Student's manual in household arts

3. Add sugar, salt and shortening to the hot liquid. 4. Cool to body temperature and add the softened yeast. 5. Add one and one-half times as much flour as you have liquid then beat well. 6. K the bread is to rise three times, cover the dish and set in a warm place and let rise until it has doubled in bulk. If it is to rise only twice proceed from No. 5 to No. 7. 7. Beat thoroughly then add as much flour as you can beat in with a spoon. 8. Turn onto a well-floured board, roll dough in flour, then knead it with the hands until smooth and of even texture throughout. 9. Put the dough into a greased bowl, brush over with water or lard to keep from drying on top and set in a warm place to rise. If you wish the bread to rise rapidly surround the bowl with water as warm as you can hold the back of your hand in. 10. When the dough has risen to twice the size turn it onto the board and knead until all the bubbles are broken down. Use as little flour as possible for this kneading. 11. Form into loaves and put into greased baking pans. Be sure the dough is smooth on top and fits well into the corners of the pans. 12. Brush the top with melted lard or water and set in warm place to rise until twice its size. 13. Bake in moderate oven forty-five to sixty minutes for one pound loaves. 14. Turn the bread frequently during the first fifteen minutes of baking so that it will rise evenly. It should not begin to brown until it has been in the oven at least twenty minutes. 15. When bread is done, remove from pans, brush upper crust with water to soften it and set on rack to cool where the air can reach all sides. 16. When cool put away in stone jar or ventilated bread can. Do not wrap in cloth or it will mold. A Perfect Loaf of Bread. A loaf of bread consists of the crust, which is the brown, outside portion and the crumb, the white inner part. A perfect loaf of bread should be a golden brown color on top, sides and bottom. It should be evenly risen in the pan, with the crust smooth and even, not cracked nor protruding over the sides. If well baked it will feel firm when pressed and will spring back quickly when pressure is removed. When cut, the crumb of the bread should be creamy in color, should slice smoothly without crumbling and the holes should be small and uniform. The taste should be sweet and nutty. When learning to bake bread it would be a good plan to fill out the following score card after each baking. By comparing methods and results, any faults could be corrected and in a short time perfect loaves of bread would be produced each time. Score Card. Date. Score Perfect 1 2 3 Trial Trial Trial Kind and amount of Flour. Kind and amount of Liquid Kind and amount of Yeast.. Time required for Rising . . . Time required for Baking . Baking : — Is the bread thoroughly baked ? . Is it an even golden brown on all sides ? . Is the loaf good shape ? Taste :— Is there the slighest sour taste?. Is the flavor good? Texture of Crumb : — Is the bread light? Are the holes small and even ? Is the bread firm and not crumbly ? Is the crumb a creamy white or is it dark ? .15. ..5, ..5, .10, .15, .20, .10, .10 .10, Amount of Yeast Needed. If the bread is to rise quickly a large amount of yeast must be used and the bread must be kept warm. Less yeast will be needed in the summer than in the winter. The following proportions will help some in judging the amount to be used. 1/4 yeast cake to 2 C. liquid will take eight hours to rise in winter time. 1/6 yeast cake to 2 C. liquid will take eight hours to rise in summer time. 1 yeast cake to 2 C. liquid will take five hours if kept warm. 2 yeast cakes to 2 C. liquid will take three hours if kept warm.