Pastry – MONK'S MODERN MEDIEVAL CUISINE

The kuskenole: genesis of the Christmas mince pie

Do you know the true forerunner to the English mince pie? Dr Monk argues in favour of the Anglo-Norman Kuskenole.

Payne Puffe: pastry made with cream

Dr Monk finds takes a close look at Payne Puff, a medieval pastry dough that was made with cream. Post includes a modern redacted recipe (with gluten free option).

Medieval pastry: experimentation

I’ve been putting theory into practice, experimenting with different recipes for making medieval ‘paste’, the stuff which medieval cooks used for making pastries, from baked tarts and pies to fried crispels and fritters. In this post, I report back on my experiments to make authentic medieval pastry, using both egg yolk paste and whole eggContinue reading “Medieval pastry: experimentation”

The problem with pastry

When I was a teenager studying cookery at high school, there was always one thing I could depend on: my short crust pastry! My meringues might have cracked and wept, and my ‘fatless’ sponges often were in need of a little elevation, but my pastry was to die for. Just the right melt-in-your-mouth, biscuity moreishness.Continue reading “The problem with pastry”