The white ribbon cook book

The dough can be made without making a sponge (if desired) by mixing the yeast with the best part of the milk and water, and after a little salt has been added, proceed to work up the whole of the flour at once, and then act as above. The dough will soften in the rising, so it should be made firm at first. Home-Made Bread (2) — Put the flour into a large pan; mix in a dessertspoonful of salt; make a hole in the middle, and pour in the yeast (half a teacup of yeast to two quarts of flour), with about a pint of water or milk (which use warm in winter, and cold in summer), not mixing in all the flour; then put a blanket, or towel, over the pan, and let it stand to rise near the fire, in winter. This is " putting bread in sponge." When it has risen, mix all the flour with the sponge; knead it well, and let it stand 2 hours 146 White Ribbon Cook Book. till quite light. Then mold the dough on a board till elastic, and put the loaves into greased or floured baking-tins; prick them two or three times through with a fork; let them rise again for a quarter of an hour, and bake them in a quick oven. White Bread — Sponge, a pan of buttermilk, or sour milk, flour, 1 teacupful of yeast. For the sponge take a pan of buttermilk or sour milk which has just turned thick. Put it on the stove and scald. When the curd is well separated from the whey strain or skim it out. Let the whey cool until it will not scald, then stir in the flour, beating thorougly. It should be about as thick as batter for griddle cake. Sweet milk, or even water, may be used as a wetting for the sponge, if good sour milk or buttermilk cannot be had. But fresh buttermilk is, perhaps, the best of all. When the sponge is about milkwarm, beat in a teacupful of yeast. One teacupful of the yeast is enough for three ordinary white loaves, one loaf of brown bread and a tin of rolls. The sponge should be made at night. Let it stand until morning. Unless the weather is very cold, it is not necessary to put it near the fire. In the morning, when the sponge is light, take out enough for your loaf of brown bread. Mix the remainder with flour, taking care not to put in too much, as that will make the bread dry and hard. Knead ^ an hour. The whiteness and delicacy of the bread will be much increased by thorough kneading. Put the dough away to rise again. When it is light, if you wish to make rolls, save enough of the dough for that purpose. Make the remainder into loaves. Set them away to rise. When light, bake. Bread and Cakes. 147 Fine Wheat Bread— For 4 loaves: 1 pint water, 1 cake compressed yeast, 1 tablespoonful salt, 1 tablespoonful sugar. Mix hard or sitff, as for baking, at first. Set it to rise; when it has risen, knead it again; let rise again. If mixed in the morning — which is the best when using compressed yeast — after the second rising, put it in the pans, and it will be ready to bake in the afternoon. Be sure and knead it when it first rises, and then let it rise again. Plain Bread — Half lb. white flour, 1 teaspoonful baking-powder, a pinch of salt, }^ pint milk and water.