Yeast cake

“ Compressed yeast is always in proper condition to use until it becomes soft, often the yeast cakes are slightly discolored, but this does not affect the yeast, being caused by the oxidation of the starch in the cake. ”

“ Take a heaping spoonful of good yeast cake pounded, one-half a cup of warm water, a lump of sugar, and enough sifted flour to make a thick batter. Set this to rise in a cool place in summer, and a warm place in winter. It will be light and ready to use in about three hours, unless it is kept very cool. A heaping spoonful is the proper quantity for one quart of flour; half a cup of lard will make the bread better and richer. It is well to grease the bread on top before baking. ”

“ All kinds of cake that are made without yeast 5 are better for being stirred till just before they are baked. When ready to mix, stir the butter to a cream, then add the sugar, and stir till white; next beat the yolks of the eggs, strain them and add them to the sugar and butter; meantime another person should beat the whites to a stiff froth and put them in; then add the spices and flour, and last of all the fruit, if any be used. Earthenware is best to mix in, and a wooden spoon should be used. Butter the cake pans well ”

“ To one pint of scalded milk, add one large tablespoonful of shortening, two teaspoonfuls of salt, two tablespoonfuls of sugar, and set to cool. Dissolve one yeast cake in one half cup of lukewarm water and add to the mixture when it is lukewarm. Add as much whole wheat flour as is needed to make a dough stiff enough to stir, but not stiff enough to knead. Beat well and set to rise about ten in the morning. If it rises well beat it down during the day. ”

“ Dissolve yeast and 1 tablespoon of sugar in luke warm water. Take 2 cups of milk, scald and cool, then add 3⁄4 cup of sugar, 2 tablespoons lard or butter, 3⁄4 cup raisin, 1 teaspoon of salt, 6 cups of sifted flour, then add the yeast cake. Mix a stiff dough and put to rise in a greased bowl to rise overnight. In the morning knead out in loaves and put in greased pan to get light, then bake in a hot oven. ”

“ Yeast-Cakes.—Pour a pint of boiling water over a teaspoonful of hops; let it stand ten or fifteen minutes, then strain the water into a saucepan; heat it boiling hot, stir in flour enough to make a stiff batter, and set it aside to cool. When lukewarm, put in a teacupful of good yeast, or a yeast-cake softened in water. Set in a warm place to rise. When light, add a teaspoonful [Pg 386] of salt, two table-spoonfuls of molasses or sugar, and a little soda. Then mix in corn meal to make it stiff enough to roll into a long round roll. ”

“ Let the dough rise slowly for about two hours (all yeast dough is better if it rises slowly) . Take a large baking-board, flour well and roll out the dough on it as thin as a double thickness of pasteboard. When it is all rolled out, cut with a round cutter the size of a tumbler. When all the dough has been cut out, beat up an egg. Spread the beaten egg; on the edge of each cake (spread only a few at a time for they would get too dry if all were done at once) . Then put one-half teaspoon of marmalade, jam or jelly on the cake. ”

“ The fermentation may be quickened by increasing the proportion of yeast, but this is better avoided, as it may chance to render the cake bitter; additional time, however, must always be allowed for it to rise when but a small quantity is used. When the leaven is at the proper height, add to a couple of well whisked eggs, sufficient nearly-boiling milk to warm them, and mix them with the other ingredients; then beat well into the cake by degrees, eight ounces more of pounded sugar, and half a grated nutmeg; cut from two to three ounces of candied citron thin, and strew over it ”

“ Sixthly—Do not be disheartened if your first attempt to make a new cake is a failure. We too often forget that success is frequently the outcome of many failures.
Before giving any recipes for fancy cakes, let me advise you to give the following recipes for “Sally Lunns” and “Tea Cakes made with yeast,” a trial.
For the former, mix half a teaspoonful of salt in a pound of flour, and add three tablespoonfuls of sugar. Melt half an ounce of butter in half a pint of new milk, and when milk-warm pour it over half an ounce of German yeast. Add a well-beaten egg and a little grated nutmeg. ”

“ In the process of manufacture of these cakes, the yeast cells grow to a certain stage, and the material is then dried and fashioned into small cakes, each cake containing great numbers of the yeast cells. When the yeast cake is added to dough, and proper conditions of warmth and moisture are provided, the yeast grows rapidly and breaks up the sugar of the dough into carbon dioxide and alcohol. ”

“ Yeast-powders of themselves have not sufficient power to raise bread or cakes so as to make them light enough to be wholesome. They should only be employed when real yeast, or eggs, are also used. Then they add greatly to the lightness of the cake. They are also an improvement to batter puddings. They must always be added at the last.
To use them, dissolve first the soda in a wine-glass and a half of milk or lukewarm water, and when thoroughly melted, stir it into the batter. Then melt in another cup the acid, with a similar quantity of milk or water, and stir it in at the last. ”

“ Lukewarm water, 2 cups Yeast, 1 cake Salt, 1⁄2 tablespoon Molasses, 1⁄2 cup Rye flour, 1 cup Corn meal, 1 cup Flour, 3 cups
Soften yeast cake in water, add remaining ingredients, and mix thoroughly. Let rise, shape, let rise again and bake. ”

“ In making cake with yeast, do not use very thick cream, as a rich, oily batter retards fermentation and makes the cake slow in rising. If the cake browns too quickly, protect it by a covering of paper. If necessary to move a cake in the oven, do it very gently. Do not slam the oven door or in any way jar a cake while baking, lest it fall. Line cake tins with paper to prevent burning the bottom and edges. Oil the paper, not the tins, very lightly. Cake is done when it shrinks from the pan and stops hissing, or when a clean straw run into the thickest part comes up clean. ”

“ Brewers’ yeast is given to start with, though too strong for a family bread. Bakers’ is better, but not always to be had. A housekeeper should get a little of any good yeast to commence with, and when she finds it is good, and is well risen and sweet, instead of pouring it into flour, and baking it, it is better to thicken it with cornmeal, cut the cakes out, dry in a cool place, and keep the cakes always on hand for any purpose to which they are suited, i. e., in the making of bread, rolls, pocketbooks, loaf, cake, sally lunn, or any kind of light biscuit. ”

“ When cream or sour milk is to be put in, half of it should be added when half the flour is mixed in; then the remainder of the flour, and then the saleratus dissolved in the other half of the cream or milk. Lastly, add the spice, wine, lemon-juice, or fruit.
In summer do not stir cake with the hand; the warmth of it makes it less light. A wooden spoon, kept on purpose, is the best thing. In winter, soften, but do not melt the butter, before using it. Cake not raised with yeast, should be baked as soon as it is made, except such as is hard enough to be rolled. ”

“ Whether black or white plumcakes, they require less butter and eggs for having yeast, and eat equally 213light and rich. If the leaven be only of flour, milk and water, and yeast, it becomes more tough, and is less easily divided, and if the butter be first put with those ingredients, and the dough afterwards set to rise by the fire.
The heat of the oven is of great importance for cakes, especially those that are large. If not pretty quick, the batter will not rise. Should you fear its catching by being two quick, put some paper over the cake to prevent its being burnt. ”

“ Doughnuts and crullers are perhaps more often thought of as quick breads than as cakes. However, the mixtures used for them are sweet. They differ from the mixtures for cakes only in being less rich, but by the peculiar method of their preparation in deep fat these foods become richer than the majority of cakes. Then there are a few varieties of cakes made with yeast which are related to cake in some respects and can well be taken up in this connection. ”

“ When it has cooled a little, and become only milk-warm, stir in the wheat flour, and add the yeast. Stir it long and hard. Cover the pan, and set it near the fire. When the mixture has risen quite light, and is covered with bubbles, add the dissolved pearlash to puff it still more. Have ready a hot frying-pan over the fire; grease it with a little lard, and put in a portion of the mixture, sufficient for one large cake nearly the size of the pan, or two small ones. Spread the mixture thin, and fry it brown. Send the cakes hot to table, and eat them with butter or molasses. ”

“ Many women fail in making these delicious goodies because they do not realize that the addition of large amounts of sugar, fruit, shortening and eggs to yeast dough, unless carefully handled, is apt to produce heavy, moist cakes that lack the light, velvety texture which makes cake a success. ”

“ It is a great mistake to set aside rancid or indifferent butter for cake-making. The butter used for the purpose should be good and fresh.
Always use granulated sugar or else powdered loaf or cut sugar; as pulverized sugar is apt to have plaster of Paris or other foreign elements in it. Never use brown or even clarified sugar in cake-making, unless it be for gingerbread.
Do not attempt to make cake without fresh eggs. Cream of tartar, soda and yeast powders are poor substitutes for these. ”

“ Samp Pancakes.—Boil 1 pint samp, drain it, and add to it while hot 1 pint white corn meal, 1 saltspoonful salt, and 3 tablespoonfuls of fresh butter. When cool add 3 eggs, beaten very light, or 3 tablespoonfuls strong yeast; the whole should form a thick batter. Bake them upon a griddle, which should be greased or scraped before each cake is baked; serve with butter. If yeast be used in preference to eggs, they should be made several hours before they are needed. ”

“ In addition to this, other forms of cake are cooked in oil after the dough is made, thus adding an additional quantity of fatty matter to the material. Eggs are also a common constituent of cakes and these introduce into their composition additional quantities of protein and fat. Baking powder is very generally used in this country instead of yeast for the leavening of the cake and thus an additional quantity of mineral matter is introduced into their composition. ”

“ The fire should then be withdrawn, and the cake allowed to get cold in the oven. Small cakes should be laid to cool on an inverted sieve. It may be recommended to novices in the art of baking, to do every thing in little tins or in very shallow pans; there being then less risk than with a large thick cake. In mixing batter that is to be baked in small cakes, use a less proportion of flour.
Small cakes should be kept closely covered in stone jars. For large ones, you should have broad stone pans with close lids, or else tin boxes. All cakes that are made with yeast, should be eaten quite fresh ”