Miss Corson's practical American cookery and household management

Put two quarts of flour into a deep bowl or pan ; make a hollow in the middle of the flour, and put in the following ingredients without mixing them, and in the order in which they are named : one tablespoonful of sugar, one of butter broken in small pieces, one pint of cold scalded milk, and half a pint of yeast ; cover the pan with a folded towel, and place it in a cool part of the kitchen ; this being done in the evening, the dough will be risen in the morning ; then add to it a level teaspoonful of salt dissolved in a little warm water, mix all the ingredients, knead the dough for fifteen minutes, then return it to the pan, cover it with the cloth, and let it rise again for six hours; then again knead the dough for two or three minutes, roll it out evenly about half an inch thick, and cut it with a smooth biscuit-cutter ; put a small piece of butter on one side of each round of dough, and double them ; put the rolls in a buttered baking-pan, cover them with a folded cloth, set the pan in a moderately warm place, and let the rolls rise for half an hour ; then bake them in a quick oven for about fifteen minutes, and serve them hot. ASTOR-HOUSE ROLLS. Put two quarts of sifted flour into a deep bowl, make a hollow in the centre, and put into it the following ingredients : a pint of lukewarm milk with a tablespoonful of butter dissolved in it, a level teaspoonful of salt, a tablespoonful of sugar, and two gills of yeast ; with the hand mix with these ingredients enough of the flour to form a smooth thin batter ; cover the bowl with a folded cloth, and put it in a warm place until the batter is light and foamy ; then mix in the rest of the flour, knead the dough for five minutes, cover it again, and let it stand until it is twice its original size ; when the dough is light, roll and shape it, and bake the rolls as directed in the recipe for Parker-House rolls. BAKING-POWDER BISCUIT. Sift together a quart of flour, a level teaspoonful of salt, and two heaping teaspoonfuls of any good baking-powder ; see that the oven is of the proper temperature, as indicated in the recipe for compressed-yeast bread, and butter the baking-pan ; rub or chop two tablespoonfuls of lard or butter into the flour ; quickly mix it to as soft a dough as can be easily rolled out, with about a pint of cold water ; roll out the dough on a floured pastry-board, cut out the biscuit with a floured biscuit-cutter, and lay them in the buttered baking-pan ; brush the biscuit with milk, or a teaspoonful of sugar dissolved in a little cold water, and bake them as directed in the preceding recipes. BUTTERMILK BISCUIT. Sift a quart of flour with a heaping teaspoonful of soda, and a level teaspoonful of salt ; rub into the flour a heaping teaspoonful of lard ; butter or flour a baking-pan, and see that the oven is quite hot ; then quickly mix with the prepared flour a pint of buttermilk, shape the biscuit, and bake them in a hot oven. BEATEN BISCUIT. Rub a tablespoonful each of Gutter and lard in a quart of sifted flour, add a level teaspoonful of salt, and then with the hands mix in sufficient milk to form a rather stiff dough ; flour the moulding-board, put the dough on it, flour the roller, and beat the dough out flat with it ; fold it repeatedly, and