Page:Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management.djvu/1576

1410 Method.—Turn the flour into a clean pan, and make a "bay," or hole in the centre. Let the water be about 80° Fahr., or blood-warm, so it feels neither hotter nor colder than the hand when placed in the water. Put the water into a bowl, add the yeast and salt, and stir up well with the hand till dissolved, then turn it into the bay, and make up into rather a stiff dough; knead well, and leave dry, cover over with a clean cloth, and set the pan of dough in a warm place to prove for at least 2 hours, then give it another good kneading and drying over, and leave it for another hour; turn out on to the board, divide into suitable-sized pieces, make into loaves, prove and bake.

Ingredients.—7 lbs. of flour, 1½ lbs. of Indian cornflour, 1½ ozs. of yeast, 1 oz. of salt, water.

Method.—Wet the cornflour with ½ a pint of cold water in a large pan or basin, and then scald it in the same manner as for a blanc mange by pouring over about 1 pint of boiling water, stirring well all the time. Let it stand to get cold, and when the hand can be borne in it without inconvenience, add the yeast dissolved in a little tepid water. Cover over, and let the mixture stand for 2 hours. Put the flour into a pan, and make a well in the centre; dissolve the salt in another quart of warm water, add it to the scalded cornflour, well mix, turn it into the flour in the pan, and make up into dough, using a little more water if necessary. Let the dough lie well covered up in a warm place to well prove, and when ready, turn out on to the board, divide off into convenient sized pieces, mould up, let them stand to prove, and then bake in a moderate oven. This bread will be found particularly sweet, and will make a very desirable change for breakfast or tea. The crust will be very pale and crisp.

Time.—2 or 3 hours. Average Cost, 1s. 8d.

Ingredients.—3½ lbs. of wholemeal, ½ an oz. of salt, ½ an oz. of yeast, 1 oz. of malt extract, water.

Method.—Put the meal into a clean pan, make a "bay" or hole in the centre. Dissolve the yeast and malt extract in 1½ pints of warm water, turn into the bay, and stir in about ⅓ of the meal, cover over with a clean cloth, and set it in a warm place for 2 hours. At the end of that time add the salt (rubbed to fine powder under the rolling-pin), and mix in the remainder of the meal, turn it out on the board, divide it into convenient-sized loaves, put into clean greased pans or tins, prove for 1 hour, then bake in a moderate oven.

This process will make a very nice, sweet-eating and palatable malt bread.