The Louisiana Democrat. [volume] (Alexandria, La.) 1845-1918, 1889-01-16
TO MAKE GOOD BREAD.
An Experienced and Successful Hous
LIZ onSa Do

An Experienced and Successful House,
keepers Recipe.
During the forenoon, for two loaves
of bread, boil three fair-sized potatoes
and mash them thoroughly q use a
fork) in the bread-pan, add one tea
cupful of flour, one tablespoonful of
sugar, one-half of salt, one-fourth of
ginger and one very scant quart of
boiling water.
The water should be added gradual
ly till the mixture is perfectly smooth,
and when luke-warm add one dissolved
yeast cake Or one-half cupful of sweet
lively yeast, and keep where it will
not get chilled. At night the sponge
should be very foamy, and then add all
the sifted -four that can be stirred in.
and during hot weather, at bedtime,
put it down in the cellar or in
the refrigerator. In the morning,
| add flour to handle, divide into
loaves and mold thoroughly, adding
-four till the dough can be rolled back
and forth across the board. or pinch
can be rolled between the hands with
out sticking; then put it in warm and
well-greased tins, only half full, cover
up and keep near the fire till the dough
has filled the tins and rounded up in
the middle; then try with broom
splint, remembering that scorched
bread is ever so much better than un-
baked dough.
just before putting the dough in the
tins, l divide each loaf into two or
three parts, roll each piece out long,
and then lay them on, side by side. A
loaf containing two parts may be pulled
apart before cutting, making nice
square slices. Potatoes may be
omitted from this bread, and it
will be light and sweet, but
slower, and will not keep so long.
The sponge may be started at noon
with the same result, if kept warm in
cold weather, or at night, stirring in
all the flour possible, when the yeast
is added, and molding twice in the
morning. But I think the bread is
better if started in the morning, and
the work does not interfere with the
dinner at noon or give any trouble at
night, aside from simply stirring the
Hour in. AS it requires but one mold
ing and rises quickly, if potatoes are
used, it is baked and out of thu way
early in the morning, which is desira-
BILE during the warm mornings of sum-
mer Or the short forenoons of winter.
Frequently the sponge will be light at
noon Or a little after, and in warm
weather / set it down in the cellar,
or where it will keep moderately
cool, although 1 have never had it
sour, and there is no reason why
it should do so if the water used is
boiling-hot. 1t differs little from soft
yeast that always stands about the
kitchen at least two days, and is ex-
pected to keep sweet from one to two
weeks.
I use one yeast cake for only two
loaves of bread, to get rid of them, if
for no other reason, as a package will
then last over month; but in making
a large amount of bread, the yeast an6
wetting are not increased according to
the amount used for one or two loayes
1 consider an oven ready for breat'
when the doors are hot On the outside
to the outspread hand and siss on the
inside. The air that comes out should
be quite warm, but if actually hot, the
bread will surely burn. -MedarG Cor
bett. in RHruI Mem Y0rker.