Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1847-06-24
Hints for Hard Times.

RYE AND INDIAN BREAD.-Wheat flour is
dear, and farmers who grow their own grain
should not forget the bread of old times-the
good old mixture of rye and Indian. No bread
is more agreeable to the unsophistlcated palate
none is more healthy and friendly to the consti-
tuition and none will sustain the Iaborer longer
than well made brown bread
On the score of economy there may be some
difference Of opinion among housekeepers, Me
chanics who have no brute animals to feed, buy
flour in preference to rye and Indian, because
there is less waste in flour, because it looks viii
ter, and because less skill is required to knead
the loaf
Farmers lose nothing by the crumbling and
breaking of bread into small bits, because man
ulacured crumbles are worth more for swine
than the raw material would be- Farmers may
grow their own grain and as rye and Indian are
more easily grown in most parts of New Eng
land than wheat, they have greater reasons for
using, principally, while flour is dear, the home
products of the farm, than mechanics or other
classes have who pay cash for the bread stul1s
of their families
1t will be said that the farmer may buy bis
flour, and sell other products enough to keep
the balance. we profess not to determine
precisely the cash question of the economy of
using rye and Indian instead of wheat bread. We
believe 1t is generally thought that rye and Indi-
m at one dollar busheI, is as dear as flour at
six dollars barrel. This question is still open,
and we invite opinions on it from our correspon-
dents
Still some of our reasons for not forgetting en-
tirely the old fashioned brown loaf, are of a
character not to be altogether controlled by the
cash footing of the bills.
To most farmers it is quite important to en-
deavor, as far as may be, to live on the produce
Of their own farms. The farmer who produces
his own bread and butter, meat and milk, need
not be much disturbed in common seasons, by
the cry of high or low prices. He ought to be
rather ambitious of exhibiting on his own table
the products of his own fields and gardens, than
the far fetched rarites of Indies A market is
already made for all he wants to consume on his
own farm, and though he might exchange six
bushels Of his home made grain for one barrel
of flour, there is time lost in making his eX-
changes, and there is always risk to the purcha-
ser of being cheated in the quality to the article
he buys.
One word more for brown bread Chemists
and physicians are now pretty well agreed that
the bran ought to 60 with the flour, as nature
formed them, and that he who puts asunder wha.
God has joined together, under the names flour
aud hull, will sooner or later, suffer all the pen
allies that were enacted against departure from
simplicity of Diet
Skill is required to make nice break from rye
and Indian, and we fear that if flour is to be
procured at six dollars, that our young house
keepers will grow up in ignorance Of the art
We find but very little good rye and Indian
bread, when we travel from home, and as we
never formed a loaf with our own hands, we
shall not now lay down the rules to our young
friends. But advise them all to resort, in time,
to the Oldest in the nejghborhood, and learn how
the old rye and Indian loaf used to be proper
toned, kncaded, risen, and baked.
Too much baking destroys the sweetness, and
renders the crumbs worthless, even for pigs
Tins or the naked oven bottom, are better than
pans or pots of any kind, as the watery matter
in the loaf escapes better, and the crust is more
rich.
The stuff that is usually sold at bakers shops
for "brown bread" must not so dishearen tho
young housewife as to discourage all efforts tC
improve upon 1t. Let her once eat slice from
loaf well made and well baked, and if she has
any ambition, she will soon learn to supply her
family. She will find that rye is worth mncI
more than wheat flour to mix with Indian meal
Plowman.