Miss Parloa's kitchen companion

For two large loaves there will be required one quart of flour, one generous cupful of butter, one gill of water, one table-spoonful of sugar, one teaspoonful of salt, half a cake of compressed yeast, and eight small eggs, or seven large ones. Dissolve the yeast in the water, which should be blood warm. Put some boiling water in a small bowl, and let it stand for five minutes ; then pour out the water, wipe the bowl dry, and put a cupful of the flour into it. Add the dissolved yeast to the flour, and beat well. Cover the bowl, and set it in a warm place — say where the temperature is about 80° — until the mixture rises to double its size. About an hour will be required for the rising. Half an hour after the sponge has been set, put the remainder of the flour, and the salt, sugar, butter, and three of the eggs into a large bowl. Mix these ingredients well with the hand, and when a smooth paste is formed, add the remainder of the eggs, one at a time ; beating the paste vigorously until it is very light and smooth. The eggs should not be beaten before they are added. Now, if the sponge be risen, add it to the paste, and beat well ; should it not be risen, it will not hurt the beaten mixture to stand awhile. When the sponge is thoroughly incorporated with the paste, cover the bowl and set in a warm place. It will take about six hours for the sponge to rise sufficiently. When it becomes light, beat it well and then put it into the ice-chest. If possible, put it on or beside the ice. Let it remain there for ten or twelve hours, and it will then be ready for use. The sponge may be set at two o'clock in the afternoon and be added to the paste at three. The paste will be ready to put on ice at nine o'clock, and in the morning it will be ready to use in any form. Brioche Loaf, to be Eaten Plain and Hot. For a small loaf take a heaping cupful of the chilled paste, and form it into a smooth ball. Put this on a floured board, and roll down to the thickness of half an inch. Tear a hole in the centre of the cake. Now twist this paste inward and into a rope-like shape. This will give a form something like a crown. Place the paste in Brioche Loaf on a Napkin. a buttered pan or on a tin plate, and let it rise for half an hour in a warm place. Bake in a moderate oven for twenty minutes, and serve hot on a napkin. This kind of loaf is nice for luncheon or tea. When wanted for tea, keep the paste on ice until the afternoon ; or the loaf may be baked in the morning and warmed at serving-time. The loaf made of the ingredients mentioned will be quite small, and if a larger one be desired, double the quantity of ingredients and allow ten minutes longer for the baking. Loaves may be shaped like balls, and be cut across with a sharp knife before they have risen or been baked; or they may be put into any kind of pan, and allowed to rise to twice their original height before they are baked. The paste is so soft that the work must be done quickly when the loaf is to be of the crown shape, — that first described. It grows very soft as it becomes warm. These warm brioche loaves are particularly nice to serve with berries and cream, or with preserved fruit and cream. Baba.