What Was Manchet? The Medieval Baker's Secret Bread Only Kings Could Afford

You have eaten white bread. You have eaten sourdough. You have eaten dinner rolls from a plastic bag that cost two dollars. But you have never eaten manchet. Manchet was the finest bread ever baked in medieval England. Not because bakers had better machines. Not because they had better kitchens. Because they had a process that took three days, required hand-sifting flour through silk, and produced a loaf so light it almost floated. It weighed about six ounces. It fit in the palm of your hand. And if you were not a king, a lord, or a bishop, you would never taste one in your entire life.