Puff Paste Loaves aka Buttered Loaves

Following on in the series of recipes from Margaret Baker’s recipe books, I chose one from Sloane MS 2485. This book has the most culinary recipes, although there are still some medical and household recipes too. The front page is dated “The 27th of December 1672” when Margaret Baker must have been in her 60s or maybe even 70s. I wonder if this book was supposed to be a clean copy of recipes she had collected over her lifetime, a compendium of her skills and knowledge.

The recipe is titled ‘To make puff past loues” which is interesting because puff paste implies pastry, but loues (or loaves) implies a recipe for bread. In fact, the recipe is similar to those found in many sixteenth and seventeenth-century recipes under variations of the name ‘buttered loaf’.

To make puff past loues;
Take :3: pintes of fine flower & putt into it :6: yolkes of eggs & noe whites a sawcer full of good yeast; cloues mace & salt yn mould it into past with could creame this being bake yn beinge open in ye topp & putt therinto melted butter and suger;

The recipes for buttered loaves are descended from the medieval ‘rastons’ which were rolls made of bread dough enriched with butter and eggs. Once the rastons were baked, the tops were cut open and melted butter (and sometimes sugar) could be poured in, or mixed with the crumb.

Rastons.—Take fayre Flowre, & þe whyte of Eyroun, & þe 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 þePage 53 cruste hole with-owte; & þan caste þer-in clarifiyd Boter, & Mille 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 fortℏ.

There are several good recreated recipes for rastons floating around, including Maeve L’Estrange’s recipe ‘How to Make Buttery Twice-Baked Raston’ or if you prefer a video Max Miller has a Youtube episode called ‘How to Bake Medieval Rastons’.

By the 17th century, the recipes called for the dough to be spiced as it is here with cloves and mace. A variation is made with fresh cheese, as in the very next recipe from Margaret Baker:

An other Loffe;
Take a quart of new milke putt rennett to it; & wn it is turned whey it & hange ye curd up a dreaninge an hower or two; take :10: eggs leaue out :3: of their whites a little ginger a pitne of eale yeast; as much flower as will make it up in to a loafe; when it is well baked cutt it up & butter it with butter & suger your butter must be melted first with ye suger in it;

This version is almost identical to one called ‘[To] Make a Butterd Loafe’ in Martha Washington’s Booke of Cookery, suggesting they may share a published source. To try a version of this recipe, Peter Brears suggests using cottage cheese as shown in this example by Brigitte Webster (Brears 215, 136) .

 

Margaret Baker’s Puff Paste Loaves

480g flour (stone-milled would be great but strong white flour will do fine)
4 cloves, ground (preferably freshly ground)
1 large piece mace, ground (preferably freshly ground)
3/4 tsp salt
3 egg yolks
1 tsp yeast in 1/2 cup lukewarm milk, ale or water and allowed to become bubbly
1 cup cream plus enough extra cream or milk to make quite a sticky dough
100g butter
100g sugar

1. In a large bowl mix the flour with the spices and salt. Mix in the egg yolks, yeast and cream. Stir, then add enough extra cream or milk to make quite a sticky dough.
2. Turn the dough out onto a surface and knead until it becomes smooth and pliable. Shape into a ball and place in an oiled bowl, cover and leave to rise in a warm place for about 45 minutes.
3. Knock down the dough and cut it into 12 equally sized pieces. Shape each into a smooth ball with good surface tension. Place on lined baking trays and allow to rise for another 30-45 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 200C.
4. After the rolls have risen, bake them for 15-20 minutes or until they sound hollow when knocked and not too golden. Allow to cool enough to handle.
5. In a small saucepan melt the butter and sugar together over low heat. It’s OK if the sugar remains a bit grainy.
6. Using a sharp knife, cut the top of each roll off and pour 1-2 tbsp of the melted butter mixture onto the larger part of the roll. Put the top back on and serve while still warm.

The Verdict

A little on the dry side but beautifully spiced and the melted butter and sugar is a master-stroke. Since the dough is not sweetened, it adds just the right amount of richness.

 

References