That's the title of a paper I read last night; about bread-baking and bread-eating in the Middle Ages. If you're up to reading a fairly short (4-page), well-written academic paper, I recommend it. Oh, and the soda bread from the other day? The crust was well done, but the inside didn't really rise at all. It was soggy and thick and generally not great. So did I (a) use too much milk, (b) use the mixture of regular and buttermilk when I should have used just buttermilk, (c) use potentially expired baking soda, (d) not mix well enough, (e) not bake long enough? You tell me—I'm thinking possibly all of the above. I was lamenting the bread last night, and Herself was listening and not saying much, until she asked me to bring down her recipe box. "Why?" I asked, ever curious. "Just bring it down," she said. So being the good husband, I just brought it down. She went through it for about 10 seconds and showed me another recipe for Irish soda brea...
... I make the bread.