Blue Ribbon cook book

Always make a sponge when dry yeast cakes are used. With homemade or compressed yeast it may be made into a dough at once. A sponge should always rise at least twice its size or until it begins to fall Dough should always double itself and increase twice its size when placed in the pans. Do not work dough too much, as it is better to underwork than to overwork, Do not let it rise too much in dough or it will be slow in pans. If risen too long it will be full of large holes; if not risen enough it will be heavy and soggy. Mix the dough soft. It has enough flour when it ceases to stick to the fingers. Dough is kneaded the first time that the ingredients may be thoroughly mixed, It is then allowed to rise to double its bulk. The second kneading breaks the bubbles, and distributes evenly the gas already formed. Bread is baked to kill the yeast plant, drive off the alcohol and gas, cook the starch cells and form a crust. An oven too cold will allow the bread to rise too much, and cause it to run over the sides of the pans. If the oven is too hot, it crusts over the top of the loaf and causes it to crack at the sides; it will also do this if it has not sufficiently risen in the pan before putting it in the oven. Breads 61 When bread is baked, put the loaves to cool on a wire rack or against the pans, that the air may circulate freely around them. Do not cover, and do not wrap bread in a cloth when putting it away. Cotton and linen fibre sours quickly, causing the bread to mould. A bread mixer is a wonderful labor saver. Utilizing Stale Bread—Bread crumbs can be utilized in so many ways that every piece of stale bread and the ends of loaves should be saved. Some may be dried, ground in a food chopper, and kept covered in a jar for future use. Dry toast cut in various shapes is often used for garnishing. Dry bread may be buttered, cut in cubes and browned in the oven. These are called croutons and may be used with or in soup. Buttered Crumbs—1 cup fine crumbs, 4 teaspoon salt, 1 tablespoon or more melted butter. Mix all together thoroughly. Use over top of scalloped dishes. YEAST Yeast is a microscopic plant used to make fermented bread. It requires warmth, air and moisture for its growth. The best temperature is from 70° to 75° Fahrenheit, and bread dough is a good soil. The yeast changes the sugar into carbon dioxide gas and alcohol. The gas rises and in its efforts to escape stretches the gluten of the flour to two or three times its original size. Yeast keeps best in the form of dry yeast cakes, and for those who live where it is necessary to keep the yeast for some length of time, this is the safest way to buy it. Being dry, the cakes do not decay, although if kept too long, they lose their vitality, and should be used as fresh as possible. The compressed moist yeast should not be kept more than a few days. If dark and mouldy, it is old; if it breaks up like putty, it is weak. When good, it breaks up easily, has a crisp feeling, and a pleasant wine-like smell. Home-made yeast sometimes gives very satisfactory results, but is apt to contain so many species of yeast plants that it is extremely hard to obtain uniform results, and it is considerable trouble to make and keep it right. One compressed yeast cake is equal to two dry yeast cakes, or two cups of home-made yeast. The dry yeast cakes work more slowly than compressed or home-made yeast, and should be set with a sponge, preferably over night. Sugar hastens the growth or fermentation of the yeast. Salt makes the action less rapid. 62 Blue Ribbon Cook Book Breads -- Time Temperature Table HOT VERY HOT 400° — 450°F. 450°F. YEAST BREAD (decrease to 350°F.) PoPpoveRsS—30 to 35 minutes, —45 to 60 minutes. BAKING PowDER BrEAD—40 to 50 minutes. CoRN BREAD—20 to 30 minutes. RoL__s—15 to 20 minutes. Biscuirs—12 to 15 minutes. MuFFins—20 to 25 minutes.