Recipe Manuscript

To Make Excelent Wiggs

Name: To Make Excelent Wiggs
Prep time: PTPT30M
Cook time: PTPT25M
Yield: 24
Cuisine: European
Ingredients: 1.36 kg plain (all-purpose) flour; 450 g unsalted butter; 950 ml whole milk; 570 ml fresh ale yeast (or 170 ml fresh baker’s yeast mixed with ale to make up the volume); 6 large eggs; 225 g icing (powdered) sugar, sifted; 2 tablespoons caraway seeds (to taste); 7 g ground cloves; 7 g ground mace

1675

From the treasured pages of Medicinal and cookery recipes by John King

Written by John King

Renaissance (1400 - 1700)European Intermediate Breakfast Snack

Original Recipe • 1675

Original Manuscript(circa Renaissance, 1400 - 1700)

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

To Make Excelent Wiggs

"take to a gallon of flower a pound of Buter and melte it in a quart of milke a good pint of ale yest and 6 eges well beat mix them with ye yest and straine them throw a here sive into ye flower then ye buter and milke then shack half a pound of powder shuger search and as maney caraway seeds as you like and quarter of an ounce of cloves and mace beaten then make it into a lithe past and let it by to rise by ye fire set ye oven be hot so make them up as fast as possibel you can and prick them with a small scure and bake them in a quick oven less then half an houre will bake ym thes are exate quantings"

Note on the Original Text

Recipes from early modern England are typically brief, assuming cooks know basic techniques and local measurements. Quantities are given in gallons, quarts, and pounds, with the expectation that the baker will adjust as needed. Spelling varies (‘flower’ for ‘flour’, ‘yest’ for ‘yeast’, ‘surge’ for ‘sugar’) and punctuation is minimal. The directions are direct but leave room for judgment—timings, textures, and degree of mixing are learned by doing. Such recipes blend instruction with invitation to personal interpretation, making each batch of wiggs a little different.

Modern Kitchen Interpretation

Recipe's Origin

Medicinal and cookery recipes by John King - Click to view recipe in book

Title

Medicinal and cookery recipes by John King (1675)

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

Writer

John King

Era

1675

Publisher

Unknown

Background

A delightful journey into the kitchens of the 17th and early 18th centuries, this collection, attributed to John King, brims with time-honored recipes, culinary wisdom, and flavors that once graced historic tables.

Kindly made available by

Folger Shakespeare Library

Historical Background of the Recipe

Learn about old traditions

This recipe comes from the manuscript V.a.490, attributed to John King and dating approximately between 1625 and 1725. During this period, 'wiggs' were a popular enriched bread or bun, often spiced and sweetened, commonly served with ale or for special gatherings. The use of caraway, mace, and cloves highlights the influence of imported spices in upper- and middle-class English cookery of the time. The recipe itself offers a glimpse into pre-industrial breadmaking and the social importance of baking in domestic culture.

Culinary Tools when the Recipe was Crafted

Tools and techniques from kitchens of old

Historically, the dough would be mixed in a large wooden bowl using wooden spoons or hands. Eggs might be beaten with a fork or whisk made from willow. The straining would involve a fine cloth or horse-haired sieve. Dough was left to rise near the hearth for warmth, then shaped by hand. Baking took place in a brick or stone oven heated with wood to a high temperature—a ‘quick oven.’ Skewers, often of metal or wood, were used to prick the dough for even baking. No electric mixers or modern oven timers—this was practiced know-how, using what was at hand.

Modern Kitchen Adaptation

Ingredients and techniques for today's cooks

ounces, cups, Fahrenheit

Prep Time

30 mins

Cook Time

25 mins

Servings

Ingredients

3 lb plain (all-purpose) flour
1 lb unsalted butter
1 quart whole milk
1 pint fresh ale yeast (or 3/4 cup fresh baker’s yeast mixed with ale to make up the volume)
6 large eggs
8 oz icing (powdered) sugar, sifted
2 tablespoons caraway seeds (to taste)
1/4 oz ground cloves
1/4 oz ground mace

Instructions

To make excellent wiggs, begin by gently melting 1 pound of unsalted butter in 1 quart of whole milk.
In a separate bowl, beat 6 large eggs thoroughly, then mix them with 1 pint of fresh ale yeast (or substitute a mixture of 3/4 cup live baker’s yeast with enough ale to reach 1 pint).
Strain this egg and yeast mixture through a fine seive into 3 pounds of plain (all-purpose) flour sitting in a large bowl.
Next, pour in the warm milk and melted butter, stirring as you goo.
Add in 8 ounces of powdered (icing) sugar, sifted, along with caraway seeds to taste (suggest 2 tablespoons for an authentic flavor), and 1/4 ounce each of ground cloves and mace.
Knead to form a soft, pliable dough.
Cover and leave near a warm place to rise until doubled in size.
Preheat your oven to a hot temperature (430°F/220°C).
Shape the dough into individual ‘wigs’ (oval or finger shapes) as quickly as you can, prick each with a skewer, and arrange on a baking sheet.
Bake for 20–25 minutes, keeping an eye so they do not over-brown.
Enjoy your freshly baked wiggs warm from the oven!

Estimated Calories

320 per serving

Cooking Estimates

It will take about 25 minutes to bake the wiggs, and around 30 minutes for you to prepare the ingredients and shape the dough. Each wig contains about 320 calories, and this recipe makes 24 wiggs.