan Myers at Medieval Cookery:
Take fair flour, egg whites and a little yolk, warm barm (or yeast in ale), and beat them together until thick. Add sugar and let rest. Shape and bake. Cut a crown from the top, crumble the inside, mix with clarified butter, refill, replace crown, and bake again briefly. Serve warm.
My Adaptation:
- 3–4 cups flour (3:1 white to whole wheat)
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 1 cup warm ale (Brown Barrel Bomber, bourbon barrel aged)
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 packet dry yeast
To simulate ale barm, I dissolved dry yeast into warm ale. I then created a sponge by mixing ½ cup flour with the ale, sugar, and eggs, and allowed it to ferment for 20 minutes.
Sponge after proofing 20 minutes
I combined the sponge with the rest of the flour and kneaded it into a soft dough, which I shaped into a round loaf and allowed to rise until doubled. Then I baked it at 450°F for 20 minutes until hollow-sounding and golden.
Soft, tender crumb with a good crust—perfect for slicing into sops.
This bread—er, pastry—was a hit! The crust was crisp, the inside soft and flavorful from the ale. I preferred it even to my usual Manchet or French loaves.
Is Rastons Bread or Pastry?
Jim Chevallier, a noted food historian, points out that Rastons are not technically bread—the addition of eggs classifies them closer to pastry. The term “ratons” in French supports this classification. So while we often treat them like bread, they likely occupied a distinct place in medieval baking.
“CECI N'EST PAS UN PAIN... These were NOT breads. The recipe in question includes egg whites and yolks, reflecting the fact that a raton was a PASTRY.”
🔗 Related Links:
🍞 Curious About Medieval Bread?
If you’re wondering how Rastons compare to common breads of the Middle Ages, check out my earlier post: On the Making of Bread. It explores what everyday bread looked like, how it was made, and how Rastons fit into the broader medieval baking tradition.
Next Up: I’ll be using these Rastons in a series of posts about medieval sops and pottages. Stay tuned!
- Rastons – Egg-enriched bread for soaking in broth
- Soupes Dorye – Toasted bread in spiced almond milk
- Lyode Soppes – Early custard-style bread pudding
- Soupes Jamberlayne – Bread soaked in mulled wine
- Egges yn Brewte – Poached eggs in spiced broth
- Eyron en Poche – Poached eggs with herbs in sauce
- Pressmetzen zu Ostern – Spiced Lenten breakfast bread
- Spiced Apples and Pears – Stewed fruit with wine and spice
- Fennel and Bacon Bread – Rustic loaf with herbs and meat
- Frumenty and Venyson – Cracked wheat porridge with game
☕ Looking for even more morning inspiration?
Don’t miss the original article: Breakfast: Five Medieval Banquet Dishes »
