2020 Essays

Pain, Ostie, Rostie: Bread in Early Modern Europe

Le Pouésard, Emma Marie

What is bread in the context of Ms. Fr. 640? This category of food appears in the manuscript under three different names: bread, host (37r), and toast (79v, 123v). The meaning and use of these terms are considered as well as the production of bread and Hosts in the early modern period and the pathways by which bread could have entered the author-practitioner’s workshop. Flour was the key factor in bread production, often selected by availability, preference, and beliefs about particular cereals. The baking practices required for different grains influenced the breads one could bake. Some, such as oatbread, could be baked on the hearth at home; others, such as fine wheat bread, required the high and constant heat of a specialized oven and were chiefly baked professionally. The varieties of flours, breads, and processes show the meaning of “bread” in the period of the manuscript’s compilation cannot be taken for granted.