Girl's home manual of cookery, home management, home nursing and laundry

Dissolve yeast cake in lukewarm water. Scald milk, add to it the lard, butter and sugar. When lukewarm add the yeast. Stir in one cup of flour, beat well, cover and put in a warm place until light (about half an hour). Then add the remainder of flour with salt. Knead dough thoroughly. Place in a greased, warm bowl, cover and leave in a warm place to double in bulk (about 1% hours). Turn on to a floured board, knead lightly, roll out to one-fourth of an inch in thickness, cut out with a small round cutter. Make a firm crease in the centre of each with the handle of a wooden spoon, brush over the surface with melted butter, fold in half, press together a quarter of an inch from the edges. Place on a greased and floured tin, leaving room for rising. When the rolls have doubled their bulk place at the bottom of a hot oven. Bake about 15 minutes, Serve at lunches and dinners. Boston Brown Bread. 1 cup white flour. 34 cup molasses. 1 cup graham flour. 1 cup cornmeal. 1 cup milk (sweet or sour). 1 tbsp. butter. % tsp. salt. Y% cup raisins. Mix the dry ingredients together except soda. Mix the soda with the molasses until it foams, add these with the milk to the dry ingredients, beat all well together. Put into a well greased lard or baking powder tin, cover and steam for 3 hours. Serve hot. .It is eaten with butter and baked beans. Hot Cross Buns. 1 cup warm milk. Y% cup sugar. 1 yeast cake. ¥%% tbsp. salt. 1¾ tbsp. sugar. Y% cup currants. 1% cups flour. 1 piece peel. 1 egg. 1 tsp. mixed spice. 2 cups flour. 4 tsp. grated nutmeg. % cup butter. Make a sponge by dissolving yeast in warm milk with sugar, stir in 1% cups flour, beat well, cover and put to rise until light. Add the well beaten egg to the light sponge. Rub the butter into the 2 cups flour, add the sugar, salt, currants, peel cut finely and spices. Add these to the sponge mixture. Turn on to a floured board, knead lightly. Place in a greased bowl, cover and leave in a warm place to double its bulk, this takes about two hours. Turn on to a floured board, knead lightly, divide the dough into two dozen pieces, make each into a neat round bun, with a knife sharply cut a cross on the top of each. Place on a greased tin, cover and leave 15 minutes to rise. Bake at the bottom of a hot oven. When half cooked brush over the surface of each with equal quantities sugar and milk boiled together. ‘Serve hot on Good Friday. Toast. Dry. Cut slices of stale bread one-third inch thick. Place bread on oven shelf with oven door open to dry a few minutes. Toast quickly on both sides over a hot, clear fire, moving the bread about slightly to prevent it burning. Serve in a toast rack to allow the steam to escape, otherwise it would be sodden. Hot Buttered Toast. Cut slices of stale bread half an inch thick. Toast on both sides over a hot, clear fire as above. Remove crusts, spread with butter, gash toast that butter may soak in, cut in small, dainty pieces. Serve for afternoon tea in a hot, covered toast dish, keep it hot over a bowl of boiling water. This toast is apt to be indigestible. Uses for Stale Bread. Crusts and pieces of stale bread should be kept in a clean lard tin in warming closet to dry. Leave lid half on to protect from dust, do not shut tin or bread may mildew. When dry put bread on clean paper and crush finely with a glass bottle. Sift through a fine strainer. Keep the finest crumbs in one covered jar for egg and bread crumbs, and the coarse crumbs for puddings in another jar. Bread crumbs may be used for scallops and for crumbing food to be fried, and for stuffings. Steamed puddings are lighter if half the flour is replaced by bread crumbs.