Bread made with this flour has been
found, after repeated trial, to be sweet and agreeable to the
taste, light and spong}' in texture, with none of the objec-
tionable features of Graham bread, and answering fully all
the demands of perfect nutrition.
Cheap inferior Graham flour, made of poor flour mixed
with bran, is worse than no food at all. Any flour con-
taining much of the indigestible bran causes irritation of
the digestive organs ; all the food is hurried through the
alimentary canal before digestion is complete or all the
nutriment can be absorbed, and thus is neither economical
nor healthful. Fine flour containing the most gluten is the
most nutritious, because it is all digested, and the loss of
albuminous material can be supplied from other sources.
The Arhngton, the Franklin, and some other brands of
whole-wheat flour, are highly indorsed by those famihar
with them.
The Tests of Good Flour.
The first requisite in making good bread is to use good
flour. Good flour should not be pure white in color, but
The Boston Cook Book.
43
of a creamy, yellowish- white shade. If it feel damp,
clammy, or sticky, and gradually form into lamps or
cakes, it is not the best. Good flour holds together in a
mass, when squeezed by the hand, and retains the impres-
sion of the fingers, and even the marks of the skin, much
longer than poor flour ; when made into a dough, it is
elastic, easy to be kneaded, will stay in a round puffy
shape, and will take up a large amount of water: while
poor flour will be sticky, flatten, or spread itself over the
board, and will never seem to be stifl' enough to be handled,
no matter how much flour is used. Haxall flour has a fine
granular consistency, and runs easily through the sieve or
the fingers like fine meal ; while- good St. Louis flour feels
soft and oily. It is extravagant to buy poor or even
doubtful flour. But, should it have every appearance of
being good flour, and yet not make good bread, do not
condemn the flour without a fair trial ; and be sure the
fault is nowhere else. *
Every experienced cook has her own tests for flour, and
some of them are amusing, if not reliable. The best way
is to buy a small quantit}^ at first, and make it into dough ;
then, if satisfactor}^, purchase whatever amount is re-
quired, and buy this same brand as long as it proves of
uniform quahty. The names given to flour are not a sure
criterion of the quality. The flour may come from the
same growth of wheat, and be ground in the same manner
and at the same mill, and yet the miller or the wholesale
dealers will brand it diflerently. And the same brand will
yary in quality from year to 3'ear. Some of the varieties
sold in Boston, and known to be good by personal trial,
are Archibald's Extra, Washburn's, Spaulding, Corrugated,
Taylor's Best, Brown's Best, Marguerite, etc. ; the same
flour may be known in other cities under different names.
There are others equally good, and every 3^ear some new
brand is announced. It is estimated that one barrel of
flour will last one person one 3'ear ; which gives a rule of
proportion by which to bu}'. Most good housekeepers
agree that flour is not improved by long keeping, though
44
The Boston Cook Booh,
Page 30
Presented as published in 1884. 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
Bread made with this flour has been found, after repeated trial, to be sweet and agreeable to the taste, light and spongy in texture, with none of the objectionable features of Graham bread, and answering fully all the demands of perfect nutrition.
Cheap inferior Graham flour, made of poor flour mixed with bran, is worse than no food at all. Any flour containing much of the indigestible bran causes irritation of the digestive organs ; all the food is hurried through the alimentary canal before digestion is complete or all the nutriment can be absorbed, and thus is neither economical nor healthful. Fine flour containing the most gluten is the most nutritious, because it is all digested, and the loss of albuminous material can be supplied from other sources.
The Arlington, the Franklin, and some other brands of whole-wheat flour, are highly indorsed by those famihar with them.
The Tests of Good Flour.
The first requisite in making good bread is to use good flour. Good flour should not be pure white in color, but
The Boston Cook Book.
of a creamy, yellowish- white shade. If it feel damp, clammy, or sticky, and gradually form into lumps or cakes, it is not the best. Good flour holds together in a mass, when squeezed by the hand, and retains the impression of the fingers, and even the marks of the skin, much longer than poor flour ; when made into a dough, it is elastic, easy to be kneaded, will stay in a round puffy shape, and will take up a large amount of water: while poor flour will be sticky, flatten, or spread itself over the board, and will never seem to be stifl' enough to be handled, no matter how much flour is used. Haxall flour has a fine granular consistency, and runs easily through the sieve or the fingers like fine meal ; while good St. Louis flour feels soft and oily. It is extravagant to buy poor or even doubtful flour. But, should it have every appearance of being good flour, and yet not make good bread, do not condemn the flour without a fair trial ; and be sure the fault is nowhere else. *
Every experienced cook has her own tests for flour, and some of them are amusing, if not reliable. The best way is to buy a small quantity at first, and make it into dough ; then, if satisfactory, purchase whatever amount is required, and buy this same brand as long as it proves of uniform quality. The names given to flour are not a sure criterion of the quality. The flour may come from the same growth of wheat, and be ground in the same manner and at the same mill, and yet the miller or the wholesale dealers will brand it differently. And the same brand will yary in quality from year to year. Some of the varieties sold in Boston, and known to be good by personal trial, are Archibald's Extra, Washburn's, Spaulding, Corrugated, Taylor's Best, Brown's Best, Marguerite, etc. ; the same flour may be known in other cities under different names. There are others equally good, and every year some new brand is announced. It is estimated that one barrel of flour will last one person one 3'ear ; which gives a rule of proportion by which to buy. Most good housekeepers agree that flour is not improved by long keeping, though
The Boston Cook Booh,