Mrs. Lincoln's Boston cook book

Put the butter, sugar, and salt in the mixing-bowl ; add one fourth cup of boiling water to dissolve them ; then add enough more lukewarm water to make a pint in all, half a cup of yeast, and three and a half or four cups of flour, enough to make a batter that will drop, not pour, from the spoon. Give it a vigorous beating ; cover and let it rise over night. This soft mixture is called a sponge. In the morning add flour to make it stiff enough to knead. Knead it half an hour. Cover ; let it rise in the bowl until noon, or till light and spongy ; then shape it into loaves or rolls ; let it rise again in the pans ; bake as usual. This sponge can be divided in the morning, adding to one part of it white flour enough to knead it, and to the other part whole-wheat or rye flour and another tablespoonful of sugar. Make it just stiflT enough to shape easily into a loaf after it is risen. Use white flour to shape it on the board, as the rye and whole-wheat flour are sticky. Or make the dough a little softer, fill gem pans two thirds full, let them rise to the top, bake in a hot oven, and you have " raised rye or whole-wheat gems. Milk Bread, No. 3 (with Sponge). Pour one pint of scalded milk on one tablespoonful each of butter and sugar and one teaspoonful of salt ; when lukewarm, add half a cup of yeast if mixed in the morning or one fourth of a cup if mixed at night. Stir in three cups of The Boston Cook Book. flour and beat well. Let it rise over night, or, if mixed in the morning, about three hours. Then add from two to three cups of flour or enough to knead it, and knead half an hour. Let it rise in the bowl, and again after being shaped into loaves or rolls, and bake as usual. Whole-wheat or rye bread or gems can be made from this sponge the same as in the preceding rule. Whole- Wheat or Graham Bread. 1 pint milk, scalded and cooled. 5 or 6 cups fine granulated wheat 2 tablespoonfuls sugar. flour, or 1 teaspoonful salt. 2 cups white flour, and % cup yeast. 3 or 4 cups sifted Graham flour. In the morning mix, in the order given, into a dough, a little softer than for white bread ; let it rise till light, stir it down, pour it into well-greased pans ^ or, if stiff enough, shape it into loaves ; let it rise again, and bake a little longer and in a less hot oven than white bread. Graham or whole-wheat flour rises more rapidly than white flour, as it contains more gluten. It is liable to become sour if mixed over night, and then the cooks resort to the soda. For the true remed}' use less yeast, and use sugar instead of molasses, or mix in the morning. Always sift the flour, notwithstanding all cook-books say to the contrary Use a coarse sieve or squash strainer. Sift once, and, if you observe the character of the refuse, you will be glad to do so always. Bake part of this as biscuit or rolls. When made with ordinary Graham flour, the bread is much lighter if at least one third white flour be used. Squash Bread. 1 cup squash, stewed and sifted. 1 tablespoonful butter. 2 tablespoonfuls sugar. ^^P y^ast. \% cups scalded milk. Flour enough to knead it. 1 teaspoonful salt. Mix the sugar and salt with the squash, add the butter melted in the hot milk, and when cool add the yeast and The Boston Cook Book.