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Bread

Compressed Yeast Bread

A simple bread made with compressed yeast, flour, water, salt, and buttered tins.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 5 ingredients
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Compressed Yeast Bread

Ingredients

Directions

The book gives no oven temperature. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.

Make the sponge

  1. Dissolve the yeast in 1 pint of lukewarm water and stir in enough flour to make a thick batter.

  2. Cover the bowl with a thick cloth and set it in a warm place to rise for about 30 minutes until foamy.

Mix and knead

  1. Stir in the salt dissolved in a little warm water, add the remaining flour, and enough warm water to make a stiff dough.

  2. Knead the dough for 5 to 10 minutes, then divide it into loaves and knead each loaf again.

Shape and bake

  1. Place the loaves in buttered baking tins, cover with a double cloth, and let them rise until doubled in size.

  2. Bake in a preheated oven at 350°F (175°C) until golden brown.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.

Explore the science

What each ingredient does

Flour
Forms the gluten network that gives the bread its structure and chew.
Yeast
Produces gas as it ferments, making the dough rise and become airy.
Warm water
Hydrates the flour and activates the yeast, forming the dough.
Salt
Controls yeast activity and strengthens gluten, adding flavour.

The step that matters

Kneading and proofing the loaves. Kneading develops the gluten so the dough can hold gas. Letting the shaped loaves rise until doubled ensures a light crumb; under-proofed loaves stay dense.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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