ENGLISH AND FRENCH SHORTBREAD

thoroughly mix and rub all together till of a nice mellow colour and easy to work ; weigh off the size required, and shape into square or round pieces ; dock them on the top, notch them round the sides, put on clean dry tins, and bake in a moderate oven.

55.— English Shortbread.

1 lb. of flour, £ lb. of sugar, \ lb. butter, 2 eggs. Mix as for Scotch Shortbread, ornament the tops with designs of neatly-cut lemon peel and caraway comfits.

56. — French Shortbread.

2 lbs. of flour, £ lb. of butter, £ lb. of sugar, 4 eggs, £ oz. of ammonia. Rub the butter in the flour, make a bay, put in the eggs, sugar, and ammonia ; beat them well with your hand, then draw in the flour and butter ; make all into a dough, weigh at 12 ozs., chaff them up round, pin out a good breadth, mark them off into eight, place a piece of peel on each, and bake in good oven. Cut the marked pieces with a sharp knife after they are baked.

V. HARD BISCUITS.

57. — Machine-made Biscuits.

In making the dough for hard biscuits it should be kept in a loose crumbly state until the whole is of an equal consistency, then work, rub, or press it together with your hands until the whole is collected or formed into a mass. If the old-fashioned biscuit brake is replaced by a biscuit machine so much the better for the baker and the goods he turns out. If so, then all that is necessary will be to properly adjust the rollers whether for braking (that is making the dough) or rolling out for the cutter. If an amateur tries to make biscuits he will always experience some difficulty in moulding them if they are hand-made. When this is so it would be better to cut them out with a cutter.

58.— Ship Biscuits.

These were evidently the first biscuits, from which have sprung all the varieties of hard biscuits which we at present possess. They are of the same character as those which were first made by man in his progress towards civilisation, and were baked or roasted on hot embers. Before this, men knew of no other use for their meal than to make it into a kind of porridge. Biscuits prepared in a simple fashion were for centuries the food of the Roman soldiers. The name is derived from the Latin bis, twice, and the French cuit — coctus , meaning twice baked or cooked.

CAPTAINS ’ AND ABERNETHY BISCUITS . 39

Ship biscuits are composed of flour and water only ; but some think a small proportion of yeast makes a great improve- ment in them. The method adopted is to make a small weak sponge as for bread previous to making the dough ; the necessary quantity of water is then added. The flour used for the commoner sort of these biscuits is known as middlings or fine sharps ; and those made from the finer or best are called captains or cabin biscuits. A sack of flour loses, by drying and baking, 28 lbs.

59.— Captains’ Biscuits.

7 lbs. of fine flour, 6 ozs. of butter, 1 quart of water or milk. Rub the butter in with the flour until it is crumbled into very small pieces, make a bay in the centre of the flour, pour in the water or milk, make it into a dough, and break it when made into dough, chaff or mould up the required size, 4 or 5 ozs. each, pin out with a rolling pin about 5 inches in diameter, dock them and lay them with their faces together. When they are ready bake them in a moderately quick oven, of a nice brown colour. These are seldom made with hand, as the machinery in use outstrips hand-made biscuits of this class in speed and gives a better appearance and quality.

60.— Thick Captains.

7^ lbs. of flour, £ lb. of butter, 1 quart of water or milk. Mix as directed. When ready weigh out at 2 ozs. each, mould or chaff, roll out, dock quite through and bake in a hot oven. All biscuits of this class require thorough drying in the drying room.

61. — Abernethy Biscuits.

{Dr. Abernethy1 s Original Re rip el)

1 quart of milk, 6 eggs, 8 ozs. of sugar, £ oz. of caraway seeds, with flour sufficient to make the whole of the required

40 BREAD AND BISCUIT BAKER'S ASSISTANT.

consistency. They are generally weighed off at 2 ozs. each, moulded up, pinned and docked, and baked in a moderate oven.

Note. — The heat of an oven is not required so strong for biscuits containing sugar, as it causes them to take more colour in less time.

62.— Abernethys as made in London.

7 lbs. of flour, 8 ozs. of sugar, 8 ozs. of butter, 4 eggs, pint of milk, 2 tablespoonfuls of orange-flower water, £ oz. of cara- way seeds.

63.— Usual Way of making Abernethy Biscuits.

Take 8 lbs. of flour, i£ lb. of butter and lard, 12 ozs. of sugar, £ oz. of caraway seeds ; some use about | oz. of powdered volatile salts. Proceed to make into dough as before. Well break the dough and finish with either hand or machine.

64. — Wine Biscuits.

Take 8 lbs. of flour, rub in 2 lbs. of good butter. Make a bay, add about 1 quart of water, take in your flour and butter and well shake up, and note the more your mixture is shaken up and worked the better biscuits you will have. Also note in shaking up these biscuits, when they are mixed let your two thumbs meet, giving the mixture a shake up in the air till you have all the dry flour worked in and the mixture is nice and moist. Bake in a smart oven on wires.

65.— Soda Biscuits.

14 lbs. of flour, lb. of butter, % oz. of carbonate of soda, 3 drachms of muriatic acid, 2 quarts of water. Mix as the last, adding the acid mixed with half-a-pint of the water after the dough is shaken up, then finish with the machine.