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rye Photo from: xmu |
L. Secale cereale, Eng. rye. It
is the first grain harvested in the summer before wheat and barley. The grain is
a basic secondary supply in Castile and Andalusia. It was ground into flour and
make into bread for lower classes as it was cheap. Porridges and alcoholic
drinks were made with rye.
Herrera calls it cold and claims that the bread is harmful for the stomach. Pliny claimed it made good turnovers (empanadas). As it is cold, it prevents them from spoiling. If eaten warm, he continued, it would glue to sores of those spitting up blood. Herrera maintains that if wild animals drank water after eating it, they would become sick and die. It is good for fattening pigs.
When Rodrigo de Borgia, papal legate and future Pope, visited Alfonso Carrillo de Acuña, Archbishop of Toledo, the latter tried to entice him with the purchase of plenty of rye to feed up his sheep, calves, peacocks, capons and other rye eating birds served at corpulent meals planned to sway his guest’s will. It was a basic supply in fortresses, as seen Miguel Lucas Iranzo’s numerous battles against Morrish occupation in Jaen.
Stalks were used to make brooms and tough thatched roofs. The English have been known to use broken stalks as packing for ceramics. Also, they are used as hay. Rye is a good cover crop preventing erosion. It stands cool moist climates, flooding and snow. It does not survive in temperatures over 81o F (27o C). See ergotísmo and pan de centeno. [Castro. Alimentación. 1996:174:204:251 etc; ES: Rye. Feb 22,05; Hartley. 2003:528; Laza. 2002:113-114; and Mata. 1940:350]
Herrera calls it cold and claims that the bread is harmful for the stomach. Pliny claimed it made good turnovers (empanadas). As it is cold, it prevents them from spoiling. If eaten warm, he continued, it would glue to sores of those spitting up blood. Herrera maintains that if wild animals drank water after eating it, they would become sick and die. It is good for fattening pigs.
When Rodrigo de Borgia, papal legate and future Pope, visited Alfonso Carrillo de Acuña, Archbishop of Toledo, the latter tried to entice him with the purchase of plenty of rye to feed up his sheep, calves, peacocks, capons and other rye eating birds served at corpulent meals planned to sway his guest’s will. It was a basic supply in fortresses, as seen Miguel Lucas Iranzo’s numerous battles against Morrish occupation in Jaen.
Stalks were used to make brooms and tough thatched roofs. The English have been known to use broken stalks as packing for ceramics. Also, they are used as hay. Rye is a good cover crop preventing erosion. It stands cool moist climates, flooding and snow. It does not survive in temperatures over 81o F (27o C). See ergotísmo and pan de centeno. [Castro. Alimentación. 1996:174:204:251 etc; ES: Rye. Feb 22,05; Hartley. 2003:528; Laza. 2002:113-114; and Mata. 1940:350]
RYE BREAD RECIPE COURTESY OF THE SPANISH MEDIEVAL
CHEF
Ingredients
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Centeno Dough Ready for Baking Photo by: Lord-Williams |
For sourdough:
1/3 c water
½ pk yeast
1 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp honey
½ c rye flour[1]
For bread dough:
1 ½ c water
2 pks yeast
2 ½ c white flour[2]
2 ½ c rye flour
2 tsp salt
Preparation
For sourdough
Mix all the
ingredients for sour dough together. Pour this into a bowl and cover with
water. Leave until the mixture floats. Then it is ready to be used in bread dough.
For bread dough:
Mix the sourdough
with all the ingredients for bread dough. Knead well for about 10 minutes. Put
this in a large bowl and cover with a cloth. Let sit 2 hours until double in
volume.
Divide the dough in
half. Form balls with each piece. Place them on a floured surface and squash
them until a ¾” round loaves are obtained. Place each loaf on a greased and floured cookie sheet and
let sit for 30 minutes until doubled in size.
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Sour Dough Rye Bread Photo by: Lord-Williams |
PREHEAT OVEN TO 425º
F / 220º C
Make 1/3” incisions
in the form of a square with a knife or sissors on the top of the dough. Bake loaves 20 minutes then
reduce heat to 375ºF / 190ªC and bake 20 minutes more.
This is a tough dry
bread. To make it more crunchy, place a small heat resistant bowl fille with water in the oven
and from time to time spray the bread with water.
It is a sin to serve this
bread cold. As with Jewish Passover Bread, see blog titled cenceño published October 17, 2012, rye bread is broken by hand
never with a knife.
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