The making of fine Manchet.

The making of fine Manchet is a traditional Elizabethan period recipe from England for a classic very fine white bread that is unique to the period. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Elizabethan version of: The making of fine Manchet.

prep time

20 minutes

cook time

60 minutes

Total Time:

80 minutes

Additional Time:

(+2 hours proving)

Makes:

6 loaves

Rating:

Tags : Bread RecipesBritish RecipesEnglish Recipes

Original Recipe

Modern Redaction:
How to make Fine Manchet
Take a half a bushel of unbleached all purpose flour (9.3kg), and a gallon of fair luke warm water (4.54l), almost a pint (500ml) of ale yeast in the form of barm or 5 ounces (135g) fresh yeast dissolved in that same amount of water, then mix all these together, without any more liquor, as hard as ye can handle it: then let it lie half and hour, then take it up, and make your Manchets by gently cutting the dough into 225g to 250g pieces, forming into a ball which you then flatten and deeply cut around the waist and then poke in the top five or six times with the point of a knife and then immediately let them stand almost an hour in a cool oven (approximately 120°C).
[Memorandum, that of every bushel of meal may be made five and twenty cast of bread, and every loaf to weigh a pound beside the chisel,].

In this recipe, as in all other period recipes, the 'fair' water referred to means clean spring water as opposed to rainwater gathered in barrels, which was also used. Barm is brewer's yeas that has been rinsed to remove any bitter flavour from the beer. This recipe is very unusual in that it has a very low ratio of water to flour (almost half what modern bakers use), which will give you a very stiff dough. The dough is also risen for very little time. This is also one of the few recipes to give directions as to how manchet breads are decorated. In the same volume, there is another recipe for manchet bread given as The making of manchets after my Ladie Graies use.

From what I can see, this recipe is designed to show off the flavour of the flour which should be as fresh as possible. 'Boulting' means passing the flour through fine boulting cloths to sift it. This gives a very fine result and modern equivalents would be cake flour.

It is important that the water is warm, as should the flour be. The dough when mixed should, ideally, have a temperature of 25.5°C. The original recipe calls for fresh yeast or brewers' yeast. These are preferable as they reduce the rising time. But you can use active, dried, yeast. For this you will need about 7g yeast per 500g flour. Add to your water with a pinch of sugar and allow to activate for 10 minutes before use.

Modern Redaction

Ingredients:

4.65kg fine white cake flour
2.25l water (if you live in an area where water is chlorinated, boil the water first then let it cool naturally over night), heated until lukewarm
67.5g fresh yeast
250ml lukewarm water

Method:

Mix the yeast into the 500ml lukewarm water and stir until dissolved. Turn the flour into a large bowl, form a well in the centre and add the 2.25l lukewarm water and the yeast mixture. Gradually work the flour into the liquid until you have a stiff dough. Ensure you work the dough so that all the flour is incorporated.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly-floured work surface and knead. During the time dough was often kneaded with a 'brake', a dowel or rod attached to the wall of the bakery with a swivel. You can use a stout dowel instead. Use this to press down on the dough then fold the dough over the dowel and press down again. Keep kneading until the dough is soft and satiny (this is hard work and can take up to 30 minutes). Form the dough into a ball, place in a bowl, cover with clingfilm then set aside in a warm place to rise for 60 minutes.

After this time, take the dough, knock it back, and using a knife cut into pieces between 225 and 250g in size (depending on the size of the loaf you want). Take these pieces of dough and shape into balls. Sit the balls on a floured baking tray and flatten them slightly. Now, with a sharp knife cut a deep incision around the middle of the dough (when they bake this will give the classic dumbbell shape of a Manchet). Taking the point of your knife poke this five or six times into the top of your loaf. During this forming process handle the dough gently to ensure that as much of the air trapped inside the dough as possible is retained.

Now continue shaping the remaining dough. Immediately transfer the bread to an oven pre-heated to 120°C and bake for 60 minutes. The aim is to have the bread baked through but not coloured at all. You have to remember that the Manchet was a high-class bread served at the high table and the wealthier echelons of society during this time did not appreciate crusts. Indeed, in many cases the crust would have been stripped off the loaf as soon as it emerged from the oven.

When the bread is baked, transfer to a wire rack and allow to cool. This bread is best served slightly warm as this brings out the best flavour of the flour.

Find more Traditional Tudor/Elizabethan Recipes Here.