tablespoonful of lard or butter.
2 tablespoonfuls of yeast.
2 eggs.
1 potato.
2 teaspoonfuls of sugar.
Make the leaven soon after breakfast in winter, and at one o'clock P.M. in summer. Let it be of the consistency of batter. Put it in a small bucket, in a warm place, to rise till four o'clock P.M. This amount of leaven is sufficient for two quarts of flour. If for loaf bread, leave out the eggs and butter.—Mrs. M.
Excellent Bread for Breakfast.
1 quart of flour.
Lard the size of a walnut.
1 small Irish potato, boiled and mashed fine.
1 heaping teaspoonful of salt.
Half a teacup of good yeast, into which put a tablespoonful of white sugar.
Make up a soft dough with cold water in summer and milk-warm water in winter. This must be kneaded for thirty minutes, and then set to rise, in a cool place in summer, and a warm one in winter; must never be kept more than milk-warm.
Two hours before breakfast, make the dough into the desired shapes, handling it lightly, without kneading it, first rubbing lard over the hands, and taking especial care to grease the bread on top. Then set it to rise again.
Thirty minutes are sufficient for baking it, unless it be in the form of a loaf or rolls, in which case, it must be baked fifteen minutes longer. Excellent muffins may be made by the above receipt, adding two eggs well beaten, so that from the same batch of dough both plain bread and muffins may be made.
Iron moulds are best for baking.
For those who prefer warm bread for dinner, it is a good plan to reserve a portion of the breakfast dough, setting it away in a cool place till two hours before dinner, then make into turnovers or twist, set it to rise and bake it for dinner, as for breakfast. Very nice on a cold day, and greatly preferable to warmed-over bread.—Mrs. S. T.
Recipe for Family Bread.
2 quarts of flour.
2 tablespoonfuls of lard or butter.
2 teaspoonfuls of salt.
Enough sponge for a two-quart loaf of bread.
Mix with one pint of sweet milk.
Make into rolls and bake with very little fire under the oven.—Mrs. A. C.
Loaf Bread.
First make a batter of the following ingredients.
1 pint of flour.
1 teaspoonful of salt.
1 teaspoonful of sugar.
A cup of water.
A cup of good yeast.
Set this to rise and when risen work in two pints of flour, or, if the batter is not sufficient to work up this flour, add a little water.
Work it smoothly and set it to rise.
When risen, add a small piece of lard, work it well again, let it stand an hour and then bake it slowly.—Mrs. P. W.
Old Virginia Loaf Bread.
Sponge for the same.
Boil one large Irish potato, until well done, then peel and mash it fine, adding a little cold water to soften it. Stir into it
1 teaspoonful of brown sugar.
1 tablespoonful of sweet lard.
Then add three tablespoonfuls of good hop yeast.
Mix the ingredients thoroughly, then put the sponge in a mug with a close-fitting top, and let it stand several hours to rise.
Sift into the tray three pints of the best family flour, to which add a teaspoonful of salt. Then pour in the sponge and add enough cold water to the flour to work it up into a rather stiff dough. Knead it till the dough is smooth, then let it stand all night to rise. Work it over in the morning, using just enough flour to keep it from sticking to the hands. Allow it one hour to rise before baking and one hour to bake in a moderate oven. Then it will be thoroughly done and well dried.
Use a little lard on the hands when making out the loaf, as it keeps the crust from being too hard.—Mrs. S.
Another Recipe for Loaf Bread.
Good flour is the first requisite, and next, good yeast and sufficient kneading.
For a loaf of ordinary size, use
2 lbs. of flour.
Lard the size of a hen's egg.
A saltspoonful of salt.
2 gills of yeast.
Mix up these ingredients into a moderately stiff dough, using for the purpose, from three gills to a pint of water. Some flour being more adhesive than others, you have to learn by experience the exact amount of water required.
Knead the dough till perfectly smooth, then set it to rise, in a cool place, in summer, but in a warm place, free from draughts, in winter. In the latter season it is better to keep a blanket wrapped around it.
This amount of flour will rise to the top of a gallon and a half jar or bucket. If it is ready before time, stir it down and set it in a cooler place.
When you put it in the baking-pan (in which it will be in an inch of the top, if the pan be of a suitable size for the amount of flour) cover it well, or a hard crust will form from the effects of the atmosphere. Keep it a little warmer during the second rise than during the first. When ready for baking, set it in the oven and bake it for three-quarters of an hour with a moderate fire, evenly kept up. It will then come out without sticking, if the pans are well cared for.—Mrs. J. J. A.
Light Bread.
2 quarts of flour.
1 teaspoonful of sugar.
1 teaspoonful of salt.
Half a teacup of yeast.
One egg, well beaten.
1 pint of water.
Sift the flour and divide it into three parts. Mix one third in the batter, one third in the jar to rise in, and pour the other third over the batter. Let it stand two hours and then work it well, adding a small piece of lard before baking.—Mrs. Dr. S.
Recipe for Hot Rolls Or Cold Loaf Bread.
Mix the following ingredients.
Four pints of
