The Hickman courier. [volume] (Hickman, Ky.) 1859-current, 1877-05-04
FARM and FIBEsIDE.
cooking GRAHAM, Bread.

Cooking Graham Bread.
We shall take it for granted that some
people still use Graham -four. We have
learned, from many years acquaintance
with those who use it, that they are COM
monty intelligent people, quite above
the average indeed; that they have good
reasons for their belief in its value and
yvholesomeness, while they leave to those |
who have never tried it all the horrors
of its scratchiness, and the fears or being |
dissected alive by its blades of bran.
It is gratifying to observe in the inter
ests of public health, that its use IS In
creasing very rapidly. dozen years
ago, one had to inquire where it could
be found now it is kept in almost every
grocery and -four store. Formerly 1t
was often compounded of bran, corn
meal, rye, shorts, and various other arti-
cles; now it must be ground directly
from the whole wheat, and very clean
and superior article at that. We believe
the grain is generally much more thor
oughly cleaned than that used for fine
-four, because none OF the tell-tale debris
can be removed after grinding, therefore
it must be removed before grinding.
We are now taking another step, In
learning that it is generally improved by
a special mode of grinding. 1t requires
sharp stones, which cut the bran into
fine pieces. The coarse, or high ground
Graham, makes hard and rough bread
biscuit. That which is rubbed fine by
dull stones, while it makes the starchy
part very fine and foury, leaves the rich
crust of the kernel in coarse, unsightly
fakes, and the -four is so much less rich
and sweet. Some people make the mis-
take of sitting this bran out. 1t is much |
better to get that which is properly |
ground If the stones are very sharp, as |
they should be, they cut the bran fine, |
and mingle thoroughly the starch and the
gluten, giving you the entire richness
and nutrition of the grain. 1t requires
a little practice to distinguish such -four
readily by the eye but when once its
value is appreciated, it will not soon be
forgotten.
We are also beginning 10 appreciate
the importance of the fact that meal and
-four ground in this fashion can be made
up without the addition of any foreign
ingredients, made light and attractive
without having the pure sweetness of the
grain soured by yeast or burned by al
kali, or filed up by the residuum of any
kind of baking powders. This is en-
phatically mixed bread with brans,
making things light by the art with
which they are put together.
Some people, not understanding this
high art, think it necessary to use milk
or soda or eggs in making Graham bis
cult; but all these devices are only so
many subterfuges for the lack Of intelli-
gence or ingenuity, or an unintelligent
effort to supply some defect in poor -four.
If the following recipe be carefully fol-
lowed, it wdl make very passable biscuit
from ALMOST any kind of Graham flour,
to be saten warm but if you have the
right kind of flower, you will have light,
tender, delicate, sweet, and perfectly
Wholesome biscuit, good cold as well as
warm, tough better if made fresh every
DAY or tive. They are vastly less trouble
10 make than any of the ordinary kinds
OF bread or biscuit made of fine flour.
BATTER BIsCUT.-A hot oven is
indispensable. Place cold soft water
In stirring bowl, the colder the
better. Stir with a spoon in one hand
and sift in the -four with the othsr-
Make just thick enough not to settle
fiat. Different kinds of -four require
different proportions, but good way is
to make some of different thicknesses
from the same batch, and so find out
which is best. Bake either in tin or
iron, very slightly oiled to prevent stick
ing. If in iron gem pans they should be
heated first and the batter dropped in
when they are Kissing hot Put them
IN the oven at once. Bake them on the
top first, unless your oven is one of that
rare sort that bakes evenly on all sides.
They should begin to brown on the top
An about fifteen minutes; then they may
be set down to bake on the bottom.
Twenty-Five or thirty minutes should
bake them sufficiently. If they stand in
the oven much longer than that, they
will be hard and tough. Slip ont imme-
diately from the pans, place on a plate,
let them stand FIVE minutes, and serve.
IL they are still little sticky, let them
stand until they are cool enough to be
eaten comfortably, and they will be no
longer sticky. In keeping them they
should not be covered, nor should they
be piled upon each other until they are
quite cold.
Every one of these directions should
be carefully observed The slow sitting
of the -four into the water carries with
1t large amount of air, the expansion
OF which by the heat makes the biscuit
light. If it stands before baking, the air
will escape. If baked on the bottom
hrst, some of the air will rise and escape :
but if the top be scalded over first, the
air will be confined and explained in the
biscuit. 1t it scorch too soon on the
top an air chamber will be formed in
stead of having the air envenly distrib- |
uted throughout The biscuit. For
similar reason small pans must be used.
SO that the biscuit can be heated through |
quickly enough to prevent the escape of
the air. Any condiment has tendency
to harden and make the biscuit heavy.
Some observing this, omit salt entirely
and even like the taste of them better
without it.
Rather Indifferent -four may be made
passable by mixing it with corn meal, or
the mixture may be used for variety, as
1t Is very sweet and palatable, as follows:
Corn BIscUIF.-Measure one part cor
meal and scald it with boiling water.
Beat it smooth, and add three parts Ora
ham -four, with cold water enough to
make batter considerably thicker than
for the pure wheat biscuit. so that they