2£ level breakfastcups flour.
About 2 small teacups warm
water.
Jr of a yeast cake.
i teaspoon salt.
A pinch of sugar.
If the bread is to be ready for next day’s lunch, set the
yeast to rise in the evening.
1. Measure the flour, sift it and set it aside. Dissolve
a sixth part of a yeast cake in a teacup of luke-warm water,
add the pinch of sugar. When the yeast is quite dissolved,
which will be in about half-an-hour’s time, pour it into the
large pudding basin and mix with it enough of the flour to
make a thick smooth paste. Beat it for a minute or two
with a spoon till it looks slightly frothy. Cover the basin
with a thick cloth (a cheap stuff called “household flannel”
does very well), wrap it in another and stand it in a warm,
but not too hot place. An equal temperature, with no
chance of draughts, is especially needed. In the bush, the
basin, wrapped in flannel, might be stood in a box covered
with a cloth.
152
BREAD, SCONES AND CAKES.
2. By morning, the yeast should have risen, swelling
the paste into a sort of sponge, frothy on top. If not
sufficiently risen, stand it near the fire, the warmth will
quicken the action of the yeast.
3. When it is risen, put what remains of the flour into
a small enamel basin (bought from the Niger Co.), make a
hole in the middle and pour into it the risen sponge.
Dissolve the salt in a teacup of luke warm water (or milk),
and pour in gradually, stirring your flour into the sponge
at the same time.
4. When well mixed, begin kneading the dough with
your fists, working always from the sides of the basin
towards the middle. Have a little flour beside you in
which to dip your hands if the dough sticks, or if it sticks
very badly, add a little more flour to it. If, on the
contrary, the dough is too dry, add a little water. The
right consistency should be a smooth mass, very soft and
yielding to the touch, yet not sticky or pasty.
5. When the dough comes clear away from the sides of
the basin, put it on a board sprinkled with flour arid continue
working it quickly, always with the fists and from the
edges inwards, doubling it and turning it round and round.
When it can be cut without any of it sticking to the knife
the dough is ready. The kneading should take about ten
minutes.
6. With a feather and a very little ground nut oil paint
the inside of the 11b. baking tin and dust in a little flour.
Shake the tin so that the flour is dusted only very lightly
over the bottom and sides. Put in the dough, cover the
tin with the piece of flannel and stand it rather near the
fire until the dough has risen to the top of the tin. This
will take, according to the temperature, one and a half to
two hours.
7. Place the tin in a good hot oven. Keep the heat
equal the whole time. Bake for about three quarters of an
hour. When nearly baked, take the loaf out of the tin,
BREAD, SCONES AND CAKES.
153
put it back again upside down and finish baking in that
position so as to get a good crust on the bottom as w'ell as
the top.
Notes. — The above proportions are a safe base to go on,
but they are subject to many variations. A personal
experiment will best help you to judge why the bread is
good or bad. ✪ Scones
Page 74 · 1 recipe record on this page
Presented as published in 1910. 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
2£ level breakfastcups flour. About 2 small teacups warm water.
Jr of a yeast cake. i teaspoon salt.
A pinch of sugar.
If the bread is to be ready for next day’s lunch, set the yeast to rise in the evening.
1. Measure the flour, sift it and set it aside. Dissolve a sixth part of a yeast cake in a teacup of luke-warm water, add the pinch of sugar. When the yeast is quite dissolved, which will be in about half-an-hour’s time, pour it into the large pudding basin and mix with it enough of the flour to make a thick smooth paste. Beat it for a minute or two with a spoon till it looks slightly frothy. Cover the basin with a thick cloth (a cheap stuff called “household flannel” does very well), wrap it in another and stand it in a warm, but not too hot place. An equal temperature, with no chance of draughts, is especially needed. In the bush, the basin, wrapped in flannel, might be stood in a box covered with a cloth.
2. By morning, the yeast should have risen, swelling the paste into a sort of sponge, frothy on top. If not sufficiently risen, stand it near the fire, the warmth will quicken the action of the yeast.
3. When it is risen, put what remains of the flour into a small enamel basin (bought from the Niger Co.), make a hole in the middle and pour into it the risen sponge. Dissolve the salt in a teacup of luke warm water (or milk), and pour in gradually, stirring your flour into the sponge at the same time.
4. When well mixed, begin kneading the dough with your fists, working always from the sides of the basin towards the middle. Have a little flour beside you in which to dip your hands if the dough sticks, or if it sticks very badly, add a little more flour to it. If, on the contrary, the dough is too dry, add a little water. The right consistency should be a smooth mass, very soft and yielding to the touch, yet not sticky or pasty.
5. When the dough comes clear away from the sides of the basin, put it on a board sprinkled with flour arid continue working it quickly, always with the fists and from the edges inwards, doubling it and turning it round and round. When it can be cut without any of it sticking to the knife the dough is ready. The kneading should take about ten minutes.
6. With a feather and a very little ground nut oil paint the inside of the 11b. baking tin and dust in a little flour. Shake the tin so that the flour is dusted only very lightly over the bottom and sides. Put in the dough, cover the tin with the piece of flannel and stand it rather near the fire until the dough has risen to the top of the tin. This will take, according to the temperature, one and a half to two hours.
7. Place the tin in a good hot oven. Keep the heat equal the whole time. Bake for about three quarters of an hour. When nearly baked, take the loaf out of the tin,
put it back again upside down and finish baking in that position so as to get a good crust on the bottom as well as the top.
Notes. — The above proportions are a safe base to go on, but they are subject to many variations. A personal experiment will best help you to judge why the bread is good or bad.
Records on this page
Scones