Wichita eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1886-1890, 1889-10-20
COOKING SCHOOL.
Two Lessons Yesterday by Mrs. Ewing Relas
ing to Bread Making and Roasting.

Yesterday morning at 10 O'Clock about
| sixty ladies were present to hear Mrs
Ewing discourse on the art of bread max
| ing. The regular class were nearly all
present and the following new members
were enrolled: Miss Nora Payne, Mes
| danes Skinner. Kos Harris, j. o. David
son, Merrill, Dean. Bashure, Gillogly.
Lytle, Stanley, Mason, Nixon Elliott and
Cox.
| Ali of Mrs. Ewing's arrangements are
very simple and it is very apparent that
she does not believe in multiplying the
| cooking utensils She began her lesson
and the moment her musical voice Yves
heard and her pupils saw her pleasant,
| and home-like and attractive ppearance
there was complete silence where but a
moment before continued buzz mad
| arisen from discussion of tits all i'm
portant subject. She said that theory and
| practice should be combined, never for
getting one or neglecting the other. The
brains and the hands, she said, must be
close friends in this work. The following
| recipe was then given to the class: One
half pint of sweet milk. the same guam
tity of water; add small cake
of German compressed yeast, first
dissolved in part Of the mixed milk and
water and half teaspoonful of salt.
'This is the wetting," continued the
teacher land it is important that it have
a temperature of seventy-f FIVE degrees
That, you see, is five degrees above the
normal bodily temperature, and it is alb
solutely necessary that this be evenly
maintained while the sponge is rising.
Therefore, beg of you never put it near
the kitchen range where one side will be
warm and the other cold, nor even near a
register, and if you cannot find any other
place put it on the piano in the parlor, if
that temperature can be maintained in
that room. But the average kitchen is
that warm"
She then urged the Importance of good
yeast claiming that yeast is a vegetable
germ and finds III the -four, sugar and
starch what might be called a soil suitable
for its growth. The proportion of salt was
another point made prominent. A half a
teaspoonful was just enough for the
amount Of sponge mentioned in the recipe.
Salt is developer of flavor and to much
will destroy the nutty taste of the bread.
Mrs. Ewing then took out quantity of
dough and held it up to the view of the
class. 1t was as elastic as rubber and pre-
sented fine glossy, satin-like appearance.
She said that quantity of flour is the i'm
portant factor to gain this end and
added that flour ought to be
stirred in up to the elastic point.
What was added after that destroyed the
elasticity. Continuing, she said that the
ha ifyh aA
as the same kind of flour could not always
be obtained.
She then commenced the kneading pro-
cess, first, however, observing that perfect
cooking could not be obtained without
perfect cleanliness. Mrs. Ewing worked
in silence, not pounding the piece of
dough as though she had some grudge
against it, but the operation was quiet
and with every appearance OF ease. 1t was
noticed that no flower was used in the
process, and this she explained by saying
that enough flour had been put in at the
beginning and if she had put in more it
would then have stuck. She then spoke
against using tin pans in the mixing a
they were not delicate enough and would
allow atmospheric changes to affect the
sponge Earthen dishes should by all
means be used. Grease or shortening OF
any kind should never be put into the
bread composition. She said this would
clog the action of the yeast germs. When
the loayes were ready for the oven she
creased them sparingly over the tops, ex-
planning that this kept them elastic and
prevented the formation of a hard crust
Mrs Ewing then showed how the loaves
were made. Taking enough dough for
small loaf she held it in her left hand,
she turned down the four corners, the ends
turned over meeting in the center. The
face of the loaf was thus drawn tight.
She said there was good sense in this
method, for it not only made pretty loaf
with a smooth top thin as tissue paper,
but the air was in this way compressed
within and kept the loaf light.
Mrs. Ewing spoke of the heat of the oven
and said that she would hail the day when
thermometers would be placed in ovens,
but until that day she would give the class
a test that they could use in knowing the
proper heat. She said that little flour
placed on a piece of paper would brown in
two minutes if the heat was all right. For
graham bread a properly heated oven will
The class were told how to prepare gra-
ham bread, crescents, French rolls and
sticks from the same dough. Graham
bread Mrs. Ewing makes the same as
wheat bread, with the exception of little
sweetening, making the dough not SO stiff,
ard she used little -four in kneading.
This concluded the bread lesson, during
the time of which the ladies of the class
could be seen very busy with their note
books and pencils. The bread when
passed around for inspection was such as
to create an appetite.
In the afternoon the lesson was pertain
tanning to roasting and large and atten-
tive class was present. The following new
members were added. Mrs. Alley and
daughter, Mrs. Whitney. Mrs. n. l..
Jackson, Mrs. Darling and Mrs. Brown,
Meats, poultry and fish were used as illus
trations in the cooking.
Mrs. Ewing first took an ordinary rib
roast and after a short discourse on the |
qualities of the different kinds of roasts. |
she spoke of the habit Of rolling up a rib |
roast. This should never be done as the |
thin part Of the meat should not be |
roasted as it made very inferior roast beef, |
but should be used for corned beef or stew |
ng. She then spoke OF the misleading
statements in average cook books in re- |
gard to roasting. The class were then |
shown how the roast should be cleaned |
previous to cooking, after which the |
eacher placed the meat in a hot |
IAN and, as she called it, |
eered the roast for a short time Then it |
vas placed in the oven for the roasting /
,rocess xithnut having salt or water in