Plain cookery recipes

Put the slice of bread on to a toasting-fork, and hold for a few seconds before a clear red fire. This dries the bread. Turn and dry the other side; then toast each side of the bread till of a golden brown colour. Cut it into neat pieces, place in a toast-rack, and serve hot and crisp. If much toast is to be prepared, keep the pieces just toasted crisp and hot till required. Bread. To make a quartern loaf — Three and a half pounds flour. To every pound of flour one teaspoonful salt. One teaspoonful castor sugar. One and a half pints tepid water. One ounce yeast. Sieve the flour and salt into a large warm bowl. Cream the yeast and sugar together with a wooden spoon until liquid, and add the tepid water. Make a well in the centre of the flour, and strain in the yeast and water. Sprinkle a little of the flour over, cover the basin with a cloth, and set to rise in a warm place for twenty minutes till the surface is covered with bubbles. This is called “ setting the sponge.” Work in all the flour with the hand, adding more tepid water if necessary to make a firm, elastic dough, and knead thoroughly. Cover again with a cloth, and set to rise in a warm place for two hours. When well risen, knead the dough lightly on a floured board, and form into loaves. Put in a warm place to prove for fifteen minutes ; then bake in a hot oven for thirty minutes to one hour, according to size of loaf. When ready, the bread will be well risen, will feel light, and when tapped underneath will sound hollow. Brown Bread. Three pounds wheat flour. To every pound of flour one teaspoonful salt. One ounce yeast. One and a half pints tepid water. One half-pound household flour. One teaspoonful castor sugar. Prepare and bake as for white bread, but do not sieve the wheaten flour. Buns. One half-pound flour. One ounce yeast. One teaspoonful castor sugar. Three gills milk. Sieve the flour into a warm bowl. Cream the yeast and sugar, and add the milk lukewarm. Strain and add to the flour gradually, stirring with a wooden spoon to make a smooth batter. Cover with a cloth, and set to rise in a warm place for an hour. Have ready also — One and a quarter pounds flour. One-quarter pound butter. One-quarter pound sultanas. One - quarter pound castor sugar. Two ounces candied peel. Two eggs. Rub the butter into the flour, prepare the fruit, and mix all the dry ingredients. When the sponge in the first bowl has risen, beat in the dry ingredients from the second basin with the beaten eggs. Mix thoroughly, and beat with the hand for about five minutes. Cover, and set to rise again in a warm place for one and a half hours. Form into small buns, and place on a greased and floured baking-tray. Put in a warm place to prove for ten to fifteen minutes. Bake in a hot oven for twenty to thirty minutes. When ready, brush with milk and sugar to glaze. Yorkshire Tea Cake* Three-quarters pound flour. Half an ounce yeast. One teaspoonful castor sugar. One ounce butter. One and a half gills milk. One egg.