Recipe Manuscript

How To Make Paste

Name: How To Make Paste
Prep time: PTPT2H
Cook time: PTPT1H
Yield: 24
Cuisine: European
Ingredients: 3.6 kg fine wheat flour (plain, unbleached flour); 4 litres fresh whole milk (or a mixture of water and milk if preferred); 20 g sea salt (or to taste); 40–60 g fresh yeast (or 14 g active dry yeast)

1703

From the treasured pages of The Lady Cravens Receipt Book

Written by Elizabeth Craven, Baroness Craven

Culinary Enlightenment (1700 - 1800)European Intermediate Other

Original Recipe • 1703

Original Manuscript(circa Culinary Enlightenment, 1700 - 1800)

As inscribed by the original author's hand, transcribed with care by Lost Kitchen Scrolls

How To Make Paste

"You must take for a Peck of fine flowor almost four quarts of the best new milk and a quantity of Salt according to your Judgement and of yeast as it is in goodness and lightness and mix them together as well as you can then sett them worke together till you see that it is very Light but you must not forgett to Strayne your yeast for Dust or soods may fall or goe into it then Mould it upp and putt it into Rishes or make it into rowles and lett it worke till you see that it is a great deale bigger and higher in the Dishes then it was and then sett it into the Oven being heated att your discretion but you must be sure that it must not worke to Long for then it will fall again one houre will Bake it"

Note on the Original Text

This recipe, like many of its time, is written in a narrative style with broad instructions and an expectation of the reader's kitchen know-how. Quantities are given by eye or 'judgement,' reflecting a world before standardised measurements. Spelling variants—such as 'flowor' for flour, 'upp' for up, and 'rishes' for reeds or rushes—are typical of the period prior to standardised English spelling. Terms like 'paste' simply mean dough, and 'worke' refers to kneading or proofing.

Modern Kitchen Interpretation

Recipe's Origin

The Lady Cravens Receipt Book - Click to view recipe in book

Title

The Lady Cravens Receipt Book (1703)

You can also click the book image above to peruse the original tome

Writer

Elizabeth Craven, Baroness Craven

Era

1703

Publisher

Coome Abbey

Background

A delectable manuscript brimming with 18th-century English delights, Lady Craven's receipt book whisks readers from luscious cakes and puddings to savory feasts and creamy cheeses. Elegantly organized and sprinkled with recipes from an illustrious social circle, this culinary collection offers a sumptuous taste of aristocratic home economics.

Kindly made available by

Penn State University

Historical Background of the Recipe

Learn about old traditions

This bread recipe comes from Lady Elizabeth Craven's receipt-book, compiled between 1702 and 1704 in England. The book is a fascinating window onto early 18th-century upper-class culinary life and includes contributions from prominent aristocratic women of the time. Bread, or 'paste,' was the cornerstone of the English diet—made at home by those with the means and time, often for household consumption. This particular recipe calls for simple yet high-quality ingredients, echoing both the agricultural abundance and social status of its creator. The method reflects the participatory nature of early modern kitchens, with attention paid to yeast quality and dough handling, but little in the way of precise measurements or temperatures.

Culinary Tools when the Recipe was Crafted

Tools and techniques from kitchens of old

In Lady Craven's kitchen, a large wooden trough or bowl was used for mixing the dough. Ingredients were combined and mixed by hand—often by kitchen staff or household cooks. For shaping, bread was sometimes moulded into rolls or placed into 'rishes'—reed basket moulds—to help maintain shape during proofing. Baking was done in a wood-fired brick oven, heated ahead of time with the baker's intuition for temperature. No modern timers or thermometers—judgement and experience ruled the day.

Modern Kitchen Adaptation

Ingredients and techniques for today's cooks

ounces, cups, Fahrenheit

Prep Time

2 hrs

Cook Time

1 hr

Servings

We've done our best to adapt this historical recipe for modern kitchens, but some details may still need refinement. We warmly welcome feedback from fellow cooks and culinary historians — your insights support the entire community!

Ingredients

8 pounds fine wheat flour (plain, unbleached flour)
7 pints (14 cups) fresh whole milk (or a mixture of water and milk if preferred)
0.7 ounce sea salt (or to taste)
1.5–2 ounces fresh yeast (or 0.5 ounce active dry yeast)

Instructions

To replicate this early 18th-century English bread dough ('paste'), start by placing 8 pounds of fine wheat flour in a large mixing bowl.
Gently warm 7 pints (14 cups) of fresh whole milk until just tepid, then pour it over the flour.
Add a generous tablespoon (about 0.7 ounce) of sea salt—judge according to your taste and the saltiness of your yeast.
Dissolve 1.5–2 ounces (about 3 tablespoons) of active fresh yeast in a little of the milk and strain it to remove any impurities.
Mix the yeast and milk into the flour and salt, stirring until no dry patches remain.
Cover the dough and let it rise in a warm spot until very light and doubled in size (about 45–60 minutes).
Once risen, tip the dough onto a floured surface.
Gently knead and shape the dough, then form it into individual rolls or place it into baking containers (reeds, if you wish to be authentic, or loaf tins for convenience).
Allow to rise again until much increased in volume, then bake in a moderately hot oven (about 400°F) for an hour, or until the loaves are golden and sound hollow when tapped.
Do not let the dough over-proof or it may collapse.

Estimated Calories

250 per serving

Cooking Estimates

We estimate the prep time based on mixing, rising, and shaping the dough. The cook time is how long the loaves bake in the oven. Calories per serving are calculated using typical values for flour, milk, and yeast in bread recipes. The yield shows how many loaves or servings this big batch gives.

As noted above, we have made our best effort to translate and adapt this historical recipe for modern kitchens, taking into account ingredients nowadays, cooking techniques, measurements, and so on. However, historical recipes often contain assumptions that require interpretation.

We'd love for anyone to help improve these adaptations. Community contributions are highly welcome. If you have suggestions, corrections, or cooking tips based on your experience with this recipe, please share them below.