little less than one fourth cake of compressed yeast, dissolved in a
little milk, and add new milk, scalded and cooled to lukewarm, to make
one pint. Add one pint of white flour, beat very thoroughly, and set to
rise. When very light, add three find one half cupfuls of sifted Graham
flour, or enough to make a dough that can be molded. Knead well for half
an hour. Place in a clean, slightly oiled bread bowl, cover, and allow
it to rise. When light, shape into a loaf: allow it to rise again, and
bake.
GRAHAM BREAD NO. 2.--Mix well one pint of white and two pints of
best Graham flour. Prepare a batter with a scant pint of milk, scalded
and cooled, two table spoonfuls of liquid yeast, or a little less than
one fourth of a cake of compressed yeast, dissolved in two table
spoonfuls of milk, and a portion of the mixed flour. Give it a vigorous
beating, and put it in a warm place to rise. When well risen, add more
flour to make a dough sufficiently stiff to knead. There will be some
variation in the amount required, dependent upon the brands of flour
used, but in general, two and one half pints of the flour will be enough
for preparing the sponge and kneading the dough. Knead thoroughly for
twenty-five or thirty minutes. Put into a clean and slightly oiled bread
bowl, cover, and set to rise again. When double its first bulk, mold
into a loaf; allow it to rise again, and bake.
GRAHAM BREAD NO. 3.--Mix three pounds each of Graham and Minnesota
spring wheat flour. Make a sponge of one and a half pints of warm water,
one half cake compressed yeast, well dissolved in the water, and flour
to form a batter. Let this rise. When well risen, add one and a half
pints more of warm water, one half cup full of New Orleans molasses, and
sufficient flour to knead. Work the bread thoroughly, allow it to rise
in mass; then mold, place in pans, and let it rise again. The amount of
material given is sufficient for four loaves of bread.
RAISED BISCUIT.--These may be made from dough prepared by any of
the preceding recipes for bread. They will be more tender if made with
milk, and if the dough is prepared expressly for biscuits, one third
cream may be used. When the dough has been thoroughly kneaded the last
time, divide into small, equal-sized pieces. A quantity of dough
sufficient for one loaf of bread should be divided into twelve or
sixteen such portions. Shape into smooth, round biscuits, fit closely
into a shallow pan, and let them rise until very light. Biscuit should
be allowed to become lighter than bread before putting in the oven,
since, being so much smaller, fermentation is arrested much sooner, and
they do not rise as much in the oven as does bread.
ROLLS.--Well kneaded and risen bread dough is made into a variety
of small forms termed rolls, by rolling with the hands or with a
rolling-pin, and afterward cutting or folding into any shape desired,
the particular manner by which they are folded and shaped giving to the
rolls their characteristic names. Dough prepared with rich milk or part
cream makes the best rolls. It may be divided into small, irregular
portions, about one inch in thickness, and shaped by taking each piece
separately in the left hand, then with the thumb and first finger of the
right hand, slightly stretch one of the points of the piece and draw it
over the left thumb toward the center of the roll, holding it there with
the left thumb. Turn the dough and repeat the operation until you have
been all around the dough, and each point has been drawn in; then place
on the pan to rise. Allow the rolls to become very light, and bake.
Rolls prepared in this manner are termed _Imperial Rolls_, and if the
folding has been properly done, when well baked they will be composed of
a succession of light layers, which can be readily separated.
_French Rolls_ may be made by shaping each portion of dough into small
oval rolls quite tapering at each end, allowing them to become light,
and baking far enough apart so that one will not touch another.
If, when the dough is light and ready to shape, it be rolled on the
board until about one eighth of an inch in thickness, and cut into
five-inch squares, then divided through the center into triangles,
rolled up, beginning with the wide side, and placed in the pan to rise
in semicircular shape, the rolls are called _Crescents_.
What are termed _Parker House Rolls_ may be made from well-risen dough
prepared with milk, rolled upon the board to a uniform thickness of
about one forth inch; cut into round or oval shapes with the cutter;
folded, one third over the other two thirds; allowed to rise until very
light, and baked.
The light, rolled dough, may be formed into a _Braid_ by cutting into
strips six inches in length and one in width, joining the ends of each
three, and braiding.
The heat of the oven should be somewhat greater for roils and biscuit
than for bread. The time required will depend upon the heat and the size
of the roll, but it will seldom exceed one half hour. Neither rolls nor
biscuits should be eaten hot, as they are then open to the same
objections as other new yeast bread.
BROWN BREAD.--To one and one fourth cups of new milk which has been
scalded and cooled, add one fourth of a cup of lively yeast, three
tablespoonfuls of sugar, and one cup each of white flour, rye flour or
sifted rye meal, and yellow corn meal. With different brands of flour
there may need to be some variation in the quantity of liquid to be
used. The mixture should be thick enough to shape. Allow it to rise
until light and cracked over the top; put into a bread pan, and when
again well risen, bake for an hour and a half or two hours in an oven
sufficiently hot at first to arrest fermentation and fix the bread
cells, afterwards allowing the heat to diminish somewhat, to permit a
slower and longer baking. Graham flour may be used in place of rye, if
preferred.
DATE BREAD.--Take a pint of light white bread sponge prepared with
milk, add two tablespoons of sugar, and Graham flour to make a very
stiff batter. And last a cupful of stoned dates. Turn into a bread pan.
Let it rise, and bake.
FRUIT LOAF WITH GRAHAM AND WHOLE-WHEAT FLOUR.--Dissolve one fourth
cake of compressed yeast in a pint of sterilized milk; and a pint of
white flour; heat thoroughly, and set to rise. When well risen, add
three and one fourth cups of flour (Graham and whole-wheat, equal
proportions, thoroughly mixed), or sufficient to knead. Knead well for
half an hour, and just at the last add a cup of raisins, well washed,
dried, and dusted with flour. Let the loaf rise in mass; then shape, put
in the pan, allow it to become light again, and bake.
RAISED CORN BREAD.--Into two cupfuls of hot mush made from white
granular corn meal, stir two cupfuls of cold water. Beat well, and add
one half cup of liquid yeast, or one half cake of compressed yeast,
dissolved in one half cup of warm water, and two teaspoonfuls of
granulated sugar. Stir in white or sifted Graham flour to make it stiff
enough to knead. Knead very thoroughly, and put in a warm place to rise.
When light, molded into three loaves, put into pans, and allow it to
rise again. When well risen, bake at least for three fourths of an hour.
CORN CAKE.--Sterilise a cupful of rich milk or thin cream. Cool to
lukewarm, and dissolve in it half a cake of compressed yeast Add two
small cupfuls of white flour; beat very thoroughly, and put in a warm
place to rise. When light, add a cup of lukewarm water or milk, and two
cups of best yellow cornmeal. Turn into a shallow square pan, and leave
until again well risen. Bake in a quick oven. A tablespoonful of sugar
may be added with the corn meal, if desired.
OATMEAL BREAD.--Mix a quart of well-cooked oatmeal mush with a pint
of water, beating it perfectly smooth; add a cupful of liquid yeast and
flour to make a stiff batter. Cover, and let it rise. When light, add
sufficient flour to mold; knead as soft as possible, for twenty or
thirty minutes; shape into four or more loaves, let it rise again, and
bake.
MILK YEAST BREAD.--Prepare the yeast the day before by scalding
three heaping teaspoonfuls of fresh cornmeal with boiling milk. Set in a
warm place until light (from seven to ten hours); then put in a cool
place until needed for use. Start the bread by making a rather thick
batter with one cupful of warm water, one teaspoonful of the prepared
yeast, and white flour. Put in a warm place to rise. When light, add to
it a cupful of flour scalded with a cupful of boiling milk, and enough
more flour to make the whole into a rather stiff batter. Cover, and
allow it to rise. When again well risen, add flour enough to knead.
Knead well; shape into a loaf; let it rise, and bake. Three or four
cupfuls of white flour will be needed for all purposes with the amount
of liquid given; more liquid and flour may be added in forming the
second sponge if a larger quantity of bread is desired. In preparing
both yeast and bread, all utensils used should first be sterilized by
scalding in hot sal-soda water.
GRAHAM SALT-RISING BREAD.--Put two tablespoonfuls of milk into a
half-pint cup, add boiling water to fill the cup half full, one half
teaspoonful of sugar, one fourth teaspoonful of salt, and white flour to
make a rather stiff batter. Let it rise over night. In the morning, when
well risen, add a cup and a half of warm water, or milk scalded and
cooled, and sufficient white flour to form a rather stiff batter. Cover,
and allow it again to rise. When light, add enough sifted Graham flour
to knead. When well kneaded, shape into a loaf; allow it to become light
again in the pan, and bake. All utensils used should be first well
sterilized by scalding in hot sal-soda water.
UNFERMENTED BREADS.
The earliest forms of bread were made without fermentation. Grain was
broken as fine as possible by pounding on smooth stones, made into dough
with pure water, thoroughly kneaded, and baked in some convenient way.
Such was the "unleavened breads" or "Passover cakes" of the Israelites.
In many countries this bread is the only kind used. Unleavened bread
made from barley and oats is largely used by the Irish and Scotch
peasantry. In Sweden an unleavened bread is made of rye meal and water,
flavored with anise seed, and baked in large, thin cakes, a foot or more
in diameter.
[Illustration: Mexican Woman Making Tortillas]
Some savage tribes subsists chiefly upon excellent corn bread, made
simply of meal and water. Unleavened bread made of corn, called
_tortillas_, forms the staple diet of the Mexican Indians. The corn,
previously softened by soaking in lime water, is ground to a fine paste
between a stone slab and roller called a _metate_, then patted and
tossed from hand to hand until flattened into thin, wafer-like cakes,
and baked over a quick fire, on a thin iron plate or a flat stone.
Unquestionably, unleavened bread, well kneaded and properly baked, is
the most wholesome of all breads, but harder to masticate than that made
light by fermentation, but this is an advantage; for it insures more
thorough mixing with that important digestive agent, the saliva, than is
usually given to more easily softened food.
[Illustration: Stone Metate.]
What is usually termed unfermented bread, however, is prepared with
flour and liquid, to which shortening--of some kind is added, and the
whole made light by the liberation of gas generated within the dough
during the process of baking. This is brought about either by mixing
with the flour certain chemical substances, which, when wet and brought
into contact, act upon each other so as to set free carbonic acid gas,
which expands and puffs up the loaf; or by introducing into the dough
some volatile substance as carbonate of ammonia, which the heat during
baking will, cause to vaporize, and which in rising produces the same
result.
Carbonic acid gas maybe for this purpose developed by the chemical
decomposition of bicarbonate of potassa (saleratus), or bicarbonate of
soda, by some acid such as sour milk, hydrochloric acid, tartaric acid,
nitrate of potassa, or the acid phosphate of lime.
The chemical process of bread-raising originally consisted in adding to
the dough definite proportions of muriatic acid and carbonate of soda,
by the union of which carbonic acid gas and common salt were produced.
This process was soon abandoned, however, on account of the propensity
exhibited by the acid for eating holes in the fingers of the baker as
well as in his bread pans; and a more convenient one for hands and
pans, that of using soda or salaratus with cream of tartar or sour milk,
was substituted. When there is an excess of soda, a portion of it
remains in the loaf uncombined, giving to the bread a yellow color and
an alkaline taste, and doing mischief to the delicate coating of the
stomach. Alkalies, the class of chemicals to which soda and salaratus
belong, when pure and strong, are powerful corrosive poisons. The acid
used with the alkali to liberate the carbonic-acid gas in the process of
bread-making, if rightly proportioned, destroys this poisonous property,
and unites with it to form a new compound, which, although not a poison,
is yet unwholesome.
We can hardly speak too strongly in condemnation of the use of chemicals
in bread-making, when we reflect that the majority of housewives who
combine sour milk and salaratus, or cream of tartar and soda, more
frequently than otherwise _guess_ at the proportions, or measure them by
some "rule of thumb," without stopping to consider that although two
cups of sour milk may at one time be sufficiently acid to neutralize a
teaspoonful of saleratus, milk may vary in degree of acidity to such an
extent that the same quantity will be quite insufficient for the purpose
at another time; or that though a teaspoonful of some brand of cream of
tartar will neutralize a half teaspoonful of one kind of soda, similar
measures will not always bring about the same result. Very seldom,
indeed, will the proportions be sufficiently exact to perfectly
neutralise the alkali, since chemicals are subject to variations in
degree of strength, both on account of the method by which they are
manufactured and the length of time they have been kept, to say nothing
of adulterations to which they may have been subjected, and which are so
common that it is almost impossible to find unadulterated cream of
tartar in the market.
Baking powders are essentially composed of bicarbonate of soda and cream
of tartar, mixed in the proper proportions to exactly neutralize each
other, and if they were always pure, would certainly be as good as soda
and cream of tartar in any form, and possess the added advantage of
perfect proportions; but as was demonstrated not long ago by the
government chemist, nearly every variety of baking powder in the market
is largely adulterated with cheaper and harmful substances. Alum, a most
frequent constituent of such baking powders, is exceedingly injurious to
the stomach. Out of several hundred brands of baking powder examined,
only one was found pure.
Even when in their purest state, these chemicals are not harmless, as is
so generally believed. It is a very prevalent idea that when soda is
neutralized by an acid, both chemical compounds are in some way
destroyed or vaporized in the process, and in some occult manner escape
from the bread during the process of baking. This is altogether an
error. The alkali and acid neutralize each other chemically, but they do
not destroy each other. Their union forms a salt, exactly the same as
the Rochelle salts of medicine, a mild purgative, and if we could
collected from the bread and weigh or measure it, we would find nearly
as much of it as there was of the baking powder in the first place. If
two teaspoonfuls of baking powder to the quart of flour be used, we have
remaining in the bread made with that amount of flour 165 grains of
crystallized Rochelle salts, or 45 grains more than this to be found in
a Seidlitz powder. It may be sometimes useful to take a dose of salts,
but the daily consumption of such chemical substances in bread can
hardly be considered compatible with the conditions necessary for the
maintenance of health. These chemical substances are unusable by the
system, and must all be removed by the liver and excretory organs, thus
imposing upon them an extra and unnecessary burden. It has also been
determined by scientific experimentation that the chemicals found in
baking powders in bread retard digestion.
These substances are, fortunately, not needed for the production of good
light bread. The purpose of their use is the production of a gas; but
air is a gas much more economical and abundant than carbonic-acid gas,
and which, when introduced into bread and subjected to heat, has the
property of expanding, and in doing, puffing up the bread and making it
light. Bread made light with air is vastly superior to that compounded
with soda or baking powder, in point of healthfulness, and when well
prepared, will equal it in lightness and palatableness. The only
difficulty lies in catching and holding the air until it has
accomplished the desired results. But a thorough understanding of the
necessary conditions and a little practice will soon enable one to
attain sufficient skill in this direction to secure most satisfactory
results.
[Illustration: Gem Irons]
GENERAL DIRECTIONS.--All materials used for making aërated bread
should be of the very best quality. Poor flour will not produce good
bread by this or by any other process. Aërated breads are of two kinds:
those baked while in the form of a batter, and such as are made into a
dough before baking.
[Illustration: Perforated Sheet Iron Pan for Rolls.]
All breads, whether fermented or unfermented, are lighter if baked in
some small form, and this is particularly true of unfermented breads
made light with air. For this reason, breads made into a dough are best
baked in the form of rolls, biscuits, or crackers, and batter breads in
small iron cups similar to those in the accompanying illustration. These
cups or "gem irons" as they are sometimes called, are to be obtained in
various shapes and sizes, but for this purpose the more shallow cups are
preferable. For baking the dough breads a perforated sheet of Russia
iron or heavy tin, which any tinner can make to fit the oven, is the
most serviceable, as it permits the hot air free access to all sides of
the bread at once. If such is not obtainable, the upper oven grate,
carefully washed and scoured, may be used Perforated pie tins also
answer very well for this purpose.
[Illustration: Making Unfermented Bread.]
The heat of the oven for baking should be sufficient to form a slight
crust over all sides of the bread before the air escapes, but not
sufficient to brown it within the first fifteen minutes. To aid in
forming the crust on the sides and bottom of batter breads, the iron
cups should be heated previous to introducing the batter. The degree of
heat required for baking will be about the same as for fermented rolls
and biscuit, and the fire should be so arranged as to keep a steady but
not greatly increasing heat.
Air is incorporated into batter breads by brisk and continuous agitating
and beating; into dough breads by thorough kneading, chopping, or
pounding.
Whatever the process by which the air is incorporated, it must be
_continuous_. For this reason it is especially essential in making
aërated bread that every thing be in readiness before commencing to put
the bread together. All the materials should be measured out, the
utensils to be used in readiness, and the oven properly heated. Success
is also dependent upon the dexterity with which the materials when ready
are put together. Batter bread often proves a failure although the
beating is kept up without cessation, because it is done slowly and
carelessly, or interspersed with stirring, thus permitting the air to
escape between the strokes.
If the bread is to be baked at once, the greater the dispatch with which
it can be gotten into a properly-heated oven the lighter it will be.
Crackers, rolls and other forms of dough breads often lack in lightness
because they were allowed to stand some time before baking. The same is
true of batter breads. If, for any reason, it is necessary to keep such
breads for any length of time after being prepared, before baking, set
the dish containing them directly on ice.
The lightness of aërated bread depends not only upon the amount of air
incorporated in its preparation, but also upon the expansion of the air
during the baking. The colder the air, the greater will be its expansion
upon the application of heat. The colder the materials employed, then,
for the bread-making, the colder will be the air confined within it, and
the lighter will be the bread. For this reason, in making batter bread,
it will be found a good plan, when there is time, to put the materials
together, and place the dish containing the mixture on ice for an hour
or two, or even over night. When ready to use, beat thoroughly for ten
or fifteen minutes to incorporate air, and bake in heated irons. Rolls
and other breads made into a dough, may be kneaded and shaped and put
upon ice to become cold. Thus treated, less kneading is necessary than
when prepared to be baked at once.
Many of the recipes given for the batter breads include eggs. The yolk
is not particularly essential, and if it can be put to other uses, may
be left out. The white of an egg, because of its viscous nature, when
beaten, serves as a sort of trap to catch and hold air, and added to the
bread, aids in making it light. Very nice light bread may be made
without eggs, but the novice in making aërated breads will, perhaps,
find it an advantage first to become perfectly familiar with the
processes and conditions involved, by using the recipes with eggs before
attempting those without, which are somewhat more dependent for success
upon skill and practice.
When egg is used in the bread, less heating of the irons will be
necessary, and not so hot an oven as when made without.
If the bread, when baked, appears light, but with large holes in the
center, it is probable that either the irons or the oven was too hot at
first. If the bread after baking, seems sticky or dough-like in the
interior, it is an indication that either it was insufficiently baked,
or that not enough flour in proportion to the liquid has been used. It
should be stated, that although the recipes given have been prepared
with the greatest care, and with the same brands of flour, careful
measurement, and proper conditions, prove successful every time, yet
with different brands of flour some variation in quantity may needed,--a
trifle more or less,--dependent upon the absorbent properties of the
flour, and if eggs are used, upon the size of the eggs.
A heavy bread may be the result of the use of poor flour, too much
flour, careless or insufficient beating, so that not enough air was
incorporated, or an oven not sufficiently hot to form a crust over the
bread before the air escaped. Breads made into a dough, if moist and
clammy, require more flour or longer baking. Too much flour will make
them stiff and hard.
The length of time requisite for baking aërated breads made with
whole-wheat, wheat berry, or Graham flours, will vary from forty minutes
to one hour, according to the kind and form in which the bread is baked,
and the heat of the oven.
The irons in which batter breads are to be baked should not be smeared
with grease; if necessary to oil them at all, they should only be wiped
out lightly with a clean, oiled cloth. Irons well cared for, carefully
washed, and occasionally scoured with Sapolio to keep them perfectly
smooth, will require no greasing whatever.
In filling the irons, care should be taken to fill each cup at first as
full as it is intended to have; it, as the heat of the irons begins the
cooking of the batter as soon as it is put in, and an additional
quantity added has a tendency to make the bread less light.
_RECIPES._