This week, February 19–27, 2022 #RealBreadWeek returns worldwide with a celebration of additive-free REAL™ Sourdough and yeast bread, and the people who make and bake that kind of bread. Because this celebration always coincides with George Washington’s (the USA’s first President) Birthday, we think it would be fun to go back in time to use his wife’s #REALbread recipe, which we found in Martha Washington’s Booke of Cookery and Booke of Sweetmeats; it seems, she recorded hundreds of handwritten recipes.

The USA’s first First Lady hosted many guests at the President’s House in Philadelphia, which was the location of our nation’s first capital in 1790. There obviously were enormous pressures on her kitchen as she hosted members of Congress and foreign dignitaries, but she was not alone in her kitchen since the Washingtons had brought several enslaved people with them.

However, they did hire a cook, with whom they quickly became unhappy. So Washington sent for one of his Mount Vernon slaves, Hercules Posey, who was prized for his culinary skills, to cook in the presidential household.

And as a tribute to Posey for Black History Month, this recollection from Washington’s step-grandson George Washington Parke Custis:

“Hercules’ cooking was very much loved in the Washington household, [where he] was ‘familiarly termed Uncle Harkless,’ …Custis described Posey as “a celebrated artiste . . . as highly accomplished a proficient in the culinary art as could be found in the United States.”  

According to Custis, Hercules Posey earned ‘one to two hundred dollars a year,’ by selling leftovers, known as slops, from the presidential kitchen. [This allowed Hercules to buy fine clothing which lead to him becoming a much] ‘celebrated dandy,’ [and] in the words of Custis, “…the chef kept an equally meticulous kitchen: Under his iron discipline, wo[e] to his underlings if speck or spot could be discovered on the tables or dressers, or if the utensils did not shine like polished silver.'”

The Fred W. Smith National LIbrary for the Study of George Wshington at Mount Vernon

While Hercules may not have been the daily baker, as their chef he certainly met with Martha Washington to work out menus and the daily work schedule. Martha’s role may have been supervisory, but lucky for us, she recorded many handwritten recipes (see the image of her actual recipe book below).

Many of her recipes were passed along as gifts for newlywed family members and eventually popularized in the latter part of the 18th century as one of America’s first recipe books. Calling her recipes, receipts, here is her “receipt” for six loaves of real, whole-grain white bread, likely leavened with sourdough:

MARTHA WASHINGTON'S SOURDOUGH BREAD

“Take 3 quarters of a peck of fine flower, & strow salt in as much as will season it. then heat as much milke as will season it luke warme, & hould it high when you poure it on to make it light. & mingle with your milke 4 or 5 spoonfulls of good yeast. worke your paste well, & then let it ly a rising by the fire. your oven will be hoted in an houre & halfe; then shut up a quarter of an houre, in which space make up your loaves & then set them in the oven. an houre & halfe will bake them.”

That recipe probably does not work for most of us, but happily, author Karen Hess, has interpreted if for us, “based on the household ale measure,” which suggests that three-quarters of a peck of whole wheat, unbleached flour is 24 cups, which is enough for 6 two-pound loaves. To this add 8–9 cups of liquid depending on the desire for a stiff or softer dough.

Again a bit too much bread for my home oven, so here is her adjusted recipe for a single loaf:

Martha’s Washington’s Bread Recipe

Based on Historic Cookery, by fireside feasts

Serving Size:
Scaled to a single loaf
Time:
6–7 hours long ferment
40–45 minutes baking time
Difficulty:
basic and easy

Ingredients

  • 1½ cups/375 ml room temperature milk (remember they only had whole milk in those days)
  • ⅓ cup/75 ml active sourdough starter
  • 4 cups of whole wheat, unbleached flour
  • 1 tsp salt

Directions

  1. Place 4 cups of whole wheat, unbleached flour in a bowl, and mix well with 1 teaspoon of salt.
  2. Make a well in the center of the flour, add the room temperature milk and active starter.
  3. Knead it until soft and dough springs back when poked; about 5 to 8 minutes.
  4. Place the dough into a bowl smeared with melted butter, then roll it around until all the dough is lightly greased with butter.
  5. Cover it with a towel, and set it aside in a warm spot to rise until double, overnight, and for at least 6 or 7 hours
  6. The next morning, take out the risen dough and shape it into a round loaf (boule).
  7. Then place it back in a bowl for a second rise, for several more hours.
  8. Then shape the dough into a round boule for the final rest before the bake.
  9. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 450°F/230°C, dust a pizza stone with cornmeal, and place a pan of boiling water below the stone to approximate the humidity in a baking oven.
  10. Place the dough into the preheated oven for 30 minutes
  11. Check it after half an hour; it should have an internal temperature of about 200°F/93°C, if not put it back into a 450 oven for another 15-20 minutes until the internal temperature is reached.

That’s it, Martha Washington’s White Bread! and a great loaf to celebrate any President’s Day