son. But in this country^ it often happens that a good
cook is not to be found for money, although the raw ma-
terial of which one might be made is much oftener at
hand. And if ladies would only practice the culinary art
with as much, nay, half as much assiduity as they give to
a new pattern in crochet ; devote as much time to attain-
ing perfection in one dish or article of food, be it per-
fect bread, or some French dish which father, brother,
or husband goes to Delmonico's to enjoy, as they do to
the crochet tidies or embroidered rugs with which they
decorate their drawing-rooms, they could then take the
material, in the shape of any ambitious girl they may
meet with, and make her a fine cook. In the time they
take to make a dozen tidies, they would have a dozen
dishes at their fingers' ends; and let me tell you, the
woman who can cook a dozen things, outside of pre-
serves, in a 'perfect manner is a rarity here, and a good
cook anywhere, for, by the time the dozen are accom-
plished, she will have learned so much of the art of cook-
ing that all else will come easy. One good soup, bouil-
lon, and you have the foundation of all others ; two
good sauces, white sauce and brown, ^'les sauces meres '^
as the French call them (mothers of all other sauces),
and all others are matters of detail. Learn to make one
kind of roll perfectly, as light, plump, and crisp as
Delmonico's, and all varieties are at your fingers' ends;
you can have kringles, Vienna rolls, Kreuznach horns,
Yorkshire tea cakes, English Sally Lunns and Bath
buns ; all are then as easy to make as common soda bis-
cuit. In fact, in cooking, as in many other things, '^ ce
rCest que le premier pas que coute; " failures are almost
certain at the beginning, but a failure is often a step
toward success — if we only know the reason of the failure.
CHAPTEK 11.
0]Sr BEEAD.
Of all articles of food^ bread is perhaps the one about
which most has been written, most instruction given,
and most failures made. Yet what adds more to the
elegance of a table than exquisite bread or breads, and
— ^unless you live in a large city and depend on the baker
— what so rare ? A lady who is very proud of her table,
and justly so, said to me quite lately, '' I cannot under-
stand how it is we never have really fine home-made
bread. I have tried many recipes, following them
closely, and I can't achieve anything but a common-
place loaf with a thick, hard crust ; and as for rolls,
they are my despair. I have wasted eggs, butter, and
patience so often that I have determined to give them
up, but a fine loaf I will try for."
^^ And when you achieve the fine loaf, you may revel
in home-made rolls, " I answered.
And so I advise every one first to make perfect bread,
light, white, crisp, and thin-crusted, that rarest thing
in home-made bread.
I have read over many recipes for bread, and am con-
vinced that when the time allowed for rising is specified,
it is invariably too short. One standard book directs
you to leave your sponge two hours, and the bread when
made up a quarter of an hour. This recipe strictly
followed must result in heavy, tough bread. As bread
12
On Bread, 13 ✪ Homemade Bread
Page 8 · 1 recipe record on this page
Presented as published in 1885. 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
son. But in this country it often happens that a good cook is not to be found for money, although the raw material of which one might be made is much oftener at hand. And if ladies would only practice the culinary art with as much, nay, half as much assiduity as they give to a new pattern in crochet ; devote as much time to attaining perfection in one dish or article of food, be it perfect bread, or some French dish which father, brother, or husband goes to Delmonico's to enjoy, as they do to the crochet tidies or embroidered rugs with which they decorate their drawing-rooms, they could then take the material, in the shape of any ambitious girl they may meet with, and make her a fine cook. In the time they take to make a dozen tidies, they would have a dozen dishes at their fingers' ends; and let me tell you, the woman who can cook a dozen things, outside of preserves, in a 'perfect manner is a rarity here, and a good cook anywhere, for, by the time the dozen are accomplished, she will have learned so much of the art of cooking that all else will come easy. One good soup, bouillon, and you have the foundation of all others ; two good sauces, white sauce and brown, "les sauces meres" as the French call them (mothers of all other sauces), and all others are matters of detail. Learn to make one kind of roll perfectly, as light, plump, and crisp as Delmonico's, and all varieties are at your fingers' ends; you can have kringles, Vienna rolls, Kreuznach horns, Yorkshire tea cakes, English Sally Lunns and Bath buns ; all are then as easy to make as common soda biscuit. In fact, in cooking, as in many other things, "c'est que le premier pas qui coûte;" failures are almost certain at the beginning, but a failure is often a step toward success — if we only know the reason of the failure.
CHAPTER 11.
ON BREAD.
Of all articles of food, bread is perhaps the one about which most has been written, most instruction given, and most failures made. Yet what adds more to the elegance of a table than exquisite bread or breads, and—unless you live in a large city and depend on the baker — what so rare ? A lady who is very proud of her table, and justly so, said to me quite lately, "I cannot understand how it is we never have really fine home-made bread. I have tried many recipes, following them closely, and I can't achieve anything but a commonplace loaf with a thick, hard crust ; and as for rolls, they are my despair. I have wasted eggs, butter, and patience so often that I have determined to give them up, but a fine loaf I will try for."
"And when you achieve the fine loaf, you may revel in home-made rolls, " I answered.
And so I advise every one first to make perfect bread, light, white, crisp, and thin-crusted, that rarest thing in home-made bread.
I have read over many recipes for bread, and am convinced that when the time allowed for rising is specified, it is invariably too short. One standard book directs you to leave your sponge two hours, and the bread when made up a quarter of an hour. This recipe strictly followed must result in heavy, tough bread. As bread
On Bread, 13
Records on this page
Homemade Bread