Domestic science (1914 text-book)

Short Cake, No. 1 One pint flour, one-half teaspoon salt, two teaspoons, baking powder, sifted together four times, one-quarter cup butter rubbed in, one egg beaten and mixed with one scant cup milk. Spread on a biscuit tin and bake in quick oven. Pull apart after cooling five minutes, spread with softened butter and fill with fruit. Short Cake, No. 2 One quart flour, one teaspoon salt, four tablespoons baking powder, sifted together four times, rub in one-half cup butter and lard and onequarter cup milk. Bake in two long biscuit tins, making off in squares before baking. Bake in a very quick oven till a good brown. Use a generous quart of fruit for each layer, dust thick with powdered sugar. Pile whipped cream on the top layer just before serving. If it is wanted very, crisp and short, Like pastry, the amount of shortening is doubled and water used to mix rather stiffer than before. All butter makes it more crisp than lard. Old Fashioned Short Cake Take one large cup of rich sour cream, one-half teaspoon salt and the same of soda sifted four times with one pint flour, mix, and beat well for two minutes. Take a twelve-inch frying pan, have it buttered and hissing hot, spread in the short cake, cover with a flat tin and set over hot griddle. Do not bum; turn in less than ten minutes; when done, break in pieces and send to table folded in napkin. Digitized by Google Lesson LIV Plain Pastry Materials used: Class Rule Home Rule J c flour salt li e flour i tp salt li tb fat cold water ^ to i c shortening cold water Utensils needed Bowl tablespoon molding board sifter teaspoon pie tin 2 knives rolling pin fork measunng cup Work to be done: 1. Sift the flour. 2. Measure the floiu* and salt and mix by sifting into a bowl. 3. Cut the fat into the flour by means of two case knives. Continue until the mixture has the appearance of meal, and each little particle of fat has a coating of flour. 4. Add enough cold water, using the caseknife to mix the flour and water until a paste is formed that does not crumble, Fio. 68.-Cutting Fat into Flour but clings together without sticking to the bowl or knife. 5. By means of a knife, make the paste into a ball, rolling it along the sides of the bowl, thus taking up every particle of flour and dough. Digitized by Google 6. Lightly dredge the molding board with flour 7. Turn the paste out, pat into a rectangular shape with the rolling pin, and roll out to a thickness of about I inch, always rolling away from you instead of back and forth. If the paste has a tendency to stick, dust some more flour on the board and rolling pin, but no more than is absolutely necessary. Fig. 69. — Dredging the Moulding Board 8. Put the paste in the pie tin in such a manner that all air is excluded from underneath, or cover the outside of an inverted tin, pricking paste with a fork. 9. Trim ofif the edges. 10. Bake in a moderate oven until delicately browned. Principles: The more solid the shortening is, the less flour it will take up. For this reason it is very important that all the ingredients should be kept as cool as possible. The amount of flour in proportion to the shortening is of great importance, for upon this, to a great extent, depends the "shortness," or tenderness, of the crust. For this reason also, as little flour as possible should be used for dredging the board and rolling pin during the process of rolling out the paste. Just enough water should be used to cause the paste to stick together, for the less the amount of water, the more brittle the crust will be. Digitized by Google The paste should be put together quickly and handled as little as possible. An undue amount of handling results in a tough crust.