[Illustration: FIG. 2.]
33. Necessary Equipment.--Not many utensils are required for bread
making, but the ones that are needed must be of the right kind if the
best results are to be obtained. The necessary equipment is illustrated
in Fig. 2. It includes a mixing bowl and cover _a_; a flour sieve _b_;
measuring cups _c_ of standard size, one for moist and one for dry
ingredients, measuring spoons _d_, and a case knife or a spatula _e_ for
measuring; a long-handled spoon _f_ for mixing; and baking, or bread,
pans _g_. Unless the table is such that it can be used as a molding
board, it will be necessary to provide in addition to the equipment
mentioned, a molding board of suitable size.
The mixing bowl may be an earthen one or a metal one like that shown in
the illustration. The size of the pans used and the material of which
the pans are made should also receive attention. The loaves will be
found to bake more quickly and thoroughly if they are not made too large
and each one is baked in a separate pan. Pans that are 8 inches long, 3
1/2 inches wide, and 3 inches deep are of a convenient size. They may be
made of tin, sheet iron, aluminum, or heat-resisting glass, the only
requirements being that all the pans used at one baking be of the same
material, because, as heat penetrates some materials more quickly than
others, the baking will then be more uniform.
34. Convenient Equipment.--While the utensils shown in Fig. 2 are all
that are actually required in the making of bread, a bread mixer, one
style of which is described in _Essentials of Cookery_, Part 2, will be
found extremely convenient by the housewife who must bake large
quantities of bread at one time and who has not a great deal of time to
devote to the work. This labor-saving device can be used and, of course,
often is used by the housewife who makes only a small quantity of bread,
as, for instance, two to four loaves; but it is not actually needed by
her, as she can handle such an amount easily and quickly.
A _cooler_, which consists of a framework covered with wire netting and
supported by short legs, is also a convenient utensil, as it serves as a
good place on which to put baked bread to cool. If one of these devices
is not available, however, a substitute can be easily made by stretching
a wire netting over a wooden frame.
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