Medieval Trencher

Hearty whole grain loaf meant to be sliced and used as a plate

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City/Region: England

Time Period: Medieval

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Instead of plates, medieval dinners were served on trenchers, which were hearty loaves of whole grain bread that were sliced horizontally. Whole grain flours like spelt, oat, and barley—the expensive ones today—were seen as junk, and so they were used to make this bread that was only eaten by dogs or peasants after the nobility had used it as plates.

This kind of bread was so common that no one wrote down recipes for it, so this recipe is a combination of the work of excellent culinary historians and later recipes from the Renaissance.

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Ingredients:

• 2 1/4 cups (250 g) whole wheat flour, preferably stone ground
• 250 g any other whole grain flour*
• 2 1/2 teaspoons (1 packet, or 7 g) dry yeast
• 2 cups (475 ml)warm water

*Dark rye, oat, spelt, whatever you like. I used half dark rye and half oat. If you don't have a kitchen scale, that's about 1 1/4 cups rye flour and 1 1/3 cups oat flour.

Instructions:

1. Mix the flours and yeast together in a large bowl. Add the water and mix them together to form a shaggy dough.
2. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until the dough is fairly smooth and holds together well, about 15-20 minutes by hand or 10 minutes in a stand mixer.
3. Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover it, and let it rise for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, or until it’s nice and puffy. Unlike some other bread doughs, we don’t need it to double in size.
4. After the dough has gotten puffy, turn it out and gently knock out the air. Form the dough into a round loaf. Since the dough isn’t very stretchy, be careful not to tear it as you shape. Cover it again and let it rise for 20 minutes.
5. While the dough rises, place a baking sheet in the oven and preheat the oven to 450°F (230°C).
6. When the dough has risen, score the top with a sharp knife or bread lame in the shape of an X or a star, then carefully transfer it to the hot baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes at 450°F (230°C), then lower the temperature to 375°F (190°C) for 20 minutes, or until the loaf is baked through.
7. Once the trencher has cooled, leave it out uncovered for three days, or until it has become stale. Slice it horizontally to create two to four trenchers, then serve your favorite medieval meal forth upon them.

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