The home cook book

Mix through one pint and a half of flour one teaspoon of salt, one teaspoon of sugar, one beaten egg, one pint of lukewarm milk, and three-quarters of a compressed yeast cake, or half a teacup of potato yeast. Beat all together thoroughly. Set to rise in a warm place and cover. When very light, knead well, adding enough more flour to make a delicate dough for biscuit. Set to rise again. When light, make into rolls oblong in shape. Put in greased pans and when the rolls rise almost even together they are ready to bake. Dust the top with a piece of soft paper dipped in melted butter. Bake in a steady oven for half an hour until a light brown. VIENNA ROLLS Mix a cake of lively yeast in a quart of lukewarm milk. Then stir in a quart of flour and set to rise in a warm place. In two or three hours, add flour enough to make a stiff dough, add also a tablespoon of sugar and the same of salt. Set to rise again, and after four or five hours take on a board and roll in thin sheets, not more than quarter of an inch thick. From these sheets cut triangles. Roll up the triangles from the base so that the apex will come in the centre of the roll. Bend them in quarter-moon shape, brush with melted butter, let rise for half an hour, and bake. Instead of forming the dough from triangles the rolls may be made in ordinary form. RUSK Make a sponge overnight of one teacup of flour, half a teaspoon of salt, and half a pint of lukewarm water or milk. Dissolve a compressed yeast cake in cold water. Add this to the sponge, and beat very hard. Cover well and set to rise in a warm place overnight. In the morning, add half a teacup of melted butter (not hot), half a teacup of sugar, and two beaten eggs. Stir all together and beat thoroughly. If more flour is needed to make a delicate soft dough which you can knead a little, add it. Roll out half an inch thick and cut with biscuit cutter, or make into oblong rolls. Put in a deep, greased pan. Let rise nearly to the top of the pan. Rusk needs to be lighter than bread rolls. When ready to bake, dip a soft piece of paper in egg and sugar beaten together and dust the top with the mixture. Bake in a steady oven about half an hour. If they bake too fast, set a pan of warm water over them in the upper oven. A small sifting of grated nutmeg on top the rusk is liked by many. BAKING-POWDER BISCUIT Measure one quart of sifted flour and three heaping teaspoons of baking powder. To this add one tablespoon of lard and mix quickly through the flour with the tips of the Biscuit Cutters fingers. Wet with one teacup of milk and water mixed or all milk, or all water. Of course, milk is the best. Wash the dough off the hands before mixing, and sprinkle the pastry board lightly with flour. Also dip the hand into the flour to prevent any sticking to the board or the hands. Now turn BISCUITS 233 the dough on the board, turn it over, knead just twice to have it smooth; then flour the rolling-pin and roll out half an inch thick. Cut the biscuit with a cutter the size you prefer and put into pans that are neither floured nor greased. Let them stand fifteen minutes before baking, and bake a light brown in a quick oven, which will take about fifteen minutes.