teaspoonfuls of salt, and add hot water until it is a batter; beat
all well together. When it is blood-warm add to it one-half cup of
brewers’ yeast, or a whole cup of home-brewed yeast. When this is
light, put it in a bottle, and cork it tight for use. Keep it as cool
as possible.
ANOTHER POTATO YEAST WITHOUT HOPS
Boil and mash sufficient potatoes to fill a pint cup; add to them
a pint of water, boil them together, stir in flour enough to form
a thick batter, and when cool, add a yeast cake, or a cup of good
yeast. Bottle and put away in a cool place.
YEAST WITH HOPS
Peel and boil eight large Irish potatoes. Boil a handful of hops in a
little water, or in the water the potatoes were boiled in; mash the
potatoes fine, and strain the water from the hops over them. Put in
a cup of flour to the potatoes before the water is poured on, as it
mixes better when dry; mix all together and beat it, then put in half
a cup of good yeast, or a yeast cake. This will keep good for a week
if kept cool.
HOME-MADE YEAST
Boil one pound of good flour, one-quarter of a pound of good sugar,
and a tablespoonful of salt in two gallons of water. Boil for two
hours, and bottle it for use. This will do if you are where you
cannot get bakers’ yeast, or turnpike cakes to start your yeast, but
is not always reliable.
SALT RISING YEAST
Take a pint of new milk, warm from the cow if possible. Put in a
teaspoonful of salt, and thicken it with flour to the consistency of
batter cakes. Set this in a warm place to rise, and make your biscuit
or bread up with it, and some new milk, or milk and water warmed
together.
SALT, OR MILK, RISING FOR BREAD, AND HOW TO BAKE IT
Take a pint of new milk, stir in nearly a pint of boiling water, then
salt it with a teaspoonful of fine salt; thicken this with flour
enough to make a thick batter. Set it in a warm place to rise, and it
is ready to mix into bread. Mix the yeast in a soft dough with fine
flour, a little lard, and a cup of water; mould it, and set it to
rise. When well risen, bake it a nice brown. Wrap it in a damp cloth
for a few minutes, and let it cool slowly before it is cut. This is
a good bread for a delicate stomach, which is sometimes painfully
affected by hop-yeast bread.
HARD FIG-LEAF YEAST MADE WITHOUT HOPS
During the war we could get no hops, and found that fig-leaves were
a good substitute. _To Make Fig-Leaf Yeast._--Take a pint cup of the
leaves, put them to a quart of cold water, and boil them until a
strong tea or decoction is made--this is to be put away to cool; then
pour off the tea carefully, leaving the dregs and leaves. Now boil
and wash Irish potatoes enough to fill a pint-cup, put them to the
tea of fig-leaves, beat them up with a tablespoonful of brown sugar
and flour, to make a stiff batter, and put it in a covered vessel to
rise. When this yeast is light and frothing, thicken it immediately
(as keeping too long injures it) with corn-meal, until it is thick
enough to be rolled out like biscuit. Roll it out, cut and dry the
cake, turning them very often until dry. This will be a supply of
yeast for several months. When you wish to make bread, take one of
the cakes in the morning, put it in a covered mug or pitcher; put
on it a cup of cold water, and when it is dissolved, put to it a
spoonful of brown sugar, and make a batter of the water and yeast
cake. Make this batter as stiff as pound-cake batter, and when it
rises well, mix with two quarts of flour, and the bread will be most
excellent, if carefully made according to these directions. Use lard
as usual in making the bread up for baking.
TO MAKE A LOAF OF GOOD BREAD
One large spoonful of hop yeast, or a yeast cake; put this to a pint
of water, mash to this two Irish potatoes, and stir all together.
Sift in flour until you have a stiff batter, and set it to rise. When
it is very light, stir in a spoonful of lard, and enough flour to
enable you to mould it into a loaf. When moulded, grease the top, and
set it to rise again. If really light, you can now bake it; but if
_not_, work it down again, and mould it over and let it rise again.
This is made plain and definite, for nothing is more discouraging for
a young housekeeper than to feel that she really _tried_, and yet
could _not_ make good bread. This is in such small quantities that a
young person could try it, without feeling that she was wasting much,
if she does not succeed the first time. Any one who tries this simple
recipe will have the pleasure of presenting a nice loaf of bread to
her family.
TO MAKE GOOD BREAD
Make a pint of meal into mush, then pour it onto two quarts of flour;
when cool, add a little salt and warm water, or milk, and a cup of
yeast; work it with a spoon, and set it by to rise until morning.
Knead it well; yes, _very_ well, and make it into loaves; place in
the pan, and when light, bake it. Add a little lard, if liked.
A VERY NICE POTATO BREAD
To two pounds or pints of flour, add one pound or pint of warm,
mashed mealy Irish potatoes. Add to this milk and water, a cup of
yeast and a little salt. Make it after kneading it very well, into
loaves, and place them in a pan to rise. If you desire a rich, short
bread you may add a little lard or butter, but it is nice without.
RAISED WHEAT BREAD WITH POTATOES
Take one half a cup of hop yeast, or yeast made from turnpike cake
will do, also two boiled hot Irish potatoes, mash them, and add to
the yeast and potatoes one pint of water. Make a sponge of this by
beating in sifted flour until it is a soft dough. Set it to rise by
the stove; when it is light, pour the sponge in the bread tray and
mould it rather stiff with sifted flour, knead it well and set it to
rise _again_. When it is light, work in a little more flour, shape
it in loaves in the baking-pans; and when light the second time bake
it; this allows the yeast to lighten or rise _once_, and the dough or
bread to rise twice, making three fermentations the dough undergoes
before it is baked into bread.
LIGHT BREAD, INVARIABLY GOOD
Take _nine_ pint cups of flour, one pint cup of good yeast made from
hops, two pint cups of warm water and a pint cupful of warm milk.
Make into a sponge, let this rise; when risen, knead it with all your
strength, work more flour into it, and let it rise again. When it is
light, you must bake it in loaves.
EXCELLENT FAMILY BREAD
Take a peck of sifted flour, half a pint of family yeast, or a gill
of brewers’ yeast; wet all up soft with new milk, or milk and water
warm. Add a cup of shortening, and a teaspoonful of salt. Knead it
faithfully, and set it in a warm place to rise. It is better to take
the dough when risen, and work it down again; but some dislike the
trouble, and bake it as soon as it rises. You must keep your dough
for wheat bread very soft; but for rye, you may have it stiff.
SPONGE BREAD
Take three quarts of wheat flour, and three quarts of boiling water,
mix them thoroughly; let them remain until lukewarm, then add twelve
spoonfuls of family yeast, or six of brewers’. Place it where it will
be warm; keep the air from it, and leave it to rise. When it is
light, work in flour to mould it, and a little salt. Let it stand for
a second rising, then shape into loaves and bake.
RYE AND INDIAN BREAD FOR DYSPEPTICS
Take a pint of rye flour and a pint of Indian meal, scald the meal
with a cup of boiling water, and when lukewarm, mix in the flour and
a cup of yeast; add a little salt, and knead it as for other bread.
Bake for two hours.
GRAHAM BREAD
Get good, fresh, ground unbolted flour, and sift it through a common
hair sieve. Take three quarts of this wheat meal, one half a cup of
good yeast, and three spoonfuls of molasses. Mix to a sponge with
water, work in flour enough to mould it, and proceed as you do with
common wheat bread. You must put a little soda in the batter before
moulding, as it is more disposed to ferment than fine or bolted flour.
MISS SHATTUCK’S BROWN BREAD
One quart of rye meal, two quarts of Indian meal, two tablespoonfuls
of molasses; mix thoroughly with sweet milk. Let it stand two hours,
and bake in a slow oven.
BOSTON BROWN BREAD
One and a half pints of Indian meal, half a pint of wheat flour, one
cup of sweet milk, one cup of sour milk, with a teaspoonful of soda
in it; three tablespoonfuls of molasses, one tablespoonful of yeast,
and a pinch of salt. Put it in a warm place to rise, then let it bake
steadily for four hours; warm by steaming it when wanted to use.
CORN BATTER BREAD
Take six spoonfuls of flour, and six of corn meal; add a little salt,
sift them together; make a batter with four eggs, and a cup of milk;
stir in the flour and meal, make it a soft batter, and bake in small
tins for breakfast. Some use yeast powder or soda with this batter,
but that is a matter of taste. If yeast powder is used, sift it in
the flour; if soda is used put it in the milk.
MISSISSIPPI CORN BREAD
One quart of buttermilk, two eggs, three spoonfuls of butter, and a
teaspoonful of saleratus; stir in meal, to the milk, until it is as
thick as buckwheat batter. Bake in squares about one inch thick. It
will require half an hour in a hot oven. If it is not nice, it will
be because you have put in too much meal, and made the batter too
thick. But try again, and you will succeed.
SODA OR MILK BISCUIT
To a pound of sifted flour, put the yolk of an egg; dissolve a
teaspoonful of carbonate of soda in a little milk; put it and a
teaspoonful of salt to the flour, with as much milk as will make a
stiff paste; work it well together, beat it for some minutes with
a rolling-pin, then roll it very thin. Cut it in round or square
biscuits, and bake in a moderate oven until they are crisp.
RICH SODA BISCUITS WITH CREAM OF TARTAR
To each quart of flour add two teaspoonfuls of cream of tartar sifted
through it. Put in a tablespoonful of lard or butter; dissolve a
tablespoonful of soda in a cup of water, pour it on the flour; mix
with milk, or milk and water, to a soft dough, roll out on the
floured biscuit board, cut with the biscuit cutter, and bake quickly.
Add a little salt.
A NICE WAY TO MAKE YEAST POWDER BISCUIT
Take a quart of flour--which is about the quantity required by an
ordinary family of six persons; sift one pint of the flour in a tin
basin, and sift into it two heaping spoonfuls of yeast or baking
powder. Add to the flour a tablespoonful of lard; put this also in
the basin and make, with a little salt, a nice batter; beat the
flour, lard and water very briskly until it is light. Take down your
biscuit board and sift on it the other pint of flour, make a hole in
the flour, and pour in your batter, gently stirring it until it is
a soft dough; keep it as soft as possible, roll it out, cut it with
the biscuit cutter, and bake quickly. These biscuits never have that
screwed or drawn-up look that most biscuits made with yeast powder
have.
SPONGE BISCUIT WITH YEAST
Stir half a teacup of melted butter, a teaspoonful of salt and a cup
of good yeast, into a pint of lukewarm water; then add flour to make
a stiff batter. Set this to rise; when light drop this mixture onto
flat buttered tins; drop them several inches apart so as to leave
room for them to rise. Let them stay in a warm place fifteen minutes,
before being put in the oven to bake. Bake them quickly to a light
brown color; they will take about six or eight hours to lighten,
though the time depends always on the yeast, and the coldness or
warmth of the weather.
SPONGE BISCUIT WITHOUT YEAST, MADE WITH CREAM
Mix half a pint of thick cream, four eggs, a little salt, soda, and
flour enough to make a stiff batter; if too stiff to drop nicely,
thin it with a cup of sweet milk. Drop on tins like the above recipe.
Bake in a quick oven.
CREAM OF TARTAR BISCUIT FOR BREAKFAST
One quart of sifted flour, three teaspoonfuls of cream of tartar
and one of soda mixed in the flour, and a little salt, two large
spoonfuls of shortening; mix soft with warm water or milk, and bake.
MILK BISCUIT OR ROLLS
Warm a pint of milk and half a pound of butter; pour this into nearly
two quarts of flour (you must take out a handful for finishing the
biscuit); add two eggs and a cup of yeast, knead it very well and
make into round balls, flatten each one on the palm of your hand and
prick it with a fork; bake.
NICE ROLLS OR LIGHT BISCUIT
Beat together one egg, one spoonful of sugar, a small lump of butter
and a gill of yeast, or a yeast cake; add to this a quart of flour,
and enough warm milk, or milk and water, to form a dough; work it and
set it to rise. When it has risen, take down your bread-board, flour
it _well_, roll your dough out on the board, and spread over it a
tablespoonful of lard or butter. Sprinkle a dust of flour over the
butter, roll it up into rolls and bake quickly. Rolls are often made
dark by allowing them to get too light.
VIRGINIA ROLLS
One tablespoonful of good yeast, one egg, one large spoonful of
butter, one pound or pint of flour, a little salt and enough milk
to form into a stiff batter. Set it to rise in a warmed pan until
it is light; sift a cup of flour into the bread-tray, and pour the
light batter in; work it well and keep the dough very soft, which is
the most certain way to have light rolls or bread. Now, that it is
well worked, moist and soft, set the dough to rise; when light, make
into rolls, and lay them on a warmed and buttered pan; set them by
the fire to rise again, baste the top over with butter, and bake in
a quick oven as soon as they are light. Do not keep them too long
rising or they might become sharp or sour.
LIGHT FLOUR PUFFS FOR BREAKFAST
Take a tumbler of sifted flour, a tumbler of milk and two eggs. Put
a teaspoonful of yeast powder in the flour before sifting; beat the
eggs separately. Mix all together, and add a teaspoonful of melted
butter or lard just before baking in little fancy pans. Put salt in
the flour with the yeast powder, and then bake as quickly as you can.
ROLLS FOR BREAKFAST
Sift at night a quart of flour; add half a pint of milk, a spoonful
of salt, two well-beaten eggs, and a half cup of yeast. Work it well,
cover it, and set it in a warm place to rise. Next morning work in
two tablespoonfuls of butter, and mould the dough into rolls. Rub
over each roll a little butter, and bake.
FINE ROLLS
Warm half a cup of butter in a half pint of milk; add two spoonfuls
of small beer yeast, or a cup of homemade yeast, and a little salt;
pour this on to two pounds of flour. Let it rise an hour, knead it,
and make into loaves or rolls.
RICE CAKES
Take a pint of rice that has been boiled soft; add to it a teacup of
flour, two eggs well beaten, a pinch of salt, and enough milk to make
a nice thick batter; throw into the batter a tablespoonful of melted
butter or lard, and bake on a hot griddle.
SALLY LUNN
One cup of warmed sweet milk in a cup of yeast, one cup of sugar, one
quart of sifted flour, and four eggs, with a cup of lard and butter
melted together. Pour this mixture, after it has been well beaten,
into a cake mould; let the mould be warmed and well greased. Set it
now to rise in a warm place, let it rise until very light, and bake
like a cake. With a sharp knife divide the cake, severing the top
from the bottom crust; butter both, set the top crust down on the
under half, and bring it to table hot.
SALLY LUNN
Pour a cup of risen yeast into a bowl, add a cup of warm sweet milk,
one-half a cup of white sugar, and a large spoonful each of lard and
butter mixed and warmed; also add four eggs well beaten, three and
one-half cups of sifted flour, and a little salt. Beat all this well,
and pour into a warm and well greased cake pan and set it to rise in
a warm place in winter, and a cool one in summer. If you wish it for
tea, make it up five hours beforehand, having set the yeast to rise
after breakfast. If wanted for breakfast make it up at nine o’clock
the night before. Remember if made up at night, you add a little more
flour, or make the dough a little stiffer, and do not put it in a pan
at night, but allow it to rise in a tureen or crock, and pour it in
the pan and let it rise a little before baking. It must be baked like
a cake. This is a never failing recipe and has been much liked.
MUFFINS AND CRUMPETS WITH YEAST
Take two pints of milk, four eggs, and a small teacupful of yeast, or
a yeast cake; melt a piece of butter (the size of an egg) in a little
of the milk, add a teaspoonful of salt, and thicken with sifted flour
until it is like buckwheat batter. Set it to rise for eight or ten
hours, and then bake in muffin rings, or pour it like batter cakes,
on a hot griddle. Butter them, when cooked this way, just as they
come from the griddle. Some like sugar and ground cinnamon, sifted
over each crumpet as it is baked.
NICE MUFFINS
To a quart of milk, one quarter of a pound of butter, four eggs, and
enough flour to form a very stiff batter, add a cup of yeast; set
it to rise three hours, then bake in greased muffin rings. Split,
butter, and serve them hot.
GRAHAM MUFFINS FOR DYSPEPTICS
Take a quart of Graham flour, one half cup of brown sugar, one
teaspoon of salt, two tablespoonfuls of yeast, warm water or milk
enough to soften it sufficiently to stir readily with a spoon. When
it is light, stir up again and drop in rings and bake. If made over
night, add a little soda in the morning. Bake soft.
POCKET BOOKS, FOR TEA. VERY MUCH LIKED
Take a cup of light and warm yeast, a cup of warm, sweet milk, two
eggs beaten, a cup of sugar, a spoonful of grated orange peel and
nutmeg; add to this, flour enough to make a thin batter, and set it
in a warm place to rise. If you wish it for tea, you must make this
batter up about nine o’clock in the morning, and in two hours it
ought to be full of bubbles, and light. Then pour this batter into
sifted flour, enough to form into a rather stiff dough; add salt and
a lump of butter as big as an egg. Work it thoroughly, and set it in
a tureen to rise again. When it is risen it is ready to form into
shapes, called pocket-books. To do this you must flour the board and
roll out the dough half an inch thick, smear the surface with butter,
cut into strips about six inches long, and two inches wide, fold them
over and over, and lay them within an inch of each other on a warm
and greased baking tin, or pan; swab the tops over with warmed butter
and a beaten egg; set them now to rise, which will require an hour.
Just before you put them in the oven, you must sift some sugar over
them.
“PAIN PERDU,” OR LOST BREAD
Take a pint of fresh milk, and sweeten it with a cup of sugar; stir
two beaten eggs in it, and season with any flavoring you like. Cut
six slices from a loaf of bread, soak each piece of bread a few
minutes in the custard of milk and sugar already prepared, take the
pieces out one by one, and fry them in butter made hot in a frying
pan, pile them up and serve hot.
INDIAN BREAKFAST CAKES
Take a quart of milk or milk and water, make it scalding hot, pour
half of it hot, on as much fine corn meal as it will wet; let it
cool, then beat up in it two eggs--beat the eggs light; add a little
salt and a teaspoonful of saleratus; thin the batter a little with
the rest of the milk; butter pan, and pour in the mixture. Bake in a
quick oven.
INDIAN-MEAL GRIDDLE CAKES, WITHOUT EGGS
One quart of milk, or milk and water, one pint of corn meal, four
tablespoonfuls of flour, one tablespoonful of salt, and a teaspoon of
butter; beat up and bake on a griddle or in shallow pans.
HALY’S BUCKWHEAT CAKES
One quart of fresh buckwheat flour, half a cup of yeast, one
tablespoonful of salt, one and a half quarts (or a little less) of
milk and water warmed. Beat all well with a large spoon, and pour the
mixture in a tall jar, as in that it rises better than in a flaring
or open crock. In the morning add a teaspoonful of soda or saleratus,
just before frying the cakes. Then grease the griddle and fry them
brown; eat with syrup or honey.
BUCKWHEAT GRIDDLE CAKES
Put three pints of warm water into a stone jar, add half a gill of
baker’s yeast, or an inch square of turnpike cake dissolved in a
little warm water; add a heaping teaspoonful of salt, and half a
small teaspoonful of saleratus. Have a pudding-stick, and gradually
stir in enough buckwheat flour to make a nice batter; beat it
perfectly smooth, then cover it and set it in a moderately warm place
until morning. A large handful of cornmeal may be put with the flour,
and it is by many persons considered an improvement. If the meal is
added it will require an egg and a cup of milk.
NOODLES
There are few things nicer than “noodles” when they are properly
made. Make a stiff dough with two eggs, a little salt, and sufficient
flour. Roll this out very thin, shake on a little flour and rub it
in; fold the dough over, and roll it up, after which cut it fine with
a knife. Have ready a pot almost full of boiling water into which you
have put a little salt. Drop the noodles in, and boil them for five
or six hours. Pour the water off, and fry the noodles in plenty of
butter, and they will be splendid.
RUSKS, DOUGHNUTS AND WAFFLES
MISS LESTER’S TEA RUSK
One quart of flour, one half pint of milk, one quarter of a pound
of butter, two eggs; add mace, nutmeg and a cup of yeast. Set it to
rise, and then make up into rusks; bake on buttered tins when light,
and serve hot.
DOUGHNUTS WITHOUT YEAST
Half a pound of butter, a pint of sour milk or buttermilk, three
quarters of a pound of sugar, a small teaspoonful of saleratus
dissolved in a little hot water, two well beaten eggs, and as much
flour as will make a smooth dough; flavor with half a teaspoonful
of lemon extract and half a nutmeg grated; rub a little flour over
a breadboard or table, roll the dough to a quarter of an inch in
thickness, cut it in squares, or diamonds, or round cakes, and fry in
boiling lard as directed. These cakes may be made in rings and fried.
SOUR-MILK DOUGHNUTS WITHOUT YEAST
Take a quart of flour, three eggs, three-fourths of a pound of sugar,
and half a cup of shortening; add a teaspoonful of soda, and mix to
a soft dough with buttermilk. Roll out, cut them, and fry in boiling
lard.
DOUGHNUTS WITH HOP YEAST
Take two quarts of light hop or potato yeast sponge, mix in it a pint
of new warm milk, three beaten eggs, a cup of butter or lard, one
large cup of sugar, a large spoonful of cinnamon, and a little salt;
beat this well, and sift in flour to make a soft dough. Set this in
a warm place to rise, and when it is light roll it out on the board
a little thicker than pie crust, and cut with a knife in squares of
about three inches. Let them stand a little and fry them in plenty of
boiling lard. If fried in a little lard they will soak the fat, which
will spoil them. Throw them, or any other kind of cakes you wish to
fry, into a pot half full of boiling lard, and it insures their being
light and nicely browned.
PLAIN DOUGHNUTS
Take two pounds, or pint cups, full of light risen dough; add to it
half a pound of butter, one half pound of sugar, one half pint of
milk, three eggs, a little cinnamon and nutmeg. Cover it and set it
to rise; when light, cut it into shapes and fry in boiling lard. Add
a little flour to stiffen the dough.
CREAM DOUGHNUTS WITHOUT YEAST
A quart of cream, sweet or sour, five eggs, and a cup of sugar. If
the cream be sour, add soda to sweeten it; if sweet, put in two
tablespoonfuls of yeast powder, or any good baking powder, and flour
to mix, then roll out and fry in boiling lard.
WAFFLES. ECONOMICAL WAY
Take two eggs, a cup of sweet milk, one cup of water and three
cups of flour, with two tablespoonfuls of yeast powder mixed in it
before sifting; add a tablespoonful of melted lard or butter, and a
teaspoonful of sugar. Mix all well, and bake in waffle irons. This is
a nice cheap waffle.
CRULLERS
Two cups of sugar, one cup of butter, three eggs, one cup of sour
milk, one teaspoonful of soda. Flavor to taste, and fry in boiling
lard, or bake lightly in the stove.
CRULLERS
One cup of butter, two cups of sugar, three eggs, half a pint of sour
milk, one teaspoonful of soda, half a nutmeg, flour to roll thin. Cut
in fancy shapes. Sprinkle sugar over them when done. Put two pounds
of lard in a deep skillet, and when it is very hot, begin to fry the
crullers. You will have to replenish once or twice with lard, as it
will become brown and scorched if you do not. The crullers should be
a light brown, of uniform color. One-half this quantity makes a large
dishful of crullers.
CAKE AND CONFECTIONS
ICING
Take one pound of powdered or flour sugar (not the common pulverized)
and the whites of four eggs. Put the sugar to the eggs before you
beat it at all; then beat till it is stiff. Spread it on the cake
with a wet knife, wetting it in cold water each time you use it.
Set it in front of the stove to dry, or in an oven with the least
particle of heat. The cake must be nearly cold. You can flavor the
icing with rose, orange, or lemon; if the latter, add a very small
portion of grated rind. It is much nicer to add sugar to eggs before
beating than afterward.
CHOCOLATE ICING