Cake Bread

Introduction
This is a re-creation of a recipe from Archimagirus Anglo-Gallieus; Or, Excellent & Approved Receipts and Experiments in Cookery (England, 1658), entitled "Cake Bread".

This is a bread with currants in it, along with a hint of nutmeg, cinnamon, and rosewater.



The Source Recipe
The original text of the recipe is as follows:

"Take one Gallon of flowre, two pound of Currans, and one pound of butter or better, a quarter of a pound of sugar, a quarter of a pint of Rose-water, halfe an ounce of nutmeg, & half an ounce of Cinnamon, two egs, then warm cream, break the butter into the flower, temper all these with the creame, and put a quantity of yest amongst it, above a pint to three gallons, wet it very lide, cover your Cake, with a sheet doubled, when it comes hot out of the Oven; let it stand one hour and a half in the Oven." (Matterer)

Related Recipes
While interpreting this recipe, I also considered the following recipe that appears to be related:

          To make a Cake otherways, from the Accomplisht Cook (England, 1660), #239

          "Take a gallon of very fine flour and lay it on the pastry board, then strain three or four eggs  with a pint of barm, and put it into a hole made in the middle of the flour with two nutmegs finely beaten, an ounce of cinamon, and an ounce of cloves and mace beaten fine also, half a pound of sugar, and a pint of cream; put these into the flour with two spoonfuls of salt, and work it up good and stiff, then take half the paste, and work three pound of currans well picked & rubbed into it, then take the other part and divide it into two equal pieces, drive them out as broad as you wold have the cake, then lay one of the sheets of paste on a sheet of paper, and upon that the half that hath the currans, and the other part on the top, close it up round, prick it, and bake it; being baked, ice it with butter, sugar, and rose water, and set it again into the oven." (May)



Materials
The original recipe calls for the following ingredients:

flour
currants
butter
sugar
rosewater
nutmeg
cinnamon
eggs
cream
yeast

For this recipe, I used Zante currants. In earlier manuscripts, the Zante currants that we know were previously referred to as "raisins of corinth", which are raisins made from the black corinth grape. Over time, these were referred to as currants.

Also, I chose to use salted butter rather than unsalted butter. Medieval butter was salted for preservation. "A typical modern salted butter contains 1-2 percent salt, whereas medieval butter contained 5-10 times as much: according to a record of 1305, 1 pound of salt was needed for 10 pounds of butter, i.e., the butter was 10 percent salt." (Wilson) Although the salt would have been washed out of the butter prior to use, I believe some trace amounts of salt remained in the butter.

Procedure

The original recipe indicates adding all of the ingredients together at one time. First, create the yeast. Next, combine the flour and water. Then, add the yeast to it. Once a dough has formed, then add the other ingredients, saving the currants for last.

Ingredients:

6 cups flour
2 cups water
1 package of yeast
1/4 cup sugar
10 Tbsp butter
8 oz. currants
3 Tbsp rosewater
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp cinnamon
1 egg
1/8 cup cream

Here is a video of the bread being made. Put a damp cloth over the bowl for 1 hour. Poke the bread (after it has risen) to flatten it. Roll it out on a floured board with a rolling pin. Divide it and fold it into the two bread pans. Place the damp cloth over the bread pans for 1 hour. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Bake in the oven for 40-45 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow it to cool before serving.

Yield 2 loaves.

Thank you to Master Edouard "Doc" Halidai for your guidance, as well as reviewing and revising my ingredient measurements. Thank you to Master Conal O'Hairt for your advice on bread making.

Bibliography
 
Matterer, James. L. "Cake Bread." 17th Century English Recipes. England: 1658. http//www.godecookery.com/engrec/engrec46.html. 30 October 2019.

May, Robert. "To make a Cake otherways." The Accomplisht Cook. England: 1660. http://www.gutenberg.org/files/22790/22790-h/cook1.html. 30 October 2019.

Wilson, Bee. Consider the Fork: A History of How We Cook and Eat. 2013.

https://books.google.com/books?id=mg4aAdxORk0C&pg=PT130&lpg=PT130&dq=medieval+butter+salted&source=bl&ots=we5jYocPCb&sig=ACfU3U39pEFiwuJuyXMAKaiYiaS4dSO8kg&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiDhNmJ4ZnmAhVQF6wKHeHHAbsQ6AEwDHoECAkQAg#v=onepage&q=medieval%20butter%20salted&f=false. 2 December 2019.