Bread and Tea-cakes
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.
Prepare the batter
In a large bowl, mix the flour and salt.
In a separate bowl, beat the yeast with 1½ pints of boiling water.
Make a hollow in the flour and pour in the yeast mixture, stirring to form a batter.
Let it stand for 1 hour.
Pour in 2 more quarts of boiling water, stirring until well combined.
Rise and shape
Cover with a cloth and let it rise for 1½ hours.
Knead the dough until firm, adding more flour if necessary.
Bake
Divide into three loaves and bake in a preheated oven at 350°F (175°C) for 1½ 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
- Fine wheaten flour
- Forms the dough structure that holds the gas produced by the yeast.
- Brewers' yeast
- Produces gas that makes the dough rise and gives it a lighter texture.
- Coarse sea salt
- Seasons the dough and controls the pace of yeast fermentation.
The step that matters
Kneading until firm. Kneading develops the gluten network in the flour, which traps yeast gas and gives the loaves their structure. Adding too much extra flour makes the dough stiff and dense, so add it only as needed.
“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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