Sourdough

“ The bread used in this metropolis and in most other large towns in England, is made of wheaten flour, water, yeast, and salt. The average proportion are two pints by weight, of water, to three of flour, but the proportions vary considerably with 90the diversity of climate, years, season, age, and grinding of the wheat. There are some kinds of wheat flour that require precisely three-fourths of their weight of water. That flour is always the best which combines with the greatest possible quantity of water. Bakers and pastry-cooks judge of the quality of flour from the characters of the dough. ”

“ We also make a simple pudding, which is well cooked cracked wheat, with the whole berries stirred in when done, and put in moulds. To be [Pg 316] eaten cold. Rice and corn mushes may be treated in the same way.
But best of all, is strawberries and plain unleavened bread. This exceeds in wholesomeness, and really in gustatory delight, all the ways that man has invented to punish strawberries.—Dr. Fairchild.
The short-cake should be made of cream and graham or entire wheat flour. ”

“ Regarding the blending of flour, gentlemen, everybody knows the blend of flour to make the loaf that his trade demands. Some places they demand a big loaf and the baker uses more spring; some places they do not trouble about size, and the baker used less spring and more rye.
I think I have said sufficient, so in conclusion let me remind you: Keep your sponge cool, use plenty of good yeast, do not let your sour get too old, keep your dough cool, use plenty of salt, and do not have it wait when you know it is ready and you will have no trouble in making Genuine Rye Bread. ”

“ Where rye bread is not made every day, or where sour dough is kept over from Saturday to Monday, we used to work plenty of rye flour with some salt in the piece of dough kept over, and make a very stiff dough, and rolled this in a well-dusted flour bag and kept in a cold place till required. (In southern Germany the sour dough is kept in a liquid state, it is thinned with cold water and kept in a cold place.) ”

“ Sift the flour into a large pan or bowl. Put the sugar, salt, and butter in the bottom of the bread pan or bowl, and pour on a spoonful or two of boiling water, enough to dissolve all. Add the quart of wetting, and the yeast. Now stir in slowly two quarts of the flour; cover with a cloth, and set in a temperature of about 75° to rise until morning. Bread mixed at nine in the evening will be ready to mould into loaves or rolls by six the next morning. In summer it would be necessary to find a cool place; in winter a warm one,—the chief point being to keep the temperature even. ”

“ While the preponderance of crust over crumb is the most important aspect of Parisian bread, there are a number of other things to which it owes its excellence. For a high-class product it is important to select flour made of wheat which has a particularly fine flavor. The Flavor is also largely affected by the milling, the way the dough is made and kneaded, the quick or slow fermentation, the kind of oven used and its temperature, the length of leaving the bread exposed to the heat, and many other things. ”

“ GRAHAM MUFFINS.—Take one pint of new milk, one pint graham or entire wheat flour; stir together and add one beaten egg. Can be baked in any kind of gem pans or muffin rings. Salt must not be used with any bread that is made light with egg.
15. STRAWBERRY DESSERT.—Place alternate layers of hot cooked cracked wheat and strawberries in a deep dish; when cold, turn out on platter; cut in slices and serve with cream and sugar, or strawberry juice. Wet the molds with cold water before using. This, molded in small cups, makes a dainty dish for the sick. Wheatlet can be used in the same way. ”

“ Many a poor family—ay, and rich families too—have thriven and had their hearts made glad on the produce of this grade of flour.
To make Coarse Bread.—Take, say 1 gallon of water, at the same temperature as for wheat meal bread; dissolve 11⁄4 ozs. of yeast, and the same quantity of salt, in the water; make into an ordinary-sized sponge, and when ready in the morning add half a gallon of water and about 4 ozs. of salt; then make all into a dough, and work off as other doughs. ”

“ One pint of stale bread crumbs (not fine, dried crumbs) , covered with 1 pint of sour milk. Let stand over night. In the morning add 1 tablespoon of butter, yolks of 2 eggs and a little salt, 1⁄2 teaspoon of salaratus (good measure) , 3⁄4 cup of granulated corn meal, to which add a couple of tablespoons of bread flour, enough to fill up the cup. Stir all well together, add the 2 stiffly-beaten whites of eggs and drop with a tablespoon on a hot, greased griddle. Make the cakes small, as they do not turn quite as easily as do buckwheat cakes. ”

“ A Pudding of Fruit and Bread Crumbs.—Mix a pint of dried and pounded bread-crumbs with an equal quantity of any kind of berries, or of dried and chopped sour apples. Add three eggs, half a pint of milk, three spoonfuls of fine flour, and half a tea-spoonful of salt. Bake on a griddle or in an oven in muffin-rings, or, when made thinner, as griddle-cakes. If dried fruit is used, more milk is needed than for fresh berries. ”

“ There are fifty ways to spoil good bread; there are a hundred little things to be considered and allowed for that require accurate observation and experience. The same process that will raise good bread in cold weather will make sour bread in the heat of summer; different qualities of flour require variations in treatment, as also different sorts and conditions of yeast; and when all is done, the baking presents another series of possibilities which require exact attention. ”

“ Add a large piece of butter or konut. Use white flour instead of whole wheat, mix it with one-fourth white corn meal, or rice flour.
COFFEE CAKE. Prepare the same as white bread, using less flour, and add a few well beaten eggs, the grated rind of several lemons and oranges, or flavor with nutmeg, dried fruit, vanilla, mace or bitter almonds. Serve with fresh, sweet milk, or with scalded milk, as a whole meal for supper.
All breads and cakes made with yeast are more nutritious and wholesome when stale, on account of the evaporation of water and the changes which take place in the bread. ”

“ To aid fermentation, a little sugar may be used in starting bread, but not enough to cover the sweet taste of the flour.
At a great altitude, bread rises very quickly; and requires less yeast.
Do not allow bread to get over light, even if it does not become sour; for the sweet taste will be destroyed, and if in the loaf, it will fall in the oven.
Whole wheat and graham bread will be lighter if 1⁄3 white flour is used; and if white flour alone is used for the sponge the bread will not be so apt to sour. ”

“ GRAINS USED FOR FLOUR.--As has been pointed out elsewhere, numerous grains are raised by man, but only two of them, namely, wheat and rye, are used alone for the making of yeast, or leavened, bread. The other grains, such as corn, rice, and oats, produce a flat, unleavened cake, so they are seldom used for bread making unless they are mixed with white flour. Wheat and rye have been used for bread making for a very long time, and their universal use today is due to the fact that they contain considerable protein in the form of gluten. ”

“ Rolls, French Bread, Muffins and Crumpets. The dough of which rolls are made by the generality of the London bakers, is suffered to prove, that is to rise more, than dough intended to be made into loaf-bread. It is, therefore, left in the kneading trough, whilst the loaves made of the same dough are in the oven. During this period it rises more, and the fermentation is further promoted, by placing the rolls, when moulded, in a warm place, to cause the dough to expand as much as possible. ”

“ It is of less importance in the making of bread than spring, or hard, wheat, but it is the kind that has been grown for centuries and from which the varieties of spring wheat have been cultivated. It is a softer grain than spring wheat, because it contains less gluten and more starch. The flour made from it does not produce so elastic a dough mixture as does that made from the other variety of wheat; consequently, the finished product, such as bread, rolls, etc., is likely to be more tender and more friable, or crumbly. ”

“ The oven should be heated in time, to set in the bread as soon as ready. When once it has risen to its utmost lightness, it will fall and turn sour if permitted to stand. The only remedy for sour [434] bread is, to melt a table-spoonful of soda or pearlash in tepid water, and sprinkle it over the dough, which must then be kneaded again, after it has rested half an hour. In summer, do not begin your bread over night ”

“ Take 6 large apples and chop very fine, grate the inside of a stale loaf of bread into crumbs, grate half a nutmeg, take a three-pint tin pudding-pan, line it thickly with thin-sliced buttered bread, a layer of bread crumbs, a layer of apples, and a layer of butter, composed of small pieces; continue to add till the pan is packed very tight—make the last layer of butter and sugar. Bake in a moderately hot oven two hours; serve with cream sauce. Put sugar in every layer. ”

“ Raising the bread. A thin batter called a sponge may be made at night, and the rest of the flour added in the morning, or the dough may be mixed and kneaded at night and only molded into loaves in the morning; but a better way, especially in summer, is to set the bread early in the morning and have it baked by noon. It needs to rise twice, once either in the sponge or in the dough, and again after it is molded into loaves. The old way of letting it rise three times is unnecessary, and increases the danger of souring. ”

“ Bread made from leaven differs from that made from yeast by almost always having an acid taste. A piece of dough, from well-raised bread, set aside on ice or in a cool place, and worked into the next batch to be made, gives the best mode of making leaven; and by working a little soda into it before setting the sponge, will make very fine bread, without the acidity common to leavened bread, if managed with care.
Wheat bread is now common in most countries. The best and whitest is made from the flour of the first grinding. ”

“ Unbolted flour, altogether more wholesome than the fine wheat, and when properly prepared more palatable,—rye-flour and corn-meal, each affording a thousand attractive possibilities,—each and all of these come under the general laws of bread-stuffs, and are worth a careful attention.
A peculiarity of our American table, particularly in the Southern and Western States, is the constant exhibition of various preparations of hot bread. In many families of the South and West, bread in loaves to be eaten cold is an article quite unknown. ”

“ Use the best hard, Spring wheat flour obtainable for baking bread, or any sponge raised with yeast, as this flour contains a greater quantity of gluten and makes bread of high nutritive value.
Winter wheat maybe used for cake-making and for baking pastry with excellent results, although costing less than Spring wheat.
Always sift flour before using, when setting sponge for bread. When mixing sponge use one quart liquid to about three pounds of flour. "Aunt Sarah" always cut several gashes with a sharp knife on top of loaves when ready to be placed in oven. ”

“ A great increase on home-made bread, even equal to one-fifth, may be produced by using bran water for kneading the dough. The proportion is three pounds of bran for every twenty-eight pounds of flour, the bran to be boiled for an hour, and then strained through a hair-sieve.
3568. Indian cake made with buttermilk, or sour milk with a little cream or butter rubbed into the meal, and a tea-spoonful of pearlash in the milk, is very light and nutritious. ”

“ Sift the corn meal and the wheat flour into a pan, and mix them well. In another pan mix the butter and sugar, and stir them together with a hickory spaddle (which is like a short mush-stick, only broader at the flattened end) till they are light and creamy. Then add the brandy and spice. In a broad, shallow pan, beat the eggs till very thick and smooth. Then stir them gradually into the butter and sugar in turn with the meal. Dissolve the sal-eratus or soda in a very little lukewarm water, and stir it into the sour milk. ”

“ Thomson, of Edinburgh, one pound of good wheat meal contains ten ounces of farina or starch, three ounces of bran, six drams of gluten and two drams of sugar;—and it is because wheat contains such proportions of these substances that 74it makes the very best loaf bread. The farina or starch is the principal nourishing property;—the saccharine matter or sugar is also highly nutrient; but in the process of making loaf bread, it serves mainly, by its vinous fermentation, to produce the gas or air by which the dough is raised and the bread made light. ”

“ In most houses there is wheat flower, with which we were sure to be treated, if we staid long enough to have it kneaded and baked. As neither yeast nor leaven are used among them, their bread of every kind is unfermented. They make only cakes, and never mould a loaf. ”