Field Bread
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the dough
Mix flour, yeast powder, and salt in a bowl.
Add dripping or lard and mix well.
Gradually add water until a biscuit dough forms; knead slightly.
Prepare a mess pan by cutting off 1.5 inches of the rim.
Fill the mess pan two-thirds full with dough and cover with another mess pan.
Bake in the ground
Dig a hole in the ground 18-20 inches deep and wide, and burn a fire in it for 5-6 hours.
Remove cinders, leaving a 2-3 inch bed, and place the mess pans on top.
Cover the pans with hot cinders and earth, and leave for 5-6 hours.
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 main structure of the dough as its proteins and starches set during baking.
- Yeast powder
- Produces gas that helps the bread rise and gives it a lighter crumb.
- Dripping or lard
- Adds fat that tenderizes the crumb and gives a short, biscuit-like texture.
The step that matters
Covering the pans with hot cinders and earth. The pans must be sealed evenly so heat surrounds the dough gently for hours. Gaps let heat escape or hot spots scorch the bottom, leaving the loaf underbaked or burnt.
“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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