Figured out how to make the corn starch wash (how much is "a little water to make a paste"?  I used a bit more than I thought they meant, because the first attempt was too thick to use.  I wish they'd just write "2 tablespoons water" or some such.)  That provides a much smoother finish than without.  This time I didn't forget the water in the broiler, and maybe even baked it about right.  I turned down the temperature from 450 to 375 after the first 20 minutes or so.  (Medieval ovens were always "falling", because the fire was built first, then removed, and the bread was baked using residual heat.)  It's darker but of course it's not going to be as dark as the real thing without some molasses.  I think I actually got carried away with caraway... didn't know that was possible.  The flavor is actually overwhelming.

Figured out how to make the corn starch wash (how much is "a little water to make a paste"?  I used a bit more than I thought they meant, because the first attempt was too thick to use.  I wish they'd just write "2 tablespoons water" or some such.)  That provides a much smoother finish than without.  This time I didn't forget the water in the broiler, and maybe even baked it about right.  I turned down the temperature from 450 to 375 after the first 20 minutes or so.  (Medieval ovens were always "falling", because the fire was built first, then removed, and the bread was baked using residual heat.)  It's darker but of course it's not going to be as dark as the real thing without some molasses.  I think I actually got carried away with caraway... didn't know that was possible.  The flavor is actually overwhelming.