Mrs. Lincoln's Boston cook book

until there are no wrinkles, and the loaves are smooth. Greasing the hands slightly with butter helps. All the flour added at this kneading rises but once, and too much will make the loaf burst out unevenly at the sides. Some careless kneaders merel}^ fold it over, and if it look smooth on the top they think that enough ; but their loaf will sometimes have a seam or crack through it, which will cause the slices to fall apart easily. The loaves should come nearl}^ half-way up the pan ; and the same rule follows as for the first rising, namely, let it come to the top, or till the bulk is doubled. Cover with cloth and tin cover, or a large tin pan. The time for rising varies with the lightness of the dough and the temperature of the room. It is impossible to give a definite rule ; but should it rise too far and stick to the cloth, or look " tum- bled in," cut it down, knead, and let it rise again. Never bake it in the above state, as it will be coarse-grained, if not hollow. It is better to bake it a little too soon than to let it rise too long. Rolls and small biscuit should rise in the pans longer and be baked in a hotter oven than the loaf, because the loaf rises in the oven until the heat has penetrated to the centre ; while in the rolls the air cells are very quickly fixed by the intense heat needed to perfect the crust, and fer- mentation is almost immediately checked. This is con- trary to the usual practice ; but it is the correct wsij. Many people prepare biscuit for breakfast by letting them rise ten or fifteen minutes in a very hot place while the oven is heating. The}' are often only half baked, and then eaten smoking hot ; and those who have never had an}'- thing else think them just right. The evil eflfects of this practice have been the occasion for much of the outcry against hot, or even fresh, biscuit. Such are entirely dif- ferent from the dry, light, delicious biscuit which have had a natural, not a forced, rising, are of the proper texture, have been baked quickly, and allowed to stand at least half an hour before being eaten. The moral of the above is, never try to have raised biscuit for breakfast without 6o The Boston Cook Booh. rising at least three hours before breakfast- time, unless you wish your family to become slaves to indigestion. The Temperature for Baking. — The object of baking bread is to kill the ferment, rupture the starch grains, fix the air cells, and form a nicel}^ flavored crust. Bread could be baked by steam, as the air cells become fixed at 212°, and the temperature of the inside of the loaf, owing to the moisture, never rises above that point ; but, to give the delicious flavor of the browned crust, a much higher temperature is needed. The oven should be hot enough to brown a teaspoonful of flour in one minute for rolls, and in Jive minutes for loaves. This is a good rule for those who do not use a thermometer, or cannot judge of the heat by their hands. The heat should be greater at the bottom than at the top of the oven, and of suflScient strength to last through the time of baking (which is about an hour) without replenishing the fire. Divide the time into thirds ; the first fifteen or twenty minutes the heat should increase, remain steady during the next, and decrease toward the last. The dough should rise, and, after fifteen minutes, begin to brown slightly.