Bitter Yeast.—It sometimes happens that an excessive use of hops in the making of yeast gives to it so bitter a flavor as to communicate a disagreeable taste to the bread. To correct this bitterness, mix with the yeast a considerable quantity of water, and let it stand for some hours, when the thickest portion will have settled at the bottom. The water, which will have extracted much of the bitterness, can then be turned off and thrown away. Yeast also sometimes becomes a bitter from long keeping. Freshly burnt charcoal thrown into the yeast is said to absorb the odors and offensive matter and render the yeast more sweet; however, we do not recommend the use of any yeast so stale as to need sweetening or purifying. Yeast that is new and fresh is always best; old and stale yeast, even though it may still possess the property of raising the dough, will give an unpleasant taste to the bread, and is much less wholesome.
Tests for Yeast.—Liquid yeast, when good, is light in color and looks foamy and effervescent; it has a pungent odor somewhat similar to weak ammonia, and if tasted will have a sharp, biting flavor. Yeast is poor when it looks dull and watery, and has a sour odor. Compressed yeast, if good, breaks off dry and looks white; if poor, it appears moist and stringy.
If there is any question as to the quality of yeast, it is always best to test it before use by adding a little flour to a small quantity and setting it in a warm place. If it begins to ferment in the course of fifteen or twenty minutes, it is good.
Starting the Bread.—Having secured good yeast, it is necessary in some way to diffuse it through the bread material so that it will set up an active fermentation, which, by the evolution of gas, will render the whole mass light and porous. As fermentation is more sure, more rapid, and requires less yeast to start it when set in action in a thin mixture than when introduced into stiff dough, the more common method of starting fermented bread is by "setting a sponge;" viz., preparing a batter of flour and liquid, to which potato is sometimes added, and into which the yeast is introduced. Some cooks, in making the batter, use the whole amount of liquid needed for the bread, and as the sponge rises, add flour in small quantities, beating it back, and allowing it to rise a second, third, or even fourth time, until sufficient flour has been added to knead; others use only half the liquid in preparing the sponge, and when it has well risen, prepare a second one by adding the remainder of the liquid and fresh flour, in which case the fermented batter acts as a double portion of yeast and raises the second sponge very quickly. The requisite amount of flour is then added, the dough kneaded, and the whole allowed to rise a third time in the loaf. Other cooks dispense altogether with the sponge, adding to the liquid at first the requisite amount of flour, kneading it thoroughly and allowing it to rise once in mass and again after molding into loaves. As to the superiority of one method over another, much depends upon their adaptability to the time and convenience of the user; light bread can be produced by either method. Less yeast but more time will be required when the bread is started with a sponge. The end to be attained by all is a complete and equal diffusion of gas bubbles generated during fermentation throughout the whole mass of dough.
The preferable method of combining the materials needed for the batter is by first mingling the yeast with the water or milk. If condensed or dry yeast is used, previously dissolve it well in a half cupful or less of lukewarm water. Stir the flour slowly into the liquid mixture and beat itvery thoroughlyso that the yeast shall be evenly distributed throughout the whole.
Proportion of Materials Needed.—The material needed for making: the bread should all be carefully measured out beforehand and the flour well sifted. Many housekeepers fail in producing good bread, because they guess at the quantity of material to be used, particularly the flour, and with the same quantity of liquid will one time use much more flour that at another, thus making the results exceedingly variable. With this same brand of flour, this same quantity should always be used to produce a given amount of bread. This amount will depend upon the quality of the material used. Good flour will absorb a larger quantity of liquids than that of an inferior quality, and the amount of liquid a given quantity of flour will take up determines the quantity of bread that can be produced from it. This amount is chiefly dependent upon the proportion of gluten contained in the flour. One hundred pounds of good flour will absorb sufficient water to produce one hundred and fifty pounds of bread. One reason why bread retains so much water is that during the baking a portion of starch is converted into gum, which holds water more strongly than starch. Again: the gluten, when wet, is not easily dried, while the dry crust which forms around the bread in baking is merely impervious to water, and, like the skin of a baking potato, prevents the moisture from escaping.
Kinds of flour vary so considerably in respect to their absorbent properties that it is not possible to state the exact proportions of flour and liquid required; approximately, three heaping measures of flour for one scant measure of liquid, including the yeast, will in general be found a good proportion. Bread made from the entire wheat will require from one half to one cupful less flour than that made of white flour. A quart of liquid, including the yeast, is sufficient for three ordinary-sized loaves. One half or two thirds of a cup of homemade yeast, according to its strength, or one half a cake of compressed yeast dissolved in a half cup of lukewarm water, will be sufficient for one quart of liquid. It is a common mistake to use too much yeast. It lessens the time required, but the result is less satisfactory. Bread to be set over night requires less yeast.
Whether water or milk should be used for bread-making, depends upon taste and convenience. Bread retains more nearly the natural flavor of the grain if made with water, and is less apt to sour; at the same time, bread made with milk is more tender than that made with water. Bread made with milk requires from one half to one cupful less of flour.
Potatoes are sometimes used in conjunction with flour for bread-making. They are by no means necessary when goodflour is used, but bread made from inferior flour is improved by their use. Only potatoes that are fully matured should be used for this purpose, and they should be well cooked and smoothly mashed. Neither sugar nor salt is essential for the production of good bread, though most cook books recommend the use of one or both. The proportion of the former should not exceed one even tablespoonful to three pints of flour, and the very smallest amount of salt, never more than a half teaspoonful, and better less. No butter or other free fat is required; the tenderness of texture produced by its use can be secured as well by the use of unskimmed milk and thorough kneading.
Utensils.—For bread-making purposes, earthen or china ware is preferable to either tin or wooden utensils: being a poor conductor, it protects the sponge from the cold air much more effectually than tin, and is much more easily kept clean and sweet than wood. The utensil should be kept exclusively for the purpose of bread-making, and should never be allowed to contain any sour substance. The bowl should be thoroughly scalded before and after each using. Use silver or granite-ware spoons for stirring the bread. Iron and tin discolor the sponge. For measuring the material, particularly the liquid and the yeast, half-pint cups, divided by marks into thirds and fourths, as shown in the cut, are especially serviceable.
Measuring Cup
Measuring Cup
Measuring Cup.
Measuring Cup.
When to Set the Sponge.—The time to set the sponge for bread-making is a point each housekeeper must determine for herself. The fact before stated, that temperature controls the activity of fermentation, and that it is retarded or accelerated according to the conditions of warmth, enables the housewife, by keeping the bread-mixture at a temperature of about 50° F., to set her bread in the evening, if desired, and find it light and ready for further attention in the morning.In winter, the sponge will need to be prepared early in the evening and kept during the night at as even a temperature as possible. A good way to accomplish this is to cover the bowl with a clean napkin and afterwards wrap it about very closely with several folds of a woolen blanket. In extremely cold weather bottles of hot water may be placed around the bowl outside the wrappings. In case this plan is employed, care must be taken to have sufficient wrappings between the bread and the bottles to prevent undue heat, and the bottles should be covered with an additional blanket to aid in retaining the heat as long as possible.
If the sponge is set in the evening, if in very warm weather, it should be started as late as practicable, and left in a rather cool place. Cover closely to exclude the air, but do not wrap in flannel as in winter. It will be likely to need attention early in the morning.
Temperature for Bread-Making.—Except in very warm weather, the ferment or sponge should be started with liquid at a lukewarm temperature.
The liquid should never be so cold as to chill the yeast. Milk, if used, should be first sterilized by scalding, and then cooled before using.
After the sponge is prepared, the greatest care must be taken to keep it at an equable temperature. From 70° to 90° is the best range of temperature, 75° being considered the golden mean throughout the entire fermentative process of bread-making.
After fermentation has well begun, it will continue, but much more slowly if the temperature be gradually lowered to 45° or 50°. If it is necessary to hasten the rising, the temperature can be raised to 80° or 85°, but it will necessitate careful watching, as it will be liable to over-ferment, and become sour. Cold arrests the process of fermentation, while too great heat carries forward the work too rapidly. Too much stress cannot be laid upon the importance of an equable temperature. The housewife who permits the fermentation to proceed very slowly one hour, forces it rapidly by increased heat the next, and perhaps allows it to subside to a chilling temperature the third, will never be sure of good bread.
Putting the bowl containing the sponge into a dish of warm (not hot) water, or keeping it in the warming oven, or on the back of the range, are all methods which may bring about good results, provided the same degree of heat can be maintained continuously; but if the fire is one which must be increased or diminished to suit the exigencies of household details, nothing but the closest and most careful attention will keep the sponge at uniform temperature. The better way is to cover the bowl with a napkin, and in cold weather wrap closely in several thicknesses of flannel, and place on a stand behind the stove, or in some place not exposed to draughts. A bread-raiser purposely arranged for keeping the bread at proper temperature is a great convenience. Two small and rather thick earthen ware crocks of the same size, serve very well for this purpose. Scald both with hot water, and while still warm, put the sponge in one, invert the other for a cover, and leave in a warm room. All flour used in the bread should be warm when added.
Lightness of the Bread.—The time required for bread in its different stages to grow light will vary according to the quantity and strength of the yeast used and the amount of warmth supplied. A thin batter is light enough when in appearance it resembles throughout a mass of sea foam. It will not greatly increase in bulk, but will be in the state of constant activity, sending up little bubbles of gas and emitting a sharp, pungent odor like fresh yeast.
When the thicker batter or second sponge is sufficiently light, it will have risen to nearly double its original bulk and become cracked over the top like "crazed" china. It should never be allowed to rise to the point of sinking or caving in, and should be kneaded as soon as ready. If for any reason it is not possible to knead the bread at once when it has arrived at this stage, do not allow it to stand, but take a knife or spoon and gently beat it back a little. This dissipates some of the gas and reduces the volume somewhat. Let it rise again,which it will do in a short time, if it has not been allowed to become too light. If dough that has been kneaded and allowed to rise in mass, becomes sufficiently light at some inopportune moment for shaping into loaves, it may be kept from becoming too light and souring, by taking a knife and cutting it away from the sides of the bowl and gradually working it over toward the center. Re-cover and put in a warm place. It will soon assume its former bulk. This "cutting down" may be repeated several times if necessary, provided the bread has not been allowed to become too light at any time, and some cook's recommend it as a uniform practice. We do not, however, except in case of necessity; since, though it may possibly make the bread more light, the long-continued fermentation destroys more than is necessary of the food elements of the flour, and develops an unnecessary amount of the products of fermentation. Lightness is not the only requisite for bread, and should be secured with as little deterioration of the flour as possible.
An important point in the preparation of bread is to decide when it is sufficiently light after having been molded and placed in pans. The length of time cannot be given, because it will vary with the temperature, the quality of the flour, and the quantity added during the kneading. At a temperature of 75°, an hour or an hour and a half is about the average length of time needed. A loaf should nearly double its size after being placed in a pan, before baking; when perfectly risen, the bread feels light when lifted and weighed upon the hand. It is better to begin the baking before it has perfectly risen them to wait until it has become so light as to commence to fall, since if the fermentation proceeds too far, the sweetness of the grain will be destroyed, and the bread will be tasteless and innutritious, even if it does not reach the acetous stage.
The exercise of a little judgment and careful attention to detail will soon enable a person successfully to determine the proper degree of lightness of bread in its various stages. Bread which passes the extreme point of fermentation, or in common phrase gets "too light," will have a strong acid odor, and willpull away from the bowl in a stringy mass, having a watery appearance very different from the fine, spongy texture of properly risen dough. The acidity of such dough may be neutralized by the addition of an alkali, and housewives who through carelessness and inattention have allowed their bread to become "sour," often resort to saleratus or soda to neutralize the acid. The result of such treatment is unwholesome bread, wholly unfit for food. It is better economy to throw away bread material which needs to be sweetened with soda than to run the risk of injury to health by using it.
Kneading the Dough.—As fresh flour is added during the bread-making, it is necessary to mix it in thoroughly. As long as the batter is thin, this can be done by thoroughly beating the mixture with the addition of material; but when it is a thick dough, some other method must be adopted to bring about the desired result. The usual way is by mixing the dough to a proper consistency, and working it with the hands. This is termedkneading. Much of the excellence of bread depends upon the thoroughness of this kneading, since if the yeast is not intimately and equally mixed with every particle of flour, the bread will not be uniform; some portions will be heavy and compact, while others will be full of large, open cavities, from the excessive liberation of gas.
The length of time required for kneading depends upon the perfection with which the yeast cells have been previously diffused throughout the sponge, and upon the quality of the flour used in preparing the bread, much less time being required for kneading dough made from good flour. Some consider an hour none too long to knead bread. Such a lengthy process may be advantageous, since one of the objects of kneading is to render the glutinous parts of the flour so elastic that the dough may be capable of expanding to several times its bulk without cracking or breaking, but excellent results can be obtained from good flour with less labor. Bread has been kneaded all that is necessary when it will work clean of the board, and when, after a smart blow with the fist in the center of the mass,it will spring back to its original shape like an India rubber ball. Its elasticity is the surest test of its goodness; and when dough has been thus perfectly kneaded, it can be molded into any shape, rolled, twisted, or braided with ease. Chopping, cutting, stretching, and pulling—the dough are other methods for accomplishing the same end.
If a large mass is to be kneaded, it is better to divide it into several portions and knead each separately. It is less laborious and more likely to result in an equal diffusion of the yeast. Bread is often spoiled by the addition of too much flour during kneading. Dough should always be kneaded as soft as it can be handled, and only sufficient flour added to prevent its sticking to the board. Stiff bread is close in texture, and after a day or two becomes dry and hard.
How to Manipulate the Dough in Kneading.—Sprinkle the board well with flour, and scrape the dough from the bowl with a knife. Dust the hands with flour, and then draw the dough with a rolling motion from the farthest side toward you, using the finger tips for the purpose, but pressing firmly down upon the mass with the palm of the hands. Reach forward again with the finger tips, and again press the ball of the hands upon the dough. Continue this process of manipulation until the mass is very much elongated; then turn at right angles and repeat the process, taking care that the finger tips do not break through the light film which will form upon the outside of soft dough when well managed.Keep the dough constantly in motionuntil it is smooth, elastic, and fine-grained. The hands and the board may need a light dusting of flour at frequent intervals. If the dough sticks, lift it quickly, and clean the board, that it may be kept smooth. The dough will not stick if kept in constant motion. Do not rub off little wads of dough either from the hands or the board and keep kneading them into the loaf; they will seriously injure the uniform texture of the bread.
How Many Times Shall Bread be Kneaded?—As the objects to be attained in kneading dough are to render thegluten more elastic and thoroughly to diffuse the yeast, it will be seen that there has been sufficient kneading when all the flour necessary for the bread has been added. Furthermore, it must be apparent that continued manipulation of the dough at this stage will dissipate and press out the little vesicles of gas held in place by the elastic gluten, and thus lose in part what so much pains has been taken to secure. At whatever stage the requisite amount of flour be added, the dough should then be thoroughly kneaded once for all. If allowed to rise in bulk, when light it should be shaped into loaves with the greatest care, handled lightly, and worked as little as possible, and if at all diminished, allowed to rise again before baking.
Dryness of the Surface.—Bread in all stages should be covered over the top, since it rises much more evenly, and does not have a stiff, dried surface, as when placed in a warm place exposed to air. It sometimes happens that this precaution is forgotten or not sufficiently attended to, and a dry crust forms and over the dough, which, if kneaded into the loaves, leaves hard, dry spots in the bread. In case of such a mishap, take the dry crust off, dissolve it in a little warm water, add flour enough to mold, make it into a small loaf, and raise it separately.
Size of Loaves.—The lightness of the bread after baking depends upon the perfection with which the little air-cells, formed during the fermenting process, have become fixed by the heat during the baking. The heat expands the carbonic acid gas contained within the open spaces in the dough, and at the same time checks further development of gas by destroying the yeast plant. The sooner, then, that the cells can be made permanent after the arrest of fermentation, the more light and porous the bread will be. Although this fixing of the cells is largely dependent upon the degree of heat maintained, it likewise in a measure depends upon the size of the loaf, as the heat will penetrate and fix the cells of a small loaf throughout much sooner than, those of a large one. Therefore, bake in small loaves, and have a separate pan for each, as thatadmits of an equal degree of heat to all sides. This aids in a more rapid fixing of the air-cells and likewise gives more crust, which is the sweetest and most digestible part of the bread.
Sheet-iron pans, about eight inches in length, four in width, and five in depth, are the most satisfactory. After the dough is molded, divide it into loaves which will fill such pans to the depth of two inches. Let them rise until double their first volume, and then put them in the oven. In baking, the loaves will rise still higher, and if about five inches high when done, will have expanded to about the right proportions.
Bread Pan
Bread Pan.
Proper Temperature of the Oven.—The objects to be attained in the baking of bread are to break up the starch and gluten cells of the Sour so as to make them easily digestible, to destroy the yeast plant, and render permanent the cells formed by the action of the carbonic acid gas. To accomplish well these ends, the loaf must be surrounded by a temperature ranging from 400° to 600°. The oven should be one in which the heat is equal in all parts, and which can be kept at a steady, uniform heat. Old-fashioned brick ovens were superior in this respect to most modern ranges. The fire for baking bread should be of sufficient strength to keep the oven heated for at least an hour. If the oven has tendency to become too hot upon the bottom, a thin, open grate, broiler, or toasting rack, should be placed underneath the tins to allow a circulation of air and avoid danger of burning. If the heat be insufficient, fermentation will not cease until the bread has become sour; the cells will be imperfectly fixed or entirely collapsed; too little of the moisture will have evaporated, and the result will be a soft, wet, and pasty or sour loaf. If the heat be too great, the bread will be baked before it has perfectly risen, or a thick, burned crust will be produced, forming a non-conducting covering to the loaf, which will prevent the heat from permeating the interior, and thus the loaf will have an overdone exterior, butwill be raw and doughy within. If, however, the temperature of the oven be just right, the loaf will continue for a little time to enlarge, owing to the expansion of the carbonic acid gas, the conversion of the water into steam, and the vaporizing of the alcohol, which rises in a gaseous form and is driven off by the heat; a nicely browned crust will be formed over the surface, the result of the rapid evaporation of water from the surface and consequent consolidation of the dough of this portion of the loaf, and a chemical change caused by the action of the heat upon the starch by which is converted into dextrine, finally assuming a brown color due to the production of a substance known to the chemist asassama.
Bread is often spoiled in the baking. The dough may be made of the best of flour and yeast, mixed and kneaded in the most perfect manner, and may have risen to the proper degree of lightness' before going to the oven, yet if the oven is either too hot or not hot enough, the bread will be of an inferior quality.
Without an oven thermometer, there is no accurate means of determining the temperature of the oven; but housekeepers resort to various means to form a judgment about it. The baker's old-fashioned method is to throw a handful of flour on the oven bottom. If it blackens without igniting, the heat is deemed sufficient. Since the object for which the heat is desired is to cook the flour, not to burn it, it might be supposed that this would indicate too high a temperature; but the flour within the loaf to be baked is combined with a certain amount of moisture, the evaporation of which lowers the temperature of the bread considerably below that of the surrounding heated atmosphere. The temperature of the inner portion of the loaf cannot exceed 212° so long as it continues moist. Bread might be perfectly cooked at this temperature by steam, but it would lack that most digestible portion of the loaf, the crust.
A common way of ascertaining if the heat of the oven is sufficient, is to hold the bare arm inside it for a few seconds. If the arm cannot be held within while thirty is counted, it is too hot to begin with. The following test is more accurate:For rolls, the oven should be hot enough to brown a teaspoonful of flour inoneminute, and for loaves infiveminutes.
The temperature should be high enough to arrest the fermentation, which it will do at a point considerably below the boiling point of water, and at the same time to form a shell or crust, which will so support the dough as to prevent it from sinking or collapsing when the evolution of carbonic acid gas shall cease; but it should not be hot enough to brown the crust within ten or fifteen minutes. The heat should increase for the first fifteen minutes, remain steady for the next fifteen minutes, and may then gradually decrease during the remainder of the baking. If by any mischance the oven be so hot as to brown the crust too soon, cover the loaf with a clean paper for a few minutes. Be careful that no draught reaches the bread while baking; open the oven door very seldom, and not at all for the first ten minutes. If it is necessary to turn the loaf, try to do so without bringing it to the air. From three fourths of an hour to an hour is usually a sufficient length of time to bake an ordinary sized loaf. Be careful not to remove the bread from the oven until perfectly done. It is better to allow it to bake ten minutes too long than not long enough. The crust of bread, when done, should be equally browned all over.
The common test for well-baked bread is to tap it on the bottom with the finger; if it is light and well done, it will sound hollow; heavy bread will have a dull sound. A thoroughly baked loaf will not burn the hand when lifted upon it from the pan.
Care of Bread after Baking.—When done, remove the loaves from the tins, and tilt them upon edge so that the air may circulate freely on all sides of them to prevent "sweating." Do not, however, lay them on a pine shelf or table to absorb the odor of the wood. A large tin dripping pan turned over upon the table does very well to tilt them on. If they are turned often, so that they will not soften on one side, but a fine wire bread cooler is the best thing. If this is not obtainable, afair substitute can be easily improvised by tacking window-screen wire to a light frame of sufficient size to hold the requisite number of loaves. If the bread is left exposed to the air until cold, the crust will be crisp; if a soft crust is desired, it can be secured by brushing the top of the loaf while hot, with tepid water, and covering with several thicknesses of a clean bread cloth.
If by accident any portion of the crust is burnt, grate it away as soon as cold; this is preferable to cutting or clipping it off.
Best Method of Keeping Bread.—When the bread is quite cold, put it away in a bread box, which should be of tin, or of wood lined with tin, convenient in form and supplied with a well-fitting cover. Never use an unlined wooden box of any kind, as it cannot easily be kept fresh and free from musty odors, which bread so readily absorbs.
Stone and earthen ware are not open to this objection, but they are likely to collect moisture, and hence are not equal to a tin receptacle. Do not keep bread in the cellar or any other damp place, nor in a close closet, where there are other foods from which it can absorb odors. The bread box should be kept well covered, and free from crumbs and stale bits. It should be carefully washed in boiling soapsuds, scalded, and dried, every two or three days. If cloths are used to wrap or cover the bread, they too should be washed and scalded every week, and oftener if at any time the loaf about which they are wrapped becomes moldy or musty.
Test of Good Fermented Bread.—A loaf of good bread, well risen and perfectly baked, may be taken in the hands, and, with the thumb on the top crust and fingers upon the bottom of the loaf, pressed to less than half its thickness, and when the pressure is removed, it will immediately expand like a sponge, to its former proportions.
Good yeast bread, while it should be firm and preserve a certain amount of moisture, will, when cold, crumble easily when rubbed between the fingers. If, instead, it forms a close,soggy mass, it may be regarded as indigestible. This is one reason why hot, new yeast bread and biscuit are so indigestible. In demonstration of this, take a small lump of new bread, gently roll it into a ball, and put into a glass of water, adding a similar quantity of stale bread of the same kind also. The latter will crumble away very soon, while the former will retain its form for hours, reminding one of its condition in the stomach, "as hard as a bullet," for a long time resisting the action of the gastric juice, although, meanwhile, the yeast germs which have not been killed in the oven are converting the mass into a lump of yeast, by which the whole contents of the stomach are soured. A soluble article like salt or sugar in fine powdered form is much more easily and quickly dissolved than the same article in solid lumps, and so it is with food. The apparent dryness of stale bread is not caused by its loss of moisture; for if carefully weighed, stale bread will be found to contain almost exactly the same proportion of water as new bread that has become cold. The moisture has only passed into a state of concealment, as may be demonstrated by subjecting a stale loaf inclosed in a tightly-sealed receptacle to a temperature equal to boiling heat in an oven for half an hour, when it will again have the appearance of new bread.
Hot bread eaten with butter is still more unwholesome, for the reason that the melted grease fills up the pores of the bread, and further interferes with the action of the digestive fluids.
Whole-Wheat and Graham Breads.—The same general principles are involved in the making of bread with whole-wheat and Graham flours as in the production of bread from white flour. Good material and good care are absolutely essential.
Whole-wheat flour ferments more readily and rises more quickly than does white flour, hence bread made with it needs more careful management, as it is more liable to sour. The novice in bread-making should not undertake the preparation of bread with whole-wheat flour, until she has thoroughly mastered all the details of the art by practical experience, and can produce a perfect loaf from white flour.
Breads from whole-wheat and Graham flours require less yeast and less flour than bread prepared from white flour. A slower process of fermentation is also advantageous.
Such breads will be lighter if at least one third white flour be employed in their manufacture. When the bread is made with a sponge, this white flour may be utilised for the purpose. Thus the length of time the whole-wheat flour will be undergoing fermentation will be somewhat lessened, and its liability to become sour diminished. This plan is a preferable one for beginners in bread-making.
Graham and whole-wheat flour breads must be kneaded longer than white-flour bread, and require a hotter oven at first and a longer time for baking. Much Graham and whole-wheat bread is served insufficiently baked, probably owing to the fact that, being dark in color, the crust appears brown very soon, thus deluding the cook into supposing that the loaf is well baked. For thorough baking, from one to one and a half hours are needed, according to the size of the loaf and the heat of the oven.
Toast.—Toasting, if properly done, renders bread more digestible, the starch being converted into dextrine by the toasting process; but by the ordinary method of preparing toast, that of simply browning each side, only the surfaces of the slices are really toasted, while the action of the heat upon the interior of the slice, it is rendered exactly in the condition of new bread, and consequently quite as indigestible. If butter is added while the toast is hot, we have all the dyspepsia-producing elements of new bread and butter combined. Although considered to be the dishpar excellencefor invalids, nothing could be more unwholesome than such toast. To properly toast the bread, the drying and browning should extend throughout the entire thickness of the slice. Bread may be thus toasted before an open fire, but the process would be such a lengthy and troublesome one, it is far better to secure the same results by browning the bread in a moderate oven.
Such toast is sometimes calledzwieback(twice baked), and when prepared from good whole-wheat bread, is one of themost nourishing and digestible of foods. Directions for its preparation and use will be found in the chapter on "Breakfast Dishes."
Steamed Bread.—Steaming stale bread is as open to objection as the surface toasting of bread, if steamed so as to be yielding and adhesive. It is not, perhaps, as unwholesome as new bread, but bread is best eaten in a condition dry and hard enough to require chewing, that its starch may be so changed by the action of the saliva as to be easily digested.
Raw Potato Yeast.—Mix one fourth of a cup of flour, the same of white sugar, and a teaspoonful of salt to a paste with a little water. Pare three medium-size, fresh, and sound potatoes, and grate them as rapidly as possible into the paste; mix all quickly together with a silver spoon, then pour three pints of boiling water slowly over the mixture, stirring well at the same time. If this does not rupture the starch cells of the flour and potatoes so that the mixture becomes thickened to the consistency of starch, turn it into a granite-ware kettle and boil up for a minute, stirring well to keep it from sticking and burning. If it becomes too much thickened, add a little more boiling water. It is impossible to give the exact amount of water, since the quality of the flour will vary, and likewise the size of the potatoes; but three pints is an approximate proportion. Strain the mixture through a fine colander into an earthen bread bowl, and let it cool. When lukewarm, add one cup of good, lively yeast. Cover with a napkin, and keep in a moderately warm place for several hours, or until it ceases to ferment. As it begins to ferment, stir it well occasionally, and when well fermented, turn into a clean glass or earthen jar. The next morning cover closely, and put in the cellar or refrigerator, not, however, in contact with the ice. It is best to reserve enough for the first baking in some smaller jar, so that the larger portion need not be opened so soon. Always shake the yeast before using.
Raw Potato Yeast No. 2.—This is made in the same manner as the preceding, with this exception, that one fourth of a cup of loose hops tied in a clean muslin bag, is boiled in the water for five minutes before pouring it into the potato and flour mixture. Many think the addition of the hops aids in keeping the yeast sweet for a longer period. But potato yeast may be kept sweet for two weeks without hops, if cared for,and is preferred by those who dislike the peculiar flavor of the bread made from hop yeast.
Hop Yeast.—Put half a cup of loose hops, or an eighth of an ounce of the pressed hops (put up by the Shakers and sold by druggists), into a granite-ware kettle; pour over it a quart of boiling water, and simmer about five minutes. Meanwhile stir to a smooth paste in a tin basin or another saucepan, a cup of flour, and a little cold water. Line a colander with a thin cloth, and strain the boiling infusion of hops through it onto the flour paste, stirring continually. Boil this thin starch a few minutes, until it thickens, stirring constantly that no lumps be formed. Turn it into a large earthen bowl, add a tablespoonful of salt and two of white sugar, and when it has cooled to blood heat, add one half cup of lively yeast, stirring all well together. Cover the bowl with a napkin, and let it stand in some moderately warm place twenty-four hours, or until it ceases to ferment or send up bubbles, beating back occasionally as it rises; then put into a wide-mouthed glass or earthen jar, which has been previously scalded and dried, cover closely, and set in a cool place. Yeast made in this manner will keep sweet for two weeks in summer and longer in winter.
Boiled Potato Yeast.—Peel four large potatoes, and put them to boil in two quarts of cold water. Tie two loose handfuls of hops securely in a piece of muslin, and place in the water to boil with the potatoes. When the potatoes are tender, remove them with a perforated skimmer, leaving the water still boiling. Mash them, and work in four tablespoons of flour and two of sugar. Over this mixture pour gradually the boiling hop infusion, stirring constantly, that it may form a smooth paste, and set it aside to cool. When lukewarm, add a gill of lively yeast, and proceed as in the preceding recipe.
Boiled Potato Yeast No. 2.—To one teacupful of very smoothly mashed, mealy potato, add three teaspoonfuls of white sugar, one teaspoonful of salt, and one cup of lively yeast, or one cake of Yeast Foam, dissolved in a very little water. The potatoes should be warm, but not hot enough to destroy the yeast. Allow this to stand until light, when it is ready for use.
In the preparation of breads after the following recipes, the measure of flour should be heaping.
Milk Bread With White Flour.—Scald and cool on pint of unskimmed milk. Add to the milk when lukewarm, one fourth of a cup, or three tablespoonfuls, of liquid yeast, and three cups of flour. Give the batter a vigorous beating, turn it into a clean bread bowl or a small earthen crock, cover, and let it rise over night. In the morning, when well risen, add two or three cupfuls of warm flour, or sufficient to knead. Knead well until the dough is sufficiently elastic to rebound when struck forcibly with the fist. Allow it to rise again in mass; then shape into loaves; place in pans; let it stand until light, and bake. If undesirable to set the bread over night, and additional tablespoonfuls or two of cheese may be used, to facilitate the rising.
Vienna Bread.—Into a pint of milk sterilized by scalding, turn a cup and a half of boiling water. When lukewarm, add one half cup of warm water, in which has been dissolved a cake of compressed yeast, and a quart of white flour. Beat the batter thus made very thoroughly, and allow it to rise for one hour; then add white flour until the dough is of a consistency to knead. Knead well, and allow it to rise again for about three hours, or until very light. Shape into four loaves, handling lightly. Let it rise again in the pans, and bake. During the baking, wash the tops of the loaves with a sponge dipped in milk, to glaze them.
Water Bread.—Dissolve a tablespoonful of sugar in a pint of boiling water. When lukewarm, add one fourth of a cup full of liquid yeast, and sufficient flour to make a batter thick enough to drop from the spoon. Beat vigorously for ten minutes, turn into a clean, well-scalded bread bowl, cover (wrapping in a blanket if in cold weather), and let it rise over night. In the morning, when well risen, add flour to knead. Knead well for half an hour, cover, and let it become light in mass. When light, shape into loaves, allow it to rise again, and bake.
Fruit Roll.—Take some bread dough prepared as for Milk Bread, which has been sufficiently kneaded and is ready to mold, and roll to about one inch in thickness. Spread over it some dates which have been washed, dried, and stoned, raisins, currants, or chopped figs. Roll it up tightly into a loaf. Let and it rise until very light, and bake.
Fruit Loaf.—Set a sponge with one pint of rich milk, one fourth cup of yeast, and a pint of flour, over night. In the morning, add two cups ofZante currents, one cup of sugar, and three cups of flour, or enough to make a rather stiff dough. Knead well, and set to rise; when light, mold into loaves; let it rise again, and bake.
Potato Bread.—Cook and mash perfectly smooth, potatoes to make a cupful. Add a teaspoonful of best white sugar, one cup and a half of warm water, and when the mixture is lukewarm, one half cup of yeast, prepared as directed for Boiled Potato Yeast No. 2, and flour to make a very thick batter. Allow it to rise over night. In the morning, add a pint of warm water and flour enough to knead. The dough will need to be considerably stiffer than when no potato is used, or the result will be a bread too moist for easy digestion. Knead well. Let it rise, mold into four loaves, and when again light, bake.
Pulled Bread.—Remove a loaf from the oven when about half baked, and lightly pull the partially set dough into pieces of irregular shape, about half the size of one's fist. Do not smooth or mold the pieces; bake in a slow oven until browned and crisp throughout.
Whole Wheat Bread.—The materials needed for the bread are: one pint of milk, scalded and cooled, one quart of wheat berry flour, one pint Minnesota spring wheat flour, one third cup of a soft yeast, or one fourth cake of compressed yeast, dissolved in one third cup of cold water. Stir enough flour into the milk to make a stiff batter, put in the yeast, and let it rise until foamy. Have the milk so warm that, when the flour is put in, the batter will be of a lukewarm temperature. Wrap in a thick blanket, and keep at an equable temperature. When light, stir in, slowly, warm flour to make a soft dough. Knead for fifteen minutes, and return to the bowl (which has been washed and oiled) to rise again. When risen to double its size, form into two loaves, place in separate pans, let rise again, and bake from three fourths to one and one half hours, according to the heat of the oven.
Whole-Wheat Bread No. 2.—Scald one pint of unskimmed milk; when lukewarm, add one half cup of liquid yeast, or one fourth cake of compressed yeast, dissolved in one half cup of warm water, and a pint of Pillsbury's best white flour. Beat this batter thoroughly, and allow it to rise. When well risen, add three and two thirds cups of wheat berry flour. Knead thoroughly, and allow it to become light in mass; then shape into two loaves, allow it to rise again, and bake.
Miss. B's One-Rising Bread.—Sift and measure three and three fourths cups of wheat berry flour. Scald and cool a pint of unskimmed milk. When lukewarm, add one tablespoonful of lively liquid yeast. By slow degrees add the flour, beating vigorously until too stiff to use a spoon, then knead thoroughly for half an hour, shape into a loaf, placein a bread pan, cover with a napkin in warm weather, wrap well with blankets in cold weather, and let rise over night. In the morning, when perfectly light, pat in a well heated oven, and bake.
Potato Bread with Whole Wheat Flour.—Take a half gill of liquid yeast made as for Boiled Potato Yeast No. 2, and add milk, sterilised and cooled to lukewarm, to make a pint. And one cup of well-mashed, mealy potato and one cup of white flour, or enough to make a rather thick batter Beat thoroughly, cover, and set to rise. When well risen, add sufficient whole-wheat flour to knead. The quantity will vary somewhat with the brand of flour used, but about four and one fourth cupfuls will in general be needed. Knead well, let it rise in mass and again in the loaf, and bake.
Rye Bread.—Prepare a sponge over night with white flour as for Water Bread. In the morning, when light, add another tablespoonful of sugar, and rye flour to knead. Proceed as directed for the Water Bread, taking care to use only enough rye flour to make the dough Just stiff enough to mold. Use white flour for dusting than kneading board, as the rye flour is sticky.
Graham Bread.—Take two tablespoonfuls of lively liquid yeast, or a 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 termedImperial 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 Rollsmay 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 calledCrescents.
What are termedParker House Rollsmay be made from well-risen dough prepared with milk, rolled upon the board to a uniform thickness ofabout 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 aBraidby 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.