Cooking is not and never will be an exact science, nor indeed a science at all, except as it is practiced by commercial bakers who are able to manufacture, day in and day out, a standard product - . . nearly worthless as food, of course, but always durable, pretty to look at, and profitable. Making good bread is an art! Besides dealing with live factors like the germ-content wholegrain flours, butter, eggs, fresh milk and so on, you are also dealing with temperature and humidity, and last but not least yourself. Bringing all these together, precisely in the same way, upon each occasion, time and time again, cannot be done and in fact ought not to be done... If it were possible, and you could do so, cooking would lose the abiding pleasure that now lurks in it, and you would become sick and tired of the whole thing. 17 18 COOKING WITH WHOLEGRAINS This is not a sermon, but only a warning. After you have fol- lowed a recipe for bread religiously, and it doesn’t “come out” right, don’t despair or suspect that the recipes are wrong. Try again. And then, some bright Tuesday morning, you will enter the kitchen, take out this book, put some things together, and bake a bread that is so wonderful you wonder how it ever happened. Once you do this, you will have the knack. Like learning to ride a bicycle, you can keep it with you as long as you like. It’s all in the point of view. Don’t make cooking a science. Adopt it as an art. And be sure you consider another ingredient that is not mentioned anywhere in this book . . . and make use of it often. I refer to your wits. Wholewheat Bread 2 CUPS MILK, SCALDED 2 TEASPOONS SALT §) TABLESPOONS HONEY I YEAST CAKE 3 TABLESPOONS BUTTER yy CUP LUKEWARM WATER WHEAT FLOUR (ABOUT § 4 CUPS) This recipe is the result of years of trial and error, and I think provides almost a fool-proof way of making a good, comparatively light bread of wholegrain flour without any white flour at all. I em- phasize here the vital necessity of punching down the dough, as described below, as this punch-bag technique is what takes the place of a lot of kneading and is what, really, distinguishes the method of making our genuine wholegrain bread from the meth- ods employed by commercial bakers and those who bake with emac- iated white flour. Put the butter, honey and salt into a fairly large dish. Pour in the scalded milk and stir until the butter and honey are melted. Let cool until lukewarm, then add the yeast cake ✪ Wholewheat Breadwhich has been dissolved in the 4 cup of lukewarm water. Sift some wheat flour, then measure out 3 cups and sift into the liquid. Mix thoroughly, then add 2 more cups of wheat flour sifted the same way and mix as well. Now add more flour, a small amount at a time. Keep adding the wheat flour until the dough is so thick that you can no longer beat it with a spoon. It may require as BREAD & ROLLS 19 much as 6 cups. When you think you have enough flour added, keep on mixing with the spoon for a minute or two longer, or as long as your arm will stand. Then cover closely and set in a warm place to rise. The dough now needs to rise to about double in bulk. You then take a spoon, punch down the middle of the dough, fold the dough from the sides to the center until it is about turned over, and let the dough rise again. Do this four different times. Allow about an hour between risings, although the first one may take a little longer than the other three. Start the sponge the first thing in the morn- ing and your bread will be finished in time to have hot rolls for supper.

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Cooking is not and never will be an exact science, nor indeed a science at all, except as it is practiced by commercial bakers who are able to manufacture, day in and day out, a standard product - . . nearly worthless as food, of course, but always durable, pretty to look at, and profitable. Making good bread is an art! Besides dealing with live factors like the germ-content wholegrain flours, butter, eggs, fresh milk and so on, you are also dealing with temperature and humidity, and last but not least yourself. Bringing all these together, precisely in the same way, upon each occasion, time and time again, cannot be done and in fact ought not to be done... If it were possible, and you could do so, cooking would lose the abiding pleasure that now lurks in it, and you would become sick and tired of the whole thing. 17 18 COOKING WITH WHOLEGRAINS This is not a sermon, but only a warning. After you have fol- lowed a recipe for bread religiously, and it doesn’t “come out” right, don’t despair or suspect that the recipes are wrong. Try again. And then, some bright Tuesday morning, you will enter the kitchen, take out this book, put some things together, and bake a bread that is so wonderful you wonder how it ever happened. Once you do this, you will have the knack. Like learning to ride a bicycle, you can keep it with you as long as you like. It’s all in the point of view. Don’t make cooking a science. Adopt it as an art. And be sure you consider another ingredient that is not mentioned anywhere in this book . . . and make use of it often. I refer to your wits. Wholewheat Bread 2 CUPS MILK, SCALDED 2 TEASPOONS SALT §) TABLESPOONS HONEY I YEAST CAKE 3 TABLESPOONS BUTTER yy CUP LUKEWARM WATER WHEAT FLOUR (ABOUT § 4 CUPS) This recipe is the result of years of trial and error, and I think provides almost a fool-proof way of making a good, comparatively light bread of wholegrain flour without any white flour at all. I em- phasize here the vital necessity of punching down the dough, as described below, as this punch-bag technique is what takes the place of a lot of kneading and is what, really, distinguishes the method of making our genuine wholegrain bread from the meth- ods employed by commercial bakers and those who bake with emac- iated white flour. Put the butter, honey and salt into a fairly large dish. Pour in the scalded milk and stir until the butter and honey are melted. Let cool until lukewarm, then add the yeast cake which has been dissolved in the 4 cup of lukewarm water. Sift some wheat flour, then measure out 3 cups and sift into the liquid. Mix thoroughly, then add 2 more cups of wheat flour sifted the same way and mix as well. Now add more flour, a small amount at a time. Keep adding the wheat flour until the dough is so thick that you can no longer beat it with a spoon. It may require as BREAD & ROLLS 19 much as 6 cups. When you think you have enough flour added, keep on mixing with the spoon for a minute or two longer, or as long as your arm will stand. Then cover closely and set in a warm place to rise. The dough now needs to rise to about double in bulk. You then take a spoon, punch down the middle of the dough, fold the dough from the sides to the center until it is about turned over, and let the dough rise again. Do this four different times. Allow about an hour between risings, although the first one may take a little longer than the other three. Start the sponge the first thing in the morn- ing and your bread will be finished in time to have hot rolls for supper.

Cooking with wholegrains