Take one peck or two gallons of fine wheat flour, and sift it into a
kneading trough, or into a small clean tub, or a large broad earthen
pan; and make a deep hole in the middle of the heap of flour, to begin
the process by what is called setting a sponge. Have ready half a pint
of warm water, which in summer should be only lukewarm, but even in
winter it must not be hot or boiling, and stir it well into half a pint
of strong fresh yeast; (if the yeast is home-made you must use from
three quarters to a whole pint;) then pour it into the hole in the
middle of the flour. With a spoon work in the flour round the edges
of the liquid, so as to bring in by degrees sufficient flour to form
a thin batter, which must be well stirred about, for a minute or two.
Then take a handful of flour, and scatter it thinly over the top of
this batter, so as to cover it entirely. Lay a warmed cloth over the
whole, and set it to rise in a warm place; in winter put it nearer the
fire than in summer. When the batter has risen so as to make cracks in
the flour on the top, scatter over it three or four table-spoonfuls
(not more) of fine salt, and begin to form the whole mass into a dough;
commencing round the hole containing the batter, and pouring as much
soft water as is necessary to make the flour mix with the batter;
the water must never be more than lukewarm. When the whole is well
mixed, and the original batter which is to give fermentation to the
dough is completely incorporated with it, knead it hard, turning it
over, pressing it, folding it, and working it thoroughly with your
clenched hands for twenty minutes or half an hour; or till it becomes
perfectly light and stiff. The goodness of bread depends much on the
kneading, which to do well requires strength and practice. When it has
been sufficiently worked, form the dough into a lump in the middle
of the trough or pan, and scatter a little dry flour thinly over it:
then cover it, and set it again in a warm place to undergo a farther
fermentation; for which, if all has been done rightly, about twenty
minutes or half an hour will be sufficient.
The oven should be hot by the time the dough has remained twenty
minutes in the lump. If it is a brick oven it should be heated by
faggots or small light wood, allowed to remain in till burnt down into
coals. When the bread is ready, clear out the coals, and sweep and wipe
the floor of the oven clean. Introduce nothing wet into the oven, as
it may crack the bricks when they are hot. Try the heat of the bottom
by throwing in some flour; and if it scorches and burns black, do not
venture to put in the bread till the oven has had time to become cooler.
Put the dough on the paste-board, (which must be sprinkled with flour,)
and divide it into loaves, forming them of a good shape. Place them in
the oven, and close up the door, which you may open once or twice to
see how the bread is going on. The loaves will bake in from two hours
and a half to three hours, or more, according to their size. When the
loaves are done, wrap each in a clean coarse towel, and stand them up
on end to cool slowly. It is a good way to have the cloths previously
made damp by sprinkling them plentifully with water, and letting them
lie awhile rolled up tightly. This will make the crust of the bread
less dry and hard. Bread should be kept always wrapped in a cloth, and
covered from the air in a box or basket with a close lid. Unless you
have other things to bake at the same time, it is not worth while to
heat a brick oven for a small quantity of bread. Two or three loaves
can be baked very well in a stove, (putting them into square iron
pans,) or in a Dutch oven.[J]
If the bread has been mixed over night (which should never be done in
warm weather) and is found, on tasting it, to be sour in the morning,
melt a tea-spoonful of pearl-ash in a little milk-warm water, and
sprinkle it over the dough; let it set half an hour, and then knead
it. This will remove the acidity, and rather improve the bread in
lightness. If dough is allowed to freeze it is totally spoiled. All
bread that is sour, heavy, or ill-baked is not only unpalatable, but
extremely unwholesome, and should never be eaten. These accidents so
frequently happen when bread is made at home by careless, unpractised
or incompetent persons, that families who live in cities or towns will
generally risk less and save more, by obtaining their bread from a
professional baker.
If you like a little Indian in your wheat bread, prepare rather a
larger quantity of warm water for setting the sponge; stirring into the
water, while it is warming, enough of sifted Indian meal to make it
like thin gruel. Warm water that has had pumpkin boiled in it is very
good for bread.
Strong fresh yeast from the brewery should always be used in preference
to any other. If the yeast is home-made, or not very strong and
fresh, double or treble the quantity mentioned in the receipt will be
necessary to raise the bread. On the other hand, if too much yeast is
put in, the bread will be disagreeably bitter.[K]
You may take off a portion of the dough that has been prepared for
bread, make it up into little round cakes or rolls, and bake them for
breakfast or tea.