The Mt. Sterling advocate. (Mt. Sterling, Ky.) 1890-current, 1912-07-31
Bread Maxim.

should buy brand of -four that
has been analysed and that they
know is up to the standard.
Good -four should be sweet to
the sense of taste and smell, hav.
ing a feeling of sharpness to the
grain and should be cream white
in color.
The amount of flower used in
making bread depends upon the
absorptive properties of the -four.
No absolute law can be given for
the amount of water or milk
necessary in mixing bread. If the
dough is made too stiff, however,
the bread will not rise fast and
will be heavy, whereas too much
water causes rapid rising and
makes the batter so thin that it
cannot hold the gas bubbles. The
most satisfactory method of max
ing bread is to measure sugar,
salt, yeast and lard or butter to a
given amount of liquid and add
flour enough to make soft dough
To mix bread scald the milk, add
sugar and salt, and when the milk
cools to SO degrees F. add yeast
dissolved in cold water. Add
flour gradually while stirring to
avoid Jumping. When the bread
is sufficiently stiff to knead, place
it on a board and work. All
shortening should be added after
the first ten minutes of kneading.
The theory of long and vigorous
heading is, first, that it mixes in
gradients thoroughly; second, that
it supplies oxygen which in a
harmless way bleaches the bread.
By thoroughly kneading bread we
get: first, a white and light bread;
second, bread with fine texture.
The trouble with a great deal of
kneading is that it is not vigorous
enough or long enough.
The temperature during rising
is very important. By making the
bread with lukewarm water or
milk, it is started at a temperature
of about 60 degrees. Yeast works
best at a temperature of from Is
to 95 degrees F. For keeping
that temperature uniform, the fol.
lowing plan gives good results. A
pie pan is inverted in deeper par
half filled with water at a tempera.
ture of 80 degrees F. or near body
heat. On this inverted pie pan
the bowl containing the sponge
for bread is placed. This whole
arrangements is then placed on an
inverted.pan on tee back part OF
the stove where the temperature
will be about 80 degrees +. BY
having so much space to pass
through before it reaches the
water the heat radiates to such a
degree that the water is not raised
more than two degrees in the two
and one-half or three hours re-
quired for the first rising. In this
manner, bread may be set in a
very cold room and still have heat
enough to make it rise. If you
have 6reless cooker, better ar
rangement may be made than the
one given above. By placing
water at 80 degrees around the
bread in the fireless cooker, a uni
form temperature may be retained.
The baking of bread is one of
the most important features in the
making of it. A loaf of bread of
ordinary size should remain in the
oven SO minutes. The temperature
of the oven should not exceed $50
degrees f. That temperature
would brown a piece of paper in
from Z to 10 minutes. At this
temperature the bread will bake
evenly and thoroughly.
Very little is generally known
about regulating the heat in the
oven, because so few women use
the thermometer. The best dough
in the world may turn out to be
abominable bread if improperly
baked. By using a thermometer