The Indianapolis journal., 1896-02-12
A WAY TO MAKE BREAD
MRS. EMMA II. EWING's FIRST Lee
TURE At THE PROPYLAEUM.
The Baking Done in the Presence Oi
the Audience-Points for House,
wives.

The west parlor of the Propylaeum was
crowded yesterday afternoon with ladies
anxious TO learn how to make bread after
Mrs. Emma p. Ewing's methods The lee
ture was the first of a series to be given
under the auspices of the board of directors
of the Propylaeum, who have for some time
been anxious to give the public the benefit
OF free instructions in bread making, the
foundation of all good cookery. AS an in
PRODUCTION of Mrs. Ewing to the public and
of the public to Mrs. Ewings ways of cook
ing, the first lecture of the series was made
free. In front of the mantel, on low plat
form, was gas stove, a table and two
chairs. Fire was in the stove, and on the
table were various dishes covered with red
and white checked tea cloths. At 2:30, the
hour for the lecture, the room was over
flowing, and many stood in the hall and
others filled the chairs Mrs. Ewing with
difficulty made her way to the Platform,
and when there lesurely unrolled snowy
apron, with a hem in one end through which
ribbon was run. The apron was gath
cred on the string and made to encircle her
waist. Mrs. Ewing looks exactly as she did
seven years ago when here, and is the best
evidence of her own good cooking. When
she speaks she does so deliberately. and
when she does anything 1t looks, oh, so
easy! She is firm believer in having
plenty OF yeast for her bread, and advised
her class to use whole cake of the COM
pressed yeast in making UP bread which
requires pint of wetting. This wetting
may be all water, ali milk, or, as she pre-
fers, half and half. She took bowl and
put in some -four. and then the yeast and
then '1evel spoon of salt" II do not say
a level spoonful of salt now, as used to-"
she said, "for a woman in one city, when
said that, misunderstood me and thought 1
said eleven, and she Dut that much in and
her bread wouldn't even begin to rise"
When do you set your bread-night or
morning?" said an interested spectator
II am going to set it right now" At this
there was a gurgle of laughter through the
room. But" continued the cook, bread
can be made in five hours. The best bread
is never made over night" Mrs Ewing
tested the weight of loaf she had made
in the morning, which was ready to be put
in the oven, and then told the class how to
test it. The temperature of the bread is
important. Mrs Ewing took from the man.
tel a glass Thermometer and called 1t a
that men always use when they cook
But" said she, "a woman has a ther-
mometer. When she wants to know if her
dough Is luke-warm, as ii should be, she
thrusts in her finger. There is an advantage
in a woman's thermometer-it is always at
hand Ii took just a wee minute for the
audience to appreciate the pun, for they
were dreadfully in earnest about the bread
making, and were not on the lookout for
pleasantries. AS this mixing of the flour.
yeast, milk, water and salt went on, Mrs.
Ewing was dipping more flower from side
table and putting II into her bowl.
What kind of flour do you think is the
best?' asked voice from the right. The
cook did not answer Immediately. but said
that the better the flour, the better the
bread and the less flour it will take. Then
there was little chapter on flours, winter
and spring wheat. sitting and the like.
Meanwhile time was passing and there
was bread in the oven. The cook was re-
minded of the fact, and when she opened
| the oven a most delicious, appetizing, fra
grant odor of bread permeated the room.
II made people hungry just to catch Whit
| of it. 1T is better to have your bread too
| done it is not dgestible. There are better
| brands Of flour than there are good bread
makers. The millers do their work better
than the bread makers: Flour that will
make good bread viii make good pastry and
| cake
Mrs Ewing told of grandmothers who
| had such poor yeast that they had to use a
little yeast with flour, salt, etc., set it over
| night. and simply made so much more
| yeast. With good compressed yeast this
| is not necessary. Potatoes" she said "are
an aduiteration, and take away the sweet
| nutty taste which bread should have, Food
| must have the best flavor that belongs to
it, Mrs. Ewing showed the bread she had
baked, and it was in twisted loaves, bread
| sticks, and in little long, round loaves
| They were Drowned to a nicely and the
| crusts were crisp. These were afterward
broken into small pieces and passed for the
| ladies to taste. and they were found sweet
| nutty and delicious.
| Mrs. Ewing tod story or a hotel man
| of this city who went to her when she was
here seven years ago and told her he want
ed a good, reliable, capable, intelligent
| woman, who knew her methods, to be chief
| cook in his hotel-a woman capable of man
| aging others and of doing. the marketing
| To such woman, recommended by Mrs
| Ewing, he would pay $3.50 a year and give
| her all the help she would need. Said Mrs
| Ewing: Il have been looking for thai
| woman for seven years. Women who are
able to do that will not do 1T, for fear II
whom she wanted to take the position said
| she would rather work at something else
| for $1,000, Salt-rising bread Mrs. Ewing
| characterizes as "a foul abomination." She
| said she had actually found out that peo
| pie in this city pay more for sa.t-rising
| bread than they do for any other Kind. She
| then told q story of a woman in Memphis
| who camef TO her a short time after
| bread lesson and told her she had had
| good trade in salt-rising bread. but that she
| had lost IL all through Mrs. Ewing's bread
| lessons. Mrs. Ewing told her TO come to tn,
| cooking lessons and she taught the woman
| to do her kind OF bread making, and later
| the woman thanked her for it,
The lesson to-day will be on eggs anC
/ omelettes. when Mrs Ewing will show how
| to boil egg to have IL nutritious. anC
| many other ways of cooking and SERVING
eggs. Some ways in particular will be K
| use up yoiks of eggs, which are SO otter
| wasted after making angel-food and othel
| light cakes. She also offers to show how Il
cook eggs in any way a member of the clas
will ask and that she viii COOK just a.
many as possible in an hour and a half
| Each day at 2:30 there will be lessons IL
| different dishes, chafing dish, broiling, des
| serts, vegetables, meats and almost every
| thing the table