Page:Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management.djvu/1575

Rh

Ingredients.—2 lbs. of flour, 1 oz. of baking-powder, ¾ of an oz. of salt, milk.

Method.—First rub the salt to fine powder on the table with a knife, and mix it and the baking-powder into the flour on the board; then make a bay in the centre of the flour, pour in about 1 pint of milk, knead up as quickly as possible, and with very little handling, into a nice light dough. Divide it into convenient sized loaves, shape them up, wash over with a little milk, and bake in a quick oven. It is very necessary to get the loaves into the oven with the greatest despatch, for the baking-powder very soon loses its virtue, and if the operation is protracted after the dough is moistened, the bread will be heavy. Although milk is given as one of the ingredients, water may be used if economy is a consideration.

Time.—¾ of an hour. Average Cost, 6d.

Ingredients.—½ a pint of brewer's yeast, 1 lb. of potatoes, 1 peck and ½ a lb. of flour, 2 quarts of cold water, and 1½ ozs. of salt.

Method.—Procure ½ a pint of good brewer's yeast, fresh from the brewhouse, and see that it weighs at least 3½ ozs. Having procured the yeast, boil about 1 lb. of potatoes in their skins, first washing them clean. When cooked, strain away the liquor they were boiled in, turn into a clean wooden pail, add ½ a lb. of flour, and pound them well with the end of a rolling-pin, then add 2 quarts of cold water, stir the ingredients up, and mix well. Put 1 peck of flour into a large pan, make a hole in the centre, place a couple of sticks across the top, set a sieve over the hole in the centre, and strain the liquor into it, using more water to rinse through every particle of the potatoes, leaving the skins perfectly clean in the sieve; now add the ½ pint of yeast, and stir in sufficient flour to make a thin batter, cover over, and leave the mixture for about 2 hours. By that time it should have fermented and dropped about 1 inch. Then add 1½ ozs. of salt and sufficient water to make the flour into dough. Knead well, and leave dry, cover over with a clean cloth, and let it prove for 1½ hours. Then knead it over, and throw out on to the board, divide into convenient-sized pieces, mould or make up into suitable-shaped loaves, prove, and then bake in a moderate oven. The time taken to bake will of course depend upon the size of the loaves. A 2-lb. loaf in a moderate oven will take from 20 to 40 minutes, and larger loaves in proportion.

Ingredients.—1 peck of flour, 2 ozs. of compressed or distillery yeast, 1½ ozs. of salt, 3 quarts of water.