The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1900-02-22
POINTS In BREAD MAKING.
of the Oven Is nm Impor.
tant Item-The Flour and
Mixing.

Mixing.
In baking bread the temperature OF
the oven is of primeval Importance.
There are countless intelligent house.
keepers who have never mastered the
moods and lenses of an oven. They re-
ligiously go through the setting, rising
and kneading processes, then commit
their loaves to the oven, uncertain
whether they will have good luck"
with their bread or will turn it out hope
lessly slack baked or with a crust
charred beyond redemption. The pro-
fessional baker has no such doubt. He
must know what is to be the result of
his baking. He knows that for baking
square loayes the temperature of his
oven should register 800 degrees Fab
renheit, for the long French loaves 400
degrees Fahrenheit. The square loaves
should be in the oven ten minutes be-
fore browning, while the long loaves,
like biscuit, should brown almost i'm
mediately. The average novice has but
one idea of baking-a blazing oven.
Nothing could be more erroneous or
disastrous to her efforts. If the oven is
too hot thick crust is produced, form
ing nonconducting cover to the LOAF.
This prevents the heat from penerras-
ing the interior, and an unbaked center,
that foe to good digestion, is the result.
A bread oven is medium hot oven.
There are several ways of testing the
oven without thermometer. If -four
thrown on the floor of the oven browns
quickly without taking fire the heat is
sufficient.
The old notion that you should not
watch anything in the oven is erro-
neous, and the amateur cook is advised
to look at her bread often until ex-
perience teaches her just how to regu-
late the fire and oven. Better bake too
long, putting a paper over the top to
prevent a burned crust, than not long
enough. When well baked an empty,
hollow sound will follow tap with the
fingers, and the crust feels firm. At
the end of the allotted time remove the
bread from the oven, take from the pans
and tip up against the bread board SO
that the air may circulate freely about
it. Never leave the loaves in the pans
or on pine table to sweat or absorb the
odor Of the wood. If you like the crisp
crust do not cover the loaves when cool
ing, but if you prefer the soft, tender
consistency, wrap in several thicknesses
of cloth. When perfectly dry put into
a well-aired tin bread box and keep well
covered.
To make four ordinary sized loaves
of white bread or six small French
loaves. pour one pint of boiling water
into ore pint of milk and add small
| tablespoonful of lard and one Of sugar
When lukewarm add teaspoonfu1 oil
salt and compressed yeast cake dis.
solved in a quarter cupful of warm wa.
| ter. Mix and stir in sufficient flour to
make soft doughs This will usually be
about 2a quarts of flour. Turn on a
board and knead until soft and elastic
Put back in bowl, cover and stand in
warm place (75 degrees Fahrenheit) fol
three hours or until it has doubled It'll
bulk. Form into loaves, put in CREASED
pans and again set in warm place e..
/ degrees) for an hour or until agair
doubled. Bake in moderate oven fol
one hour if square loaves; one-half hour
il French.
In the achievement Of the perfect LOAF
the -four is the first item to be consid
cred. Good -four should be Of a yellow,
ish white tinge, rather granulated, ant
/ Ia Int I
dough it should be strong, elastic ant
easy to be kneaded. All -four should b
kept in cool, dry place, as dampnes
causes it to absorb moisture, and thu
gluten loses its tenacity, causing thu
grain Of the bread made from it to be
come much coarser. After selecting
the -four, the next important thing il
to have a good, strong, sweet and pur'
yeast. Compressed yeast cakes are goot
and convenient and will do the worl
much more quickly than ten times tn
amount of homemade or bakers yeast
i Bread made with unskimmed mill
needs no other shortening, but waite
bread when shortened is made NOR
tender. The shortening, butter, lar,
| OF dripping, may be rubbed into tn
-four or melted preferably in th
warm liquid. Too much shortening
checks the rising by clogging th
giutinous cell walls. One tablespoonful
Of shortening will be quite sufficient TO
the pint Of wetting. Ii sugar is used,
tablespoonful Of that will suffice. On
tablespoonful Of salt is also requires
for the pint Of wetting. In mixing tn
dough all the flour may be added at frs
and the dough raised in . mass, or
soft batter may be made with half tn
-four, and when this has well risen tn
remainder of the -four may be addet
and the whole allowed to rise agaiI
!, The latter method Is preferable whe
the sponge is set at night or when ther
! is any doubt about the quality OF th
yeast. A point in favor Of kneading 9
: once, however, is that each time brea
rises it loses some OF its nutritive quail
ties.-Washington Star.
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Soothing InAuences.
'.That Mrs. Crash next door play
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