Foods and home making

When sour milk and baking soda are mixed and heated , not only does the sour taste of the milk disappear , but a gas is formed. This gas is the same kind as is formed when baking powder is used for leavening — it is carbon dioxide. A mixture of sour milk and baking soda is used for leavening. How much baking soda should be used with sour milk? Sometimes breads made with sour milk and baking soda have a bitter taste. The bitter taste is not unlike the taste of baking soda. In fact, the bitter taste is due to the use of more baking soda than is needed. If more baking soda is used than can unite with the acid of the sour milk, there will be a bitter material left in the bread when the baking is completed. It has been found that with each cup of sour milk, % teaspoon oj baking soda should be used. Breads for Luncheon or Supper 305 Do sour milk and baking soda form enough gas to leaven a bread? The answer to this question is “no.” In most breads it is well to add baking powder along with the sour milk and soda, so that enough carbon dioxide will be formed to make the mix- ture porous. How much baking powder shall we add ? If sweet milk is used in a quick bread, the amount of baking powder needed depends upon several factors, one being the kind of baking powder. In general, use less alum phosphate baking powder (often called S. A. S. phosphate baking powder) than tartrate or phosphate baking powder. For most quick breads, the following is enough to leaven 1 cup of flour : to 2 teaspoons phosphate or tartrate baking powder 1 to i\ teaspoons alum phosphate baking powder For some family-size recipes for quick breads containing no eggs or only one, such as baking-powder biscuits, the greater quantity of phosphate or tartrate baking powder will make a more delicate or porous quick bread. Also with whole wheat or other heavy flour or meal the greater quantity of all types of baking powder may be used. In substituting sour milk for sweet milk, use, as stated pre- viously, for each cup of fully soured milk \ teaspoon baking soda. Then use from % to f the amount of baking powder in the sweet milk recipe. Usually | as much baking powder is satisfactory if the quick bread is made with white flour, and f as much baking powder if the quick bread is made of coarse flour or meal. For example, if a sweet milk recipe contains 2 cups of flour, 3 teaspoons of baking powder, and 1 cup of sweet milk, to substitute sour milk for sweet, use : 2 cups flour, ^ teaspoon baking soda, i§ teaspoons baking powder, and 1 cup sour milk. What are some points in buying corn meal? How is corn bread made ? Corn meal is generally used to make corn bread. In some localities one finds at market corn meal that is white or light gray ; at other markets yellow corn meal is sold. The 3 °6 Luncheon or Supper difference is due to different varieties of dried corn from which the meals were made.