The Pattern cook-book

Bread should never be thrown away, nor should any crusts be burned or thrown into the garbage barrel, as is often done in many households. They should be placed in a pan and dried very slowly in the oven, the door being left open. When dry enough to crumble between the fingers, put the crusts in a bag made of strong cloth or ticking. Then pound the bag with a wooden mallet until the crusts are reduced to fine crumbs. Sift these crumbs, and put them away in boxes or glass jars : they will then be ready for breading purposes whenever needed. Whole slices of stale bread may always be used for toast ; and there are many recipes here given that require bread for the making, such as pies, puddings, stuffings, etc. With a little management each week there will be no stale bread left over either to be thrown away by a wasteful cook or to make an unnecessary amount of crumbs. TO WARM OVER BREAD AND ROLLS. A Stale loaf may be made very light and fresh in the following manner: Dip the loaf quickly in enough cold water to completely submerge it. Then set it on a pietin in the oven to heat ; this will require fifteen or twenty minutes for a loaf of ordinary size. Rolls and biscuit may be warmed in the same way and are much more satisfactory than when steamed. BISCUIT, GEMS, ETC. Then to breakfast, with what appetite you have. Shakspere. BISCUIT. (baking powder.) One quart of flour, Two heaping tea-spoonfuls of baking powder. Sweet milk to moisten. One tea-spoonful of salt. Two even table-spoonfuls of lard. Place the salt in the flour, which should be measured before it is sifted ; stir well, add the baking powder, and sift once more. Rub the lard into the flour, using the back of a spoon ; and when it is thoroughly mixed with the flour, add the milk to moisten. The dough should be just moist enough so that it will not stick to the board ; it should not be at all hard, or the biscuit will be hard and dry. Mold the dough a moment, sprinkling the board with flour; and when it forms a smooth ball roll it out an inch thick. Cut the sheet into cakes with a small round cutter, and place these in an ungreased tin. Bake thirty minutes in a moderately quick oven. This quantity will 3S8 make one dozen large biscuits, or eighteen if cut with a small cutter. Some cooks prefer butter to lard in making biscuit, but if the lard is perfectly sweet it is much better than butter. BISCUIT. (cream of TARTAR.) These are made the same as the preceding, except that in place of the baking powder are used One tea-spoonful of soda. Two tea-spoonfuls of cream of tartar. Grind the soda perfectly smooth on a plate, using a spoon or knife, and mix it with the flour and cream of tartar, sifting as directed. Care is required in the use of soda, for if is not perfectly pulverized, the biscuit will be yellow and most disappointing. BISCUIT. (sour milk.) Make the same as the baking-powder biscuit, but use one even tea-spoonful of pulverized soda instead of the baking powder, and moisten with sour milk instead of sweet. The milk should be unmistakably sour, but need not be very thick, to insure success. BISCUIT. (sour cream.)