Water Bread

2 quarts sifted (new-process) flour. 1 teaspoonful salt. 1 tablespoonful sugar. 1 tablespoonful butter, or drippings, or lard.

½ cup liquid yeast, or, ½ cake compressed yeast, dissolved in ½ cup water. 1 pint lukewarm water.

Sift the flour, and till the measure lightly, not heaping, nor shaken down. Turn it into a large bowl holding about flour, and beat well. Let it rise over night, or, if mixed in the morning, about three hours. Then add from two to three cups of flour, or enough to knead it, and knead half an hour. Let it rise in the bowl, and again after being shaped into loaves or rolls, and bake as usual.

Whole-wheat or rye bread or gems can be made from this sponge the same as in the preceding rule.

Whole-Wheat Or Graham Bread

1 pint milk, scalded and cooled.

2 tablespoonfuls sugar. 1 teaspoonful salt.

½ cup yeast.

5 or 6 cups fine granulated wheat flour, or

2 cups white flour, and

3 or 3 ½ cups sifted Graham flour.

In the morning mix, in the order given, into a dough, a little softer than for white bread; let it rise till light, stir it down, pour it into well-greased pans, or, if stiff enough, shape it into loaves; let it rise again, and bake a little longer and in a less hot oven than white bread. Graham or whole-wheat flour rises more rapidly than white flour, as it contains more gluten. It is liable to become sour if mixed over night, and then the cooks resort to the soda. For the true remedy use less yeast, and use sugar instead of molasses, or mix in the morning. Always sift the flour, notwithstanding all cook-books say to the contrary. Use a coarse sieve or squash strainer. Sift once, and, if you observe the character of the refuse, you will be glad to do so always. Bake part of this as biscuit or rolls. When made with ordinary Graham flour, the bread is much lighter if at least one third white flour be used.

Squash Bread

1 cup squash, stewed and sifted.

2 tablespoonfuls sugar. 1½ cups scalded milk. 1 teaspoonful salt.

1 tablespoonful butter.

½ cup yeast.

Flour enough to knead it.

Mix the sugar and salt with the squash, add the butter melted in the hot milk, and when cool add the yeast and flour. Knead fifteen minutes. Let it rise till light. Knead and shape into loaves or biscuit. When well risen, bake.

Bye Bread

Make by rule given for Milk Bread, No. 8, adding rye tour or rye meal to the white-flour sponge.

Raised Brown Bread. (Mrs. H. B. May.)

1 pint yellow corn meal. ½ cup yeast. ½ cup molasses.

½ teaspoonful salt. 1 saltspoonful soda. 1 pint rye meal.

Put the corn meal in the mixing-bowl, and scald it with boiling water, just enough to wet it; let it stand ten minutes, then add cold water enough to make a soft batter. When lukewarm, add the yeast, molasses, soda, salt, and rye meal. Beat it well, and let it rise over night, or until it cracks open. Stir it down; put it in a buttered and floured tin to rise again; sprinkle flour over the top. Bake in a moderate oven two hours. Brown bread made by this rule was first tested by the writer thirty years ago, when it was a wonder and delight to watch it as it was put on a wooden shovel and placed in the great brick oven. It has been made in the same house regularly every week since then, and proves just as good now as it was in the olden time.