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Bread

Baking Instructions

A loaf of bread made with Hovis flour, water, and yeast.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 3 ingredients
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Baking Instructions

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. Dissolve the yeast in ½ cup of water (not exceeding 90°F) and strain through muslin.

  2. Check the temperature of the Hovis Flour; if it’s 60°F, heat the water to 120°F.

Mix and proof

  1. Mix 10 lbs of Hovis Flour with the gallon of water until smooth.

  2. Stir in the dissolved yeast, then mix in the remaining 4 lbs of flour.

  3. Weigh off and tin immediately.

  4. Allow to proof for 26 to 40 minutes, depending on the bakehouse temperature.

Bake

  1. Bake thoroughly, about 10 minutes longer than white bread.

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

Hovis flour
Provides the gluten-forming proteins and starch that build the loaf's structure.
Water
Hydrates the flour so gluten can form and dough becomes workable.
Yeast
Produces carbon dioxide during proofing, making the dough rise.

The step that matters

Checking the water temperature. Yeast is sensitive to heat: water above about 90°F can kill it, while water that is too cool slows fermentation. Matching water temperature to the flour keeps the dough's rise consistent.

“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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