"Yes," I replied, "and were you to taste it, you
would find it not unpleasant, but a little sweet and
biting to the tongue. And now, from this pan of
flour, which we first sift and warm, we Avill add to
the ferment a handful at a time, stirring and beat-
ing it well meanwhile, until it is thick as batter;
then covering, leave it to rise. When light again,
and fairly dancing with life (or is it the dance of
death ?) , give it more flour and a good beating.
This whipping seems to take all the life out of the
batter, but you will find that the dough quickly
recovers its old spirits, and is all the lighter for
the heavy strokes given it. You will observe,
Alice, that I put no salt in the bread, there being
enough in the yeast to prevent it from tasting fresh
or flat. No one, I think, can like to taste salt in
bread."
20 COOKING AND CASTLE-BUILDING.
" Cousin Kate, why do you set the ferment to
rise in an earthen bowl instead of a tin pan or
wooden tray ? "
" Tin does not protect the ferment from cold air
as does this thick earthenware ; and w^ooden ves-
sels are clumsy to handle, and difficult to keep
clean and sweet. Bear in mind, Alice, that you
cannot have perfect success in bread-making, if
you allow the ferment or sponge to change tem-
perature, alternating from cold to heat: you must
not permit it to take a chill, and then force it into
a fever by means of hot-air baths. Such treat-
ment will utterly demoralize any bread-sponge.
Start the bread at blood-heat, then keep it well
covered ; and whenever you add flour, let it be of
a moderately warm temperature.
" When the sponge is too stiff to be stirred and
beaten in this manner, put your hand into it, and
work it very thoroughly, adding flour slowly until
the douo^h clins^s too-ether and seems to have a
decided character of its own. The sides of the
bowl will then be clean of dough, and you can lift
the mass all together, and place it on the bread-
board, where you will knead it for half an hour
longer, adding flour only as is necessary to keep
the dough from sticking to the board or hands.
" When it works clean on the board, and seems
lively and spirited, it is well moulded ; but test
its temper in this way : give the dough a deep
HOW WE MADE BllEAD. 21
poke with your fist, and if it takes the iusult
meekly and settles down on the board, it is not
v/orked sufficiently; but if, on the contrary, it
seems to resent the assault, and springs back after
your retreating hand, it is all right.
"Instead of kneading a large mass of dough on
the moulding-board, it is better to divide it, work-
ing the several parts alternately. Not only
because it is easier to mould in small parcels, but
because fermentation during the interval of rest
softens and renders it lighter than if contin-
uously moulded.
Page 6
Presented as published in 1880. 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
"Yes," I replied, "and were you to taste it, you would find it not unpleasant, but a little sweet and biting to the tongue. And now, from this pan of flour, which we first sift and warm, we will add to the ferment a handful at a time, stirring and beating it well meanwhile, until it is thick as batter; then covering, leave it to rise. When light again, and fairly dancing with life (or is it the dance of death ?) , give it more flour and a good beating. This whipping seems to take all the life out of the batter, but you will find that the dough quickly recovers its old spirits, and is all the lighter for the heavy strokes given it. You will observe, Alice, that I put no salt in the bread, there being enough in the yeast to prevent it from tasting fresh or flat. No one, I think, can like to taste salt in bread."
" Cousin Kate, why do you set the ferment to rise in an earthen bowl instead of a tin pan or wooden tray ? "
" Tin does not protect the ferment from cold air as does this thick earthenware ; and wooden vessels are clumsy to handle, and difficult to keep clean and sweet. Bear in mind, Alice, that you cannot have perfect success in bread-making, if you allow the ferment or sponge to change temperature, alternating from cold to heat: you must not permit it to take a chill, and then force it into a fever by means of hot-air baths. Such treatment will utterly demoralize any bread-sponge. Start the bread at blood-heat, then keep it well covered ; and whenever you add flour, let it be of a moderately warm temperature.
" When the sponge is too stiff to be stirred and beaten in this manner, put your hand into it, and work it very thoroughly, adding flour slowly until the dough clings together and seems to have a decided character of its own. The sides of the bowl will then be clean of dough, and you can lift the mass all together, and place it on the breadboard, where you will knead it for half an hour longer, adding flour only as is necessary to keep the dough from sticking to the board or hands.
" When it works clean on the board, and seems lively and spirited, it is well moulded ; but test its temper in this way : give the dough a deep
poke with your fist, and if it takes the insult meekly and settles down on the board, it is not v/orked sufficiently; but if, on the contrary, it seems to resent the assault, and springs back after your retreating hand, it is all right.
"Instead of kneading a large mass of dough on the moulding-board, it is better to divide it, working the several parts alternately. Not only because it is easier to mould in small parcels, but because fermentation during the interval of rest softens and renders it lighter than if continuously moulded.