NAME: Shiye, Zhiqi
DATE AND TIME: 07/02/2015
LOCATION:Zhiqi's apartment
SUBJECT:Bread Molding

1. Research

• search the index of BnF MS 640, and try to find recipes related to mold and plaster.
• search for other resources used: Vannoccio Biringuccio, Pirotechnia (1540), trans. Cyril Stanley Smith and Martha Teach Gnudi (repr., Cambridge, MA, 1966).
• search The Craftsmen’s Handbook
• Decided final recipe we would use, the one in the Biringguccio book
• Puzzles at this stage: we could not find a recipe talking about bread molding specifically. We only find plaster molding or metal molding. Self-doubt started to grow.
• After effortless search for a long time, we finally got some clues from the book.
• "There are some who, because they do not have or cannot find a clay that is a perfect as they would wish it, necessarily take that which they can have. First they make a paste of which they make cakes, and then they dry it, crush it when day, then sift and again moisten it, fill it with cloth clippings, and beat it. There are some others who mix various earths with it; others, wash ashes; and some, coarse sand. There are some who, having a weak clay, moisten it with salt water and add rust or finely ground iron scale, and some add crushed brick, especially in the first clays that they apply."(p.219)
• There is another clue in this book on "how to make a mold from a seal or coin".
• "Take a little basin half full of clear water, or full, as you please. Take half a porringer of ashes. Throw them into this little basin, and work them over with your hand. Wait a little: before the water clears entirely, empty some of this rather muddy water into another little basin; and do that several times, until you think you have as much of the ashes as you need. Then let it settle until the water is clear and the ashes have all gone to the bottom. Draw off this water, and dry the ashes in the sun, or any way you please. Then wet them up with salt dissolved in water, and make a sort of plaster of them. Then in this plaster cast seals, medals, little figures, coins, and in general anything which you wish to cast. Having done so, let the plaster dry gradually without fire or sun. Then cast lead, silver, or any metal you wish upon this plaster, for this plaster is capable of standing any great weight."
• As we had no idea which one might work out, we decided to combine this two to make our powder, the substitute of plaster or clay.

2. Making the Mold

Plan A

• wool cloth cutting replaced by cotton cloth cutting
• ashes burned paper
• flour
• put them together 1+2+3+water
• solid or liquid? (since it says made into cakes and dried. So we infer that it should be solid rather than liquid)
• put this paste over night for about eight hours.
• Separate the paste into two flat parts
• Put oil around the object we wanted to mold, put some oil to both sides of the pastes
• Put the thing we wanted to mold into the paste, shroud the object with the paste
• put it into oven 200 F for 12mins, then turn to 300F for another 20mins, then turn to 500F for another 13 mins

Plan B

• sea salt heated in a pot for 3mins turned yellow
• add some water and boiled together
• cotton cloth cuttings boiled for 10 minutes
• some ashes again
• divide them into two bowls
• one add more water so that it is more liquid, the other more solid
• pour two spoons of flour into each bowl
• put a nail-like metal thing into the liquid-like material, put a thread around the nail. P ut some metal plate at the edge of the mold so that it is easier to open the mole after being baked (separator)
• put them into oven and bake for one and a half hour for 500F then put it in the oven overnight

Plan C

• sea salt heated in a pot for 3mins turned yellow
• add some water and boiled together
• cotton cloth cuttings boiled for 10 mintues
• some ashes again
• more solid this time
• Put oil around the object we wanted to mold, put some oil to both sides of the pastes
• Put the thing we wanted to mold into the paste, shroud the object with the paste
• Put it into the oven and baked for one and a half hour for 500F. left in the oven overnight
• the temperature of the room is warm due to the stove fire.