FoodNet

Foods that will win the war

1918

Page 4

Presented as published in 1918. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
Waste in your kitchen means starvation in some other kitchen across the sea. Our Allies are asking for 450,- 000,000 bushels of wheat, and we are told that even then theirs will be a privation loaf. Crop shortage and un- usual demand has left Canada and the United States, which are the largest sources of wheat, with but 300,000,- 000 bushels available for export. The deficit must be met by reducing consumption on this side the Atlantic. This ean be done by eliminating waste and by making use of cereals and flours other than wheat in bread-making. The wide use of wheat flour for bread-making has been due to custom. In Europe rye and oats form the staple breads of many countries, and in some sections of the AND HOW TO COOK THEM 13 South corn-bread is the staff of life. We have only to modify a little our bread-eating habits in order to meet the present need. Other cereals can well be used to eke out the wheat, but they require slightly different handling. In making yeast breads, the essential ingredient is gluten, which is extended by carbon dioxide gas formed by yeast growth. With the exception of rye, grains other than wheat do not contain sufficient gluten for yeast bread, and it is necessary to use a wheat in varying pro- portions in order to supply the deficient gluten. Even the baker’s rye loaf is usually made of one-half rye and one-half wheat. This is the safest proportion for home use in order to secure a good texture. When oatmeal is used, it is necessary to scald the oat- meal to prevent a raw taste. Oatmeal also makes a softer dough than wheat, and it is best to make the loaf smaller and bake it longer: about one hour instead of the forty-five minutes which we allow for wheat bread. The addition of one-third barley flour to wheat flour makes a light colored, good flavored bread. If a larger proportion than this is used, the loaf has a decided barley flavor. If you like this flavor and increase the proportion of barley, be sure to allow the dough a little longer time to rise, as by increasing the barley you weaken the gluten content of your loaf. Rice and cornmeal can be added to wheat breads in a 10 per cent. proportion. Laboratory tests have shown that any greater proportion than this produces a heavy, small loaf. Potato flour or mashed potato can be used to extend the wheat, it being possible to work in almost 50 per cent. of potato, but this makes a darker and moister loaf than when wheat alone is used. In order to take care of this 14 FOODS THAT WILL WIN THE WAR moisture, it is best to reserve part of the wheat for the second kneading. | Graham and entire wheat flour also effect a saving of wheat because a larger percentage of the wheat berry is used. Graham flour is the whole kernel of wheat, ground. Entire wheat flour is the flour resulting from the grinding of all but the outer layer of wheat. <A larger use of these coarser flours will therefore help materially in eking out our scant wheat supply as the percentage of the wheat berry used for bread flour is but 72 per cent. Breads made from these coarser flours also aid digestion and are a valuable addition to the dietary.