17th Century Ginger Bread

To make ginger bread:

Recipe Transcription

Take a pound & halfe of Treakle, & 3 quarters of a pound of good butter, set these over a slow fyer keeping it always stiring till it is so warm as to melt the butter, having in it half an ounce of fine beaten ginger, & as much, fine beaten coriander seedes; then when its of the fire & but a little warm, [strow] into your flower half an ounce of caraway seedes, & mix so much flower in it as will make a limber [fast], then stir in half a pound of [5] penny sugar, then rowl it out braud & cut it forth with a round [illegible] into little cakes & bake them well.

Interpreted Ingredients:

2 cups dark maple syrup

1 ½ sticks of butter, melted

4 cups flour

1 cup sugar

½ tbsp of ground ginger

½ tbsp of ground coriander

½ tbsp of caraway seeds

Directions:

Heat oven to 375F. Prepare baking sheet with parchment paper or aluminum foil and set aside. Warm milk, syrup, and butter over stove until butter is completely melted and set aside. In a large bowl, whisk together dry ingredients until lump free. Pour in wet ingredients and stir until combined. Make bread dough into small rounds and place on baking sheet. Bake for 20-30 minutes.

Process

In order to complete this recipe, I first took my transcription of the recipe and tried to put it into modern terms with measurements I recognize and could follow. I cut the measurements of the recipe down by about a third as the amount of ingredients that the author originally called for would create a pretty large amount of bread. This also allowed me room to make mistakes since I was not using all of my ingredients in one sitting. In trying to convert the recipe, I had never come across the ingredient treacle and in researching I found that it similar to a sugar syrup.[2] It was also a little hard to find so I substituted it with dark maple syrup. I considered molasses, but I have used it before in pies and thought it too thick and strong for the bread. I interpreted the latter part of the recipe slightly liberally and took from it that the ‘ginger bread’ would come out more like smaller cakes/cookies. However, when I did the recipe, the batter didn’t come out dough like due to the butter and syrup and the “bread” did not come out right. I then used the rest of the batter to make a loaf styled bread, although I don’t think that’s what the original recipe intended.

Results, Reflection, and History

Like previously mentioned in the process of baking the ginger bread, my interpretation of this recipe resulted in more of a cake like batter instead of what I thought was supposed to be a dough or cookie texture. However, while I spent maybe an hour cooking, someone who would have referenced this recipe in the 17th century might have spent a great deal of time making sure the batter was correct. Furthermore, cutting the recipe down by a third most likely effected the consistency also. I became extremely frustrated during this process, so it is easy to imagine the care and work that went into creating and doing these early modern recipes.

This recipe for ginger bread can be found in an English recipe book composed from the late 17^th century into the 18^th century. In examining the book itself, the diversity in handwriting and different variations of the same recipes, demonstrate our understandings of early modern households. Although there are not many details surrounding the author of this book or general history, recipes like ‘To make ginger bread’ offer a glimpse into the dynamics of early modern women who created and made constant use of these recipes. Amanda Herbert for example describes the relationships that would arise between upper class women and their lower class “servants, friends, and neighbors” through domestic living. Through cleaning, farm work, medicinal studies, brewery, and “baking bread,” women from different socioeconomic backgrounds formed what Herbert describes as alliances.[3] The use of spices like ginger, coriander, and caraway may indicate a higher classed household[4] which supports Herbert’s claim of collaboration between different women in early modern Europe.

References

[1] Wellcome Library. “English Recipe Book, 17^th-18^th Century.” Accessed November 1, 2020. https://wellcomelibrary.org/item/b19694696#?c=0&m=0&s=0&cv=21&z=0.2665%2C

[2] Davidson, Alan. "treacle." In The Oxford Companion to Food, edited by Jaine, Tom. : Oxford University Press, 2006. https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780192806819.001.0001/acref-9780192806819-e-2517.

[3] Herbert, Amanda E. Female Alliances: Gender, Identity, and Friendship in Early Modern Britain. NEW HAVEN; LONDON: Yale University Press, 2014. http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt5vm40c.

[4] Smith, Stefan Halikowski. "Demystifying a Change in Taste: Spices, Space, and Social Hierarchy in Europe, 1380-1750." The International History Review 29, no. 2 (2007): 237-57. http://www.jstor.org/stable/40110784.

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