Now put into a clean pan a peck of flour, and having
made a hollow in the middle of it, pour in the yeast and
water which you have just mixed up : then sprinkle a
handful of flour lightly over the top. Cover the pan over
with a thick cloth, and put it in a warm place to rite,
which it will do in about half an hour.
When the ferment has risen up, and you see the flour
which you sprinkled on the top is cracking, you must put
in two quarts more water, just luke-warm, in which you
have dissolved half-a-pound of salt✪ Cottage Bread, and mix up with it
the whole of the flour and the ferment, just as you would
make dough for a pudding. Keep working it, and scrape
with a spoon all the flour and scraps from the edges of
the pan, which mix up with the other dough, until you
have a soft smooth dough, about the substance you would
use for a pie crust. Then sprinkle a little flour on a clean
board or table, on which put all the dough out of the
pan ; and having rolled it out and doubled it over, seve-
ral times, divide it into as many pieces as you wish to
make loaves ; roll each piece out several times with your
hands, doubling it, and rolling it out again, occasionally
sprinkling the table or board slightly with flour, until it
feels solid and compact ; then break the piece into two
parts, one part rather larger than the other, make them
both round, and put the smaller piece on top of the
larger piece, and press your thumb through the middle of
the top to the bottom, to unite them. If you choose,
you may slightly notch the edp-es with a knife, which will
open slightly in the baking, and produce a crusty notched
cottage loaf.
Should you prefer to make brick loaves, you must,
after you have rolled and doubled the dough, as directed
for cottage loaves, separate each piece into two parts, one
larger than the other, and mould them into a long form,
putting the smaller piece on to the top of the larger piece,
and press your thumb through the top to the bottom, to
unite them.
If you desire to bake your loaves in tins, you must
MADE EAST.
91
roll and double your dough, just the same as if you were
making cottage loaves, but must not separate the pieces,
only roll them up to the length of the tin, and put them
into the tins, so as to fill them not more than half full,
which will give the dough room to rise and fill the tin ;
and then you will have a nice crust at the top.
Another sort of tin loaves is made by rolling the dough
out with your hand, to the width of the tin, and then
rolling up one end as far as the middle of the piece of
dough, and after that, rolling up the other end of the
piece of dough, to meet the piece first rolled up ; put the
piece into the tin, with the join uppermost, and when it
is baked, it will show a light-coloured crease along the
middle of the top of the loaf.
Cakes are made by rolling out small pieces of dough
and making them round, then flatting them by pressing
your hand on them ; you may notch them by cutting
them writh a knife, round the edges, which will give you
more crust, as the notches open in the baking ; or you
may slightly cut them on the top, in any form you fancy. •
Page 46 · 1 recipe record on this page
Presented as published in 1890. 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
Now put into a clean pan a peck of flour, and having made a hollow in the middle of it, pour in the yeast and water which you have just mixed up : then sprinkle a handful of flour lightly over the top. Cover the pan over with a thick cloth, and put it in a warm place to rite, which it will do in about half an hour.
When the ferment has risen up, and you see the flour which you sprinkled on the top is cracking, you must put in two quarts more water, just luke-warm, in which you have dissolved half-a-pound of salt, and mix up with it the whole of the flour and the ferment, just as you would make dough for a pudding. Keep working it, and scrape with a spoon all the flour and scraps from the edges of the pan, which mix up with the other dough, until you have a soft smooth dough, about the substance you would use for a pie crust. Then sprinkle a little flour on a clean board or table, on which put all the dough out of the pan ; and having rolled it out and doubled it over, several times, divide it into as many pieces as you wish to make loaves ; roll each piece out several times with your hands, doubling it, and rolling it out again, occasionally sprinkling the table or board slightly with flour, until it feels solid and compact ; then break the piece into two parts, one part rather larger than the other, make them both round, and put the smaller piece on top of the larger piece, and press your thumb through the middle of the top to the bottom, to unite them. If you choose, you may slightly notch the edges with a knife, which will open slightly in the baking, and produce a crusty notched cottage loaf.
Should you prefer to make brick loaves, you must, after you have rolled and doubled the dough, as directed for cottage loaves, separate each piece into two parts, one larger than the other, and mould them into a long form, putting the smaller piece on to the top of the larger piece, and press your thumb through the top to the bottom, to unite them.
If you desire to bake your loaves in tins, you must
roll and double your dough, just the same as if you were making cottage loaves, but must not separate the pieces, only roll them up to the length of the tin, and put them into the tins, so as to fill them not more than half full, which will give the dough room to rise and fill the tin ; and then you will have a nice crust at the top.
Another sort of tin loaves is made by rolling the dough out with your hand, to the width of the tin, and then rolling up one end as far as the middle of the piece of dough, and after that, rolling up the other end of the piece of dough, to meet the piece first rolled up ; put the piece into the tin, with the join uppermost, and when it is baked, it will show a light-coloured crease along the middle of the top of the loaf.
Cakes are made by rolling out small pieces of dough and making them round, then flatting them by pressing your hand on them ; you may notch them by cutting them writh a knife, round the edges, which will give you more crust, as the notches open in the baking ; or you may slightly cut them on the top, in any form you fancy. •
Records on this page
Cottage Bread