THE BAKERS GUIDE

I. Farmhouse or " Home-made " Bread-

280 lbs. good white flour; 1} lbs. yeast; 14 lbs. potatoes ; 2 \ lbs. salt ; 56 quarts water ; £ lb. sugar. Set a ferment — at 84 to 90 degs. (Fahr.) according to the weather — with the yeast, potatoes (boiled and mashed), 6 lbs. flour, and about 20 quarts water ; it will work from two to four hours. Directly this ferment is ready, strain it into the trough, with the remainder of the water and the salt and sugar (the water must be warm enough to make the dough about 80 to 90 degs. when all the flour is in it), and make up very lightly into a light firm dough. Give this dough three hours in the trough, and then throw it out, scale off 2 lbs. 3 oz. for the 2 lb. loaf, hand up the scaled pieces of dough with plenty of dust, and let it prove very much ; when it is full proof, mould it up lightly (dry with dust) with a very small top, turn the bottom upside down before you put the top on, so that when it is in the oven it will break open roughly ; as soon as it is moulded put on the top, mark it with a stamp and put at once into the oven. Of course any sort of oven will do, but to be proper, it should be put into an externally heated oven with an iron plate for a bottom. The oven should have plenty of top heat and very little bottom.

II Silken Piled Well-fermented Bread.

Two bags of flour (280 lbs.), which should be about half soft roller " whites " or " supers," and half good strong flour ; mix them well together in the trough, put the pin-board in, and make a bay large enough to stir a sponge with a third of the flour ; be sure and press down the flour all round the back of the board to keep the liquor from escaping. Boil and mash 12 lbs. potatoes, mix them with 35 quarts of water hot enough to bring the sponge to 84 degs. (Fahr.) when the flour is in. Strain these 35 quarts of water and the potatoes in the bay, carefully and thoroughly dissolve £ lb. of yeast into it, and \ lb. of salt. Stir into a stiff batter sponge, just firm enough to enable you to put your hands under it and flap it over. Do this several times to make it tough, dust it a little, put some labour into it — either with sponge stirrer or arms, only do it well — and then leave it to ferment until it rises, breaks and falls, which will be in about eight hours. As soon as it begins to subside pour into it 25 quarts of water — 95 degs. (Fahr.)— and 3} lbs. salt ; mix all together and make into a nice clear dough with some spring in it. To get this spring and toughness, put plenty of labour into it, cut it back, turn over, and knead well ; let it prove