Let’s face it, times have been hard in recent years. Everyone has had to find ways to make their money work. The same was true 267 years ago. This is a little experiment based on the words below. It is currently a flawed experiment due to the leveling method I used which is ahistorical. In the future I intend to retry the experiment using historically correct levin.
For now I wanted to get the general idea of what this is all about in an accessible way. I used dried split green peas because they were on hand. I ground a heaping cup or so of dried green peas, stirred and ground and repeated in my food processor until a lumpy flour was achieved. I also used all purpose white flour because that is also what I had on hand. Remember folks the theme of this experiment is famine and making do.
November 22 1756 (p.71-72) The journal of M.Bougainville
“As the year has been a very bad one, they are mixing peas with the flour in making bread,two quarts of peas to two quarts of flour; at first they wanted to mix oats with it. The mixture worked well and the bread was better. But the oats produced almost no flour, it only gave bran.“A police regulation has ruled here that bread will be distributed to the public only in the afternoon. I went to see this distribution. It presents the image of a famine. They fight to get near the wicket through which they pass the bread. Those who cannot get near hold out their permits on a stick.”
1 loaf
Mix one cup dried split yellow or green pea flour and one cup wheat flour
Prepare yeast packet to package instructions
Mix 3/4 cup water with 1 tbsp yeast preparation and 2/3 cup flour mix
Beat 100 times and let sit covered 1 hour
It will thicken to an oatmeal like consistency.Add salt about a 1/2 tablespoon. Add the remaining flour 1/3 cup at a time until a workable dough forms that is really sticky but firm.
Turn out onto a floured surface and lightly knead until smooth, about 3 or 4 minutes, adding just enough flour as required to prevent sticking. Form into a little round loaf and place in buttered bowl, cover and let rise in a warm place for an hour or two. It won’t do much.
Baste with water prior to putting in the oven. Place on buttered baking sheet and bake in an oven pre-heated to 400°F (200°C) and turned down to 375°F for one 50-60 minutes
Or until the outside is a rich brown and the bottom is hallow when tapped.
That’s what I did. I’ll let you know how it goes once I cut into it and eat some.
