Where bread is allowed to rise over night, a small piece of
yeast cake must be used; one-fourth yeast cake to one pint of
liquid is sufficient, one-third yeast cake to one quart of liquid.
Bread mixed and baked during the day requires a larger
quantity of yeast; one yeast cake, or sometimes even more, to
one pint of liquid. Bread dough mixed with a large quantity
of yeast should be watched during rising, and cut down as
soon as mixture doubles its bulk. If proper care is taken, the
bread will be found most satisfactory, having neither " yeasty "
nor sour taste.
Baking of Bread.
Bread should be baked in a hot oven. If the oven be too
hot the crust will brown quickly, and before the heat has
reached the center, thus preventing further rising; the loaf
should continue rising for first fifteen minutes of baking, when
it should begin to brown, and continue browning for the next
twenty minutes. The last fifteen minutes it should finish bak-
ing, when the heat may be reduced. When bread is done, it
will not cling to sides of pan, and may be easily removed.
Biscuits require more heat than loaf bread, should continue ris-
ing the first five minutes, and begin to brown in eight minutes.
Always use a Soyer Thermometer for testing temperature of
oven.
After Baking.
Remove loaves at once from pans, and place on their sides
on a wire bread or cake cooler. If a crisp crust is desired al-
low bread to cool without covering; if soft crust, cover with a
towel during cooling. When cool, put in tin box or stone jar,
and cover closely.
Never keep bread wrapped in a cloth, as the cloth will ab-
sorb moisture, and transmit an unpleasant taste to the bread.
Bread tins or jars should be washed and scalded twice a week
in winter, and every other day in summer; otherwise bread is
apt to mould.
UNFERMENTED BREAD is raised without a ferment, the car-
bon dioxide being produced by the use of soda (alkaline salt,
340 STANDARD COOKERY.
and an acid). Soda, employed in combination with cream of
tartar, for raising mixtures, in proportion of one-third soda to
two-thirds cream of tartar, was formerly used to a great ex-
tent, but has been generally superseded by baking powder.
BAKING POWDER is composed of soda and cream of tartar
in definite, correct proportions, mixed with small quantity of
dry material (flour or corn-starch) to keep action from taking
place. If found to contain alum or ammonia, it is impure. In
using baking powder, allow two teaspoonfuls of baking pow-
der to each cup of flour, when eggs are not used; to egg mix-
tures allow one and one-half teaspoonfuls of baking powder.
When a recipe calls for soda and cream of tartar, in substitut-
ing baking powder, use double amount of cream of tartar given.
Soda and cream of tartar, or baking-powder mixtures, are
made light by liberation of gas in mixture; the gas in soda is
set free by the acid in cream of tartar; in order to accomplish
this, moisture and heat are both required. As soon as moisture
is added to baking-powder mixtures, the gas will begin to es-
cape; hence the necessity of baking as soon as possible. If
baking powder only is used for raising, put mixture to be
cooked in a hot oven.
Page 232
Presented as published in 1912. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
AI-modernized reading of the original text
Where bread is allowed to rise over night, a small piece of yeast cake must be used; one-fourth yeast cake to one pint of liquid is sufficient, one-third yeast cake to one quart of liquid. Bread mixed and baked during the day requires a larger quantity of yeast; one yeast cake, or sometimes even more, to one pint of liquid. Bread dough mixed with a large quantity of yeast should be watched during rising, and cut down as soon as mixture doubles its bulk. If proper care is taken, the bread will be found most satisfactory, having neither " yeasty " nor sour taste.
Baking of Bread.
Bread should be baked in a hot oven. If the oven be too hot the crust will brown quickly, and before the heat has reached the center, thus preventing further rising; the loaf should continue rising for first fifteen minutes of baking, when it should begin to brown, and continue browning for the next twenty minutes. The last fifteen minutes it should finish baking, when the heat may be reduced. When bread is done, it will not cling to sides of pan, and may be easily removed. Biscuits require more heat than loaf bread, should continue rising the first five minutes, and begin to brown in eight minutes. Always use a Soyer Thermometer for testing temperature of oven.
After Baking.
Remove loaves at once from pans, and place on their sides on a wire bread or cake cooler. If a crisp crust is desired allow bread to cool without covering; if soft crust, cover with a towel during cooling. When cool, put in tin box or stone jar, and cover closely.
Never keep bread wrapped in a cloth, as the cloth will absorb moisture, and transmit an unpleasant taste to the bread. Bread tins or jars should be washed and scalded twice a week in winter, and every other day in summer; otherwise bread is apt to mould.
UNFERMENTED BREAD is raised without a ferment, the carbon dioxide being produced by the use of soda (alkaline salt,
and an acid). Soda, employed in combination with cream of tartar, for raising mixtures, in proportion of one-third soda to two-thirds cream of tartar, was formerly used to a great extent, but has been generally superseded by baking powder.
BAKING POWDER is composed of soda and cream of tartar in definite, correct proportions, mixed with small quantity of dry material (flour or corn-starch) to keep action from taking place. If found to contain alum or ammonia, it is impure. In using baking powder, allow two teaspoonfuls of baking powder to each cup of flour, when eggs are not used; to egg mixtures allow one and one-half teaspoonfuls of baking powder. When a recipe calls for soda and cream of tartar, in substituting baking powder, use double amount of cream of tartar given.
Soda and cream of tartar, or baking-powder mixtures, are made light by liberation of gas in mixture; the gas in soda is set free by the acid in cream of tartar; in order to accomplish this, moisture and heat are both required. As soon as moisture is added to baking-powder mixtures, the gas will begin to escape; hence the necessity of baking as soon as possible. If baking powder only is used for raising, put mixture to be cooked in a hot oven.