A Book of Cooking and Pastry: A Collection of Original Receipts Gathered ...

Compressed yeast must be yellow white, be firm, and have a bitter smell. If any article is needed in a hurry an extra cake of yeast may be added without injury. Good bread can be made in three hours. Always set a sponge before making the dough, and it will work smoother and raise faster. Use patent flour made of winter wheat mixed with spring wheat tor bread, but for cakes and pastry winter wheat is preferable. / BREAD. / Dissolve in lukewarm water or milk one cake of yeast, sift flour into a bowl and stir the yeast into the middle of the flour, mix with some flour, make a stiff batter, sift some flour over it, and in winter time set in a warm place with a cloth thrown over it. In about thirty minutes it will be raised; add a teaspoonfull of salt and enough flour to make a stiff dough. Work it until smooth, and make into loaves ; set to raise. If the pans are half full of dough when three-quarters full, put in the oven, not too hot, and it will raise in the oven to fill the [74] pan. Wash with milk before and after baking. Bolls, buns and coffee cake are made the same as bread, with the addition of butter, sugar and eggs. BUNS AND ROLLS. Add to each pound of bread dough two ounces of butter, work in well for rolls. For buns add a little sugar. PLAIN COFFEE CAKE. To each pound of bread dough add two eggs, three ounces of sugar, three ounces of butter and a little lemon rind grated. Add enough flour to make a stiff dough ; roll out and bake in a flat pan ; wash with a mixture of milk, when raised, and sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon; bake in a quick oven. If cakes made with yeast are washed with beaten egg they will have a nice appearance when baked. FINE COFFEE CAKE. Two pounds of sifted flour, one pound of worked butter, two cakes of yeast, salt, six ounces of sugar, one pint of milk, grated lemon rind, eight eggs. Dissolve the yeast in the milk, set a sponge. When raised add sugar, butter and eggs, beat up well, put in a pan, let it raise. Wash and sprinkle with chopped almonds and sugar, and bake. LIGHT COFFEE CAKE. Sift one pound of flour, beat to a cream three-quarters of a pound of butter; add seven ounces of sugar, eight eggs and two pieces of compressed yeast dissolved in luke warm milk, a few currents, citron, and lemon rind; add flour last; pour into a cake mould and let it raise and bake. STREUSEL COFFEE CAKE. Make dough of two pounds of flour, set the sponge with two pieces of yeast cake; when raised, add six eggs, eight ounces of sugar, three-quarters of a pound of melted butter, flavor, roll out and put in flat pans; when raised, [75] put on top the streusel; made of two ounces of butter, two ounces of sugar, three ounces of flour, a teaspoonful of cinnamon; rub together and spread on the cake and bake. APPLE CAKE. Fresh apples, cherries, peaches, grapes, etc., can be layed on top of flat coffee cake; pour over a custard and bake. ROLL COFFEE CAKE. Make a dough of one and one-quarter pounds of flour, three-quarters of a pound of butter, eight ounces of sugar, four eggs, two cakes of yeast, a little milk, salt; mix half pound well washed currants, a quarter pound sugar, two ounces chopped citron; roll out the dough, spread with the currants and citron, roll up; let it raise, wash and bake. SAVARIN CAKE. Make a dough of one pound of flour, six ounces of butter, two ounces of sugar, six eggs, one cake of yeast, a little milk; make dough rather soft; fill in small tartlet moulds, let them raise and bake rather dry; when cold, dip in the following syrup: melt on the fire one pound sugar, half pint of water, add one gill of brandy, or the juice of six lemons and let the cakes soak; dust with sugar. REMARKS ABOUT TEA CAKES.