Manual for army cooks

Mix the meal into the buckwheat flour; stir in gradually enough of the warm water, or milk and water, to make a moderately thick batter. Then stir in the yeast. Set to rise over night. In the morning add the salt, and lastly the molasses or brown sugar. Beat the mixture thoroughly; add milk and water if too thick, or buckwheat flour if too thin, before adding the salt and molasses, or brown sugar, and cook on a hot griddle. During the winter batter may be made each night, for a period of a week or ten days, without additional yeast, by allowing a portion of the batter (say one or two teacupfuls) to remain in the jar, and adding thereto the ingredients. Should the batter be the least sour in the morning, stir in a very small quantity of soda, dissolved in hot water, to correct acidity. RICE CAKES. One quart of sifted flour ; two cups of cold boiled rice; two teaspoonfuls salt ; four eggs, beaten light; milk enough stirred into the flour to make a tolerably thick batter ; then add the rice, salt, and last the eggs ; beat thoroughly and cook at once. PANCAKES. One quart of sifted flour ; one level teaspoonful of salt ; three heaping teaspoonfuls of baking powder; three teaspoonfuls of brown sugar; two or three eggs, the yolks beaten light, the whites to a stiff froth ; one quart of water or milk (the latter is preferable), or enough of either to make a thin batter. ' Fry as directed in Remarks on this class of cooking. Cakes should be served hot and eaten with sugar and butter, molasses, or sugar and ground cinnamon, mixed in the proportion of five parts of sugar to one of cinnamon. RHODE ISLAND PANCAKES. To one pint of Indian meal add one pint of rye flour ; two tablespoonfuls of molasses ; one teaspoonful of saleratus ; one teaspoonful of salt ; three eggs, well beaten. Stir with these ingredients sufficient new milk to make a stiff' batter, and fry it ten minutes in lard, as you would doughnuts. Another rule is nearly as good when milk and eggs are scarce. Mix well one quart of Indian meal, one quart of rye flour, two large tablespoonfuls of melted shortening or butter, five tablespoonfuls of molasses, one tablespoonful of salt, one small teaspoon ful of saleratus, and one quart of water. •Fry it as above. PIE CRUST, No. 1. Pie crust, or pie paste, should be made in a cool place, and handled as little as possible during the process. The heat from the hand makes the crust tough. One quart of flour (sifted) ; one-fourth of a pound lard; one-fourth of a pound butter; one-half teaspoonful salt ; enough ice water to make a stiff' dough. Sift the flour into a deep wooden bowl or tin pan; mix into it the salt ; then the lard. With a keen chopping knife cut up the lard into the flour until it is thoroughly incorporated, with no lumps ; wet with ice water, stirring it in with a wooden spoon until it becomes a stiff dough. Flour the hands, and make dough into a lump with as little handling as possible. Remove lump to a well-floured kneading board, and roll it out into a sheet one-quarter of an inch thick, always rolling from you, and with as little pressure upon the rolling-pin as may be necessary.