The standard book of recipes and housewife's guide, comprising as complete cook book

There are certain general rules by which good bread flour can be tested. First. It should have a yellowish tinge. Second. When pressed in the hand it should fall loosely apart. Third. When rubbed between the fingers it should feel slightly granular. In bread-making an indispensible requisite is good yeast ; and though modern bread and cake makers avail themselves largely of baking powders, a recipe for satisfactory yeast is of the first importance. The one given below has the warrant of experienced housekeepers. Excellent Yeast. — Boil two ounces of the best hops in four quarts of water for half an hour ; then strain and let stand until lukewarm. Put it in an earthen bowl, add half a cupful each of salt and brown sugar, and a quart of flour; mix all well together, and let it stand forty-eight hours. Now add six medium sized potatoes, which have been boiled and mashed through a colander, and let stand for another day, then strain and bottle and it is fit for use. While making it must be kept near a fire and often stirred. This yeast ferments of itself and needs the aid of no old yeast. If care be taken to let it ferment sufficiently in the bowl, it may immediately be corked tightly. Be careful to keep it in a cool place, and before using shake the bottle briskly. It will keep in a cool place two months, and is best the latter part of the time. Use about the same quantity as of other yeast. Yeast Cakes. — Boil one quart pared and sliced potatoes and a double handful of hops (tied in a muslin bag) in two quarts of water for nearly an hour. Then take out the hops and strain the remainder through a colander into a bowl. Stir into the hot liquid flour enough to make a stiff batter, beat up well, add two tablespoonfuls of lively yeast, and set to rise in a warm place. When light stir in a cup of Indian meal, roll into a thin sheet, and cut into round cakes. Dry these in a very moderate heat, and when quite dry and cold place them in a cool dry place. For a fair-sized loaf use, a cake three inches in diameter, soaking until soft and adding a little soda. These cakes will keep a month in summer, two months in winter. Wheat Bread. — Take a cup of lukewarm milk, or of water with a teaspoon ful of butter, a quarter cake yeast dissolved in a quarter cup of lukewarm water, or a quarter cup of liquid yeast, flour to make a stiff dough (three and quarter to three and half cups) one teaspoonful sugar and one teaspoonful salt. Scald the milk, add the sugar and salt, and cool it until lukewarm. Dissolve the compressed yeast in the lukewarm water, and add it. Stir in flour to make a dough stiff enough to handle. Scrape the dough out on a floured board, and knead it about fifteen minutes. It should be smooth and elastic, so that when pressed with the finger the dough springs back. Put the dough back into the bowl. Cover with a towel, and set it in a warm place and let the dough rise until double its bulk. Then lay it on a board and knead it again about fifteen minutes, using as little flour as possible. Shape it into biscuit or loaves, lay them in a greased pan, let them rise in a warm place, until double their bulk, and bake on the floor of a hot oven. Biscuit wall require from twenty to thirty minutes, and loaves from forty-five minutes to one hour.