BREAD, MACARONI, AND RICE.
Homemade bread is healthier, satisfies hunger better, and is cheaper
than bakers' bread. Make bread yourself if you possibly can. Use
"middlings" if you can possibly get them; they contain the best elements
of wheat. "Household Flour" has similar qualities, but is sometimes made
from inferior kinds of wheat. Both are darker and cheaper than fine
white flour; and bread made from them takes longer to "rise" than that
made from fine flour. Bakers' bread is generally made from poor flour
mixed with a little of the better sort; or with a little alum, which
added to the wheat grown in wet seasons, keeps the bread from being
pasty and poor in taste.
The prices of bakers' bread upon the streets in the eastern and western
parts of the city are as follows: ordinary white bread, five cent loaf
weighs three quarters of a pound: six cent loaf weighs fourteen ounces:
eight cent loaf weighs one pound and ten ounces; black bread, two eight
cent loaves weigh, respectively, one pound eight, and one pound ten
ounces; fine French bread, eight cent loaf weighs three quarters of a
pound; in the French quarter a six cent loaf weighs one pound. We advise
the purchase of new flour in preference to old, because, unless flour is
cooled and dried before it is packed, the combined action of heat and
dampness destroys its gluten, and turns it sour; gluten is the nutritive
part of the flour, that which makes it absorb water, and yield more
bread. If you do not have a good oven, your bread can be baked at the
baker's for about a cent a loaf. When bread is made too light it is
tasteless, and lacks nourishment, because the decay caused in the
elements of the flour used to make it by the great quantity of yeast
employed, destroys the most nutritious parts of it. A pint of milk in a
batch of four loaves of bread gives you a pound more bread of better
quality, and helps to make it moist. Scalded skim milk will go as far as
fresh whole milk, and you can use the cream for some other dish. One
pound of pea-meal, or ground split-peas, added to every fourteen pounds
of flour used for bread increases its nourishment, and helps to satisfy
hunger.
Keep your bread in a covered earthen jar; when it is too stale to eat,
or make into bread broth, dry it in a cool oven, or over the top of the
fire, roll it with a rolling-pin, sift it through a sieve, and save the
finest crumbs to roll fish or chops in for frying, and the largest for
puddings. If a whole loaf is stale put it into a tight tin can, and
either steam it, or put it into a moderately warm oven for half an hour;
it will then be as good as fresh bread to the taste, and a great deal
more healthy.
A good allowance of bread each day is as follows: for a man two pounds,
costing six cents; for boys and women one pound and a half, costing five
cents; for children a pound each, costing three cents.
=Homemade Bread.=--Put seven pounds of flour into a deep pan, and make a
hollow in the centre; into this put one quart of lukewarm water, one
tablespoonful of salt, one teaspoonful of sugar, and half a gill of
yeast; have ready three pints more of warm water, and use as much of it
as is necessary to make a rather soft dough, mixing and kneading it well
with both hands. When it is smooth and shining strew a little flour
upon it, lay a large towel over it folded, and set it in a warm place by
the fire for four or five hours to rise; then knead it again for fifteen
minutes, cover it with the towel, and set it to rise once more; then
divide it into two or four loaves, and bake it in a quick oven. This
quantity of flour will make eight pounds of bread, and will require one
hour's baking to two pounds of dough. It will cost about thirty cents,
and will last about two days and a half for a family of six. In cold
weather, the dough should be mixed in a warm room, and not allowed to
cool while rising; if it does not rise well, set the pan containing it
over a large vessel of boiling water; it is best to mix the bread at
night, and let it rise till morning, in a warm and even temperature.
=Rice Bread.=--Simmer one pound of rice in three quarts of water until the
rice is soft, and the water evaporated or absorbed; let it cool until it
is only luke-warm; mix into it nearly four pounds of flour, two
teaspoonfuls of salt, and four tablespoonfuls of yeast; knead it until
it is smooth and shining, let it rise before the fire, make it up into
loaves with the little flour reserved from the four pounds, and bake it
thoroughly. It will cost about twenty-five cents, and make more than
eight pounds of excellent bread.
=Potato Bread.=--Take good, mealy boiled potatoes, in the proportion of
one-third of the quantity of flour you propose to use, pass them through
a coarse sieve into the flour, using a wooden spoon and adding enough
cold water to enable you to pass them through readily; use the proper
quantity of yeast, salt, and water, and make up the bread in the usual
way. It will cost about twenty-four cents if you use the above
quantities, and give you eight pounds or more of good bread.
=Pulled Bread.=--Take from the oven an ordinary loaf of bread when it is
about _half baked_, and with the fingers, _while it is yet hot_, pull it
apart in egg-sized pieces of irregular shape; throw them upon tins, and
bake them in a slow oven to a rich brown color. This bread is excellent
to eat with cheese or wine. An ordinary sized loaf, costing about three
cents makes a large panful.
=Bread made with Baking Powder.=--Where bread is made with baking powder
the following rules should be closely observed: if any shortening be
used, it should be rubbed into the flour before it is wet; _cold_ water
or sweet milk should always be used to wet it, and the dough should be
kneaded immediately, and only long enough to thoroughly mix it and form
it in the desired shape; it should then be placed in a well-heated oven
and baked quickly--otherwise the carbonic acid gas will escape before
the expanded cells are fixed in the bread, and thus the lightness of the
loaf will be impaired.
=Breakfast Rolls.=--Mix well by sifting together half a pound of flour,
(cost two cents,) a heaping teaspoonful of baking powder, a level
teaspoonful of salt, and a heaping teaspoonful of sugar, (cost one
cent;) rub into a little of the above one ounce of lard, (cost one
cent,) mix it with the rest of the flour, and quickly wet it up with
enough cold milk to enable you to roll it out about half an inch thick,
(cost two cents;) cut out the dough with a tin shape or with a sharp
knife, in the form of diamonds, lightly wet the top with water, and
double them half over. Put them upon a tin, buttered and warmed, and
bake them in a hot oven. This receipt will cost about six cents, and
will make about nine good sized rolls.
=Tea Biscuit.=--Mix as above, using the same proportions, and cutting out
with a biscuit-cutter; when they are baked, wash them over with cold
milk, and return them to the oven for a moment to dry. The cost is the
same.
=Macaroni.=--This is a paste made from the purest wheat flour and water;
it is generally known as a rather luxurious dish among the wealthy; but
it should become one of the chief foods of the people, for it contains
more gluten, or the nutritious portion of wheat, than bread. It is one
of the most wholesome and economical of foods, and can be varied so as
to give a succession of palatable dishes at a very small cost. The
imported macaroni can be bought at Italian stores for about fifteen
cents a pound; and that quantity when boiled yields nearly four times
its bulk, if it has been manufactured for any length of time. Good
macaroni is yellow or brownish in color; white sorts are always poor. It
should never be soaked or washed before boiling, or put into cold or
lukewarm water; wipe it carefully, break it in whatever lengths you want
it, and put it into boiling water, to every quart of which half a
tablespoonful of salt is added; you can boil an onion with it if you
like the flavor; as soon as it is tender enough to yield easily when
pressed between the fingers, drain it in a colander, saving its liquor
for the next day's broth, and lay it in cold water until you want to use
it. When more macaroni has been boiled than is used it can be kept
perfectly good by laying it in fresh water, which must be changed every
day. After boiling the macaroni as above, you can use it according to
any of the following directions. Half a pound of uncooked macaroni will
make a large dishful.
=Macaroni, Farmers' Style.=--Boil half a pound of macaroni as above, and
while you are draining it from the cold water, stir together over the
fire one ounce each of butter and flour, and as soon as they bubble
gradually pour into the sauce they make, a pint of boiling water,
beating it with a fork or egg whip until it is smooth; season it with a
level teaspoonful of salt and a level saltspoonful of pepper, and put
the macaroni in it to heat; then cut an onion in small shreds, and brown
it over the fire in a very little fat; when both are done dish the
macaroni, and pour the onion out of the frying pan upon it. It is
excellent; and ten cents will cover the cost of all of it.
=Macaroni with Broth.=--Put half a pound of macaroni, boiled as above and
washed in cold water, over the fire with any kind of broth, or one pint
of cold gravy and water; season it to taste with pepper and salt, and
let it heat slowly for an hour, or less if you are in a hurry; then lay
it on a flat dish, strew over it a few bread crumbs, which you will
almost always have on hand if you save all the bits I speak of in the
article on BREAD; then set the dish in the oven, or in front of the fire
to brown. It will cost less than ten cents, and be delicious and very
hearty.
=Macaroni with White Sauce.=--Warm half a pound of macaroni, boiled and
washed in cold water, as above, in the following sauce, and use it as
soon as it is hot. Stir together over the fire one ounce each of butter
and flour, pouring in one pint of boiling water and milk, as soon as the
butter and flour are mixed; season it with salt and pepper to taste, and
put the macaroni into it. This dish costs less than ten cents, and is
very good and wholesome.
=Macaroni with Cheese.=--Boil half a pound of macaroni, as above, put into
a pudding dish in layers with quarter of a pound of cheese, (cost four
cents,) grated and mixed between the layers; season it with pepper and
salt to taste; put a very little butter and some bread crumbs over it,
and brown it in the oven. It will make just as hearty and strengthening
a meal as meat, and will cost about twelve cents.
=Macaroni Milanaise Style.=--Have ready some sauce, made according to the
receipt for _Tomato Sauce_ given below, or use some fresh tomatoes
passed through a sieve with a wooden spoon, and highly seasoned, and
two ounces of grated cheese; put half a pound of imported Italian
macaroni, (cost eight cents,) in three quarts of boiling water, with two
tablespoonfuls of salt, one saltspoonful of pepper, and a teaspoonful of
butter, (cost one cent;) boil rapidly for about twenty minutes, then
drain it in a colander, run plenty of cold water from the faucet through
it, and lay it in a pan of cold water until you are ready to use it. Put
into a sauce-pan one gill of tomato sauce, (cost two cents,) one ounce
of butter, (cost two cents,) and one gill of any meat gravy free from
fat, and stir until they are smoothly blended: put a half inch layer of
macaroni on the bottom of a dish, moisten it with four tablespoonfuls of
the sauce, sprinkle over it half an ounce of the grated cheese; make
three other layers like this, using all the macaroni, cheese, and sauce,
and brown the macaroni in a hot oven for about five minutes; serve it
hot. It will cost about thirteen cents.
=Macaroni with Tomato Sauce.=--Boil half a pound of macaroni as already
directed, and lay it in cold water. Make a tomato sauce as follows, and
dress the macaroni with it, using only enough to moisten it, and
sprinkling the top with an ounce of grated cheese, (cost one cent;)
serve it hot.
=Tomato Sauce.=--Boil together for one hour quarter of a can of tomatoes,
or six large fresh ones, (cost five cents,) one gill of broth of any
kind, one sprig of thyme, one sprig of parsley, three whole cloves,
three peppercorns, and half an ounce of onion sliced; (cost two cents;)
rub them through a sieve with a wooden spoon, and set the sauce to keep
hot; mix together over the fire one ounce of butter, and half an ounce
of flour, (cost two cents,) and when smooth incorporate with the tomato
sauce. The cost of the tomato sauce will be about ten cents, and of the
entire dish about eighteen cents. If you do not wish to use all the
tomato sauce, and you do not need to, save it to use with fried chops of
any kind.
=Rice.=--Rice is largely composed of starch, and for that reason is less
nutritious than flour, oatmeal, Indian meal, or macaroni; but it is a
wholesome and economical food when used with a little meat broth,
drippings, or molasses. It is a very safe food for children, especially
if used with a little molasses. The following is an excellent supper
dish.
=Rice Panada.=--Boil half a pound of rice, (which costs five cents,)
quarter of a pound of suet, (at two cents,) with one tablespoonful of
salt, and one of sugar, (cost one cent,) fast in boiling water for
fifteen minutes; meantime mix half a pound of flour, (cost two cents,)
gradually with one quart of water, and one gill of molasses, (cost two
cents;) stir this into the boiling rice, and boil it for about five
minutes; this makes a nice supper of over five pounds of good,
nutritious food for twelve cents.
=Boiled Rice.=--Another good dish of rice for supper can be made as
follows. Wash half a pound of rice (cost five cents,) throw it into one
quart of boiling water, containing two teaspoonfuls of salt, and boil it
fast ten minutes; drain it in a colander, saving the water to use with
broth next day; meantime just grease the pot with sweet drippings, put
the rice back in it, cover it, and set it on a brick on the top of the
stove, or in a cool oven, and let it stand ten minutes to swell; be
careful not to burn it. The addition of a very little butter, sugar,
molasses, nutmeg, lemon juice, or salt and pepper, will give it
different flavors; so that you can vary the taste, and have it often
without getting tired of it, and it need never cost you over seven
cents.
=Rice, Milanaise Style.=--Fry one ounce of butter, (cost two cents,) light
brown; put into it half a pound of rice, (cost five cents,) well picked
over, _but not washed_, and one ounce of onion, chopped fine; stir and
brown for about five minutes, then add a pint of gravy from meat, season
with a level teaspoonful of salt, quarter that quantity of pepper, and
as much cayenne as you can take on the point of a very small pen-knife
blade; the onion and seasoning will cost less than two cents; stew
gently for fifteen minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent burning,
and serve as soon as the rice is tender. This makes a palatable dish for
about ten cents.
=Rice, Japanese Style.=--Put half a pound of well washed rice into a
double kettle, with one pint of milk or water, one heaping teaspoonful
of salt, and quarter of a medium sized nutmeg grated; boil it until
tender, about forty minutes; if it seems very dry add a little more
liquid, taking care not to have it sloppy when it is cooked. When milk
is used it may be served with milk and sugar as a breakfast or tea dish;
when water takes the place of milk, the addition of an ounce of butter,
and half a saltspoonful of pepper makes a nice dinner dish of it.