Formentàro – a meale or wheate man
Formentàto – a frumentie pottage or tarte, also household, wheaten or cheat bread
Formènto – any kind of corne but properly wheate. Used also for leaven
Formentòne – the biggest kind of wheate. Also Formentie

The recipes in Scappi are apparently using the whole grain, this is based on the directions given in the recipes, which include washing the dust off, soaking in water, and cooking for a long time. I am currently trying to find a more detailed period description of formentone to accurately identify this grain as either maize or not maize.

Formentone - is translated throughout the recipes as coarse wheat.

Anything in parenthesis is an alternate translation or a suggestion as to the implied meaning of a word.

Per far minestra di formentone, & orzo mondo. Cap CLXXXV.
Il Formentone è un grano molto piu grosso di quello, del qual si fa il pane, & in Lombardia se ne trova in quantità, del qual si usa far torte, & fiadoni come si dice nel libro delle paste nelli suoi capitoli.  Scelgasi dunque, & nettisi della polvere, & facciasi stare nell’acqua tepida per diece hore mutando l’acqua alcune volte, & mettasi a cuocere con brodo grasso freddo di carne in un vaso di rame stagnato, o di terra, giunganovisi cervellate gialle, o salcizza, overo un pezzo di mendrolla di porco salata per dargli il sapore, & dapoi giungavisi cannella, & zafferano, & facciasi cuocere su le bragie lontano dalla fiamma col vaso turato, & non si faccia bollir men di due hore, & meza, & servasi con cascio, & cannella sopra.  Tal minestra ha da esser sodetta. In questo medesimo modo si puo fare dell’orzo mondo, il qual vuol bollire molto piu del formentone, benche l’uno & l’altro voglia gran cocitura, & si potrebbeno ambidue maritare con casscio, uova, pepe, cannella, & zafferano.

To make a thick soup of coarse wheat and peeled (scotch) barley. Cap 185, 2nd book, folio 70 Scappi.
The coarse wheat is a grain much larger than that which is used to make bread, and in Lombardy one finds it in quantity. The which is used for tarts and Fiadone (flat cakes) as is described in the book on pastries in their respective chapters. Select it therefore and wash the dust of it, and put it to soak in tepid water for ten hours, changing the water several times. Put it to cook with cold fat meat broth in a tin lined copper or ceramic vessel. Add yellow Milanese sausage, or sausage (salami) or a piece of salted pork mendrolla (? belly? hock?) to give it taste. Afterward add cinnamon and saffron and put it to cook on the pot stand a distance from the flame and cover (seal) the vessel. Don't let it cook for less than two and a half hours. Serve with cheese and cinnamon on top. This soup should be very thick. In the same way one can cook peeled (scotch) barley, the which should boil more than the coarse wheat because the one and the other need large (long) cooking, and one can enrich both with cheese, eggs, pepper, cinnamon and saffron.

Per fare pasticci di diversi grani à quattro cantoni, i quali dal vulgo sono chiamati Fiadoni. Cap XLVII
Facciasi cuocere il formento grosso con brodo grasso di carne, & cosi cotto che sarà, piglisi cascio Parmigiano, & cascio fresco, tanto de l’uno de l’altro, & per ogni libra di formento cotto, si adoperi una libra e mezza di cascio, & zafferano à bastanza, & quattro oncie d’uva passa, un’oncia di cannella, mezza oncia di pepe, tre oncie di pignoli ammogliati, & quando il grano sarà raffreddato, si mescoli ogni cosa insieme; poi habbiasi uno sfoglio di pasta, fatto di fiore di farina, & rossi d’ova, acqua rose, sale, & acqua tiepida impastata in modo che sia soda, come quella de pasticci grossi, & per ogni libra di pasta, piglisi otto oncie di butiro, & à poco à poco mettasi in la pasta, mescolando del continuo, fino à tanto che sia finito il butiro, & come essa pasta sarà venuta pastosa, & liscia, se ne farà un sfoglio tondo, di grossezza d’una costa di coltello, & esso sfoglio si faccia grande, & piccolo, secondo che si vorrà. Pongasi nel mezzo d’esso sfoglio la compositione, & si serri, & faccisi à quattro cantoni à foggia di lucerna, & diasegli il colore intorno, & sopra con ova sbattute & zafferano, et pongasi in forno alquanto caldetto di sopra, perche la pasta si venga piu presto a fermare, et facciasi cuocere, et non volendo che pigli troppo colore, gli si ponga sopra un sfoglio di carta straccia, et cotto che sara, servasi caldo, et si puo ancora servirlo freddo, et riscaldarlo in forno, o su la graticola, et volendo fare tal fiadone in giorno che non si magna carne, facciasi cuocere il formentone in latte di vacca, ò capra con butiro. In questo modo si potra fare fiadone d’orzo mondo, di riso, et farro, & ancora di miglio, et panico infranto, e si puo fare solo di cascio Parmigiano, cascio bazzotto grasso, zuccaro, et spetierie, et uva passa.

To make a pastry of various grains with four corners, the which is commonly called Fiadoni (flat cake). Chap 47, folio 349, fifth book Scappi.
Put to cook the coarse wheat with fat meat broth, and when it is cooked take Parmigiana cheese and fresh (soft) cheese, enough saffron, four ounces of raisins, an ounce of cinnamon, half an ounce of pepper, three ounces of soaked pine nuts. When the grains are cooled one mixes everything together. Then take a sheet of pasta. Made of fine flour, egg yolks, rosewater, salt and tepid water mixed together so that it is firm like coarse pastry. for each pound of pastry take eight ounces of butter and little by little put it into the pastry, mixing continuously, until one has used all the butter. And once this pastry has become soft and smooth one makes of it a round sheet of the thickness of a knife blade. This sheet one can make large or small however one wants. Put in the middle of this sheet the stuffing and close it up and make four corners in the fashion of an oil lamp. Give it color all around and on top with beaten eggs and saffron. Put it into an oven with some heat above, because the pastry will become firm sooner. And put it to cook, and one doesn't want it to take too much color, one puts on top a sheet of cartridge paper. When it is cooked serve hot. One can also serve it cold and reheat it in the oven or on the grill. If you want to make Fiadone (flat cakes) in a day when one cannot eat meat, cook the coarse wheat in cows milk or goats milk with butter. In the same way one can make Fiadone (flat cakes) with peeled (scotch) barley, rice, spelt and also millet and fox-tail millet. One can make it with only Parmigiana, delicate fat cheese, sugar, spices and dried raisins.

Per fare torta di formentone grosso Cap LXXXVIII
Il formentone è un grano assai piu grande, & piu grosso del formento, & in Lombardia se n’usa assai in vivande, piglisi, & nettisi, & faccisi stare in mollo nell’acqua tiepida, per quattro hore, & lavisi a piu acque tiepide, & facciasi cuocere in buon brodo di carne che c’e fatto il riso, & il farro, & faccisene torta con le medesime compositione, & ordine del capitolo sopradetto.

To make a tart of coarse wheat Chap 88, folio 359, fifth book, Scappi.
The coarse wheat is a rather large grain, larger than wheat. In Lombardy they use it enough in dishes. Take it, clean it and put it to soak in tepid water for four hours and wash it in more tepid water. Put it to cook in good meat broth as one cooks both rice and spelt. And make the tart with the same ingredients and method as the chapter above.

Per fare torta di riso cotto in brodo di carne. Cap LXXXVII
Cuocasi una libra di riso bèn mondo in brodo di caren grasso, & cotto che sarà di modo che sia ben soso, cavisi, & si lasci scolare, & pestisi nel mortaro con libra una e mezza di prevatura fresca, & una libra, & mezza di cascio Parmigiano buono, & mezza libra di cascio grasso, tre quarti di pepe, un’oncia di cannella, una libra e mezza di zuccaro, quattro oncie di butiro per conservarla morbida, sei ova fresche, & d’essa compositione faccinsene torta con un sfoglio sotto e sopra, & il tortiglione intorno; facciasi cuocere nel forno, o sotto il testo con la sua crostata sopra. In questo modo si puo fare del farro, & volendo bianc faccisi cuocere il riso nel latte di capra, & volendosi passare per la stamigna, sarà in arbitrio, in luogo della provatura pongasi ricotta, & in luogo della spetiereie, gengevero pisto, & chiare d’ova senza il rosso, con piu zuccaro, & un poco di cascio Parmigiano grattato.

To make a tart of rice cooked in meat broth Chap 87, folio 359, 5th book Scappi.
Cook a pound of well peeled rice in fat meat broth, and when it is cooked in the way that it is still firm empty it and let it drain. Grind it in the mortar with a pound and a half of fresh provatura (mozzarella) and a pound and a half of good Parmigiana cheese, and half a pound of fat cheese, three quarters of an ounce of pepper, an ounce of cinnamon, a pound and a half of sugar, four ounces of butter to keep it moist and six fresh eggs. With this stuffing make a tart with a sheet of pastry both underneath and on top with decorations all around. Put it to cook in the oven or underneath a “testo” with a crust (icing) above. In this way one can make it with spelt. If you want it to stay white cook the rice in goats milk and pass it through a fine strainer if you want. In place of provatura (mozzarella) add ricotta, in place of spices add ground ginger, egg whites without the yolk and more sugar and a little grated Parmigiana cheese.

References:
Capatti, A., and M. Montanari. 2003. Italian cuisine : a cultural history. Columbia University Press, New York.
Florio, J. 1620. A dictionary Italian & English. T. Warren, London.
Hoare, M. A. 1925. An Italian Dictionary, Second ed. Cambridge University Press.
Scappi, B. 1981. Opera : (dell' arte del cucinare).  Reprint. First published: Opera di M. Bartolomeo Scappi. Venice, 1570. Arnaldo Forni, Bologna.

Copyright Mistress Helewyse de Birkestad (MKA Louise Smithson) November 16th 2005.  Permission is given to use this recipe, translation and redaction in SCA publications, for research and for SCA feasts provided that the author is given credit. Plus I'd really like to get a copy of your feast booklet.  Contact me by email helewyse at yahoo.com