1429. - Milk Yeast

To a pint of new milk put a teaspoon-ful of salt or a large spoonful of flour; stir well, and keep it lukewarm by the fire; in an hour it will be fit for use. Twice as much must be used as of common yeast; and the bread dries soon; and in summer this method is convenient.

Never keep yeast in a tin vessel. If sour, put in saleratus-a teaspoonful to a pint of yeast, when ready for use. If it foams up lively, it will raise the bread; if not, throw it away.

1430. - Rice Bread

Boil soft a pint of rice; when cold, add a pint of leaven, and work in three quarts of flour. It will be light in an hour in warm weather. Divide the dough into three loaves, and bake in buttered tin pans. It grows dry soon.

1433. - Almond Bread

Blanch, and pound in a mortar, half a pound of shelled sweet almonds till they are a smooth paste, adding rose-water as you pound them. They should be done the day before they are wanted. Prepare a pound of loaf-sugar finely powdered, a teaspoonful of mixed spice, mace, nutmeg and cinnamon, and three-quarters of a pound of sifted flour. Take fourteen eggs, and separate the whites from the yolks. Leave out seven of the whites, and beat the other seven to a stiff froth. Beat the yolks till very thick and smooth, and then beat the sugar gradually into them, adding the spice. Next stir in the white of egg, then the flour, and lastly the almonds. You may add twelve drops of essence of lemon.

Put the mixture into a square tin pan, well buttered, or into a copper or tin-turban mould, and set it immediately in a brisk oven. Ice it" when cool. It is best when eaten fresh.

You may add a few bitter almonds to the sweet ones.

1434. - Damascus Biscuits

Take the whites of three eggs beaten to a froth, a quarter of a pound of good beef suet chopped very fine, and half an ounce of bitter almonds blanched, chopped fine, and beaten well with the froth of the eggs. Then take the yolks of the eggs, and mix with six ounces of sifted loaf sugar, beat well, pour into the mixture of almonds and whites of egg; mix well, and shake in two ounces of flour, with sufficient lemon to flavor them. Pour into small tins, or moulded papers, and bake in a quick oven.

1435. - Milk Biscuits

A quarter of a pound of butter, one-quart of milk, one gill of yeast, as much flour as will form the dough, and a little salt. Stir flour into the milk, so as to form a very thick batter, and add the yeast; this is called a sponge. This should be done in the evening; in the morning cut up the butter, and set it near the fire, where it will dissolve, but not get hot; pour the melted butter into the sponge, then stir in enough flour to form a dough, knead it well and stand it away to rise. As soon as it is perfectly-light, butter your tins, make out the dough in small cakes, and let them rise. When they are light, bake them in a very quick oven, and send them to the table hot.

1436. - Rolls

French Soils are usually made by the bakers, but in country houses, where families bake their own bread, they may be done as follows:-

Sift one pound of flour, and rub into it two ounces of butter; mix in the whites only of three eggs beaten to a froth, and a table-spoonful of strong yeast; to which add enough of milk, with a little salt, to make a stiff dough, and set it covered before the fire to rise - which will take about an hour; and, if cut into small rolls, and put into a quick oven, will be done in little more than ten minutes.