Honoratus (in French, Honoré)
was the eighth Bishop of Amiens, known for his sanctity and very little else. The Bakers Guild of Paris took him for
their patron, and covered their banners with a representation of the bishop in
his robes, with the crosier in his left hand and in his right an oven-peel
bearing three loaves of bread.
His association with bakers
may have come from the legend that his nursemaid (who obviously had graduated to the position of cook in the meantime),
when told that Honoratus had been ordained a bishop, scoffed that he had as
much chance of becoming a bishop as her bread peel had of taking root and
becoming a tree. Well, she was
right in a way – the peel did become a tree.
 |
| oven peel before taking root |
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The proper dessert for celebrating
his feast day would be a Gateau St. Honoré, but since it is composed of puff
pastry, choux pastry, cream puffs, and other things which take an inordinate
amount of time to make – order one from your nearest French bakery.
Since my culinary skills are
on a much simpler order, I will enjoy FRENCH DOUGHNUTS for tea today. These are baked, not fried like
beignets.
Heat the oven to 350°.
Grease 12 muffin cups.
Beat 1 egg lightly.
In a large bowl, cream
together 5 tablespoons of butter and ½ cup of sugar. Add the egg and mix well. Set aside.
In another bowl, mix
together 1½ cups of flour, 1 teaspoon of salt, and 1 teaspoon of nutmeg.
To the butter mixture, add
the flour mixture alternately with ½ cup of milk. Mix well.
Fill the muffin cups half
full. Bake for 20 minutes or until
done.
While they are baking, melt
6 tablespoons of butter (and keep warm).
In a small bowl or on a sheet of waxed paper, mix together ¾ cup of
sugar and 2 teaspoons of cinnamon.
When the muffins are
finished baking, remove them from the pan, and while they are still hot, roll
them first in the melted butter and then in the cinnamon-sugar.
I have never known them to get cold.
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Artwork: Saint Honoratus, swiped from Wikipedia. The little figures are bakers with loaves of fresh baked goods.
Baking bread, found on the Medieval Pastry page.
