should be thoroughly light before making into loaves or biscuits; then
when molding them use as little flour as possible; the kneading to be
done when first made from the sponge, and should be done well and for
some length of time, as this makes the pores fine, the bread cut
smooth and tender. Care should be taken not to get the dough too
stiff.
Where any recipe calls for baking powder, and you do not have it, you
can use cream of tartar and soda, in the proportion of one level
teaspoonful of soda to two of cream of tartar.
When the recipe calls for sweet milk or cream, and you do not have it,
you may use in place of it sour milk or cream, and, in that case,
baking powder or cream of tartar _must not_ be used, but baking-soda,
using a _level_ teaspoonful to a quart of sour milk; the milk is
always best when just turned, so that it is solid, and not sour enough
to whey or to be watery.
When making biscuits or bread with baking powder or soda and cream of
tartar, the oven should be prepared first; the dough handled quickly
and put into the oven immediately, as soon as it becomes the proper
lightness, to ensure good success. If the oven is _too slow_, the
article baked will be heavy and hard.
As in beating cake, never _stir_ ingredients into batter, but beat
them in, by beating down from the bottom, and up, and over again. This
laps the air into the batter which produces little air-cells and
causes the dough to puff and swell as it comes in contact with the
heat while cooking.
TO RENEW STALE ROLLS.
To freshen stale biscuits or rolls, put them into a steamer for ten
minutes, then dry them off in a hot oven; or dip each roll for an
instant in cold water and heat them crisp in the oven.
WARM BREAD FOR BREAKFAST..
Dough after it has become once sufficiently raised and perfectly
light, cannot afterwards be injured by setting aside in any cold place
where it cannot _freeze_; therefore, biscuits, rolls, etc., can be
made late the day before wanted for breakfast. Prepare them ready for
baking by molding them out late in the evening; lay them a little
apart on buttered tins; cover the tins with a cloth, then fold around
that a newspaper, so as to exclude the air, as that has a tendency to
cause the crust to be hard and thick when baked. The best place in
summer is to place them in the ice-box, then all you have to do in the
morning (an hour before breakfast time, and while the oven is heating)
is to bring them from the ice-box, take off the cloth and warm it, and
place it over them again; then set the tins in a warm place near the
fire. This will give them time to rise and bake when needed. If these
directions are followed rightly, you will find it makes no difference
with their lightness and goodness, and you can always be sure of warm
raised biscuits for breakfast in one hour's time.
Stale rolls may be made light and flakey by dipping for a moment in
cold water, and placing immediately in a very hot oven to be made
crisp and hot.
SODA BISCUIT.
One quart of sifted flour, one teaspoonful of soda, two teaspoonfuls
of cream of tartar, one teaspoonful of salt; mix thoroughly, and rub
in two tablespoonfuls of butter and wet with one pint of sweet milk.
Bake in a quick oven.
BAKING POWDER BISCUIT.
Two pints of flour, butter the size of an egg, three heaping
teaspoonfuls of baking powder and one teaspoonful of salt; make a soft
dough of sweet milk or water, knead as little as possible, cut out
with the usual biscuit-cutter and bake in rather a quick oven.
SOUR MILK BISCUIT.
Rub into a quart of sifted flour a piece of butter the size of an egg,
one teaspoonful of salt; stir into this a pint of sour milk, dissolve
one teaspoonful of soda and stir into the milk just as you add it to
the flour; knead it up quickly, roll it out nearly half an inch thick
and cut out with a biscuit-cutter; bake immediately in a quick oven.
Very nice biscuit may be made with sour cream without the butter by
the same process.
RAISED BISCUIT.
Sift two quarts of flour in a mixing-pan, make a hole in the middle of
the flour, pour into this one pint of warm water or new milk, one
teaspoonful of salt, half a cup of melted lard or butter, stir in a
little flour, then add half a cupful of yeast, after which stir in as
much flour as you can conveniently with your hand, let it rise over
night; in the morning add nearly a teaspoonful of soda, and more flour
as is needed to make a rather soft dough; then mold fifteen to twenty
minutes, the longer the better; let it rise until light again, roll
this out about half an inch thick and cut out with a biscuit-cutter,
or make it into little balls with your hands; cover and set in a warm
place to rise. When light, bake a light brown in a moderate oven. Rub
a little warm butter or sweet lard on the sides of the biscuits when
you place them on the tins, to prevent their sticking together when
baked.
LIGHT BISCUIT. No. 1.
Take a piece of bread dough that will make about as many biscuits as
you wish; lay it out rather flat in a bowl; break into it two eggs,
half a cup of sugar, half a cup of butter; mix this thoroughly with
enough flour to keep it from sticking to the hands and board. Knead it
well for about fifteen or twenty minutes, make into small biscuits,
place in a greased pan, and let them rise until about even with the
top of the pan. Bake in a quick oven for about half an hour.
These can be made in the form of rolls, which some prefer.
LIGHT BISCUIT. No. 2.
When you bake take a pint of sponge, one tablespoonful of melted
butter, one tablespoonful of sugar, the white of one egg beaten to a
foam. Let rise until light, mold into biscuits, and when light bake.
GRAHAM BISCUITS, WITH YEAST.
Take one pint of water or milk, one large tablespoonful of butter, two
tablespoonfuls of sugar, a half cup of yeast and a pinch of salt; take
enough wheat flour to use up the water, making it the consistency of
batter-cakes; add the rest of the ingredients and as much Graham flour
as can be stirred in with a spoon; set it away till morning; in the
morning grease a pan, flour your hands, take a lump of dough the size
of an egg, roll it lightly between the palms of your hands, let them
rise twenty minutes, and bake in a tolerably hot oven.
EGG BISCUIT.
Sift together a quart of dry flour and three heaping teaspoonfuls of
baking powder. Rub into this thoroughly a piece of butter the size of
an egg; add two well-beaten eggs, a tablespoonful of sugar, a
teaspoonful of salt. Mix all together quickly into a soft dough, with
one cup of milk, or more if needed. Roll out nearly half of an inch
thick. Cut into biscuits, and bake immediately in a quick oven from
fifteen to twenty minutes.
PARKER HOUSE ROLLS.
One pint of milk, boiled and cooled, a piece of butter the size of an
egg, one-half cupful of fresh yeast, one tablespoonful of sugar, one
pinch of salt, and two quarts of sifted flour.
Melt the butter in the warm milk, then add the sugar, salt and flour,
and let it rise over night. Mix rather soft. In the morning, add to
this half of a teaspoonful of soda dissolved in a spoonful of water.
Mix in enough flour to make the same stiffness as any biscuit dough;
roll out not more than a quarter of an inch thick. Cut with a large
round cutter; spread soft butter over the tops and fold one-half over
the other by doubling it. Place them apart a little so that there will
be room to rise. Cover and place them near the fire for fifteen or
twenty minutes before baking. Bake in rather a quick oven.
PARKER HOUSE ROLLS. (Unfermented.)
These rolls are made with baking powder, and are much sooner made,
although the preceding recipe is the old original one from the "Parker
House." Stir into a quart of sifted flour three large teaspoonfuls of
baking powder, a tablespoonful of cold butter, a teaspoonful of salt
and one of sugar, and a well-beaten egg; rub all well into the flour,
pour in a pint of cold milk, mix up quickly into a smooth dough, roll
it out less than half an inch thick, cut with a large biscuit-cutter,
spread soft butter over the top of each; fold one-half over the other
by doubling it, lay them a little apart on greased tins. Set them
immediately in a pretty hot oven. Rub over the tops with sweet milk
before putting in the oven, to give them a glaze.
FRENCH ROLLS.
Three cups of sweet milk, one cup of butter and lard, mixed in equal
proportions, one-half cup of good yeast, or half a cake of compressed
yeast, and a teaspoonful of salt. Add flour enough to make a stiff
dough. Let it rise over night; in the morning, add two well-beaten
eggs; knead thoroughly and let it rise again. With the hands, make it
into balls as large as an egg; then roll between the hands to make
_long rolls_ (about three inches). Place close together in even rows
on well-buttered pans. Cover and let them rise again, then bake in a
quick oven to a delicate brown.
BEATEN BISCUIT.
Two quarts of sifted flour, a teaspoonful of salt, a tablespoonful of
sweet lard, one egg; make up with half a pint of milk, or if milk is
not to be had, plain water will answer; beat well until the dough
blisters and cracks; pull off a two-inch square of the dough; roll it
into a ball with the hand; flatten, stick with a fork, and bake in a
quick oven.
It is not beating hard that makes the biscuit nice, but the regularity
of the motion. Beating hard, the old cooks say, _kills_ the dough.
_An old-fashioned Southern Recipe._
POTATO BISCUIT.
Boil six good-sized potatoes with their jackets on; take them out with
a skimmer, drain and squeeze with a towel to ensure being dry; then
remove the skin, mash them perfectly free from lumps, add a
tablespoonful of butter, one egg and a pint of sweet milk. When cool,
beat in half a cup of yeast. Put in just enough flour to make a stiff
dough. When this rises, make into small cakes. Let them rise the same
as biscuit and bake a delicate brown.
This dough is very fine dropped into meat soups for pot-pie.
VINEGAR BISCUITS.
Take two quarts of flour, one large tablespoonful of lard or butter,
one tablespoonful and a half of vinegar and one teaspoonful of soda;
put the soda in the vinegar and stir it well; stir in the flour; beat
two eggs very light and add to it; make a dough with warm water stiff
enough to roll out, and cut with a biscuit-cutter one inch thick and
bake in a _quick_ oven.
[Illustration:]
GRAFTON MILK BISCUITS.
Boil and mash two white potatoes; add two teaspoonfuls of brown sugar;
pour boiling water over these, enough to soften them. When tepid, add
one small teacupful of yeast; when light, warm three ounces of butter
in one pint of milk, a little salt, a third of a teaspoonful of soda
and flour enough to make stiff sponge; when risen, work it on the
board, put it back in the tray to rise again; when risen, roll into
cakes and let them stand half an hour. Bake in a _quick_ oven. These
biscuits are fine.
SALLY LUNN.
Warm one-half cupful of butter in a pint of milk; add a teaspoonful of
salt, a tablespoonful of sugar, and seven cupfuls of _sifted_ flour;
beat thoroughly and when the mixture is blood warm, add four beaten
eggs and last of all, half a cup of good lively yeast. Beat hard until
the batter breaks in blisters. Set it to rise over night. In the
morning, dissolve half a teaspoonful of soda, stir it into the batter
and turn it into a well-buttered, shallow dish to rise again about
fifteen or twenty minutes. Bake about fifteen to twenty minutes.
The cake should be torn apart, not cut; cutting with a knife makes
warm bread heavy. Bake a light brown. This cake is frequently seen on
Southern tables.
SALLY LUNN. (Unfermented.)
Rub a piece of butter as large as an egg into a quart of flour; add a
tumbler of milk, two eggs, three tablespoonfuls of sugar, three
tablespoonfuls of baking powder and a teaspoonful of salt. Scatter the
baking powder, salt and sugar into the flour; add the eggs, the
butter, melted, the milk. Stir all together and bake in well-greased
round pans. Eat warm with butter.
LONDON HOT-CROSS BUNS.
Three cups of milk, one cup of yeast, or one cake of compressed yeast
dissolved in a cup of tepid water, and flour enough to make a thick
batter; set this as a sponge over night. In the morning add half a cup
of melted butter, one cup of sugar, half a nutmeg grated, one
saltspoonful of salt, half a teaspoonful of soda, and flour enough to
roll out like biscuit. Knead well and set to rise for five hours. Roll
the dough half an inch thick; cut in round cakes and lay in rows in a
buttered baking-pan, and let the cakes stand half an hour, or until
light; then put them in the oven, having first made a deep cross on
each with a knife. Bake a light brown and brush over with white of egg
beaten stiff with powdered sugar.
RUSKS, WITH YEAST.
In one large coffeecup of warm milk dissolve half a cake of compressed
yeast, or three tablespoonfuls of home-made yeast; to this add three
well-beaten eggs, a small cup of sugar and a teaspoonful of salt; beat
these together. Use flour enough to make a smooth, light dough, let it
stand until very light, then knead it in the form of biscuits; place
them on buttered tins and let them rise until they are almost up to
the edge of the tins; pierce the top of each one and bake in a quick
oven. Glaze the top of each with sugar and milk, or the white of an
egg, before baking. Some add dried currants, well-washed and dried in
the oven.
RUSKS.
Two cups of raised dough, one of sugar, half a cup of butter, two
well-beaten eggs, flour enough to make a stiff dough; set to rise, and
when light mold into high biscuit and let rise again; rub damp sugar
and cinnamon over the top and place in the oven. Bake about twenty
minutes.
RUSKS. (Unfermented.)
Three cups of flour sifted, three teaspoonfuls of baking powder, one
teaspoonful of salt, three tablespoonfuls of sugar, two tablespoonfuls
of butter, three eggs, half a nutmeg grated and a teaspoonful of
ground cinnamon, two small cups of milk; sift together salt, flour,
sugar and baking powder; rub in the butter cold; add the milk, beaten
eggs and spices; mix into a soft dough, break off pieces about as
large as an egg, roll them under the hands into round balls, rub the
tops with sugar and water mixed, and then sprinkle dry sugar over
them. Bake immediately.
SCOTCH SCONES.
Thoroughly mix, while dry, one quart of sifted flour, loosely
measured, with two heaping teaspoonfuls of baking powder; then rub
into it a tablespoonful of cold butter and a teaspoonful of salt. Be
sure that the butter is well worked in. Add sweet milk enough to make
a _very_ soft paste. Roll out the paste about a quarter of an inch
thick, using plenty of flour on the paste-board and rolling pin. Cut
it into triangular pieces, each side about four inches long. Flour the
sides and bottom of a biscuit tin, and place the pieces on it. Bake
immediately in a quick oven from twenty to thirty minutes. When half
done, brush over with sweet milk. Some cooks prefer to bake them on a
floured griddle, and cut them a round shape the size of a saucer, then
scarred across to form four quarters.
CRACKNELS.
Two cups of rich milk, four tablespoonfuls of butter and a gill of
yeast, a teaspoonful of salt; mix warm, add flour enough to make a
light dough. When light, roll thin and cut in long pieces three inches
wide, prick well with a fork and bake in a slow oven. They are to be
mixed rather hard and rolled very thin, like soda crackers.
RAISED MUFFINS. No. 1.
Make a batter of one pint of sweet milk, one teaspoonful of sugar, one
of salt, a tablespoonful of butter or sweet lard and a half cup of
yeast; add flour enough to make it moderately thick; keep it in a
warm, _not hot_, place until it is quite light, then stir in one or
two well-beaten eggs, and half a teaspoonful of soda, dissolved in a
little warm water. Let the batter stand twenty-five or thirty minutes
longer to rise a little, turn into well-greased muffin-rings or
gem-pans, and bake in a quick oven.
To be served hot and torn open, instead of cut with a knife.
RAISED MUFFINS. No. 2.
Three pints of flour, three eggs, a piece of butter the size of an
egg, two heaping teaspoonfuls of white sugar, one-half cake of
compressed yeast and a quart of milk; warm the milk with the butter in
it; cool a little, stir in the sugar and add a little salt; stir this
gradually into the flour, then add the eggs well beaten; dissolve the
yeast in half a cup of lukewarm water and add to the other
ingredients; if the muffins are wanted for luncheon, mix them about
eight o'clock in the morning; if for breakfast, set them at ten
o'clock at night; when ready for baking, stir in half a teaspoonful of
soda dissolved in a teaspoonful of hot water; butter the muffin-rings
or gem-irons and bake in a quick oven.
EGG MUFFINS. (Fine.)
One quart of flour, sifted twice; three eggs, the whites and yolks
beaten separately, three teacups of sweet milk, a teaspoonful of salt,
a tablespoonful of sugar, a large tablespoonful of lard or butter and
two heaping teaspoonfuls of baking powder. Sift together flour,
sugar, salt and baking powder; rub in the lard cold, add the beaten
eggs and milk; mix quickly into a smooth batter, a little firmer than
for griddle-cakes. Grease well some muffin-pans and fill them
two-thirds full. Bake in a hot oven fifteen or twenty minutes. These
made of cream, omitting the butter, are excellent.
PLAIN MUFFINS.
One egg well beaten, a tablespoonful of butter and a tablespoonful of
sugar, with a teaspoonful of salt, all beaten until very light. One
cup of milk, three of sifted flour and three teaspoonfuls of baking
powder. One-half Graham and one-half rye meal may be used instead of
wheat flour, or two cups of corn meal and one of flour.
Drop on well-greased patty-pans and bake twenty minutes in a rather
quick oven, or bake on a griddle in muffin-rings.
MUFFINS WITHOUT EGGS.
One quart of buttermilk, a teaspoonful of soda dissolved in the milk,
a little salt, and flour enough to make a stiff batter. Drop in hot
gem-pans and bake in a quick oven. Two or three tablespoonfuls of sour
cream will make them a little richer.
TENNESSEE MUFFINS.
One pint of corn meal, one pint of flour, one tablespoonful of sugar,
one teaspoonful of salt, three of baking powder, one tablespoonful of
lard or butter, two eggs and a pint of milk. Sift together corn meal,
flour, sugar, salt and powder; rub in lard or butter cold, and eggs
beaten and milk; mix into batter of consistency of cup-cake;
muffin-rings to be cold and well greased, then fill two-thirds full.
Bake in hot oven fifteen minutes.
CORN MEAL MUFFINS. (Without Eggs.)
One cup of flour, one cup of corn meal, two tablespoonfuls of sugar,
water to make a thick batter, or sour milk is better; mix at night; in
the morning add two tablespoonfuls of melted butter and one
teaspoonful of soda; bake in cake rounds.
HOMINY MUFFINS.
Two cups of boiled hominy; beat it smooth, stir in three cups of sour
milk, half a cup of melted butter, two teaspoonfuls of salt, two
tablespoonfuls of sugar; add three eggs well beaten, one teaspoonful
of soda dissolved in hot water, two cups of flour. Bake quickly.
Rice muffins may be made in the same manner.
GRAHAM GEMS. No. 1.
Two cupfuls of Graham flour, one cupful of wheat flour, two
teaspoonfuls of baking powder, a tablespoonful of sugar, one of salt
and one well-beaten egg.
Mix with sweet milk to make a thin batter; beat it well. Bake in
gem-irons; have the irons well greased; fill two-thirds full and bake
in a hot oven. Will bake in from fifteen to twenty minutes.
GRAHAM GEMS. No. 2.
Three cups of sour milk, one teaspoonful of soda, one of salt, one
tablespoonful of brown sugar, one of melted lard or butter, one or two
beaten eggs; to the egg add the milk, then the sugar and salt, then
the Graham flour (with the soda mixed in), together with the lard or
butter; make a stiff batter, so that it will _drop_, not pour, from
the spoon. Have the gem-pans very hot, fill and bake fifteen minutes
in a hot oven.
The same can be made of sweet milk, using three teaspoonfuls of baking
powder instead of soda, and if you use sweet milk, put in no
shortening. Excellent.
Muffins of all kinds should only be cut just around the edge, then
pulled open with the fingers.
PLAIN GRAHAM GEMS.
Two cupfuls of the best Graham meal, two of water, fresh and cold, or
milk and water, and a little salt. Stir briskly for a minute or two.
Have the gem-pan, hot and well greased, on the top of the stove while
pouring in the batter. Then place in a very hot oven and bake forty
minutes. It is best to check the heat a little when they are nearly
done. As the best prepared gems may be spoiled if the heat is not
sufficient, care and judgment must be used in order to secure this
most healthful as well, as delicious bread.
WAFFLES.
Take a quart of flour and wet it with a little sweet milk that has
been boiled and cooled, then stir in enough of the milk to form a
thick batter. Add a tablespoonful of melted butter, a teaspoonful of
salt, and yeast to raise it. When light add two well-beaten eggs, heat
your waffle-iron, grease it well and fill it with the batter. Two or
three minutes will suffice to bake on one side; then turn the iron
over, and when brown on both sides the cake is done. Serve
immediately.
CONTINENTAL HOTEL WAFFLES.
Put into one quart of sifted flour three teaspoonfuls of baking
powder, one teaspoonful of salt, one of sugar, all thoroughly stirred
and sifted together; add a tablespoonful of melted butter, six
well-beaten eggs and a pint of sweet milk; cook in waffle-irons heated
and well greased. Serve hot.
NEWPORT WAFFLES.
Make one pint of Indian meal into mush in the usual way. While hot,
put in a small lump of butter and a dessertspoonful of salt. Set the
mush aside to cool. Meanwhile, beat separately till very light the
whites and yolks of four eggs. Add the eggs to the mush, and cream in
gradually one quart of wheaten flour. Add half a pint of buttermilk,
or sour cream, in which has been dissolved half a teaspoonful of
carbonate of soda. Lastly, bring to the consistency of thin batter by
the addition of sweet milk. Waffle-irons should be put on to heat an
hour in advance, that they may be in the proper condition for baking
as soon as the batter is ready. Have a brisk fire, butter the irons
thoroughly, but with nicety, and bake quickly. Fill the irons only
half full of batter, that the waffles may have room to rise.
CREAM WAFFLES.
One pint of sour cream, two eggs, one pint of flour, one tablespoonful
of corn meal, one teaspoonful of soda, half a teaspoonful of salt.
Beat the eggs separately, mix the cream with the beaten yolks, stir in
the flour, corn meal and salt; add the soda dissolved in a little
sweet milk, and, lastly, the whites beaten to a stiff froth.
RICE WAFFLES. No. 1.
One quart of flour, half a teaspoonful of salt, one teaspoonful of
sugar, two teaspoonfuls of baking powder, one large tablespoonful of
butter, two eggs, one and a half pints of milk, one cupful of hot
boiled rice. Sift the flour, salt, sugar and baking powder well
together; rub the butter into the flour; beat the eggs well,
separately, and add the stiff whites last of all.
RICE WAFFLES. No. 2.
Rub through a sieve one pint of boiled rice, add it to a tablespoonful
of dry flour, two-thirds of a teaspoonful of salt, two teaspoonfuls of
baking powder. Beat separately the yolks and whites of three eggs; add
to the yolks a cup and a half of milk, work it into the flour, then
add an ounce of melted butter; beat the whites of eggs thoroughly; mix
the whole together. Heat the waffle-iron and grease it evenly; pour
the batter into the half of the iron over the range until nearly
two-thirds full, cover, allow to cook a moment, then turn and brown
slightly on the other side.
GERMAN RICE WAFFLES.
Boil a half pound of rice in milk until it becomes thoroughly soft
Then remove it from the fire, stirring it constantly, and adding, a
little at a time, one quart of sifted flour, five beaten eggs, two
spoonfuls of yeast, a half pound of melted butter, a little salt and a
teacupful of warm milk. Set the batter in a warm place, and, when
risen, bake in the ordinary way.
BERRY TEA-CAKES.