This is better than hard yeast made with Indian. Take two
quarts of best home-brewed yeast, and a tablespoonful of salt,
and mix in wheat flour✪ Hard Yeast, so that it will be in hard lumps. Set it
in a dry, warm place (but not in the sun) till quite dry. Then
leave out the fine parts to use the next baking, and put up the
lumps in a bag, and hang it in a dry place. In using this yeast,
take a pint of the rubs for six quarts of flour, and let it soak from
noon till night. Then wet up the bread to bake next day. Brew,
er's and distillery yeast cannot be trusted to make hard yeast.
Home-brewed is the best, and some housekeepers say, the only
yeast for this purpose. This recipe is very convenient, especi-
ally for hot weather, when it is difficult to keep yeast.
N. B. — When you wish to use the liquid yeast in either of the
recipes, pour off the beer that rises on the top of the yeast, shake
the jar well, pour out what yeast you want to use, and pour the
beer back on the yeast. The beer keeps the yeast sweet.
WHITE BREAD SPONGE — Potato.
Three good sized potatoes, boiled, and mashed fine while hot,
two quarts of patato water, one pint of sweet milk, one cupful
of fresh yeast, one tablespoonful of fresh lard, and the same of
salt, two tablespoonfuls of white sugar✪ White Bread Sponge - Potato. Peel the potatoes, and
wash them clean, put them on to boil in cold water; when done,
mash them fine and put them through the colander with the po-
tato water; when cooled down to blood warmth, stir in the flour
as thick as for griddle cakes, add the yeast and sugar, beat well
ten minutes, cover lightly if the weather is warm, more closely in
winter, and set to rise over night in a warm place. In the morn-
ing, before mixing the bread, be very particular to have the
bread sponge and flour warm. In winter I always warm my flour
in the oven, and set the bread sponge in a pan of hot water, stir-
ring it so as not to scald it. Bread will rise much quicker if this
rule is observed. The real secret of bread-making is, not to get
it chilled, and have it rise as soon as possible. Having your
sponge and flour ready, add the shortening and salt to the
flour, working them in. The question of quantity of flour is a
delicate one; it requires judgment and experience. Various
^brands of flour are 8O unequal with respect to the quantity of
.gluten they contain, that it is impossible to give any invariable
Tule on this subject. The safest way is to add the flour gradually,
Be careful not to get your bread too stiff, I have seen some,
*when mixing bread, put in so much flour at one time that it be-
•came stiff and hard like a bullet. This spoils it Bread should
"be mixed thoroughly, and the flour put in gradually. The next
Tule to be observed is to work in all the flour you are going to
*ise, in the first mixing. When you make out your bread into
loaves, no flour should be used, as, if thoroughly worked in the
iirst mixing, it will be smooth and will not stick. The safest
way is to add the flour in gradually, and when you have it in
manageable shape, take it out of the bread-dish, lay it on the
moulding-board and knead half an hour without stopping.
Page 64 · 2 recipe records on this page
Presented as published in 1887. 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
This is better than hard yeast made with Indian. Take two quarts of best home-brewed yeast, and a tablespoonful of salt, and mix in wheat flour, so that it will be in hard lumps. Set it in a dry, warm place (but not in the sun) till quite dry. Then leave out the fine parts to use the next baking, and put up the lumps in a bag, and hang it in a dry place. In using this yeast, take a pint of the rubs for six quarts of flour, and let it soak from noon till night. Then wet up the bread to bake next day. Brewer's and distillery yeast cannot be trusted to make hard yeast. Home-brewed is the best, and some housekeepers say, the only yeast for this purpose. This recipe is very convenient, especially for hot weather, when it is difficult to keep yeast.
N. B. — When you wish to use the liquid yeast in either of the recipes, pour off the beer that rises on the top of the yeast, shake the jar well, pour out what yeast you want to use, and pour the beer back on the yeast. The beer keeps the yeast sweet.
WHITE BREAD SPONGE — Potato.
Three good sized potatoes, boiled, and mashed fine while hot, two quarts of potato water, one pint of sweet milk, one cupful of fresh yeast, one tablespoonful of fresh lard, and the same of salt, two tablespoonfuls of white sugar. Peel the potatoes, and wash them clean, put them on to boil in cold water; when done, mash them fine and put them through the colander with the potato water; when cooled down to blood warmth, stir in the flour as thick as for griddle cakes, add the yeast and sugar, beat well ten minutes, cover lightly if the weather is warm, more closely in winter, and set to rise over night in a warm place. In the morning, before mixing the bread, be very particular to have the bread sponge and flour warm. In winter I always warm my flour in the oven, and set the bread sponge in a pan of hot water, stirring it so as not to scald it. Bread will rise much quicker if this rule is observed. The real secret of bread-making is, not to get it chilled, and have it rise as soon as possible. Having your sponge and flour ready, add the shortening and salt to the flour, working them in. The question of quantity of flour is a delicate one; it requires judgment and experience. Various brands of flour are so unequal with respect to the quantity of gluten they contain, that it is impossible to give any invariable rule on this subject. The safest way is to add the flour gradually, Be careful not to get your bread too stiff, I have seen some, *when mixing bread, put in so much flour at one time that it be- •came stiff and hard like a bullet. This spoils it Bread should "be mixed thoroughly, and the flour put in gradually. The next rule to be observed is to work in all the flour you are going to *ise, in the first mixing. When you make out your bread into loaves, no flour should be used, as, if thoroughly worked in the first mixing, it will be smooth and will not stick. The safest way is to add the flour in gradually, and when you have it in manageable shape, take it out of the bread-dish, lay it on the moulding-board and knead half an hour without stopping.
Records on this page
Hard YeastWhite Bread Sponge - Potato