"The very staff of life ! The comfort of the husband, the pride of the wife."

The making of bread is at once the easiest and the most difficult branch of culinary science. It should be regarded as one of the highest accomplishments, and if a tenth of the interest, time and thought which are devoted to cake, pastry and fancy cooking were spent upon this most important article of food, the presence of good bread upon our tables would be invariably secured. It is deplorable indeed that in thousands of otherwise comfortable homes good bread is an unknown thing. Good bread makes the plainest meal acceptable and the coarsest fare appetizing, while the most luxurious table is sadly wanting without it. Opinions as to what constitutes good bread differ as much as tastes and opinions regarding anything else ; but all will agree that good bread is light, sweet, free from any perceptible taste of the yeast and as white as the grade of flour will admit. Most important among the things needful to produce good bread is good

Flour

Housekeepers seldom select flour by examination. They usually take some tried brand, or select on the recommendation of their grocer; therefore, a little explanation regarding the different brands may be helpful.

The fancy names given to flour amount to very little, as the same flour is sold by several dealers under various brands. The different " processes "refer to the several methods used in converting wheat into flour, the grinding being performed in several ways, each one claiming superiority.

One process is by grinding between two horizontal stones, the upper one revolving and grinding the grain against the lower one, which is stationary. The ground grain is then sifted through bolting-cloth, producing fine wheat flour, coarse wheat meal and bran. This is the St. Louis or "old process" flour and is also sold as pastry flour. The grinding with millstones heats the flour, and as it is often placed on the market without having been properly cooled and dried, it spoils very rapidly.

Another method is the Minnesota or" patent process." The Washburn, Pillsbury and other mills located in Minneapolis are the largest flouring mills in the world. By this process the grain is crushed, not ground, by being passed through corrugated rollers, and is then sifted through bolting-cloth. Flour prepared in this way is considered one of the best grades.

The third process is the " new patent" - or Haxall. By this method the outer husk of the wheat is removed, after which the cleaned grain is cut by a system of knives, which reduces it to a fine powder without the injurious effect of heating. This flour swells more than that made by the "old process,"as it contains more of the gluten of the wheat, so that the same measure will make a greater quantity of bread than the St. Louis flour. It is, therefore, cheaper in the end, although it costs more per barrel ; and it makes the whitest bread. There have been many variations of the Haxall process, but all are included under the term "new process flour."

Yet another method of converting wheat into flour has been recently introduced in New York and is highly recommended by physicians and scientists. The outer husk of the wheat (of which only the choicest kinds are used) is removed, and the grains are pulverized by a compressed cold-air blast, which dashes them into atoms with tremendous force. This is called "whole wheat" flour, the name indicating that the whole of the nutritive part of the wheat is retained. It is not sifted like other flour, but is pulverized into all the varieties of crushed wheat and coarse and fine granulated ; and each variety, even the finest flour, contains all that is valuable as food. Bread made with this flour has been found very sweet, light and spongy, with none of the objectionable features of Graham bread. The " Arlington," the "Franklin " and some other brands of whole-wheat flour are highly recommended by those familiar with them.

Good flour should not be pure white in color, but of a creamy, yellowish shade. If flour feels damp, clammy and sticky and gradually forms into lumps that are hard to sift out, it is not of the best quality. Flour of high grade holds together in a mass when squeezed in the hand and retains the impression of the fingers and even of the indentations of the skin much longer than poor flour. Haxall flour has a fine consistency and runs easily through the sieve or fingers like velvety meal, while good St. Louis flour feels oily and soft. All housekeepers agree that flour is not improved by long standing and that it should be bought in quantities corresponding to the number of persons in the household, that it may be used within a reasonable length of time. For a small family it is wisest to buy it in twenty-five pound sacks, or at most by the quarter-barrel. Flour should be kept in a dry, cool place, should be well covered and should never be used without sifting.

The next essential element in bread-making is the