GRAHAM AND CORN BREAD

It is very desirable that every family should have a constant supply of bread made of unbolted flour, or rye and Indian corn. Most persons find it palatable,and it promotes

BREAD-MAKING. 19

health. For these coarse breads always add a little brown sugar or molasses, and the amount given in the recipes may be increased ac- cording to taste. They rise quicker and in a less warm atmosphere than without sweetening. A little lard or butter improves bread or cakes 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 j^roportion of gluten, and fermen- tation is more rajjid), and should not be allowed to rise quite as light. The pans should be greased more thoroughly for Graham and corn bread tlian 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 will burn the crust, while a steady fire will sweeten it. Graham bread bakes more slowly than fine-flour bread, and corn bread requires more 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 lat- ter while warm, heat the knife, and hold it perpendicularly. Rye is said to absorb more moisture from the air than any other grain : hence, all bread from this meal needs a longer application of heat, and keeps moister after being baked than that made from other grain. Rye meal is much better than rye flour for making all kinds of bread and muffins, but the meal, like the old fashioned corn or Indian meal, grows musty in a short time in hot weather, so that but a small quantity should be bought at a time.

In most families there is a large amount of corn or Indian meal used, but the quantity purchased at a time depends upon the kind of meal selected. The common kind, which is made by grinding between two mill-stones, retains a great deal of moisture, and, in hot weather, will soon grow musty ; but the granulated meal will keep for an}'^ length of time. The corn for this meal is first dried ; and it takes about two years for this. Then the outer husks are re- moved, and the corn is ground by a process that produces grains like granulated sugar. After once using this meal one will not will- ingly go back to the old kind. Indian meal is made from two kinds of corn. Northern and Southern. The former gives the yellow meal, and is much richer than the Southern, of which white meal is made. All steamed brown breads are better when put to steam over cold water which is then brought to boiling point and kept constanth' boiling until the bread is done. . Sweet milk may be used in place of

20 BREAD-MAKING.

sour, and vice versa, remembering that the proportions are one level teaspoon soda to one pint sour milk, and with sweet milk two heap- ing teaspoons baking powder, or two teaspoons cream tartar and one of soda, to one quart flour.

Sponpe for Winter Use. — Peel and boil four or five medium sized potatoes in two quarts water (which will boil down to one quart by the time the potatoes are cooked) ; when done, take out and press through a colander, or mash very line in the crock in which the sponge is to be made ; make a well in the center, into Avhich put one cup flour, and pour over it theboiling water from the potatoes ; stir thoroughly, and when cool add a pint of tepid water, flour enough to make a thin batter, and one cup yeast. This sponge makes very moist bread.

Bread Sponge and Bread. — Six potatoes boiled and mashed while hot, two tablespoons each white sugar and butter, one quart tepid water ; into tliis stir three cups flour ; beat to a smooth batter, add six tablespoons yeast; set overnight, and in the morning knead in sufficient flour to make a stiff, spongy dough ; knead vig- orously for fifteen minutes, set away to rise, and when light knead for ten minutes ; mold out into moderate-sized loaves, and let rise until they are like delicate or sponge-cake.

Bread Sponge and Bread. — Five ])ints Avarm water, five quarts sifted flour, one coffee-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 the winter be careful to set in a Avarm place. In the morning sift six quarts flour into a pail, pour the sponge into a bread-pan or bowl, add two tablespoons salt, then the flour gradually; mix and knead well, using up nearly all the flour. Tliis first kneading is the most important, and should occupy at least twenty minutes. ]Make the bread in one largo 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 take enough dough for three goo 1-sized loaves (a quart bowl

of dough to each), give five minutes' kneading to each loaf, and place to rise in a dripping- pan Avell greased with lard. The loaves will be light in five Cooler for Briad after Bakiug. ^ or tcu miuutes, aud wlll bakc

in a properly heated oven in half an hour. Make aAvell in the cen- ter of the remaining doudi, and into it put a half tea-cup of white sugar, one tea-cup of lard, and two eggs, which mix thoroughly with

BREAD-MAKING. 21

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. — Set s{)onge at nine o'clock in the evening in summer, and keep it in a cool place ; or at noon and make it up in the even- ing. Do not keep in the cellar or it will sour. In the Avinter set it at six o'clock at night and place where it will keep warm. For the sponge use one yeast cake soaked in lukewarm water, three potatoes boiled and mashed fine and one pint flour. Scald with the boiling potato water, adding the yeast alter the mixture has become cool, and mixing to a smooth paste. Add a teaspoon salt and beat fifteen minutes. When the sponge foams it is risen sufficiently ; then add a pint warm water and flour to make a smooth dough that will not stick to the fingers, set in a warm place, and when full of cells work in all the flour possible. Let it rise and knead until the gas stops cracking. ]\Iake into loaves, let rise, and increase the heat of the oven after the first twenty minutes of baking.

Apple Bread. — To make bread from apples or other fruits, pare them, put them over the fire and stew them tender, adding a little sugar if they are very sour ; then pulp them through a sieve. Use this pulp as the basis of bread ; mix one pound of fruit pulp with two pounds flour, teaspoon salt, one gil) liquid yeast, and water enough to make a soft dough ; knead, make into loaves, let rise and bake as ordinary bread. Pears and other fruits may also be used, the fact being remembered that the juice of fruit must not be ex- stacted, but must be allowed to replace water or milk in making the bread. Fruit breads should be eaten -wdth some precaution, as their action may be laxative ; in this connection it may be well to give a good recipe for a harmless vegetable bread of the same nature.

Bean Bread. — The use of potatoes in bread is well known, but not so the fact that beans, parsnips, carrots, turnips, beets and sweet potatoes may be emplo3^ed either for purposes of variety or economy ; any of these vegetables may be used after being boiled and reduced to a puree, or pulp, according to the directions given below, care be- ing taken to extract their moisture by rolling the puree lengthwise in a strong tov/el, and then squeezing it as dry as possible by having the ends of the towel twisted tight by two persons.

Bread with Buttermilk. — The evening before baking, bring to the boiling point two quarts buttermilk (or boil sour milk and take the same quantity of the whey), and pour into a crock in which

22 BREAD-MAKIXG.

a scant tea-cup sifted flour has been placed. Let stand till suffi- ciently 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 tlie l)read. In the morning sift the flour into the bread-pan, pour the s])onge in the center, stir in some of the flour, and let stand until after breakfast; 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 ii* having good j'cast, and not baking too hard. This makes four loaves and forty biscuit.

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 flour first and having the sponge quite warm, it is never necessary to put the sponge over hot water or in an oven 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 mod- erate when it is done. (Bread made in this vray 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 re- cipe bread is baked before the stove is cold from breakfast, and out of the way for other baking.

Bread ivifh Potato Sponge. — Pare and boil four or five potatoes, mash fine, and add one pint flour ; pour on the mixture first boil- ing water enough to moisten well, then about one quart cold water, after which add flour enough to make 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 overnight ; in the morning add to this sponge one cup 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 easier than so much kneading. When quite stiff and well worked and pounded, let it rise again, and when light make 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 immediat<^ly after taking from the oven wrap in a wet towel until partly cold, in order to soften the crust. If !/east and Hour are good (essentials in all cases), the above process will make good bread.

Foor-Maivs Bread. — One pint buttermilk or sour milk, one level teaspoon 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 thn-ty minutes in a hot oven, and Avhen done wrap in a bread cloth. Kat while warm, breaking open like a biscuit. Each cake will be about the size of a pie.

BREAD-MAKING. 23

Bread with Potatoes. — To one quart 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 tea-cup 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 fifteen 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 the evening. Cover very closely with a clean white cloth, with a blanket over it, kept purpose- ly for this (the cloths for bread should not be used 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 tem- perature as the sponge. Pare six medium-sized potatoes, and boil them in three pints 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 pota- toes 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 Avetting or flour if needed, rub oft' all that adheres to the sides 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 imperative). When it has risen to twice its size, knead down in the pan, take one quart of dough for each loaf, knead each five minutes with quick, elastic movements, grease the sides of the loaves with sweet, m

Bread Raised Once. — No other yeast is made with so ,little trouble as potato yeast. Bread made from it keeps moist longer, and

24 BREAD-MAKING.

there is no dancfer of injuring the flavor of the bread hy using too much. Wlicn plentifully 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 nutri- tious qualities which greatly suffer by the second fermentation, almost universally practiced. When this fact is thoroughly understood, every one will appreciate the importance of checking excessive fer- mentation, during which decomposition actually takes place, and the delicate, foamy loaves, "yeasted to death," which so many fam- ilies now use and call the "staff of life," will give place to the sweet, substantial, home-made loaves, such as our good mothers and grand- mothers 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, M'arm and lightly grease the baking-pans, sift three quarts or more of flour into the bread-pan, press down the middle, and into it put two small tal>le- spoons of tine salt; pour in slowly one quart of milk-warm water, constantly stirring with one hand in the flour, until a thin Ijatter is formed ; add a pint or more of potato yeast or one tea-cup of hop yeast, or one yeast cake dissolved in warm water, or a piece of compressed yeast as large as a walnut, dissolved in the same manner. Mix thoroughly, adding more and more flour, until a stifl" dough is formed; place on the bread-board, knead vigor- ously 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 tr)0 hot place to rise, cov(^r 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 lengthwise 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 ])roper degree of heat is kept up. Before browning they Avill rise to double the size of loaf Avhich 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 more to the sweetness and digestibility of wheaten bread than

Bread Raised Twice. — Measure out four quarts 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 tablespoon sugar, one of salt, and one cup yeast ; then mix in one pint milk which has been made ])lood-warni by adding one pint boiling water; beat well with a strong spoon, add one tablespoon lard_, knead for twenty to thirty minutes, and let rise overnight ; in the morning knead

BREAD-MAKING. 26

again — slashing the dough with a sharp knife adds to its lightness and texture — 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 at about 5 p. m., plan for six loaves, somewhat larger than bakers' loaves ; take two little cakes of yeast, put them into a i^int 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-cjuart tin pail, which 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 teaspoon of salt, half a cup of Avhite 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 stiff' dough. This scalds about half the flour used in the batch of bread. This mass must cool till it ti^ill not scald the yeasty which may now be mixed in and put in a warm, not hot, place for second rising, which will be accomplished by morning, when the kneading ma}- be done. Kneading is the finest point of bread-mak- ing, and contains more of the art than any other ; it requires skill, time, patience and hard work. Work in flour no faster than is re- quired to allow thorough kneading. Avhich can not be done in less than forty-five minutes, but should not be worked much over an hour; one hour is a good uniform rule. The mechanical bakers use sets of

26 BREAD-MAKING.

If the yeast is " set " at 5 p. m. the bread will be ready for dinner next day ; if in the morning, the baking Avill be done early in the evening, or twelve hours after, with fair temperature and good yeast. Bread made in this way will be good for a week, and Avith fair weather and careful keeping, even two weeks. When dry, a slice toasted will be as crisp, sweet and granular as Yankee ginger-bread.

Bread Making Made Easy. — This quantity is for eight loaves but may be varied at pleasure. Three quarts warm water, in which melt a lump of butter the size of a hen's egg. Stir in flour sufficient to make a smooth, thick batter. Then add a bowlful of yeast Avhich must be well stirred in. Now with the hands knead in more flour until tlie dough is firm, smooth and elastic, and will not adhere to the hands. Cover closely and set in a warm place overnight. You cannot be too careful in keeping the cold air from it, for if once chilled the bread will not be so light and sweet. Next morning the dough will be as light as a foam, and before it begins to subside take out on bread-board and chop with a chopping knife for five minutes or even less Avill do. It will scarcely be necessary to add any more flour. Mold into loaves and when light, bake. It will be seen that this requires but two risings, thereby retaining much of the sweetness of the flour which passes off in fermentation. Set the Sjwnge at 8 o'clock in the evening, and cliop and mold into loaves before break- fast next morning, and by the time breakfast is over it is light enough for tlie oven.

Bread in Summer or Winter. — In summer take three pints of cold or tepid water, four tablespoons yeast, one teaspoon salt; stir in flour enough to make a thick sponge (rather thicker than griddle-cakes). Let stand until morning, then add more flour, mix 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 scald (not boil) ; make a well in the center of the flour, into it turn the hot milk, add one teaspoon salt, enough flour and Avater to make sufficient sponge, and one tea-cup of yeast ; let stand until morning and then ])repare the bread as in summer. This is more convenient to make in winter, since a hot fire is needed to heat the milk.

Bread tcith Compressed Yeast. — When it is possible to obtain fresh compressed yeast, also called German yeast, an excellent bread can be made in about two hours and a half; the rapidity of the leavening or "raising " the dougli is advantageous, because less of the nutritive elements of the flour are lost than by following the long process ; for two loaves of bread use three pounds of flour,

BREAD-MAKING. 27

about a quart of water, two teaspoons salt, and an ounce of fresh compressed yeast ; dissolve the yeast in a pint of lukewarm water ; stir in sufficient flour to make a thick batter or sponge, cover with a folded towel, and set it in a warm place to rise ; if properly covered and heated it will rise to a light foam in about half an hour ; then stir into it the salt, dissolved in a little warm water ; add the rest of the flour and sufficient lukewarm water to make a dough stiff enough to knead ; knead it five minutes ; divide it into two loaves, put them into buttered baking-pans, cover them Avith a folded toAvel, and set them in a warm place to rise twice their height ; then bake them as directed in the preceding recipe for raised bread. In raising the sponge be sure that the heat is not sufficient to ''scald" or harden it, as that will prevent fermentation ; therefore do not place it where the hand can not be held with comfort ; keep it covered from draughts. If, when it is light, it has become at all soured, as it sometimes will in summer, stir into it before adding the balance of the flour a salt- spoon baking-soda, dissolved in a very little luke-warm water.

The dough made for home-made bread can be baked as raised biscuit ; and it can be made a little sweeter by kneading in with it a tablespoon each of sugar and melted butter ; or it can be boiled in soups and stews as raised dumplings.

To test the heat of the oven follow this method : The "moderate oven" temperature is that degree of heat which will turn ordinary writing-paper dark yellow or buff, that is the color of kindling-wood ; put a sheet of paper in the oven and close the doo?> if the paper blazes the oven is too hot ; arrange the dampers to lower the heat for ten minutes; then again test it with more paper; it may be necessary to try the temperature several times, but the time thus used is well spent. Another simple way of testing the heat of the oven is to hold the hand in it after it has been closed for some time ; if the hand can be held there without burning for quarter of a min- ute the heat is good.

Quick Bread. — Peel ten potatoes, boil, drain, saving water, and mash thoroughly ; add three tablespoons each sugar and salt, three of flour scalded in half pint water ; mix and add a quart of the boiling potato-water, also five quarts tepid water and a cup of soft yeast. Put in a warm place till it foams nicely, then put away to cool. When thoroughly cold., seal or cork tightly and put in a cool place. To make the bread, sift flour in pan for number of loaves re- quired and wet it with some of the. above prepared rising, icarmed, (very important) and nothing else ; when well mixed mold into loaves and put in a warm place to rise ; if directions are strictly followed, bread Avill be light in two hours. Bake an hour, and thus in three hours perfect bread can be made and baked. By adding to part of the dough when mixed for the loaves, half teacup lard or butter, one egg and three tablespoons sugar, let rise and then make into biscuit, let rise again and bake, taking for all an hour and a half more — this

28 BREAD-MAKING.

gives biscuits or rolls in less than four hours, as soon as with com- pressed yeast, with the advantage of the rising being home-made. This comes strongly endorsed by an experienced bread baker.

Salt-Risi7ig 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 perfectly clean bowl and stir up a thick bat- ter, adding only a teaspoon 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 ris- ing is much more sure if coarse flour or " shorts " is used instead of fine flour.

When the " rising " is nearly light enough, take a pint of milk and a pint of boiling water, (a tablespoon 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 ycast-raised dough. The bread is simpler, but not so certain of rising, and you leave out all the ingre- dients save the flour, water (milk is not essential), and a pinch of salt. It should be made more frequently as it dries faster than bread containing potatoes.

Another Salt-Rising Bread. — In summer take at night one (scant) pint of new milk, half as much hot water, which will make the whole lukewarm, a teaspoon salt, one of sugar and a very little soda. Mix all in a nice, sweet pitcher (it must be perfectly clean and sweet), stir in one tablespoon of corn meal and add flour enough to make a medium batter ; or, use the " lightning yeast " given hereafter, or stir the rising as recommended above with " mid- dlings " or shorts, leaving out the soda and sugar; stir well, place the pitcher in an iron kettle Avith quite warm Avater, 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 kept warm, not hot, for an hour or two. A quart pitcher should 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 loarm until light. Have ready two quarts of sifted flour in a pan, make a hole in the center, put in an even teaspoon 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, add the " empty- ings " from the pitcher and stir well (tliere Avill be a good deal of flour all round tlie batter, and the top sliould be well sprinkled with flour) ; cover with another pan, keep warm until light — it will rise in an hour or even less, the batter showing through cracks in the flour — when it should be well and quickly Jcneaded^ and made directly into loaves, which place in the baking-pans, keep well covered and roarm until light, when it is ready to bake. If left standing too long

BREAD-MAKING. 29

an unpleasant odor rises. The secret of success is to keep it warm but not at all hot. 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.

Sioeet Potato Bread. — Boil three large sweet potatoes, peel and mash them through a colander with a potato-masher, adding tea- spoon salt and tablespoon butter ; after they have been mashed, mix with them one cup and a half corn meal, a scant cup milk, and one egg beaten smooth ; pour batter into a buttered baking-pan, and bake in a moderate oven twenty minutes. Use the bread hot with plenty of butter. •

Boston Broimi Bread. — One heaping coffee-cup each of corn, rye and Graham meal. The rye meal should be as fine as the Gra- ham, or rye flour may be used. Sitt the three kinds together as closely as possible, and beat together thoroughly with two cups New Orleans or Porto Rico molasses, two cups sweet milk, one cup sour milk, one dessert-spoon soda, one teaspoon salt ; pour into a tin form, place in a kettle of cold 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 ^^0SEi3!iij^ fail. Serve warm, with baked l^eans or Thanks- flHL fiH| giving turkey. The bread should not quite fill the |^^lM-i^^^ form (or a tin pail with cover will answer), as H^ ^jJiiMl, it must have room to swell. See that the water ^B ^^mLII^^ does not boil up to the top of the form ; also ^^ flvilHF take care it does not boil entirely away or stop ^fe_Mr^^^ boiling. To serve it, remove the lid ancl set it a ^^

few moments into the open oven to dry the top, nu Form for Bread. 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 sour cream, well sweetened and seasoned with nutmeg ; or it is good toasted the next day.

Boston Brown Bread. — Boil and mash fine six potatoes and make into a sponge with one cup yeast, three cups flour and one quart warm water, adding two tablespoons each of lard and brown sugar. When light, sift into the bread tray two quarts Indian meal, one quart rye or wheat flour and one tablespoon each of soda and salt. Pour the risen sponge into this and mix, adding warm water if needed, and work in gradually a half cup molasses. Knead well and let rise six or seven hours, knead again, make into loaves, let rise one hour and bake in moderate oven.

Eastern Brown Bread. — One pint each of rye or Graham and Indian meal, one cup molasses, three- fourths cup sour milk, one and one-half teaspoons soda, one and one-half pints cold water. Put on stove over cold water, steam four hours and brown over in the oven.

30 BREAD-MAKIN».

Brown Bread. — Two and one-half cups sour milk, and one-half cup molasses ; into these put one heaping teaspoon soda, two cups corn meal, one cup Graham flour and one teaspoon salt Use coffee cups. Steam three hours, and afterwards brown in oven

Brown Bread with Baki7ig Powder. — One and a fourth cups sweet milk, one cup each corn meal and Graham, one-half cup mo- lasses, two heaping teaspoons baking powder, or use sour milk and soda. Measure in coffee-cups. Steam three or four hours. Can be made on Saturday and re-steamed for Sunday morning breakfast.

Brown Bread with Mush. — Pour two quarts hot corn meal mush, made as for eating, over two quarts Graham flour (wheat may be used) ; when cool add one quart sponge, one coffee-cup molasses, teaspoon salt, half teaspoon soda ; mix well together with a spoon or the hands, add more flour if needed to make it a ,9^//^' batter, and place in small bread pans (such as are described in the preceding preface on baking bread), filling them a little more than half full and smoothing over with a spoon dipped in water. Let rise till there is a seam or crack in the loaf, then bake 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.

Bost07i Corn Bread. — One cup sweet milk, two cups sour milk, two-thirds cup molasses, one cup flour, four cups corn meal, two tea- spoons soda ; steam three hours, and brown a few minutes in the oven.

Boiled Corn Bread. — One and one-fourth pints each of sweet milk and buttermilk or sour cream, half a pint molasses, one tea- spoon soda, three teaspoons cream tartar, one even tablespoon 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 ket- tle two-thirds full of boiling water : cover, and boil steadily for three hours, replenisliing when needful Avith boiling water. To be eaten hot with butter.

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 thing, one teaspoon soda in a little milk ; add to the beaten egg th(> milk and meal alternately, then the butter and sugar. If sweet milk is used, add one teaspoon cream tartar ; bake twenty minutes in a hot oven.

Steamed Corn Bread. — Two and one-half cups sour milk, (butter-milk if you have it), two cups corn meal, one cup flour, two tablespoons sugar, one teaspoon soda, one tablespoon salt, two eggs, put in a cake pan with stem in center, place in a steamer, and steam three hours, or longer, keep closely covered, put in stove

BREAD-MAKING. 31

fifteen minutes to brown before sending to table ; set in a pan of cold water a few minutes and it will turn out nicely.

Corn Bread. — Take one quart buttermilk and one heaping pint corn meal, one teaspoon soda, one of salt, one tablespoon 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.

The Bread of Our Forefathers. — Put in a pan two quarts of meal, a half-pint of flour, stir up w^ell ; 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 teaspoon of salt and enough Avarm water to make a thick batter ; let rise, then place in a deep, well-greased pan, cover with another 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 full 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.

Plain Corn Bread. — One well-heaped pint corn meal, one pint sour or buttermilk, one egg, one teaspoon soda, one of salt ; bake in dripping or gem pans. If preferrecl, one heaping tablespoon of sugar may be added.

Steamed Corn Bread. — Two cups each of corn meal, Graham flour and sour milk, two-thirds cup molasses, one teaspoon soda ; steam tAvo hours and a half

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 teaspoons salt ; thicken the water with unbolted flour to a thin batter ; add sugar, salt and yeast, and stir in more flour until quite stiff". In the morning add a small teaspoon 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 while rising; smooth over the loaves with a spoon or knife dipped in Avater.

Graham Bread. — To one and a half pints of tepid water add one heaping teaspoon of salt and one-half cup of sugar; stir in one-half pint or more of the sponge made of white flour, as in re- cipe for " Bread with Potato Yeast ;" add Graham flour until almost too stiff to stir ; put in the baking-pan and let rise well, which will

32 BREAD-MAKING.

take about two hours, bake in a moderate oven, and when done, wrap in a wet toAvel until cool. Some prefer to add one egg and a tablespoon lard or butter.

Graham Bread. — Mix smooth two quarts Graham flour and quart warm water ; add half a cake compressed yeast dissolved in Avarm Avater, put into a deep sheet iron bread pan and when light bake one hour. The dough should be as stiff as can be stirred with a spoon.

Graham Bread with Baking Powder. — Three cups Graham flour, one teaspoon salt, two teaspoons baking poAvder, half cup sugar and tAvo and one-half cups SAveet milk, or use half milk and halt water. Sift the flour ana baking poAvdor together and add milk, salt and sugar quickly. Bake in rather hot oA'en for fortA' or fifty minutes, protecting Avith thick broAvn paper the first fifteen minutes.

Graham Bread with Soda. — Mix one cup Avarm Avater Avith tAvo tablespoons syrup, one-half teaspoon soda and one cup Avhite ilour. Stir in Graham flour AA'ith a spoon until stiff". Set in a Avarm place one-half hour to rise and bake one and one-fourth hours.

Graham Bread, Steamed. — Tavo cups Graham, tAvo cu{)s Indian ineal, tAA^o cups sweet milk, one cup sour milk, one cup mo- lasses, one teaspoon soda, a little salt. Steam i-^,, f.^r - tAvo hours and dry a fcAV minutes in hot oven.

Quick Graham Bread. — One and a half pints sour milk, half cup NcAV Orleans molasses, a little salt, tAvo teaspoons soda dissolved in a little hot Avatcr, and as much Graham flour as can be stirred in Avith a spoon ; pour in Avell-greased pan, put in oven as soon as mixed and bake tAVo hours.

Rye Bread unth Soda. — Tavo and one-half cups sour milk.tAvo- thirds cup molasses, one teaspoon soda, one-half teaspoon salt, tAvo cups sifted Avheat flour and three and one-half cups rye meal — or if preferred all rye may be used. Bake in a loaf or gem pans.

Bije and Indian Bread. — One quart of rye meal or rye flour, tAvo quarts of Indian meal, scalded (l)y placing in a pan and i)0uring just enough boiling water over it, stirring constantly with a spoon, to merely AA-et it, but not enough to make it into a batter), one-half teacup molasses, tAvo teaspoons salt, one of soda, one teacup yeast; make as stiff" as can be stirred Avith a spoon, mixing Avith Avarm Avater, and let rise all night ; then put in a large pan, smooth the top with the hand dipped in cold Avater, let it stanc'' a short time and bake fiA'e 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 aboA'e. In the olden time it Avas placed in kettle, alloAvcd to rise, then placed on the hearth before the fire, with coals on top of lid, and baked.

BKEAD-MAKIXG. 33

Rye Bread. — Make a sponge of one quart Avarm water, one tea- cup yeast, tliifkened with rye Hour; put in warm place to rise over night ; scald one ])int corn meal ; when cool add it to sponge, and add rye flour till thick enough to knead, knead hut little, let rise, mold' into loa\-es, i)lace in deep i)ie-tins or small pudding-pans, let rise and Itake ; or, thicken the sponge with rye fl{nn-, and proceed as above. A\'hc;it sponge may Ijo used instead of rye.

Rye Bread. — Make sponge as for wheat bi'cad, let rise over- night, then mix it up with the rye tloiu' as stiff as can he kneaded, add to the quantity for three loaVes of bread, two cu])s molasses and a very little grated orange peel. Let rise, mold into loaves and when risen, bake.

Vienna Bread. — In some bakeries a i)eculiar gloss is given to the surface of Vienna bread by the introduction of a jet of steam into the oven while the bread is baking ; but if Aviien the bread made at liome is half bakctl it is brushed over Avith a soft B]:)onge wet in inilk the loaf will i>resent a glossy crust. Xo ]iarticular kind of oven is required, but it is necessary that the bread should be bnkcd at a temperature of 500 degrees Fahrenheit. In the bakeries the dough is mixed in zinc-lined wooden troughs, but an ordinary earthen bread bowl may be used. The temperature of the room in which tin; bread is made should be about 80 degrees Fahrenheit, and the milk and water used for making the bread should be of the same degree of heat; only the best bread flour should be used. The length of time required to complete the process is about three hours and a half. The proportions of an ordinary family baking are four pounds of flour, three pints of milk and water, half an ounce of salt, and on(3 and three-quarter ounces of very fresh comj^ressed yeast. The pro- cess of making is as follows : Place the flour in the bread bowl, and in it put the milk, water, and salt ; mix Avith the liquid enough of the flour to make a very thin batter ; next rub the yeast to powder between the hands, and mix it into the batter ; cover the bowl close- ly, and let it stand for three-quarters of an horn*. At the end of that time mix in the rest of the flour smoothly, and let the dough thus made stand again closely covered for two hours and a half, until it is light and elastic ; then cut it into pound pieces, and each pound into twelve equal parts ; flatten these small pieces of dt)Ugh in squares

34 IJICEAKKA.ST AND TKA CAKIlS.

KREAKFAST ATs^l :> TKA CAKES.

To make biscuit, take a i)ait uT ihc dougli left from bread-making when it is I'eady to mold into loaves, work in the lard and any other ingredients desired, such as butter, eggs, sugar, spice, etc., also using a little more flour; let rise once, then mix down and let rise again, turn out on the bread-board, knead a few minutes, roll, and cut out with a biscuit-cutter or mold with the hand. Place in a well-greased <lripping-]ian, and when light bake in a quick oven from fifteen to twenty minutes. To make them a nice color, wet the top with warm water just before placing in the oven. To glaze, brush lightly as soon as removed from the oven with milk and sugar, or the well beatcji yolk of an egg sweetened, and a little milk added, oi- simply the beaten white

Biscuit may be l)akt'd in eight ininuti's l>y niaking the oven as hot as can be without Ijurning, and allowing it to cool off gradually as they bake ; this makes them very light, but one has to watch closely to keep them from being scorched. Any kind of bread or pastry mixed with water requires a hotter fire than that mixed willr milk.

Biscuit and rolls should be allowed to rise one-half longer than bread loaves, because th(? loaves of the former, being smaller, are ]>enetrated sooner l)y the heat, and, of course, the fermentation is stopped sooner, and the rolls do not rise so much in the oven.

Biscuit for tea at six must be molded two hours before, which will give am[>lt> time for rising and baking. Parker irouse rolls for

BREAKFAST AND TEA CAKES. oO

•breakfast at eight must be made ready at live. Many think it unnec- essary to knead down either broad or biscuit as often as here di- rected ; but if attention is given to tlie dough at the right time, and it is not suffered to become too light it will be much nicker, whiter, and of a finer texture if these directions are followed.

The almost universal custom is to set the sponge at night, but many excellent bread-makers differ widely from this in practice and their objections deserve candid consideration in this nineteenth cen- tury, when 80 much is written of dyspepsia and its causes. Some medical authorities assert that cancer in the stomach has its origin in dyspepsia, which, in the beginning, is caused by the use of indi- gestible yeast ])read, in which the process of fermentation has been allowed to go so far that a certain amount of actual decomposition has taken place. This is not the fault of such recipes as arc given in this book, but from failure to mix the bread at each successive rising at the 2)roper time. The objer-tion to setting sponge at night is that it stands too long. Bread, to be white, sweet and digestible, must be mixed immediately after the sponge has risen to the proper point, which may he Iniov.^n by its puify appearance^ usually rising higher in the middle than, at the sides of the crock; if it sinhs in, the center, it has stood too long.

Soda and baking powder biscuit must be handled as little and made as rapidly as possible ; mix soda and cream tartar or baking- powder in the flour (with sweet milk use baking-poAvdcr, or soda and cream tartar, with sour milk soda alone), so that the effervesence takes place in the mixture. One teaspoon soda and two of cream tartar, or two teaspoons baking-powder, to one quart flour, is about the right proportion. Bake in a quick oven as soon as made, and they rise more quickly if put into hot pans. (iems of all kinds re- quire a hot oven, but the fire should be built some time before they are put into the oven, and allowed to go doAvn by the time they are light, as the heat necessary to raise them will Inirn them in baking if kept up.

All biscuit and bread, except bro\\ n ami Graham bn.'ad. should be pricked with a fork before putting in the oven.

Soda and raised biscuit and bread or cake, when stale, can l»e made almost as nice as fresh by plunging for an instant into cold water, and then placing in a pan in the oven ten or fifteen minutes ; thus treated thev should be used immediatelv.