The school kitchen textbook

Soft doughs which are to be cut into shapes should be mixed as soft as can be handled easily, then tossed out lightly on the floured board until they are well floured, patted with the rolling-pin until half an inch thick, then cut with a floured, sharp-edged cutter. Stiff doughs, which are to be rolled very thin, such as wafers and cookies, require about four measures of flour to one of liquid. Roll a small portion at a time, with a light, quick stroke, not bearing down hard enough to make the dough stick. Cut the shapes close together and put the scraps with another portion, knead them slightly, to make a smooth mass, then roll again. In rolling any soft dough, use enough flour to prevent sticking, but no more ; and be sure that the dough does not stick. Should it stick to the board scrape it off at once before adding more flour. Flour the roller, and keep that and the board free from lumps of dough. Much time may be saved by dropping soft doughs from a teaspoon and allowing them to shape themselves in baking. Recipe, No. 170. Soft Molasses Cookies I c. molasses. 1 tbsp. warm water. ^ tsp. salt. I c. dripping, softened. ^ tbsp. ginger. Flour to mix soft enough 5 tsp. soda. to be rolled. Roll out one third inch thick, cut with a small round cutter, and bake about ten minutes. Handle as little as possible and do not use much flour. DOUGHS TO BE ROLLED 249 If corn syrup is used, slightly less soda will be required. These may be made into balls, and placed some distance apart on a greased tin, then flattened with the bottom of a round tin box. Recipe, No. 171. Wheat Crisps I c. cream. ^ c. fine granulated wheat 1 tbsp. sugar. flour, or enough to make spoonful salt. a stiff dough. Mix quite stiff, knead well, roll out thin as a wafer, cut with a small round cutter, and bake on ungreased tins in a very hot oven. LESSON XVII FRYING DOUGHS Frying is cooking in deep hot fat. To be done properly there should be fat enough to float the articles to be cooked, or in some instances to cover them. Lard and dripping may be used, and as they often contain water they should be heated until all the water is evaporated. So long as there is water in fat it can be made no hotter than boiling water, and it will bubble and sputter until the water has all evaporated. It is useless to attempt to cook anything in fat until all bubbling and sputtering have ceased. Clear fat may be made very hot, but for cooking purposes it is never boiling hot, as some recipes indicate, as it would burn before it reached that point. When it smokes in the center as well as on the edge it is about 385° Fah. and is hot enough for the quickest kind of frying. Fat may also be tested with a piece of bread. If" it browns in forty counts the fat is the right temperature for any food which has been previously cooked, as croquettes ; if it browns the bread in sixty counts it is right for any uncooked mixture. For flour mixtures like doughnuts it is better to test the heat with a bit of the mixture. It should rise at once to the surface, swell, and begin to brown on the under side. The hot fat hardens the gluten in the dough, and forms a crust through which the fat cannot penetrate; but if the fat be not hot enough, the dough will soak the fat and the cakes will be greasy.