Manchet Bread

Manchet bread was the finest quality of bread made in all great households from the Middle Ages until the seventeenth century. In royal residences, castles and fine houses, it was served only to the lord and his lady and a few of their well-born attendants and their grown-up offspring. It was not usually served in the nursery. Manchet loaves were always moulded by hand (hence the name) and were never very large. This recipe is adapted from the instructions laid down at Eltham Palace.