Page:Australian enquiry book of household and general information.djvu/55

 the lighter and whiter it is. The way you set your sponge does not matter. I think the only difference being the time saved one way and lost the other. However, I will give my own mode; it is the simplest I have ever seen.

To Make Bread.—Measure out your flour into your dish or basin, and let me impress upon all bread-makers to have one utensil—be it basin, tin dish, or what it may—let it be kept wholly and solely for the bread, and never used for anything else. It must be kept perfectly clean. Cleanliness is one of the first and chief laws to be observed in all cookery. Having measured your flour, you can sift it if preferred. I never do, unless the flour is inferior, but I rub it thoroughly through my hands and take out all lumps or particles of foreign matter. Now and then bits of string or paper may be found among it, and of course must be picked out—To every pound allow half a teaspoonful of the coarse salt. Never use the fine table salt if you can avoid it. This will be sufficient for most tastes, but, if preferred, of course more can be used. The quantity of yeast must depend upon its strength. If new, and quite brisk, two good tablespoonsful to the pound will be ample; if inclined to be flat, allow a little more. Mix the yeast with luke warm water, as much as will mix your flour into a stiff batter. Having mixed the whole of your flour, sprinkle a thick layer of dry flour over it, and leave it to rise in a warm place, either in the sun or by the fire; if the latter, cover your basin with a cloth or blanket, but neither is actually necessary—the cloth is merely to keep the dust out. Most housewives set their bread over night; giving it ten or even in some instances twelve hours to work. This is not at all necessary, and I believe is often the cause of sour unpalatable bread. I frequently set my sponge at eight in the morning; and have hot bread for lunch at one o’clock. I told this to a lady some weeks ago, and she disbelieved me, nor was she convinced until she spent a day with me, and saw for herself. Readers must forgive my quoting myself so often, but as it is entirely my own practical experience I am giving, it is hardly to be avoided. Do not let your sponge stand too long. Once it has worked through the dry flour it is time to proceed to the next stage. As your batter is rather wet to turn out on the board, stir as much flour as you can into it in the basin, and let the flour you use be salted the same as that you set. This is an important matter, and should be attended to, otherwise your bread will not be salt enough. Having stirred in as much as you can, now turn your dough out on the board, and knead in flour until the dough no longer sticks to the hands. Then return it to the basin, stand again in a warm place, and when risen well, which should be in an hour and a half, or two hours at most, knead into loaves, put into your tins, and let them stand before the fire, or in the sun for ten minutes, and bake in a moderate oven. One hour should be long enough, and when thoroughly done, let it stand in the oven with the door open for a few minutes. If these directions are exactly followed, you cannot go wrong. It sounds boastful to say I have never had a bad batch of bread, but it is a fact, and I made my own bread for fully ten years. I have tried other ways, and with potatoes mixed in, but have always come back to my own plan after a while. I find the bread sweeter, and it keeps longer than when other things are mixed with the flour. There is one small matter I have forgotten, and that is, about a quarter of an hour before taking the loaves from the oven damp a cloth and wipe the top of each, this will glaze the crust. Some people use milk, but water answers the same purpose. Now for the most important ingredient, viz.—Yeast. There are different ways of making yeast, but I think all are