diff --git a/src/pylorax/api/recipes.py b/src/pylorax/api/recipes.py
index 5bceefb2..de1e5f62 100644
--- a/src/pylorax/api/recipes.py
+++ b/src/pylorax/api/recipes.py
@@ -335,14 +335,20 @@ def read_commit(repo, branch, filename, commit=None):
     :type filename: str
     :param commit: Optional commit hash
     :type commit: str
-    :returns: Contents of the commit
-    :rtype: str
+    :returns: The commit id, and the contents of the commit
+    :rtype: tuple(str, str)
     :raises: Can raise errors from Ggit
 
     If no commit is passed the master:filename is returned, otherwise it will be
     commit:filename
     """
-    return read_commit_spec(repo, "%s:%s" % (commit or branch, filename))
+    if not commit:
+        # Find the most recent commit for filename on the selected branch
+        commits = list_commits(repo, branch, filename, 1)
+        if not commits:
+            raise RecipeError("No commits for %s on the %s branch." % (filename, branch))
+        commit = commits[0].commit
+    return (commit, read_commit_spec(repo, "%s:%s" % (commit, filename)))
 
 def read_recipe_commit(repo, branch, recipe_name, commit=None):
     """Read a recipe commit from git and return a Recipe object
@@ -362,9 +368,30 @@ def read_recipe_commit(repo, branch, recipe_name, commit=None):
     If no commit is passed the master:filename is returned, otherwise it will be
     commit:filename
     """
-    recipe_toml = read_commit(repo, branch, recipe_filename(recipe_name), commit)
+    (_, recipe_toml) = read_commit(repo, branch, recipe_filename(recipe_name), commit)
     return recipe_from_toml(recipe_toml)
 
+def read_recipe_and_id(repo, branch, recipe_name, commit=None):
+    """Read a recipe commit and its id from git
+
+    :param repo: Open repository
+    :type repo: Git.Repository
+    :param branch: Branch name
+    :type branch: str
+    :param recipe_name: Recipe name to read
+    :type recipe_name: str
+    :param commit: Optional commit hash
+    :type commit: str
+    :returns: The commit id, and a Recipe object
+    :rtype: tuple(str, Recipe)
+    :raises: Can raise errors from Ggit
+
+    If no commit is passed the master:filename is returned, otherwise it will be
+    commit:filename
+    """
+    (commit_id, recipe_toml) = read_commit(repo, branch, recipe_filename(recipe_name), commit)
+    return (commit_id, recipe_from_toml(recipe_toml))
+
 def list_branch_files(repo, branch):
     """Return a sorted list of the files on the branch HEAD
 
@@ -671,7 +698,7 @@ class CommitDetails(DataHolder):
                             message = message,
                             revision = revision)
 
-def list_commits(repo, branch, filename):
+def list_commits(repo, branch, filename, limit=0):
     """List the commit history of a file on a branch.
 
     :param repo: Open repository
@@ -680,6 +707,8 @@ def list_commits(repo, branch, filename):
     :type branch: str
     :param filename: filename to revert
     :type filename: str
+    :param limit: Number of commits to return (0=all)
+    :type limit: int
     :returns: A list of commit details
     :rtype: list(CommitDetails)
     :raises: Can raise errors from Ggit
@@ -716,6 +745,8 @@ def list_commits(repo, branch, filename):
         tag = find_commit_tag(repo, branch, filename, commit.get_id())
         try:
             commits.append(get_commit_details(commit, get_revision_from_tag(tag)))
+            if limit and len(commits) > limit:
+                break
         except CommitTimeValError:
             # Skip any commits that have trouble converting the time
             # TODO - log details about this failure
diff --git a/tests/pylorax/test_recipes.py b/tests/pylorax/test_recipes.py
index dfc54a27..50b7a544 100644
--- a/tests/pylorax/test_recipes.py
+++ b/tests/pylorax/test_recipes.py
@@ -203,6 +203,10 @@ class GitRecipesTest(unittest.TestCase):
         self.assertNotEqual(recipe, None)
         self.assertEqual(recipe["name"], "http-server")
 
+        # Read the recipe and its commit id
+        (commit_id, recipe) = recipes.read_recipe_and_id(self.repo, "master", "http-server", commits[0].commit)
+        self.assertEqual(commit_id, commits[0].commit)
+
     def test_07_tag_commit(self):
         """Test tagging the most recent commit of a recipe"""
         result = recipes.tag_file_commit(self.repo, "master", "not-a-file")
diff --git a/tests/pylorax/test_server.py b/tests/pylorax/test_server.py
index 2f121afd..83b38162 100644
--- a/tests/pylorax/test_server.py
+++ b/tests/pylorax/test_server.py
@@ -113,7 +113,7 @@ class ServerTestCase(unittest.TestCase):
         self.assertEqual(data, info_dict_2)
 
         info_dict_3 = {"changes":[],
-                "errors":[{"recipe":"missing-recipe", "msg":"ggit-error: the path 'missing-recipe.toml' does not exist in the given tree (-3)"}],
+                "errors":[{"recipe":"missing-recipe", "msg":"No commits for missing-recipe.toml on the master branch."}],
                        "recipes":[]
                       }
         resp = self.server.get("/api/v0/recipes/info/missing-recipe")