Name: Bread
Ingredients: 3 quarts of flour; ½ cup of yeast; 1 tablespoon of salt; warm water (enough to make dough); 1 teaspoon of saleratus (baking soda); 1 pint of scalded Indian meal (optional)

Bread

Oven, in the book's wordsA hot oven

Ingredients

3 quarts of flour
½ cup of yeast
1 tablespoon of salt
warm water (enough to make dough)
1 teaspoon of saleratus (baking soda)
1 pint of scalded Indian meal (optional)

Directions

The book says “a hot oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.

Make the dough

Combine 3 quarts of flour, ½ cup of yeast, and 1 tablespoon of salt.
Add warm water gradually until a dough forms.
Knead until smooth, making sure all flour is incorporated from the sides of the bowl.
Cover and let rise in a warm place overnight.

Shape and bake

Dissolve 1 teaspoon of saleratus in a little warm water.
Knead the dissolved saleratus into the dough.
Divide the dough into two loaves.
Place the loaves in a baking pan.
Bake in a preheated oven at 400°F (200°C) for about 45 minutes.

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.
Yeast: Ferments sugars to produce gas that makes the dough rise.
Saleratus (baking soda): Reacts with acid in the dough to release gas and add lift.

“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.