Bread was one of the the most important components of the medieval diet, for all tiers of society. Most people in medieval Europe ate 2-3 pounds of bread and grains per day. The problem in trying to recreate these breads is that few recipes exist, especially from the early period of the Middle Ages. Were they so integral to the diet that nobody remembered to document them? Or was it because they were created by bakers, and bakers didn’t write cookbooks? Regardless of the reason, breads were made of some form of starch (usually in the form of wheat, spelt, rye, or barley), a liquid, salt, and a raising agent. Yeast was the most common form of leavening agent, but because they lacked dry yeasts, bakers used “old dough” (like a sourdough starter), or “barm”, a liquid yeast which is a by-product of beer making.
The bread that fed the lower tiers of medieval society was made of whole-grain flours supplemented with filler ingredients such as oats, beans, and lentils. The most common bread was called Maslin, but there was also a very low quality bread called horsebread, containing things like dry split peas and bran (and is was also fed to horses, hence the name).
Medieval nobility on the other hand tended to have bread which was made from fine whiter flour which produced a lighter bread with a finer texture. This was a time-intensive process requiring the milled flour to go through multiple siftings to remove the bran and germ. The finest of these breads was known as Pandemain (lord’s bread), made from flour sifted 2-3 times. Next were Manchet loafs made with flour that was “boulted” twice and formed into a round flattish loaf. One of the earliest known recipes for this Manchet bread can be found in Thomas Dawson’s Good Huswifes Handmaide for the Kitchen, published in England in 1594 (information on this can be found on the website of William Rubel.
The recipe below uses hard bread flour, but an ideal replication would use a stone-ground flour. The problem is that Medieval boulting methods were not perfect, and so the “white” flour produced was never really pure white (like it is today).
I N G R E D I E N T S
350g hard bread flour
¾ tsp. salt
1 tsp. active dry yeast (or 6g fresh yeast)
140ml warm water
70ml beer or ale
1 tbsp honey
In a small jug, mix together the warm water and beer, and dissolve the honey. Sprinkle in the yeast, and allow to sit for 5-7 minutes to activate. The yeast should froth up. Mix the flour and salt together in a large bowl. The wet ingredients are now combined with the dry, and the dough which is formed is kneaded by hand for about 10 minutes (this can be done on a floured surface, or as I like to do, in the bowl).
The first rise.
Form the dough into a large ball, and place back into the floured bowl, cover with a clean dish towel. Place in a warm location. The dough should double in size, which could take about 2-3 hours. When doubled in size, knock it back, punching out all the air. Remove the dough from the bowl and knead for 1-2 minutes more.
The second rise, and dusting prior to bake.
Form into a round shape, and place on a floured baking tray, and allow to rise for an additional 45-60 minutes. Preheat the oven to 420°F (220°C). Slash the top of the loaf with a sharp knife, dust with flour, and bake for 15-20 minutes.
The finished Manchet loaf
despite the snow 
i tried this recipe but the dough seems to need a whole lot more water then is called for, like i tried it with what the recipe says but it ends up making something with the consistency of a really dry gingerbread dough, i had to add nearly 100ml more water and it still still seemed a bit too firm, it seemed to bake alright though it didn’t spread out, it just kinda baked like a giant muffin.
Hmm, odd. I’ll check the recipe again this week. Sometimes I find some recipes need more liquid… depending on the flour in the area you live, as odd as it seems.
Bread needs to have a chew…and this looks like it certainly did!