Bread, cakes, and biscuits

Yeast for Hot Climates. — The following directions for yeast making abroad were given in the Queen by a lady who has written a very clever little book on “ Leavened Bread at Home, inthe Jungle, and the Colonies,” which, however, is not easily procured, or so well known as it should be in this country : Mash two small and thoroughly ripe bananas or plantains, and mix with them one heaped tablespoonful of moist sugar, a dessertspoonful of flour, and about a gill of lukewarm water When these ingredients are thoroughly mixed pour them into an old-fashioned soda-water bottle, cork and tie this down securely, and put it away for fortyeight hours till its contents are foamy and creamy and ready for use. The cork will fly when opened, like a champagne cork. Other recipes given by the same lady are as follows : Mash and boil two medium-sized potatoes, and add to them a tablespoonful of raw sugar, a dessertspoonful of flour, a gill of warm water (80°), and a teaspoonful of soaked dried peas or lentils ; mix all these as. before, and finish as in the previous recipe. This also will be ready for use in forty-eight hours. Or, put into your bottle about a wineglassful of beer, a teaspoonful of rawpearl barley, one tablespoonful moist sugar, and a gill of lukewarm water. Finish as before, but this yeast will be ready a little under the forty-eight hours. When using either of these freshly-made recipes, it is best to strain them into the flour to keep out the fruit or grain used in the starting. A bottle of this yeast is enough for l^lb. to 21b. of flour, and, being practically nearly tasteless, it may be used for an even less amount of flour ; but, speaking economically, 2lb. of flour is about the smallest workable quantity to use in breadmaking. Yeast, to Renew. — When you have poured your yeast into the flour, and mixed it to the batter according to the directions given, lift out a heaped tablespoonful of this batter, and put it into the bottle as before, with a dessertspoonful of flour, a tablespoonful of moist sugar, and a gill of lukewarm water, cork and tie down; this will also be ready in forty-eight hours. Yeast made by almost any formula can be kept going in this way for an indefinite time, and appears to improve as it goes on. to Keep. — Some years ago an old-fashioned farmhouse baker gave me the following recipes which had been in use successfully in his family for several generations : Have ready some new wooden bowls or platters previously well scalded, and allowed to dry thoroughly. Now whisk the yeast till it becomes thin, then with a soft, dry, clean brush, paint the inside of the bowl all over with a pretty thick layer of the yeast ; let this layer get perfectly dry, then paint on another, repeating these layers, allowing each to become bone-dry before adding the next (the success of this recipe depends on scrupulous care in this drying), till you have used up all your material. These layers may be put on 2 or 3 inches thick, and thus treated will keep good for several months. To use this dry yeast cut out the requisite sized pieces, and stir these up in warm water.