The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1877-08-30
BREAD.
The Use of This Indispensable Article of
Food From the Earliest Period--The DIFF
ferent Kinds of Bread.

ferent Kinds of Bread.
The original Specification of this word
was anything that may be eaten, or, in
general, food; but as now used it signi.
fies preparation of some of the cereal
grains. Since the day that "Abraham
hastened into the tent unto Sarah. and
said: Make ready three measures of fine
meal, knead it, and make cakes upon the
hearth" bread has been among all
civilized nations staple article of food.
The various processes used by the
ancient Egyptians in making bread are
distinctly represented to-day in the
paintings on their tombs. The primi-
tive mode of making bread was to stir
the cereal, ground fine, with water until
thin dough was formed. This was
made into cakes, laid on hot Goals and
covered with ashes and cooked. then
eaten warm. The Arabs of the desert
still employ this method. Later. ovens
were invented. These were round ves-
sells of brass or earthenware, which were
heated by fire kindled around them.
When hot the dough was spread upon
their sides in thin flakes. During the
war with Perseus, king of Macedon,
about 200 years before the Christian era,
the Romans learned the art of ferment-
ing bread, and on their return from
Macedonia brought bakers with them.
These bakers and their successors held
very high place in the public estimation
they had the care Of the public granaries
and enjoyed many privileges. From
Rome the art of bread-making with fer
mentation found its way into France;
but not until near the close of the seven
teenth century was yeast in general use
in the north of Europe for bread-making.
In 1858 the college of physicians in
Paris, France, declared bread made with
yeast to be injurious to health, where
upon the government prohibited bakers
from using it under a severe penalty,
but the superiority of yeast bread be-
came so apparent that the prohibitory
laws were enforced, and soon became a
dead letter. Before yeast was used in
raising bread, leaven was employed for
this purpose. This was made by mixing
flour and water into dough, and keeping
it in a temperature of from zoe to 80 .
until it fermented, which would be in
three or four days. This leaven was
then mixed with a quantity of fresh
uul WlCH Ulc WuOl6 ultbS WAS
fermented it was ready for the oven, and
all baked, save pound or more, which
was reserved for the next batch of bread.
If buried in q sack of -four the leaven
would keep many days without spelling.
As wheaton flour contains more gluten
than the -four of any other of the cereals,
it is very difficult to make wheaton bread
spongy. and porous without the use of
some kind of fermentation. In the South
hammered hisenit are IN requost On ac-
count of their freedom from yeast and
yeust puwers. They are made of flour,
water or milk, and salt, hammered with
the rolling-pin for an hour or SO, made
into tiny shapes and baked in quick
oven. The hammering introduces air
between the particles of dough, and thus
makes it light. Oatmeal, cornmeal and
barleymeal contain much less gluten
than wheat flour, and can therefore be
readily made into light, thin cakes with
out any fermenting agent. Barley and
oatmeal were for long time the depend
ence of our Saxon ancestors for bread.
1t was probably barley bannocks the
great King Alfred was set to watch when
he took refuge in the swine-herd's cot
tage. With the facilities within reach
OF almost every housekeeper, there is nc
good reason why every household should
not have a perpetual peacemaker in the
family in the shape of well-compounded,
nutritious and palpable bread.