Baking pan

“ The baking tray or pan shown in the sketch not only protects the hands from burns but allows the baked articles easily to slip from its surface. The pan is made from a piece of sheet iron slightly larger than the baking space desired. Each end of the metal is cut so that a part may be turned up and into a roll to make handles for the pan. ”

“ Take pieces of the bread dough, the size of a walnut, cut into three pieces, mold with the hand into round balls the size of small marbles; dip each one in melted butter, or butter and lard, and place three of these in each Gem pan. (These pans may be bought six or twelve small pans fastened together, and are much more convenient than when each one must be handled separately when baking) . Allow small rolls to become very light, bake in a hot oven, and you will find them excellent. Dipping the rolls in melted butter makes them crisp. ”

“ For instance, if the pieces of paste are about 1/4 inch thick before baking, they should be 2 inches thick when baked. Set the pan containing the pieces on the floor of the oven in order to give the paste every opportunity to rise. If it seems to rise unevenly, turn it around so that it will get the same heat on all sides. Should there be any danger of the paste burning on the bottom, put pieces of heavy paper or asbestos under the pan and should it appear to burn on top, put pieces of paper directly over the paste on the rack above. ”

“ Cream the sugar and shortening, as for cake, then add eggs well beaten, molasses and water, spices and soda, then flour, and lastly fruit. When the batter will take up no more flour, lift it up by teaspoonfuls, pat it flat and in shape in the baking pan, which must be well-buttered, put in bag, and bake in fairly hot oven, being careful not to scorch. ”

“ Still another way of baking is in a reflector oven of tin. This is highly satisfactory, provided the oven is built on the scientific angles to throw the heat evenly on all parts of the bread-pan and equally on top and bottom. It is not so easy as you might imagine to get a good one made. These reflectors are all right for a permanent camp, but too fragile for transportation on pack-animals.
As for bread, try it unleavened once in a while by way of change. It is really very good,—just salt, water, flour, and a very little sugar. ”

“ Do not be discouraged if you do not succeed at first.
Concerning the utensils for baking, see Chapter II. The cups or pans are prepared by warming and greasing. Use a bit of soft paper or a brush for greasing the pan and ordinarily an inexpensive fat, reserving butter for delicate cake. Flour sprinkled on a pan is sufficient for biscuit and cookies. Line a pan for loaf cake with white paper, and grease the paper.
See that the oven is ready before the mixing begins. We shall not be able to bake accurately until our ovens are equipped with thermometers. ”

“ Baking the mixture in a bread pan rather than in muffin pans saves some effort in pouring the batter in the pan and in washing them. For those whose time is limited for food preparation, the making of baking powder loaf breads is recommended.
If it is necessary or desirable to use meals or flours other than wheat, baking powder loaf breads are advisable. Such
grains can be used successfully in greater quantity (i.e. with the addition of little or no wheat flour) in quick breads than in yeast breads. ”

“ Things which are merely to be browned are set on a grate near the top of the oven. Things large or thick, which are to be baked through slowly are set on the bottom of the oven. Some substances dry a good deal during the process of baking; such are breads, cakes and puddings. The pans or dishes for such articles must be greased. Tins for cakes which require long baking are often lined with stiff greased paper, as this makes it more certain that the cake will not stick to the pan.
A housewife should have a standard cook book to refer to for the details of cooking. ”

“ Bread should be baked in a hot oven. If the oven be too hot the crust will brown quickly before the heat has reached the centre, and prevent further rising; loaf should continue rising for first fifteen minutes of baking, when it should begin to brown, and continue browning for the next twenty minutes. The last fifteen minutes it should finish baking, when the heat may be reduced. When bread is done, it will not cling to sides of pan, and may be easily removed. Biscuits require more heat than loaf bread, should continue rising the first five minutes, and begin to brown in eight minutes. ”

“ Two of the most essential things in bread-baking, in order to produce a full-flavoured, showy, and sweet loaf, are good yeast and good flour. A good oven is also necessary. An oven which is either too hot or too cold will spoil what would otherwise be a good batch of bread: so great care should be used in order to have the oven of the proper heat. Pan bread, or bread baked in tins, need a greater heat than batch bread, as pan-bread dough is of a lighter nature than batch-bread dough, and consequently requires more heat to keep it up. ”

“ Placed each braided loaf in a bread pan and set to raise as before. When well-raised, brush the top of loaves with melted butter. Bake about three-quarters of an hour in a moderately-hot oven. An old-fashioned way of testing the heat of the oven was to hold the hand in the oven while counting thirty. Should one be unable to bear the heat of oven a longer time, then the temperature was correct for baking bread. Should one be able to allow the hand to remain in the oven a longer time, the heat of the oven should be increased. ”

“ Household Bread.—Sift twice together 1 quart of flour, 1 teaspoon salt, 2 heaping teaspoons Royal Baking Powder. Make a well in the center; add gradually sufficient cold liquid—water, milk, or equal quantities of each—to mix to a stiff batter or soft dough; this will require about 1 pint of liquid. Turn at once into a greased loaf-pan (fig. XII) , smooth the top with a knife dipped in melted butter, and bake immediately in a moderate oven about 1 hour. When done take from the pan, moisten with the hand dipped in cold water, wrap in bread-cloth till cold. ”

“ Make them not quite half an inch thick, as they rise in baking. Do not let them touch each other in the pan, and let the oven be very hot. It is well not to have beaten biscuit and light bread baked at the same time, as they require different degrees of heat. When two kinds of bread are required, try to have two such as require the same amount of heat. Egg bread and corn muffins require the same degree of heat as beaten biscuit, while Sally-Lunn and muffins need the same as light bread. ”

“ In baking your cakes the pans should be covered similar to a sandwich pan. If you have no pans suitably covered, the pans can be covered with thick brown paper or thin wood—anything to keep the top heat of the oven from browning the cake too much, as the sale of your cake will depend to a great extent upon the delicate appearance of it. ”

“ Cream the butter, add sugar gradually, and milk drop by drop; then add flour and flavoring. Spread very thin with a broad, long-bladed knife on a greased baking sheet or inverted rectangular pan. Crease in three-inch squares and bake in a slow oven until delicately browned. Cut squares apart with a sharp knife, and keeping dough warm, quickly roll into tubular or cornucopia shapes. If squares become too brittle to roll, place in oven to soften. If rolled in tubular shape and tied in bunches with narrow ribbon they are very attractive served at a graduation tea. ”

“ In filling the cake pan put the mixture well into the corners and leave a slight depression in the centre. This will leave the cake perfectly smooth on top. Now, if the oven is too cool when the cakes go into it the cake will rise over the top of the pans and become coarse-grained. While, on the other hand, if it is too hot it will brown quickly on the top before the cake has had a chance to rise; then when the dough does attempt to rise it will break through and crack the crust. Too much flour will also cause this. Now to break the old hoodoos about cake-baking! ”

“ If it is too light, it is likely to fall, which means it has soured, and for this there is no remedy. The loaf in the pan should rise in one hour.
Care in baking is even more essential than care in mixing and raising the bread. Test the oven by putting in a teaspoonful of flour. If it browns the flour in five minutes the heat is right. The fire. Have the fire prepared so it will not need replenishing during the hour required for the baking. The bread rises after it goes in the oven, and is likely to rise unevenly if the oven is hotter on one side than the other ”

“ If properly cared for, it will be light in an hour, and ready for the oven, which must be well heated. In baking bread or cake, care should be taken that the top does not brown too soon, as that will prevent its rising up light, as it otherwise would. If this makes too many loaves, it is easy to make only half or one third the quantity.
To make Bread from Flour that runs.—Put what flour you need in your pan, and pour enough boiling water over to just wet all of it, but not to make it thin; sprinkle in a teaspoonful of salt and a spoonful of butter ”

“ Those that bake what I term a shanty loaf, in an iron bake-pot, or kettle, placed on the hot embers, set the dough to rise over a very few embers, or near the hot hearth, keeping the pot or pan turned as the loaf rises; when equally risen all over they put hot ashes beneath and upon the lid, taking care not to let the heat be too fierce at first. As this is the most common method of baking, and the first that a settler sees practised, it is as well they should be made familiar with it beforehand. At first I was inclined to grumble and rebel against the expediency of bake-pans or bake-kettles ”

“ If you use patty-pans, the more flat they are the better. Paste always rises higher and is more perfectly light and flaky, when unconfined at the sides while baking. That it may be easily taken out, the dishes or tins should be well buttered.
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To make a nice plain paste,—sift three pints of superfine flour, by rubbing it through a sieve into a deep pan. Divide a pound of fresh butter into four quarters. Cut up one quarter into the flour, and rub it fine with your hands. Mix in, gradually, as much cold water as will make a tolerably stiff dough, and then knead it slightly. ”

“ When well risen bake in a moderately hot oven until well baked and browned nicely.
BOLA Make a good, rich bread dough. Let it rise overnight; next morning; mix with dough two eggs; one-half pound of butter well kneaded; stand by fire until well risen. When risen, roll out into thin sheets and sprinkle with chopped almonds, citron, cinnamon and plenty of brown sugar and lumps of butter all through; roll up like jelly-roll, cut in pieces a finger long, grease pan, stand pieces in centre, others around and let rise before baking. Watch it well while baking. ”

“ Where a steamer cannot be procured, soak the bread in cold water till it has absorbed sufficient water to be moist inside—then put it in a bake pan, without any cover, and heat it very hot. If broken pieces of bread are put in the oven, five or six hours after baking, and rusked, they will keep good a long time. ”

“ If the fruit is well floured it will not sink, but it will be seen evenly dispersed all over the cake when baked. Take a large straight-sided block tin pan, grease it inside with the same butter used for the cake, and put the mixture carefully into it. Set it immediately into a well-heated oven, and keep up a steady heat while it is baking. When nearly done, the cake will shrink a little from the sides of the pan ”

“ Place closely in buttered pan brushing with butter between biscuits, cover, let rise, and bake twelve to fifteen minutes in hot oven. From this same mixture crescents, braids, twists, bow-knots, clover leaves, and other fancy shapes may be made.
Sticks Add butter, sugar, and salt to milk; when lukewarm, add dissolved yeast cake, white of egg well beaten, and flour. Knead, let rise, shape, let rise again, and start baking in a hot oven, reducing heat, that sticks may be crisp and dry. ”

“ Bake it in a flat tin pan, and put it, if the oven is quite hot, on a muffin ring, to keep it from burning at the bottom, and allow from twenty-five to thirty minutes for baking. When done, set it on its edge, or on a sieve, to cool. ”

“ All baking pans, whether large or small, should be well greased with fresh butter before the mixture is put into them, and should be filled but little more than half. You should have at least two dozen little tins, that a second supply may be ready for the oven the moment the first is taken out. You will also want tin cutters for cakes that are rolled out in dough. ”

“ Regulate the oven before putting materials together. When a cake is baked it shrinks from the sides of the pan. A light touch with the finger which leaves no mark is another indication that the cake is baked. ”

“ The dough rises quickly after the first rising, and must be watched that it does not get light enough to sour. Let the loaves rise in the baking-pans to double in size, then bake in a hot oven for one hour.
Bread made in this way is very light and spongy, and is much better than that which is made so thick with flour 200that it can be kneaded. It has also the other advantages of being easier to make, the results are more reliable, and the objection of too much handling is removed. It requires an experienced hand to knead bread without making it too heavy with flour. ”