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Bread

Compressed-yeast Bread

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

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

Ingredients

Directions

Make the sponge

  1. Dissolve the yeast in 1 pint of lukewarm water.

  2. Stir in enough flour to make a thick batter.

  3. Cover the bowl with a towel and let it rise in a warm place for 30 minutes.

Make the dough

  1. Stir in the salt dissolved in a little warm water.

  2. Add the remaining flour and enough lukewarm water to form a kneadable dough.

  3. Knead the dough for 5 minutes.

Shape and bake

  1. Divide the dough into 2 loaves and place in floured baking pans.

  2. Cover with a towel and let rise until doubled in size.

  3. Bake as directed in the preceding recipe.

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.
Fresh compressed yeast
Ferments the dough, producing gas that makes the loaves rise.
Salt
Controls yeast activity and adds flavor to the dough.

The step that matters

Letting the dough rise until doubled. Yeast gas expansion gives the loaves their lightness. Rising in a warm place and stopping at doubled size helps the gluten trap gas without over-proofing, which can cause collapse.

“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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