BREAD-MAKING

The old saying, '* bread b the staff of life/' has sound reason in it Flour made from wheat, and meal from oats and Indian corn, are rich in the waste-repairing elements, starch and albumen, and head the list of articles of food for man. Good bread makes the homeliest meal acceptable, and the coarsest fare appetizing, while the most luxurious table is not even tolerable without it. Light, crisp rolls for breakfast, spongy, sweet bread for dinner, and flaky biscuit for supper, cover a multitude of culinary sins ; and there is no one thing on which the health and comfoi*t of a family so much depends as the quality of its home-made loaves.

Opinions as to what constitutes good bread differ, perhaps, as much as t&sles and opinions concerning any thing else, but all will agree that bread, to be go#i, ought to be light, sweet — that is, free from any perceptible acid or yeasty taste— flaky, granular or not liable to become a doughy mass, and as white as the grade of flour used will allow. If members of the family have delicate digestive powers, they will not use new bread, and therefore must have such as will keep with little change of texture and none of quality or taste, for several days. To obtain these qualities in bread, use the be^t flour, as in families where no bread is wasted, the best is cheap est. The good old Genesee Valley white winter wheat, of Western New York, makes a flour unsurpassed in quality. The Michigan, Ohio, Indiana and Missouri white winter wheat grades are much the same, but the Minnesota hard spring wheat '^ new process** flour is the equal of the best, and is so much superior in strength that one-eighth less is used in all recipes for bread and ca,ke. The common or ** straight" brands are used by the great majority of families, and from all of them good, uniform and palatable bread may be made.

8 BREAD-MAKING.

HouBekeepers seldom select flour by examination. Tliey usually take some tried brand, or select on the recommendation of their fur- nisher. No rule can be given by which an inexperienced person can determine the grade* of flour with accuracy, but a few hints will enable any one to know what not to buy. Good flour adheres to the hand, and, when pressed, shows the imprint of the lines of the skin. Its tint is cream white. Never buy that which has a blue- white tinge. Poor flour is not adhesive, may be blown about easily, and sometimes has a dingy look, as though mixed with ashes.

Flour should be bought in quantities corresponding to the num- ber in the family, that it may not become damaged by long keeping. In a family of five, a barrel, or even a half-barrel sack of flour, excellent when first bought, will become much deteriorated before being used up. A small family should always buy in twenty-five pound, or at largest, fifty pound sacks. Flour should be kept dry, cool and entirely l)eyond the reach of marauders, big or little, especially the latter, for the infinitesimal meal moth is &r more to be dreaded than rats or mice. Therefore every receptacle of flour should be thoroughly and frequently cleansed, to guard against ani- mal as well as vegetable parasites. A single speck of mold, coming from old or damp flour in an obscure cft-ner of the flour-box, will leaven the whole as rapidly and strongly as ten times its weight in yeast. In no event should flour be used without being sifted.

Bread-making seems a simple process enough, but it requires a delicate care and watcafulness, and a thorough knowledge of all the contingencies of tl e process, dependent on the different qualities of flour, and the varying kinds and conditions of yeast, and the change of seasons ; the process which raises bread successfully in winter making it sour in summer. There are many little things in bread-making which require accurate observation, and, while valu- able recipes and well-defined methods in detail are. in valuable aids, nothing but experience will secure the name merited by so few, though earnestly coveted by every practical, sensible housekeeper — "an excellent bread-maker." Three things are indispensable to success: good flour, good yeast, and watchful care. Never use flour withodt sifting ; and a large tin or wooden pail with a tight- fitting cover, kept full of sifted flour, will be found a great conven-

BREAD-MAKING. 9

fence. All kinds of flour and meal, except buckwheat and Graham —

and Graham, too, when coarse — ^need sifting, and all, like wheat

flour, should be bought in small quantities, as they become damp

and musty by long standing.

The Yeast.

After the flour, the yeast or leaven is the next essential element

in bread. For regular fare most, especially women, prefer "yeast

bread," but men who can not forget ** how their mother used to

cook," have a liking for "salt-rising" bread, and the latter deserves

the acquaintance of the housekeeper and a :&equent welcome on

the family table. The dry hop yeast, such as Twin Bros. , Stratton's,

National, Eagle, Gillett's, and many others, are all good, if iresh,

and always available, for they are found in every grocery. Many

housekeepers use baker's yeast, and buy for a penny or two what

will serve each baking of bread. Potato yeast has two advantages

over other kinds ; bread made from it keeps moist longer, and there

is no danger that an excess of yeast will injure the flavor of the

The Sponge.

This is made from warm water or milk, yeast and flour (some add mashed potatoes) mixed tqpether in the proportion of one pint wet- ting (water or milk) to two pints of sifted flour. If milk is used it should be new, and must be first scalded, and then cooled to blood neat. The scaiaing lenas lo prevent souring, xii uvixig waier onng it to blood heat. If the ** wetting" is too hot, the bread will be coarse. When water is used a tablespoon* of lard or butter makes the bread more tender. Bread made from milk is, of course, more tender and nutritious, but it has not the sweet taste of the wheat, and will not keep as long as that made from water. When mixed with milk it requires less flour and less kneading. In summer, care must be taken not to set sponge too early, at least not before eight or nine o'clock in the evening. (Sponge mixed with bran water, warm in whiter and cold in summer, makes sweeter bread. Boil bran in the proportion of one pint to a quart of water and strain.) In very hot weather, sponge may be made with cold water. Is winter, mix the batter with water or milk, at blood warmth, testing

* Whenever, in this book, the words cupflil, coffbe-cupftil, ten-cupfUl, table-epoonftil, ete« r, the termination ** Ail " la dropped, for the sake of brevity.

10 BREAD-MAKINO,

it with the finger, and making it as warm as can be borne ; stir in the flour, which will cool It sufficiently for the yeast ; cover closely and place in a warm and even temperature. A good plan is to fold a clean blanket several times, and cover with it, providing the sponge is set in a very large crock or jar, so that there is no danger of its running over. As a general rule, one small tea-cup of yeast and three pints of "wetting" will make sponge enough for four ordinary loaves. In all sponges add the yeast last, making sure that the sponge is not hot enough to scald it; when placed to rise, always cover closely. In cold weather the temperature runs down very quickly, in many kitchens, after the fire is out, and the bread should be set earlier in the evening, and in a warmer place; a temperature of eighty or ninety degrees is right. When it rises well for the first two hours, it will go on rising unless the temperature falls below the freezing point. It is an improvement to beat the sponge thoroughly, like batter for a cake, for fifteen minutes. Never set sponge in tin, but always in stoneware, because a more steady and uniform heat can be maintained in a stone jar than in tin.

TO MAKE GOOD BREAD,

Always be

" Up in Uie morning early, just atThe peep of day,"

in summer time, to prevent the sponge becoming sour by too long standing, and in winter to be getting materials warmed and in readi- ness for use. A large, seamless tin dish-pan with handles and a tight-fitting cover, kept for this purpose alone, is better than a wooden bowl for bread. It should be thoroughly washed and scalded every time it is used. Measure and siit the flour. It is convenient to keep two quart cups, one for dry and the other for liquid measuring. In winter always warm the flour (by placing it in a pan in a vHirm oven for a few minutes or by setting it over night where it will be kept at the same temperature as the sponge) and also the sponge. Put the flour in a bread pan , make a large well in the cen- ter, into which pour the sponge, adding two level tea-spoons of salt (this is the quantity for four loaves of bread) ; mix well, being careful not to get the dough too stiff; turn out on the bread-board, rub the pan clean, and add the "rubbings" to the bread. Knead for from forty-five minutes to one hour, or until the dough ceases to stick to

BREAD-MAKINQ, 11

either the board or hands. Do not stop kneading until done. Any pause in the process injures the bread. The process of kneading is very important. Use just as little flour in kneading as will prevent sticking, and practice will enable one to make a little flour go a great way. Some good bread-makers knead with the palm of the hands until the dough is a flat cake, then fold once, repeating this operation until the dough is perfectly smooth and elastic ; others zloae the hands} and press hard and quickly into the dough with the fists, dipping them into the flour when the dough sticks; or, after kneading, chop with the chopping knife and then knead again; others still knead with a potato-masher, thinking it a great saving of strength. Another method, used by good bread-makers, is to raise the whole mass and drop or dash it with considerable force upon the mixing-board or table for several minutes. No exact directions can be given, but experience and practice will prove the best guides. After the bread is thoroughly kneaded, form into a round mass or large loaf, sprinkle the bread-pan well with flour, and, having placed the loaf in it, sprinkle flour lightly on the top (some grease the top with salted lard or butter instead of sprinkling with flour) ; cover closely, and set to rise in a warm temperature ; let it rise to twice its original size this time, say firom one to two hours, difi*ering in time with the season of the year. Then knead down in the pan, cut into equal parts, place one at a time on the board, mold each into a smootri, oblong loaf, not too large, ana put one arter anotner into a well-greased baking-pan ; grease the tops of the loaves with salted lard or butter, and set to ris

12 BREAD-MAKING.

must not stand over fifteen minutes before placing to bake. If it is cold weather, and the yeast is less active, or the bread not perfectly raised, it may sometimes stand an hour in the pans without injury. When it is risen so as to seam or crack, it is ready for the oven ; if it stands after this it becomes sour, and even if it does not sour it loses its freshness and sweetness, and the bread becomes dry sooner after baking. Bread should undergo but two fermentations; the saccharine or sweet fermentation, and the vinous, when it smells something like foaming beer. The housewife who would have good, sweet bread, must never let it pass this change, because the third or acetous fermentation then takes place. This last can be remedied by adding soda m the proportion of one tea-spoon to each quart of wetting ; or, which is the same thing, a tea-spoon to four quarts of flour; but the bread will be much less nutritious and healthful, and some of the best elements of the flour will be lost. Always add salt to all bread, biscuit, griddle-cakes, etc., but never salt sponge. A small quantity of white sugar is an improvement to all bread dough. Bread should always be mixed as soft as it can he handled^ but in using the "new process*' flour, made from spring wheat, the dough requires to be much harder than is necessary when using that made from winter wheat

To Bake Bread.

Here is the important point, for the bread may be perfect thus far and then be spoiled in baking. No definite rules can be i^ven that apply equally well to every stove and range ; but one general rule must be observed, which is, to have a steady, moderate heat, such as is more minutely described in the directions for baking large cakes. The oven must be just hot enough ; if too hot, a firm crust is formed before the bread has expanded enough, and it will be heavy. To test the heat, place a teaspoon of flour on an old piece of crockery (to secure an even heat), and set in middle of the oven ; if it browns in one minute the heat is right. An oven in which the bare hand and arm can not be held longer than to count twenty moderately, is hot enough. The attention of stove-makers seems aever to have been directed to the &ct that there is no accurate means of testing the heat of ovens, but it is to be hoped that in the

BREAD-MAKINO. 13

near ftiture some simple device may be fbuDd which will render mmeoessaiy such inaccurate and untrustworthy tests as must now be used, and thus reduce baking to a science. To test whether the bread is done, break the loaves apart and press gently with the finger ; if elastic it is done, but if clammy, not done, and must be returned to the oven ; or, if the loaves are single, test with a straw plucked from a broom. Break off the branches and thrust the larger end into the loaf; if it is sticky when withdrawn, the bread is not done, but if free from dough it is ready to be removed fi'om the oven. The little projections on the straw, where the branches have been broken off, catch and bring out the dough, when not thoroughly baked.

The time required for baking is not less than three-quarters of an hour, and bread baked a full hour is more wholesome and is gen- erally considered more palatable. ''The little fairy that hovers over successful bread-making is heat, not too little nor too much, but uniform."

When removed from the oven, take the loaves out of the pan, grease the entire outer crust with melted butter, and tilt them on edge, so as to secure a free circulation of air. It is better not to cover bread while warm, unless with a Ught cloth to keep off flies. Thoroughly exposed to the air thR auvface cooh first, insuring a crisp crust and the retention of the moisture in the loaf. There are those, however, who follow successftilly the plan of wrapping the bread, as soon as it ia removed from the oveu. in a coarse towel or bread-cloth. Never put warm bread next to wood, as the part in contact will have a bad taste. Spread a cloth over the table before placing the bread on it

Good bread-makers differ widelv as to the number of times bread should rise, some insisting that the rgle of our good grandmothers, who only allowed it to rise once, insures the sweetest and most nutri- ttoos bread, and that in all subsequent fermentations, a decomposi- tion takes places that is damaging to the wholesome qualities of the "staff of life.'*

If by accident or neglect the bread is baked too hard, rub the baf over with butter, wet a towel and wrap it in it, and cover with another dry toweL In winter, bread dough may be kept sweet

14 BREAD-MAKUIQ.

wveral days by placing it where it will be eold without freezings or by putting it so deep into the flour barrel as to exclude it entirely firom the air. When wanted for use, make into bread, or, by add- ing the proper ingredients, into cake, rusk, biscuit, apple dump- lings, chicken pie, etc.

When the bread u eold, place in a stone jar or tin box, which must be thoroughly washed, scalded and dried each baking day. A still better receptacle for bread is a tin wash-boiler with a close cover, kept for this pur|)ose alone. When smaU, single loaf pans are used, the bread nmy be removed to cool, the pans washed and dried, and the loaves afterwards replaced each in its pan, and then set away in a box or boiler. The pan helps to keep the bread moist and palatable for several days.

The best pan for bread is made of Russia iron (which is but little more costly than tin and will last many times as long), about four by ten inches on the bottom, flaring to the top, and about four and one-half inches deep. The pan should be greased very lightly for bread.

Attention to neatness, important in all cookery, is doubly im- portant in bread-making. Be sure that the hair is neatiy combed and put up (which ought to be done before the dress is put on every morning), and that the hands, arms and finger-nails are scrupulously clean. A neat calico apron with bib, and sleeves of dress well-tucked up and lastened so that they wQl not come down, add much to the comfort of this the most important task of the kitchen queen.

There are three critical points in the process of bread-making : the condition of the yeast, which must never be used if sour ; the temperature where the bread b set to rise, which must not be so hot as to scald ; and the temperature of the oven, which must be uni- form, neither too hot nor too cold.

In cutting warm bread for the table, heat the knife, and, whether hot or cold, cut only as much as will be eaten. It is better to replenish the bread-plate once or even twice during a meal than to have slices left over to dry up and waste.

When using coal, put into the fire-box enough to finish the baking; adding more during the process is apt to render the oven-heat

BREAD-MAKING. 16

irregalar. When wood is used, make a good hoi fire, see that the stove has a good, free draft, and let it cool to an even, steady heat before putting the bread in the oven. The finest bread may be com- pletely spoiled in baking, and a freshly-made fire can not be easily l^ulated.

The patent iron shelves, made to be attached to the pipes of stoves and ranges, are very convenient places for placing bread to lise. They give the necessary warmth, and the height is conven- ient for watching.

The proportion of gluten in wheat, and consequently in flour, varies greatly in different varieties. Flour in which gluten is abundant will absorb much more liquid than that which contains a greater proportion of starch, and consequently is stronger ; that is, will make more bread to a given quantity. Gluten is a flesh-former, and starch a heat-giver, in the nutritive processes of the body. Flour containing a good proportion of gluten remains a compact mass when compressed in the hand, while starchy flour crumbles and lacks adhesive properties. Neither gluten or starch dissolve m cold water. The gluten is a grayish, tough, elastic substance. In yeast-bread, the yeast, in fermenting, combines with the sugar in the flour and the sugar which has been added to the flour, and car- bonic acid gas and alcohol are produced. The gas tries to escape, but is confined by the elastic, strong gluten which forms the walls of the cells in which it is held, its expansion changing the solid dough into a light, spongy mass. The kneading process distributes die yeast thoroughly through the bread, making the grain even. The water used in mixing the bread softens the gluten, and cements all the particles of flour together, ready for the action of the car- bonic acid gas. In baking, the loaf grows larger as the heat ex- pands the carbonic acid gas, and converts the water into steam and the alcohol into vapor, but it, meantime, loses one-sixth of its weight by the escape of these through the pores of the bread. Some of the starch changes into gum, the cells of the rest are broken by the heat, the gluten is softened and made tender, and the bread is in the condition most easily acted upon by the digestive fluids.

There is a great difierence of opinion as to the comparative mer- its of bread made from fine flour, and Graham, or whole wheat

16 BREAD-MAKII^Q.

flour. The latter is undoubtedly best for persons who lead seden- tary lives, as the coarse particles stimulate the digestive organs, causing the fluids to flow more freely ; while for those who follow active, out-of-door pursuits, the fine flour bread is probably best, as being more nutritious and economical, because wholly digested.

Th;ere is an old and true saying, that '* she who has baked a good batch of bread has done a good days work." Bread-making should stand at the head of domestic accomplishments, since the health and happiness of the family depends immeasurably upon good bread ; and there is certain to come a time in the experience of every true, thoughtful woman when she is glad and proud of her ability to make nice, sweet loaves, firee from soda, alum, and other injurious ingredients, or bitter regret that she neglected to learn, or was so unfortunate as not to have been taught, at least the first requisites of good bread-making.

Graham and Cobn Bread.

It is very desirable that every &mily should have a constant supply of bread made of unbolted flour, or rye and Indian com. Most persons find it palatable, and it promotes health. For these coarse breads, always add a little brown sugar or molasses, and the amount given in the recipes may be increased according to taste. They rise quicker and in a less warm atmosphere than without sweetening. A little lard or butter improves bread or ca&es made of Graham or Indian meal, rendering them light and tender. Graham rises rather more quickly than fine flour (as the whole wheat flour contains a larger proportion of gluten, and fermentation is more rapid), and should not be allowed to rise quite as light. The pans should be greased more thoroughly for Graham and com bread than for that made from fine flour. The fire should be steady and sufficient to complete the baking, and the oven hot when the bread is put in. A fresh blaze wiU bum the crust, while a steady fire will sweeten it. Graham bread bakes more slowly than fine- flour bread, and com bread requires mo(e time and a hotter oven than either. Use either yellow or white corn, ground coarse, for mush, and white, ground fine, for bread, etc. In cutting the latter while warm, heat the knife, and hold it perpendicularly. Rye is

BBEAD'MAKINQ. 17

said to absorb more moisture from the air than any other grain;

henoe, all bread from this meal needs a longer application of heat,

and keeps moister after being baked than that made from other

Sponge for Winter Use.

Peel and boil four or five medium-sized potatoes in two quarts of water (which wiU boil down to one quart by thet ime the potatoes are cooked) : when done, take out and press through a colander, or mash very fine in the crock in which the sponge is to be made; make a well in the center, into which put one cup of flour, and pour over tt the boiling water from the potatoes; stir thoroughly, and when cool add a pint of tepid water, flour enough to make a Mn batter, and a cup of yeast This sponge makes very moist bread.

Bread Sponge.

Six potatoes boiled and mashed while hot, two table-spoons of white sugar, two of butter, one quart tepid water; into this stir three cups flour; beat to a smooth batter, add six table-spoons yeast ; set over night, and, in the morning, knead in sufficient flour to make a stifi*, spongy dough ; knead vigorously for fifteen min- utes, set away to rise, and, when light, knead for ten minutes; mold out into moderate^ized loaves, and let rise until they are like deli- cate or light sponge-cake. — Mrs. Oeorge H. Ruet

Bread Sponge and Bread.

Five pints warm water, five quarts sifted flour, one cofleC'Cup yeast ; mix in a two-gallon stone jar, cover closely, and set in a large tin pan, so that if the sponge rises over the top of the jar, the drippings may fall into the pan. Set to rise the evening before baking. In winter be careful to set in a warm place. In the morn* ing sift six quarts flour into a pail, pour the sponge into a bread« pen or bowl, add two table-spoons of salt, then the flour gradually ; mix and knead well, using up nearly all the flour. This first kneading is the most important, and should occupy at least twenty minutes. Make the bread in one large loaf, set away in a warm place, and cover with a cloth. It ought to rise in half an hour, when it should be kneaded thoroughly again for ten minutes. Then

18 BREAD-MAKINQ.

take enough dough for three good-sized loaves (a quart bowl of dough to each), give five minutes kneading to eiich loaf, and place to rise in a dripping-pan well greased with lard. The loaves will be light in five or ten minutes, and wUl bake in a properly heated oven in half an hour. Make a well in the center of the remaining dough, and into it put a half tea-cup of white sugar, one tea-cup of lard, and two eggs, which mix thoroughly with the dough, knead into one large loaf, set in a warm place about fifteen minutes to rise, and, when light, knead five minutes and let rise again for about ten minutes, when it should be light. Take out of pan, and knead on bread-board, roll about an inch in thickness, cut out with a biscuit* cutter, and place in dripping-pan ; let rise five minutes and bake twenty minutes. In winter more time must be allowed for rising. This makes three loaves and ninety biscuit.

Bread with Buttermilk.

The evening before baking, bring to the boiling point two quarts of buttermilk (or boil sour milk and take the same quantity of the whey), and pour into a crock in which a scant tea-cup of sifted flour has been placed. Let stand till sufficiently cool, then add half a cup of yeast, and flour to make a thick batter ; the better and longer the sponge is stirred the whiter will be the bread. In the morning siffc the flour into the bread-pan, pour the sponge in the center, stir in some of the flour, and let stand until after break- fast ; then mix, kneading for about half an hour, the longer the better ; when light, mold into loaves, this time kneading as little as possible. The secret of good bread is having good yeasl^ and not baking too hard. This makes four loaves and forty biscuit. — Mn. M, G. MooTCy

Good Bread.

For four small loaves boil four large potatoes ; when done, pour off the water, and when it cools add to it a yeast cake ; mash the potato very fine, put through a sieve, pour boiling milk on as much flour as i& needed, let stand until cool, add the potato and yeast, a large tearspoon of salt and one table-spoon of sugar ; stir very stiff, adding flour as is needed. Let stand in a warm place until light,

BREAD-MAKING, 19

dissolve one tea-spoon of soda in' a little hot water, mix well through with the hands, mold into loaves, and let rise again. When suffi- ciently raised place in a moderately hot oven, keeping up a steady fire. — Mrs. Ctcvemor Hardin, Missouri.

Hop- Yeast Bread.

One tea-cup yeast, three pints warm water; make a thin sponge at tea time, cover and let it remain two hours or until very light. By adding the water to the dour iirst and having the sponge quite warm, it is never necessary to put the sponge over hot water or in an oveu to make it rise. Knead into a loaf before going to bed ; in the morning mold into three loaves, spreading a little lard between as they are put in the pan. When light, bake one hour, having oven quite hot when the bread is put in, and very moderate when it is done. (Bread made in this way is never sour or heavy.) To have fine, light biscuit, add shortening at night, and in the morning make into biscuit and bake for breakfast. By this recipe bread is baked befoi'e the stove is cold from breakfast, and out of the way for other baking.

To cool bread there should be a board for the purpose. An oaken board, covered with heavy white flannel, is the best ; over this spread a fresh linen bread-cloth, and lay the bread on it right side up, with Bothing over it except a very thin cover to keep off the flies. It should be placed immediately in the firesh air or wind to cool ; when cool, place immediately in a tin box or stone jar, and cover closely. Br^d cooled in this way will have a soft crust, and be filled with pure air. — Mrs J. T, Liggett, Detroit,

Bread with Potato Sponge.

Pare and boil four or five potatoes, mash fine, and add one pint of flour; pour on the mixture first boiling water enough to moisten well, then about one quart of cold water, after which add flour enough to make a stiff batter. When cooled to ** scarcely milk warm," put in one-half pint (or more will do no harm) of yeast, and let it stand in a warm place over night ; in the morning add to this sponge one cup of lard, stir in flour, and knead well. The more kneading the finer and whiter the bread will be ; pounding also with a potato-masher improves the bread greatly, and is rather

20 BREAD-MAKINQ,

easier than so much kneading. When quite stiff and well worked and pounded, let it rise again, and when light, nmke into loaves or biscuit, adding no more flour except to flour the hands and board — merely enough to prevent the bread from sticking. Let it rise again, then bake; and immediately after taking from the oven, wrap in a wet towel until partly cold, in order to soften the crust. If yeast and ^Zour are good (esserUiala in all cases), the above process will make good bread. — Mrs. Clara Morey

Poor-Man's Bread.

One pint of buttermilk or sour milk, one level tea-spoon soda, a

pinch of salt, and flour enough to make as stiff as soda-biscuit dough ;

cut into three pieces, handle as little as possible, roll an inch thick,

place in dripping-pan, bake twenty or thirty minutes in a hot oven,

and, when done, wrap in a bread cloth. Eat while warm, breaking

open like a biscuit. Each cake will be about the size of a pie. —

Mn, D. B.

Bread wriH Potatoes.

To one quart of blood-warm water or milk (if milk is used, it must first be scalded and then cooled to blood heat), take two quarts sifted flour and one teacup fresh potato yeast. Put the milk or water into a one-gallon stone crock and stir the flour gradually into it, then add the yeast, beating it vigorously for fift;een minutes ; set to rise in a warm place, putting the crock in a pan (to catch the drippings if it should run over). If in winter, mix it as early as SIX or seven o'clocK in tne evenmg. Cover very closely wfth a clean white cloth, with a blanket over it, kept purposely for this (the cloths used for bread should not be taken for any thing else). In the morning, sift three quarts of flour into the bread-pan, setting it in the oven for a few minutes to bring it to the same temperature as the sponge. Pare six medium-sized potatoes, and boil them in three pints of water ; when thoroughly cooked, remove the potatoes and pour the boiling hot water (which will now be about one quart) over the flour, stirring it with a spoon. Mash the potatoes very fine, and beat them as if for the table; mix them in the flour, and when cooled to blood heat, pour in the sponge, and mix well. Add more wetting or flour if needed, rub off all that adheres to the sides

BREAD-MAKINQ. 21

of the pan, and mix with the dough, kneading it from forty-five minutes to one hour ; then place the pan to rise, cover closely with the cloth and blanket, setting it where there is no draft (this is im* perative). When it has risen to twice its size, knead down in the pan, take one quart of dough for each loaf, knead each five min- utes with quick, elastic movements, grease tlie sides of the loaves with sweet, melted butter if two or more are placed in the same pan ; or the loaves may be greased all over lightly before placing in the pan, a process which adds much to the sweetness of the crust. The pan should be thoroughly but lightly greased. Let rise until as large again as when molded, then bake. Have your oven mod- erately heated at first, with a fire in the stove that will keep it of a uniform temperature. (For manner of testing oven, see general instructions for bread-making.) Bake from three-quarters of an hour to one hour and a quarter, according to the size of the loaves, during which time the bread should be carefully watched to see that the proper degree of heat is steadily kept up. Before browning they will have risen to double their size when placed in the oven. The heat of the oven is all important, for if too hot the loaves will not rise sufficiently; if too cold they will rise too much, and the bread will be coarse and porous. When done, place on side, and oool without covering. Never use flour without sifting, as sifting enlivens and serates the flour, and makes both mixing and rising easier and quicker. Quick rising makes whiter bread, and it is veiy necessary that in all its diflerent risings, bread should be mixed M soon as ready. — Auldafi, Siieboygan, Me.

Bread Raised Once.

No other yeast is made with so little trouble as potato yeast Bread made fr^m it keeps moist longer, and there is no danger of injuring the flavor of the bread by using too much. When plen- tifully used, a beautiful, light, sweet, fine-grained bread is produced by only one rising, thus saving not only time and trouble, but also, what is more important, the sweet flavor and nutritious qualities which greatly sufler by the second fermentation, almost universally practiced. When this fact is thoroughly understood, every one will appreciate the importance of checking excessive fermentationy dur-

22 BREAD-MAKINQ.

ing which decomposition actually takes place, and the delicate^ foamy loaves, *' yeasted to death/' which so many families now use and call the '* staff of life/' will give place to the sweet, substantial home-made loaves, such as our good mothers and grandmothers kneaded with their own skilled hands.

Take care that the yeast is good and ** lively," for, without this, failure is certain. To make three loaves of bread, warm and lightly grease the baking-pans, sift three quarts or more of dour into the bread-pan, press down the middle, and into it put two small table- spoons of fine salt ; pour in slowly one quart of milk-warm water, constantly stirring with one hand in the flour, until a thin batter is formed; add a pint or more of potato yeast or one tea-cup of hop yeast. (If compressed yeast is used, a yeast cake, dissolved in warm water, or a piece of compressed yeast as large as a walnut, dissolved in the same manner, is sufRciont.) Mix thoroughly, add- ing more and more flour, until a stiff dough is formed; place on the bread-board, knead vigorously for twenty minutes or more, flouring the board frequently to prevent the dough from sticking to it, divide into loaves of a size to suit pans, mold into a comely shape, place in pans, rub over the top a light coating of sweet, drawn butter, set in a warm, not too hot place to rise, cover lightly to keep off dust and air, watch and oc^casionally turn the pans around when necessary to make the loaves rise evenly ; when risen to about double the original size, draw across the top of each length- wise with a sharp knife, making a slit half an inch deep, place them in a moderately heated oven, and bake one hour, watching carefully from time to time to make certain that a proper degree of heat is kept up. Before browning they will rise to double the size of loaf which was placed in the oven, and pans must' be provided deep enough to retain them in shape. Bake until well done and nicely browned. Nothing adds morf to the sweetness and dige

BBEAD-MAKINQ. 23

Brkad Raised Twice.

Measure oat four quarts of sifted flour, take out a pint in a cup, and place remainder in a bread-pan. Make a well in the middle, into which turn one table-spoon sugar, one of salt, and one cup of jeast; then mix in one pint of miJk which has been made blood- warm by adding one pint of boiling water ; beat well with a strong spoon, add one table-spoon lard, knead for twenty to thirty minute?, and let rise over night; in the morning knead again, make into loaves, let them rise one hour, and bake fifty minutes. Water may be used instead of the pint of milk, in which case use twice as much lard.

Bread Raised Three Times.

Begin about 5 p. m., plan for six loaves, somewhat larger than bakers' loaves ; take two little cakes of yeast, put them into a pint of tepid water, and, when soft, beat in thoroughly enough flour to make a thick batter, and put in a warm place. If the excellent "Farmer's Yeast," the recipe for which is given hereafter, is used, take half a tea-cup and stir into the batter. A good dish for this purpose is a large bowl, a broad open pitcher, or a bright three- quart tin pail, and it should be clean in the strictest sense. This should rise in about two hours; and when nearly light, take six or eight medium-sized potatoes, pare neatly, rinse clean, and boil in three pints of water till well done, mash very fine in the water while hot. Have ready a bread-pan of sifted flour, into which put a tea-spoon of salt, half a cup of white sugar, and a bit of lard as large as an egg ; then riddle the potato mash, hot as it is, 'through a sieve or fine colander into the flour, and stir with a kitchen spoon into a stifl* dough. This scalds about half the flour used in the batch of bread. This mass must cool till it wiU not scald ihe yeast, which may now be mixed in md put in a warm, not hot, place for second rising, which will be accomplished by morning, when the kneading may be done. Kneading is the flnest point of bread-mak- ing, and contains more of the art than any other; it requires skiU, time, patience, and hard work. Work in flour no faster than is re- quired to allow thorough kneading, which can not be done in less tban forty-five minutes, but should not be worked much over an

24 BREAD-MAKINO,

hour; one hour is a good uniform rule. The mechanical bakers use sets of rollers driven by steam power, between which the dough is passed, coming out a sheet an inch thick; it is folded together several times and rolled again and again. This process should be imitated somewhat by the hands in the family kitchen. The work- ing of the dough gives grain and flakiness to tlie bread. The dough when kueaded should be soft, but not sticky — stiff enough to retain its roundness on the board. Put back into the pan for the third rising, which will require but little time, and when light, cut off enough for each loaf by itself. Knead but little, and put into the baking-pans. If the first kneading has been well done, no more flour will be needed in molding into loaves. These must remain in the baking-pans till nearly as large as the loaves ought to be, when they may be put into a well-heated oven. If the oven is a trifle too hot, or if it tends to bake hard on the top, a piece of brown paper may be put over the loaves (save some clean grocer's paper for this purpose), and from forty to sixty minutes will cook it thor- oughly. After the loaves are put into the baking-pans, avoid jar- ring them, as it will make portions of them heavy.

If the yeast is '* set" at 5 p. M., the bi^ad will be ready for dinner next day ; if in the morning, the baking will be done early in the evening, or twelve hours after, with fair temperature and good yeast. Bread made lu this way will be good for a week,* and, with fair weather and careful keeping, even two weeks. When dry, a slice toasted will be as crisp, sweet, and granular as Yan- kee ginger-bread. — Mrs, H. Young, »

Bread, in Summer or Wintep.

In summer take three pints of cold or tepid water, four table^ spoons of yeast, one tea-spoon of salt ; stir in flour enough to make a thick sponge (rather thicker than griddle-cakes). Let stand until morning, then add more flour, m\if stiff, and knead ten minutes; place in a pan, let rise until light, knead for another ten minutes; mold into four loaves, and set to rise, but do not let it get too light; bake in a moderate oven one hour. If bread is mixed at six o'clock in the morning, the baking ought to be done by ten o'clock.

In winter take one pint of buttermilk or clabbered milk ; let it

BREAD-MAKINQ. 25

ecald (not boil) ; make a well in the center of the flour, into it turn the hot milk, add one tea-spoon of salt, enough flour and water to make sufficient sponge, and one tea-cup of yeast; let stand until morning, and then prepare the bread as in summer. This is more convenient to make in winter, since a hot fire is needed to heat the milk. — Mrs. £>. Bvxton,

Salt-Rising Bread.

The leaven for this bread is prepared thus : Take a pint of warm water — about 90° — (if a little too hot defeat is certain) in a per- fectly clean bowl and stir up a thick batter, adding only a tea-spoon of salt; a thorough beating of the batter is important. Set in a pan of warm water to secure uniformity of temperature, and in two to four hours it will begin to rise. The rising is much more sure if coarse flour or '* shorts" is used instead of fine flour.

When your '* rising" is nearly light enough, take a pint of milk and a pint of boiling water, (a table-spoon of lime water added is good, and often prevents souring), mix the sponge in the bread-pan, and when cooled to about milk-warm, stir in the rising. The sponge thus made will be light in two to four hours, with good warmth. The dough requires less kneading than yeast-raised dough. The bread is simpler, but not so certain of rising, and you leave out all the ingredients save the flour, water (milk is not essential), and a pinch of salt. It should be made more frequently as it dries &ster than bread containing potatoes. Some object to it because of the odor in rising, which is the result of acetous fermentation, but the more of that the more sure you are of having sweet bread when baked. — Mrs. H, Youngs

•Another Salt-Risino Bread. In summer take at night one (scant) pint of new milk, half as much hot water, a teanspoon salt, one of sugar, and a very little soda. Mix all in a nice, sweet piich^r (it must be perfectly clean and sweet), stir in one table-spoon of corn meal, and add flour enough to make a medium batter; stir well, place the pitcher in an iron kettle with quite warm water, using so much water that the pitcher will barely rest on the bottom of the kettle ; cover closely and leave all night (on the stove if the fire is nearly out) where it will be

26 BBEAD-MAKINQ,

kept warm, not hot, for an hour or two. If the pitcher is not too large, it will probably be full in the morning; if not, add a spoon of flour, stir well, warm the water in the kettle, replace the pitcher, cover, and keep it vxirm until light Have ready two quarts of sifted flour in a pan, make a hole in the center, put in an even tea-spoon of salt, a tea-cup of nearly boiling water ; add one pint of new milk, and stir a batter there in the center of the flour, /iddthe "emptyings" from the pitcher, and stir well (there will be a good deal of flour all round the batter ; this is right) ; cover with another pan, keep warm until light — ^it will rise in an hour or even less — when it is ready to be weO, kneaded, and made directly into loaves, which place in the baking-pans, keep well covered and vxirm until light, when it is ready to bake. The secret of success is to keep it warm but not at all liot. This bread is good if no milk is used ; indeed, some prefer it made with water alone instead of milk and water. In cold weather, if kitchen is cold at night, do not set . "emptyings** over night, but make early in the morning. — JBavillah^ FarinoLy

Boston Brown Bread. One heaping coffee-cup each of corn, rye and Graham meal. The rye meal should be as fine as the Graham, or rye flour may be used. Sift the three kinds together as closely as possible, and beat together thoroughly with two cups New Orleans or Porto Kico mo- lasses, two cups sweet milk, one cup sour milk, one dessert-spoon soda, one tea-spoon salt; pour into a tin form, place in a kettle of cM water, put on and boil four hours. Put on to cook as soon as mixed. It may appear to be too thin, but? it is not, as this recipe has never been known to fail. Serve warm, with baked beans or Thanksgiving turkey. The bread should not quite fill the form (or a tin pail with cover will answer), as it must have room to swell. See that the water does not boil up to the top of the form; also take care it does not boil entirely away or stop boiling. To serve it, remove the lid and set it a few moments into the open oven to dry the top, and it will then turn out in perfect shape. This bread can be used as a pudding, and served with a sauce made of thick nour cream, well sweetened and seasoned with nutmeg; or it is good toasted the next day. — Mn. H. S. Stevem, Minneapolis, Minn.

BBEADMAXma. 27

MiBsouBi Bbown Bkead.

One pint each of rye or Graham and Indian meal, one cup mo- lasses, three-fburths cup sour milk, one and one-half tea-spoons soda, one and one-half pints cold water. Put on stove over cold water (all brown breads are better when put on to steam over cold water, which is afterwards brought to the boiling point and kept con- stantly boiling until bread is done) ; steam four hours, and brown over in the oven. — B. &•/"., St, Joe, Mo.

Brown Bread.

Two and one-half cups sour milk, and one-half cup molasses ; into these put one heaping tea-spoon soda, two cups corn-meal, one cup Graham flour and one tea-spoon salt. Use cofiee-cups. Steam three hours, and afterwards brown in oven. — Mrs. M. Irvine, De KaU>, Mo.

Bread with Bice.

Three tea-cups rice-flour, one of wheat-flour, one heaping tear spoon cream of tartar rubbed in flour, two well-beaten eggs, a table- spoon butter, one-half teanspoon soda, and sweet milk, to consistency of pound-cake. Salt to taste. — Mre. HtK, Va.

Bread with Mush.

Four two quarts hot corn-meal mush, made as for eating, over two quarts flour (wheat or Graham) ; when cool, add one quart sponge, one coflfee-cup molasses, one tearspoon salt, half tearspoon soda; mix well together; add more flour if needed, and knead thoroughly; mold into small loaves; let rise and bake in small dripping pans (a loaf in a pan), or pie-tins, in a moderate oven; when done, rub over with butter, place on the side, wrap in a cloth, and when cold put in a jar or box. This recipe makes three good- sized loaves and keeps moist longer than all Graham bread. — Mn. W. W. Woodk.

Clabber Bread.

Beat four eggs separately; take two cups of clabber, one table- spoon butter (slightly heaped, and place where it will soften), a tea- spoon each soda and salt; mix with flour to a stiff batter; grease pan, pour in batter, and let rise an hour before baking. Excellent.

28 BRMAD-MAKINO.

Mrs. B.'s Cokn Bread.

One quart sour milk, three eggs, two table-spoons lard or butter (or half and half)* one table-spoon sugar, a pinch of salt, handful of wheat flour, and enough corn meal (sifted) to make a good bat- ter ; add one heaping tea-spoon soda, stir thoroughly, and bake in

long dripping pan.

Boiled Corn Bread.

One and one-fourth pints each of sweet milk and buttermOk or sour cream, hall a pint molasses, one tea-spoon soda, three tea- spoons cream tartar, one even table-spoon salt, one and a fourth pints each of corn meal and flour; sift the soda and cream tartar in the flour ; mix all the ingredients thoroughly together and put in a buttered tin pail ; cover closely, place in a kettle two-thirds full of boiling water ; cover, and boil steadily for three hours, replenish* ing when needful with boiling water. To be eaten hot with butter. —Mrs. I. K BurrUt in ''In ike KUchen."

Corn Bread. -

One pint corn meal sifted, one pint flour, one pint sour milk,

two eggs beaten light, one-half cup sugar, piece of butter size of an

egg ; add, the last thuig, one tea-spoon soda in a little milk ; add to

the beaten egg the milk and meal alternately, then the butter and

sugar. If sweet milk is used, add one tea-spoon cream tartar ; bake

twenty minutes in a hot oven. —Mrs. H. B. Sherman, Mihoavkeet

Wisconsin,

Corn Bread.

Take one quart buttermilk, and one heaping pint corn meal, one tea-spoon soda, one of salt, one table-spoon sugar and three eggs ; have the stove very hot, and do not bake in too deep a pan. The batter seems too thin, but bakes very nicely. — 3frs. J. H. Shearer, Marysmlle^ Ohio,

The Bread of our Forefathers. Put in a pan two quarts of meal, a half-pint of flour, stir up well ; pour in the center a pint of boiling water, stir up enough of the meal to make a thin batter; when cool, put in a cup of yeast, a tea-spoon of salt and enough warm water to make a thick batter ; let rise, then place in a deep, well-greased pan, cover with another

BREAD-MAKINQ. 29

pan, and place in a moderate oven. When nearly done, remove the

cover, and bake slowly until done. Excellent when cold.

All baking-pans for bread should be made with covers, made of

the same material, and high enough to permit the bread to rise to

its Aill size. If pan is deep enough to permit the bread to rise

without touching it, a flat piece of tin or sheet-iron will answer for

the cover, or a cover may be made of paper, or another pan may

be inverted over the bread. The office of the cover is to prevent

the crust from browning hard before the expansion of the gases has

made the bread light and porous. — Mrs. C. V. OoUier, Liidifiddj

Minnesota.

Plain Corn Bread.

One well-heaped pint com meal, one pint sour or buttermilk, one e^, one tea-spoon soda, one of salt ; bake in dripping or gem pans. If preferred, one heaping table-spoon of sugar may be added.

Steamed Corn Bread. Two cups each corn meal, Graham flour and sour milk, two- thirds cup molasses, one tea-spoon soda; steam two hours and a half — Mrs. Jennie Guthrie Cherry, Newark.

Graham Bread. Take a little over a quart of warm water, one-half cup brown sugar or molasses, one-fourth cup hop yeast, and one and one-half tea-spoons salt ; thicken the water with unbolted flour lo a thin bat- ter ; add sugar, salt and yeast, and stir in more flour until quite sdfil In the morning add a small tea-spoon soda, and flour enough to make the batter stiff* as can be stirred with a spoon ; put it into pans and let rise again; then bake in even oven, not too hot at first ; keep warm whUe rising ; smooth over the loaves with a spoon <»r knife dipped Jn water. — Mrs. H. B. Sherman, PUxnkiivUm House,

MHwaukee, Wi^condn.

Graham Bread.

Mix three quarts Graham flour, one quart warm water, half pint

yeast, a quarter- pint molasses, and one table-spoon salt, thoroughly;

put in well-buttered pans, and leave in a warm place to rise, or let

it rise over night at 60^. If left to rise slowly, let it remain in the

bowl in which it was mixed, and unless very light when put in

30 BREAD-MAKING.

pans, let it stand fifteen or twenty minutes before patting in

the oven.

Graham Bread.

To one and a half pints of tepid water add one heaping tea-spoon of salt and one-half cup of sugar ; stir in one-half pint or more of the sponge made of white flour, as in recipe for " Bread with Potato Yeast;" add Graham flour until aliuost too fiiff to 8^r; put in the baking-pan and let rise well, which will take about two hours, bake in a moderate oven, and when done, wrap in a wet towel until cool. — Mn. Qara Woods Morey.

Quick Graham Bread.

One and a half pints sour milk, half cup New Orleans molasses, a little salt, two tearspoons soda dissolved in a little hot water, and as much Graham flour as can be stirred in with a spoon ; pour in well-greased pan, put in oven as soon as mixed, and bake two hours. — Mrs. E. J. W.

Bte and Indian Bread.

One quart of rye meal or rje flour, two quarts of Indian meal, scalded (by placing in a pan and pouring just enough boUing water over it, stirring constantly with a spoon, to merely wet it, but not enough to make it into a batter), one-half tea-cup molasses, two tea- spoons salt, one of soda, one tearcup yeast ; make as stiff as can be stirred with a spoon, mixing with warm water, and let rise all night; then put in a large pan, smooth the top with the hand dipped in cold water, let it stand a short time, and bake five or six hours. If put in the oven late in the day, let it remain all night Graham may be used instead of rye, and baked as above. In tha olden time it was placed in kettle, allowed to rise, then placed ov the hearth before the fire, with coals on top of lid, and baked.^« Mm. Charles FuttingUm, ilarymUe^ Ohio.

Rte Bread.

Make a sponge of one quart warm water, one tea cup yeast, thickened with rye flour; put in warm place to rise over night; scald one pint com meal ; when coul add it to sponge, and add rye flour till thick enough to knead, ht^wl hvt liitk, let rise, mcU into

BREAKFAST AND TEA CAKES. 31

loaves, place in deep pie-tiiis or small pudding-pans, let rise and bake ; or, thicken tlie sponge with rye flour, and proceed as above. Wheat sponge may be used instead of rye. — Mn, Eliza T. Carson, Deiawarey Ohio,

Rte Bread.

Make sponge as for wheat bread, let rise over night, then mix it up with the rye flour (not so stiff as wheat bread), and bake.