Our viands

French Bread. — With a quartern of fine flour mix the yolks of 3 and whites of 2 eggs beaten and strained, a little salt, \ pint of good yeast (not bitter), and as much milk made a little warm as will work into a thin light dough ; stir it about, but don't knead it. Have ready three quart wooden dishes, divide the dough among them, set to rise, then turn them out into the oven, which must be quick. Rasp when done. Rolls and Muffins, or any sort of bread, may be made to taste new when two or three days old, by dipping them into water and baking afresh ; or a stale loaf may be pulled to pieces, dipped a moment into milk, and the pieces baked a light brown. This is called pulled bread; in French, croutons. Baking Powder. — An equal quantity in bulk of tartaric acid, carbonate of soda, and ground rice or cornflour. Mix thoroughly, and rub through a wire sieve. One teaspoonful to be used to each pound of dry ingredients used in your cake, pudding, etc. The most primitive of bread is still made and eaten by young travellers and colonists remote from civilisation. Apropos of which bread, I have seen a letter from the Transvaal, in which the writer says : — ' We all know plum- duff (minus the plums) is better 1000 miles off than on the table, and rosterkook of mealie meal is a thing to contemplate — something to dwell upon, when so heavy that G took one in his hand and wanted to know if anyone wanted a dog killed : he knew he could brain him with it, leave alone the choking. For anyone suffering from indigestion, I could recommend our fare. It would be kill or cure ! ' Transvaal rosterkook would seem to be 252 OUR VIANDS even worse than Australian damper; but I have been assured by another traveller that if made of wheat-meal, with a small quantity of sheep's-tail fat or dripping, the rostcrkook, i.e., gridiron cake, is not to be despised. It is also good cooked on hot stones. Scone Loaf (Scotch recipe). — 2 teacupfuls of flour, 1 teaspoonful of salt, i teaspoonful of cream of tartar, \ teaspoonful of carbonate of soda, a little milk. Mix all well with a spoon, not touching it with the hand, and bake in a moderately quick oven for half an hour. Tea Cakes. — i Ib. flour, 2 teaspoonfuls of baking powder, 3 oz. butter, pinch of salt. Mix; cut with glass or tin shap?, and bake twenty minutes in a quick oven. Cornish Heavy Cake. — 2 Ibs. flour, \ Ib. lard, i Ib. currants, \ Ib. candied peel, a pinch of salt. Mix well all together, and roll out to the thickness of an inch, slash it into squares on the top, and bake in a very quick oven for ten minutes, or longer if required. Loaf Cake. — 3 Ibs. of flour, 2 Ibs. of butter, 2 Ibs. of sugar, white of 9 eggs, small pint of yeast, some citron, 2 nutmegs, i Ib. of raisins, and a scant half-teaspoonful of soda. Rub the flour and butter together, then add warm milk, enough to make a soft dough. This should be done at night. In the morning early add the whites of the eggs and sugar beaten together, the fruit, soda dissolved, and let it rise again. When risen, put it in the pans and let it stand about twenty minutes before baking.