Category Archives: Bread

A Quire of Paper

Posted on April 29, 2013 by

Here’s one more recipe for 18th century pancakes from John Farley’s 1783 cookbook, “The London Art of Cookery“: A variation of this recipe can also be found in Mary Randolph’s 1824 cookbook “The Virginia Housewife.” A “quire” is a term borrowed … Continue reading →

Posted in 18th century, Baking, Bread, historic cooking, Ingredients, Recipe, Video | Tagged | 3 Comments

How to hold your pancake…

Posted on April 24, 2013 by

It’s pancake week on our picture reference blog, SiftingThePast.com, and I couldn’t help but notice how people were holding their pancakes in a couple of the paintings . Notice, below, the man in the background holding his pancake as well … Continue reading →

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Pancakes: They’re Not Just for Breakfast

Posted on April 22, 2013 by

While I look forward nearly every day to going to work, every now and again, I’ll look forward with greater anticipation to the drive home. I know of no job that is void of any stress of one sort or … Continue reading →

Posted in 18th century, Baking, Bread, historic cooking, Ingredients, Recipe, Video | Tagged | 3 Comments

A Rare Glimpse and a Unique Resource

Posted on April 4, 2013 by

Here at Jas. Townsend & Son, we’re presently researching, of all things, the history of pancakes.  We noticed a broad range of various pancake recipes as we perused the numerous period cookbooks in preparation for our video series, but we … Continue reading →

Posted in 1700's, Baking, Bread, historic cooking, Ingredients, Medicine, Recipe, Uncategorized | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Lobscouse

Posted on March 4, 2013 by

Ship’s bread or hard tack as it was known in the 19th century was a staple of the sailor’s diet in the 18th and 19th century and was also frequently issued to soldiers and used by other long distance travelers. … Continue reading →

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Another Fine Resource

Posted on July 18, 2012 by

Here’s a link to an excellent resource for best (and worst) cooking, food-preparation, and home-remedy practices of southern England, compiled and published by William Ellis in 1750.

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Pan Perdu (or as we call it “French Toast”)

Posted on July 17, 2012 by

Who doesn’t like a nice big plate of French Toast? For me it brings back fond childhood memories of Saturday mornings — usually during the holidays when no one seemed to be in a hurry to change out of our … Continue reading →

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Recipes Using Bread Crust Chips and Raspings

Posted on July 12, 2012 by

In response to our last post on 18th Century No-Knead “French” Bread, a reader asked us to share some original recipes that included crust chips and raspings as an ingredient. If the typical 18th century diet could be reduced down … Continue reading →

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18th Century No-Knead “French” Bread

Posted on July 9, 2012 by

There have been a number of videos floating around on YouTube the past few years which present an interesting method of baking bread. It’s called “no-knead bread.” It’s an easy recipe that uses a simple dough baked in a Dutch … Continue reading →

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Making Yeast as Practised at Edinburgh

Posted on June 27, 2012 by

Here is one of the examples of making yeast in the 18th century where they prepare a batch of flour with some boiled hops, then a small batch of barm is added which turns into a large batch of leaven.  … Continue reading →

Posted in Bread | 5 Comments