Good Light Bread

Ingredients

• Boil six potatoes
• a light half-pint of sifted flour
• stir these into a pint of boiling hop-tea
• three tablespoonfuls of sugar
• a teaspoonful of salt
• a half-pint of old yeast
• using two and a half quarts of flour
• two eggs well beaten
• one tablespoonful of butter and lard

Method

1. 1

   Mash the potatoes smooth, mix with flour, stir into boiling hop-tea, strain, add sugar and salt, then cool and add yeast.

2. 2

   Use this yeast to lighten one quart of flour.

3. 3

   Make the sponge with potatoes and flour, then add yeast and let rise before baking.

As published

This recipe was extracted from Virginia Cookery-book (1884) by Mary Stuart Smith, page 7. The excerpt below is the record exactly as published.

Good Light Bread. Obeying the following directions for making yeast and sponge, the most inexperienced cook may soon become skilful as a bread-maker : Boil six potatoes ; peel and mash them up smooth, so that not the least lump is left ; mix with them a light half -pint of sifted flour ; stir these into a pint of boiling hop-tea ; strain through a coarse sieve, and add three table-spoonfuls of sugar and a teaspoonf ul of salt ; when cold pour in a half -pint of old yeast. XJse two table-spoonfuls of this yeast for lightening one quart of flour. Sponge. Two large Irish or white potatoes, three table-spoon- fuls of flour, two table-spoonfuls of sugar ; mix smooth with one pint of boiling water; when cold, add six table- spoonfuls of yeast. Make up your bread (in winter) with this sponge at 4 p.m. for an eight o'clock breakfast, using two and a half quarts of flour, two eggs well beaten — [very good bread is made by this recipe without the VIROINIA COOKERY-BOOK, eggs, however] — one table-spoonful of butter and lar

Cook this with the app: pantry check, scaling, and the assistant.