<h2>BREAD, &c.</h2>
<p></p>
<p></p>
<p>As bread is the most important article of food, great care is
necessary
in making it, and much judgment, as the weather changes so often.</p>
<p>In warm weather, the rising should be mixed with water nearly cold;
if
there should be a spell of damp weather in the summer, have it slightly
warm and set it to rise on a table in the kitchen.</p>
<p>In winter it should be mixed with warm water, and left on the warm
hearth all night. If the yeast is fresh, a small quantity will do; if
several weeks old, it will take more. If you use dry yeast, let it soak
fifteen minutes, and put in a tea-spoonful of salaeratus to prevent it
from getting sour.</p>
<p></p>
<p></p>
<h3>Light Bread, Baking in a Stove, &c.</h3>
<p></p>
<p>For two loaves of bread, thicken a quart of water with flour, till
it
will just pour easily; put in a table-spoonful of salt and half a
tea-cup of yeast; this should be done in the evening. If the weather is
cold, set it where it will be warm all night; but, if warm, it will
rise
on a table in the kitchen. (If it should not be light in the morning,
and the water settles on the top, stir in a little more yeast, and set
it in a pan of hot water for a few minutes;) knead in flour till it is
nearly as stiff as pie crust, and let it rise again. Have your baking
pans greased, and when it is light, mould out the bread, and put it in
them; set it by the fire, covered with a cloth, till it begins to crack
on the top--when it is light enough to bake. To bake in a stove
requires care to turn it frequently; if it browns too fast at first,
leave the door open a little while; a thick loaf will bake in an hour,
and a small one in less time. In trying the heat of a stove, drop a few
drops of water on the top, if it boils gently it is in good order, and
the heat should be kept at this point.</p>
<p></p>
<p></p>
<h3>To Bake a Dutch-oven Loaf.</h3>
<p></p>
<p>If you wish to make a large loaf, it will take three pints of water,
more than half a tea-cup of yeast, and two spoonsful of salt; when the
rising is light, knead it up, have the dutch-oven greased; put it in,
and set it near the fire, but not so near that it will scald. When it
rises so as to crack on the top, set the oven on coals; have the lid
hot, cut the loaf slightly across the top, dividing it in four; stick
it
with a fork and put the lid on, when it is on a few minutes, see that
it
does not bake too fast, it should have but little heat at the bottom,
and the coals on the top should be renewed frequently, turn the oven
round occasionally.</p>
<p>If baked slowly, it will take an hour and a half when done, wrap it
in a
large cloth till it gets cold.</p>
<p></p>
<p></p>
<h3>To Bake in a Brick Oven.</h3>
<p></p>
<p>If you have a large family, or board the laborers of a farm, it is
necessary to have a brick oven, so as to bake but twice a week; and to
persons that understand the management of them, it is much the easiest
way. If you arrange every thing with judgment, half a dozen loaves of
bread, as many pies or puddings, rusk, rolls or biscuit may be baked at
the same time. Some persons knead up their bread over night in winter,
to do this, the sponge should be made up at four o'clock in the
afternoon. If you wish to put corn flour in your bread, scald one quart
of it to six loaves, and work it in the flour that you are going to
stir
in the rising, to make six loaves of bread, you should have three
quarts
of water and a tea-cup of yeast.</p>
<p>Scalded corn flour, or boiled mashed potatoes, assists bread to rise
very much in cold weather. Have a quart of potatoes well boiled and
rolled fine with a rolling-pin on your cake board; mix them well in the
rising after it is light; if the oven is not ready, move the bread to a
cool place. If the bread is sour before you mould it out, mix a heaped
tea-spoonful of salaeratus in a little water, spread out the bread on
the
board, dust a little flour on it, and spread the salaeratus and water
over, and work it well through. This quite takes away the sour taste,
but if the bread is made of good lively yeast, it seldom requires it;
let it rise in the pans about half an hour. Many persons that make
their
own bread, are in the constant practice of using salaeratus, putting in
the rising for six loaves a heaped tea-spoonful, dissolved in a little
warm water; in this there is no disadvantage, and it insures sweet
bread, and will also answer in making rolls or light cakes.</p>
<p>Common sized loaves will bake in an hour in the brick oven. If they
slip
easily in the pans, and, upon breaking a little piece from the side, it
rises from the pressure of the finger, it is done; but if it should not
rise, put it back again; when the bread is taken out of the oven, wrap
it in a cloth till quite cold.</p>
<p>You should have a large tin vessel with holes in the top, to keep
bread in; in this way, it will be moist at the end of the week in
cool weather.</p>
<p>Coarse brown flour or middlings makes very sweet light bread, by
putting
in scalded corn meal, say, to two loaves, half a pint, and is also good
to use for breakfast made as buckwheat cakes.</p>
<p></p>
<p></p>
<h3>Directions for Heating a Brick Oven, &c.</h3>
<p></p>
<p>It is very important to have good oven wood split fine, and the oven
filled with it as soon as the baking is out; by this precaution it is
always ready and dry. Early in the morning, take out half of the wood,
and spread the remainder over the oven, in such a way as it will take
fire easily; light a few sticks in the fire, and put them in; when it
burns well, turn the wood about, and occasionally add more till it is
all in; when it is burnt to coals, stir them about well with a
long-handled shovel made for the purpose.</p>
<p>When it looks bright on the top and sides, it is hot enough; let the
coals lay all over the bottom till near the time of putting in the
bread, when draw them to the mouth, as it is apt to get cool the
quickest. If you have biscuit to bake, put some of the coals on one
side
near the front, as they require a quick heat, and should be put in
immediately after the coals are taken out; they will bake in fifteen or
twenty minutes.</p>
<p>When all the coals are taken out, if the bottom of the oven
sparkles, it
is very hot, and should wait a few minutes; but if not, you may put in
the bread first, and then the pies; if you have a plain rice pudding to
bake, it should be put in the middle of the front, and have two or
three
shovels of coals put round it, if the oven is rather cool. Close the
oven with a wooden stopper made to fit it; after they have been in a
few
minutes, see that they do not brown too fast; if so, keep the stopper
down a little while. Pies made of green fruit will bake in
three-quarters of an hour; but if the fruit has been stewed, half an
hour will be long enough.</p>
<p>Rusk, or rolls, take about half an hour to bake in a brick oven; if
you
should have to open the oven very often before the bread is done, put
in
a few shovels of coals and shut it up.</p>
<p>When all is taken out, fill the oven with wood ready for the next
baking.</p>
<p>There is nothing in any department of cooking that gives more
satisfaction to a young housekeeper than to have accomplished what is
called a good baking.</p>
<p></p>
<p></p>
<h3>Graham Bread.</h3>
<p></p>
<p>Take six quarts of unbolted flour, one tea-cup of good yeast, and
six
spoonsful of molasses; mix them with a pint of milk, warm water, and a
tea-spoonful of salaeratus; make a hole in the flour and stir this
mixture in it, till it is like batter; then proceed as with fine flour.
Mould it, when light, into four loaves Have your oven hotter than for
other bread, and bake it fully one hour and a half. It is an excellent
article of diet for dyspeptic and sedentary persons.</p>
<p></p>
<p></p>
<h3>Dyspepsy Bread.</h3>
<p></p>
<p>This is three-fourths unbolted flour, and the remaining fourth
common
flour, and is risen and made as other light bread, but should be baked
rather more.</p>
<p></p>
<p></p>
<h3>Yeast.</h3>
<p></p>
<p>It is important to those that make their own bread, to make their
own
yeast, or they cannot judge of its strength. The best is the
old-fashioned hop yeast, which will keep for six weeks in winter.</p>
<p>Put a pint of hops in a pot, with a quart of water; cover it
tightly,
and let it boil slowly for half an hour; strain it while boiling hot on
a pint of flour, and a heaped table-spoonful of salt; stir it well, and
let it stand till nearly cool; when put in a tea-cupful of good yeast;
if it is not sweet, put in a little salaeratus, just as you stir it in;
keep it in a warm place till it rises, when put it in a stone jug, and
cork it tightly. Keep it in a cool place in summer, but do not let it
freeze in winter; shake it before you use any.</p>
<p>When your yeast jug is empty, fill it with water, and let it soak;
wash
it well, and if it should smell sour, rinse it with salaeratus water.
If
you have a garden, raise your own hops by all means; pick them by the
first of September, or they will lose their strength; dry them on
sheets
spread on the garret floor.</p>
<p>If you buy hops, choose light green ones, with the yellow dust about
them. Brown hops have generally stayed too long on the vines.</p>
<p></p>
<p></p>
<h4>Another Method.</h4>
<p></p>
<p>Put two handsful of hops into three pints of water; let it boil to
one
quart; when cold, strain it on to a pint of best flour, a
table-spoonful
of salt, half a pint of sugar-house molasses, and a tea-cup of good
yeast: as it rises, skim off the top several times, when the yeast
looks
white bottle it up tight and it will keep for several weeks.</p>
<p></p>
<p></p>
<h3>Corn Flour Dry yeast.</h3>
<p></p>
<p>Put a large handful of good hops in a quart of water; cover it
close,
and let it boil nearly half away, when strain it over corn flour; it
must all be wet, but not so soft as for bread; put in a large spoonful
of salt, and mix it well; when about milk warm, put in two
table-spoonsful of yeast, (observe that the yeast is lively,) rub it
through with your hands; it must be so stiff as just to stick together;
set it in a warm place to rise, which it should do in a few hours. When
light, rub in more corn flour, and scatter it in dishes, very thin, (or
put it on a cloth on a large waiter, spread thinly.) It should be dried
quickly, or it may turn sour, either in the sun, (which is best,) or a
warm stove room; stir it over frequently; when perfectly dry, cover it
close, either in a jar or wooden box, and keep it in a dry closet.
Select a sunny day, and begin early in the morning, as by this method
you may have your yeast dry by night. Half a tea-cupful is enough for
two loaves of wheat bread, (it should be soaked in water some minutes
before using it,) and it is generally best to put in half a
tea-spoonful of salaeratus, as dry yeast is more apt to turn sour than
the liquid yeast.</p>
<p>Some good housekeepers use this yeast where hops are scarce, and it
answers very well. It will keep good six weeks or two months.</p>
<p></p>
<p></p>
<h3>Potato Yeast.</h3>
<p></p>
<p>Boil four large potatoes with a tea-cupful of hops tied loosely in a
bag; mash the potatoes in a pan, with a spoonful of salt, and four of
flour; pour the hop-water on it, and mix all together; when nearly
cold,
put in two table-spoonsful of yeast; put it in a quart jar, and let it
rise; it will do to use in five or six hours. This yeast is much weaker
than the first receipt; but it has this advantage,--that with a pint of
it you may knead up four loaves of bread at night without making
rising.
It is best to make this yeast once a week, always being careful to have
the jar sweet before you put it in.</p>
<p></p>
<p></p>
<h3>Potato Yeast with Sugar.</h3>
<p></p>
<p>To about a quart of potatoes, boiled and made thin enough with warm
water to pass through a sieve, add, when cold, a tea-cupful of sugar, a
table-spoonful of salt, and a gill of common yeast. This is a quick
yeast, but will not keep so long as those before mentioned.</p>
<p></p>
<p></p>
<h3>Dry Yeast.</h3>
<p></p>
<p>Put a pint of hops in half a gallon of water; cover it close and
boil it
down to one half; strain it over flour enough to make a thick batter;
when nearly cold, put in a tea-cup of yeast, and three table-spoonsful
of salt; when well risen, work in as much corn meal as will make it as
stiff as biscuit dough; add a spoonful of sugar and one of ginger; when
it rises again, make it out into little cakes, which must be dried in
the shade, and turned twice a day. If made in dry weather, this yeast
will keep for several months, and is useful when hops are scarce; it
should be kept in a tight box, or a bag hung up in a dry place.</p>
<p></p>
<p></p>
<h3>Milk Yeast.</h3>
<p></p>
<p>If you have no yeast, you may make some with milk, to rise with.
Take a
pint of new milk and stir in it two tea-spoonsful of salt, and half a
tea-cup of flour; keep it moderately warm by the fire, and it will
lighten in about an hour; stir in flour enough to make a large loaf of
bread, with more milk or water. This yeast should be used immediately,
and will do to lighten hop yeast. To thicken half a gallon of water
with
a quarter of a pound of sugar, a little salt and flour, makes very good
yeast when you cannot get hops. It will do to use in a day.</p>
<p></p>
<p></p>
<h3>Superior Boiled Milk Rolls.</h3>
<p></p>
<p>Boil a quart of new milk; pour it on a quart of flour, while boiling
hot, and stir it well; when nearly cold, add two tea-spoonsful of salt,
two table-spoonsful of lard, and half a tea-cup of good yeast; set it
in
a warm place to rise for about two hours; when light, work flour in it
on the cake-board, and, when quite smooth, mould it out into rolls, and
put them in a baking-pan, which has been rubbed with lard or butter;
set
them in a warm place to rise again;--if the weather is warm, on a table
in the kitchen, but if cold, set them by the fire. When light, put them
in a cool place till you are ready to bake; they should have a moderate
heat, and will bake in half an hour. In winter they may be moulded out
and placed in the bake pan over night for breakfast, or some hours
before wanted for tea, and kept in a cool place till half an hour
before
baking, when set them near the stove to rise up. With the addition of
nutmeg and sugar, you may make nice rusk.</p>
<p></p>
<p></p>
<h3>Egg Rolls.</h3>
<p></p>
<p>Boil a quart of new milk with a quarter of a pound of butter, the
same
of lard, and a little salt; beat up two eggs, and pour the boiling milk
on them, stirring all the time; when nearly cold, add a tea-cup of
yeast
and as much wheat flour as will make it a thick batter, when quite
light
knead it up as bread, and let it lighten before moulding out; grease
the
pans, and bake them with a moderate heat. A little sugar and water
rubbed on just before baking rolls makes them glossy.</p>
<p></p>
<p></p>
<h3>Soft Rolls.</h3>
<p></p>
<p>Rub two ounces of butter into two pounds of flour; stir in as much
boiling milk as will make a soft dough, when cold enough, add half a
tea-cup of yeast, and a little salt; beat it well with a spoon, and
let it rise as long as bread; mould them out in pans, and bake as
other rolls.</p>
<p></p>
<p></p>
<h3>Water Rolls.</h3>
<p></p>
<p>Make a rising of a quart of warm water, a little salt, a tea-cup of
yeast, two spoonsful of butter and flour; let this rise, and knead it
with as much flour as will make a soft dough, and work it well; when it
has risen again, mould it out, and bake half an hour.</p>
<p>A nice griddle cake may be made by rolling this out, and baking it
on
the griddle or dripping-pan of a stove.</p>
<p></p>
<p></p>
<h3>Potato Rolls.</h3>
<p></p>
<p>Boil potatoes enough to make a quart when mashed, which should be
done
with a rolling-pin on a cake-board; mix these with a gallon of flour, a
spoonful of butter, one of lard, and some salt; stir in water
sufficient
to make dough, not quite so stiff as for light bread, and a tea-cup of
yeast; knead it for half an hour, and set it to rise; when it is light,
set it away in a cold place, and as you require it, cut off a piece;
mould it in little cakes, and let them rise an hour before baking.
These
rolls will keep several days in cold weather. If the dough should get
sour, mix in some salaeratus.</p>
<p></p>
<p></p>
<h4>Another Way.</h4>
<p></p>
<p>Boil a quart of pared potatoes--pour off the water, mash them, add
half
a pint of sweet milk, warmed, and a small table-spoonful of salt; stir
well, and pour it scalding hot into a quart of flour; add cold milk
enough to make it the right consistence for rising; stir in half a tea
cup of yeast, and set it by to rise, it will soon be light, and is then
to be made into dough, with shortened flour, as other rolls, and made
out into cakes; and after standing in a warm place to become light
again, which should not take long, bake with rather a quick heat. These
rolls may be eaten warmed over.</p>
<p></p>
<p></p>
<h3>Mush Rolls, without Milk or Eggs.</h3>
<p></p>
<p>When milk is scarce, (or for a change,) you can make good rolls with
mush. Take a pint of corn meal, pour on it three pints of boiling
water--stirring it as you pour; put in three ounces of lard, a
table-spoonful of salt, and when milk warm, put in two table-spoonsful
of yeast, then mix in wheat flour, and make it a soft dough; cover the
pan close, set it in a warm place till it begins to rise; as soon as
light, set it in a cold place; mould them out an hour before you bake
them, and allow them to rise in the dripping-pan. It will do to bake in
a large cake rolled out.</p>
<p></p>
<p></p>
<h3>Twist Rolls.</h3>
<p></p>
<p>Boil a pint of milk, put in a small lump of butter and a little
salt;
beat up an egg and put in, when nearly cold, with a spoonful of yeast
and some flour; when light, knead in more flour to make it quite stiff;
work it well, and let it rise again; grease a dutch-oven or spider,
flour your hands, and roll it out in rings, or round several times, a
little higher in the middle. They will be nearly all crust, and suit
delicate persons that cannot eat other warm bread.</p>
<p></p>
<p></p>
<h3>French Rolls.</h3>
<p></p>
<p>To one quart of sweet milk, boiled and cooled, half a pound of
butter,
half a tea cup of yeast, a little salt, and flour enough to make a soft
dough, beat up the milk, butter and yeast in the middle of the flour,
let it stand till light, in a warm place; then work it up with the
whites of two eggs, beaten light; let it rise again, then mould out
into
long rolls; let them stand on the board or table, to lighten, an hour
or
two, then grease your pans and bake in a oven or stove.</p>
<p></p>
<p></p>
<h3>Bread Rolls.</h3>
<p></p>
<p>In the morning, when your bread is light, take as much as would make
one
loaf; pour boiling water on half a pint of corn meal--stir it well--add
a little salt, spread open the dough and work in the mush, with the
addition of a table-spoonful of lard or butter, and a little flour,
work
well and mould out, placing them in your pans, and set them in a
moderately warm place to lighten for tea; bake in a stove, if the
weather is cold. This dough will keep two days, and may be baked as you
need them.</p>
<p></p>
<p></p>
<h3>Maryland Biscuit.</h3>
<p></p>
<p>Rub half a pound of lard into three pounds of flour; put in a
spoonful
of salt, a tea cup of cream, and water sufficient to make it into a
stiff dough; divide it into two parts, and work each well till it will
break off short, and is smooth; (some pound it with an iron hammer, or
axe;) cut it up in small pieces, and work them into little round cakes;
give them a slight roll with the rolling-pin, and stick them, bake them
in a dutch-oven, brick-oven, or dripping-pan of a stove, with a quick
heat. These biscuits are very nice for tea, either hot or cold.</p>
<p></p>
<p></p>
<h3>Light Biscuit.</h3>
<p></p>
<p>Boil a quart of milk, and when nearly cold, stir it in the middle of
your pan of flour, with two spoonsful of yeast, and one of butter and
salt; let it lighten for two or three hours; knead the flour in it, and
let it rise again: a little while before you bake, roll it out, and cut
it with the top of your dredging-box. Let them rise a few minutes in
the
dripping-pan.</p>
<p></p>
<p></p>
<h3>Salaeratus Biscuit.</h3>
<p></p>
<p>Warm a quart of sweet milk, and put in it half a tea-spoonful of
salaeratus, and a heaped spoonful of lard or butter, and half a
spoonful
of salt; pour this in as much flour as will make a stiff dough; work it
a quarter of an hour; mould and bake them as other biscuit.</p>
<p></p>
<p></p>
<h3>Quick Biscuit.</h3>
<p></p>
<p>Rub a small table-spoonful of lard into a quart of flour, and mix in
two
tea-spoonsful of finely powdered cream of tartar, with a tea-spoonful
of
salt; put a tea-spoonful of super carbonate of soda in a pint of warm
milk,--work it in and make the paste of ordinary consistence for
biscuit
or pie crust, adding flour or milk, if either is needed; make it out in
biscuit form, or roll it about half an inch thick, and cut in
shapes,--bake them about twenty minutes.</p>
<p></p>
<p></p>
<h3>Tea Biscuit.</h3>
<p></p>
<p>Melt half a pound of butter in a quart of warm milk; add a spoonful
of
salt, sift two pounds of flour, make a hole in the centre, put in three
table-spoonsful of yeast, add the milk and butter; make a stiff paste;
when quite light, knead it well, roll it out an inch thick, cut it with
a tumbler, prick them with a fork, bake in buttered pans, with a quick
heat; split and butter before sending them to table.</p>
<p></p>
<p></p>
<h3>Dyspepsy Biscuit.</h3>
<p></p>
<p>Make them as Maryland biscuit, except that, instead of either lard
or
butter, you must use a portion of rich cream, beat or work them well,
and roll them moderately thin.</p>
<p></p>
<p></p>
<h3>Salaeratus Cake.</h3>
<p></p>
<p>Warm a pint of butter-milk, put in it a tea-spoonful of powdered
salaeratus, and a piece of lard the size of an egg; stir it into flour
till it is a soft dough; roll it out, and bake it on the griddle, or in
the dripping-pan of a stove. If you have no sour milk, put a
table-spoonful of vinegar in sweet milk.</p>
<p></p>
<p></p>
<h3>Wafer Cakes.</h3>
<p></p>
<p>Rub half a pound of lard into two pounds and a half of flour, add a
little salt and water sufficient to make a stiff dough: work it well
for
half an hour, make it in small round lumps, and roll these until they
are as thin as possible; bake them with a slow heat and they will look
almost white. These are nice cakes for tea either hot or cold.</p>
<p></p>
<p></p>
<h3>Short Cake.</h3>
<p></p>
<p>To three quarts of flour take three-quarters of a pound of lard, and
a
spoonful of salt; rub the lard in the flour, and put in cold water,
sufficient to make a stiff dough; roll it out without working in thin
cakes; have the bake-iron hot, flour it, and bake with a quick heat;
when one side is brown, turn and bake the other; when baked in the
dripping-pan of a stove, they do without turning;--you may cut them in
round cakes, if you choose. Some use half milk and half water; in that
case, less lard is required.</p>
<p></p>
<p></p>
<h3>Cold Water Muffins.</h3>
<p></p>
<p>Sift a quart of flour, add to it a little salt, a large spoonful of
yeast, beat the white of a fresh egg to a froth; after mixing the flour
up with cold water into a soft dough, add the egg; set it in a
moderately warm place. Next morning beat it well with a spoon, put it
on
the bake-iron in round cakes; when one side is nicely brown, turn them;
keep them hot till sent to table, split and butter them. If you wish to
have muffins for tea, they should be made up early in the Morning.</p>
<p></p>
<p></p>
<h3>Smith Muffins.</h3>
<p></p>
<p>Boil a quart of new milk, have three pounds of flour, three eggs
well
beaten, a quarter of a pound of lard, a table-spoonful of salt; rub the
lard in the flour and while the milk is still warm, (but not hot,) stir
it in the flour, put in the eggs, and a tea-cup of good yeast: beat all
well, and set them in a warm place to rise, when light they should be
set in a cool place till you are ready to bake them, which should be in
rings, or round cakes on the bake-iron, in a dutch-oven, or the
dripping-pan of a stove, butter just as you send them to table. If the
batter is kept in a cold place it will keep good for two days in
winter.
Before baking muffins, or any kind of light cakes, taste the batter,
and
if at all sour, put in a small portion of salaeratus, (previously
dissolved in hot water.)--In this way superior muffins may be made.</p>
<p></p>
<p></p>
<h3>Mansfield Muffins.</h3>
<p></p>
<p>Take a quart of milk, three eggs, quarter of a pound of butter or
lard,
a tea-cup of yeast, and flour to make a soft dough; heat the whites of
the eggs alone, the yelks with the milk; melt the butter and stir it in
after all is mixed; bake them in rings, or in round cakes on the
griddle: split and butter before sending them to table.</p>
<p></p>
<p></p>
<h3>Rice Muffins.</h3>
<p></p>
<p>Pour a quart of milk on four heaped spoonsful of rice flour, stir it
well, and put in a little salt and wheat flour, to make it a proper
thickness, two eggs and two spoonsful of yeast, allow it four hours to
rise, and bake in rings, or thin it and bake as batter cakes.</p>
<p></p>
<p></p>
<h3>Muffins.</h3>
<p></p>
<p>Warm a pint of milk, and stir into it a pound and a quarter of
flour, (a
quart of flour is about equal to a pound and a quarter,) and two eggs,
the yelks beaten with the batter, the whites alone, mix with these two
spoonsful of lively yeast and a little salt, let them rise, and when
you
are nearly ready to bake them, stir in a large spoonful of melted
butter, butter the rings and bake on a griddle, or in the dripping-pan
of a stove. Split and butter before sending them to table.</p>
<p></p>
<p></p>
<h3>Mush Muffins.</h3>
<p></p>
<p>Make a quart of mush, put into it a lump of butter or lard, the size
of
two eggs, and a little salt, previously to making the mush, have ready
a
pint of light rising, stir into it a pint of new milk, and the mush,
with as much wheat flour as will make it a very thick batter, let it
rise four or five hours, and when light, set it in a cold place, till
you are ready to bake, dip a spoon in water each time, and put the
batter on the griddle in small cakes, or bake in rings. You may make it
a little stiffer, and roll it out to bake in large cakes. If it should
sour, put in a little salaeratus. If you have no milk, water will do
instead. They will be nice toasted.</p>
<p></p>
<p>A Loaf of Muffin Batter.</p>
<p>Stir into a pint of mush a small lump of butter, a little salt, a
pint
of milk, and wheat flour to make a thick batter; stir into it half a
tea
cup of yeast, and let it rise, when it is light, butter a pan, pour it
in and bake, eat it hot, at breakfast or supper. It will bake in a
shallow pan in half an hour, if in a deep vessel, allow more time.</p>
<p></p>
<p></p>
<h3>Boiled Milk Muffins.</h3>
<p></p>
<p>Boil a quart of new milk, and pour it boiling hot, on as much flour
as
will make a thick batter, put in a table-spoonful of butter, and the
same of lard, two tea-spoonsful of salt, half a tea cup of yeast, one
egg beaten; allow time to rise from six to eight hours; when perfectly
light, set them in a cool place, till you are ready to bake, when you
may use rings, or not, as you please--but be sure to butter the rings.</p>
<p></p>
<p></p>
<h3>Cream Muffins.</h3>
<p></p>
<p>Take a quart of sour cream, and two eggs well beaten, a tea-spoonful
of
salt; stir the eggs into the cream, gradually; add sifted flour enough
to make a thick batter, dissolve a tea-spoonful of salaeratus in as
much
vinegar as will cover it, and stir it in at the last; bake in small
cakes on the griddle, or in muffin rings in the dripping-pan of a
stove.</p>
<p></p>
<p></p>
<h3>Waffles.</h3>
<p></p>
<p>Make a batter of a pound and a half of flour, quarter of a pound of
melted butter, and two large spoonsful of yeast; put in three eggs, the
whites and yelks beaten separately; mix it with a quart of milk, and
put
in the butter just before you bake, allow it four hours to rise; grease
the waffle-irons, fill them with the batter--bake them on a bed of
coals. When they have been on the fire two or three minutes, turn the
waffle-irons over,--when brown on both sides, they are sufficiently
baked. The waffle-irons should be well greased with lard, and very hot
before each one is put in. The waffles should be buttered as soon as
cooked. Serve them up with powdered white sugar and cinnamon.</p>
<p></p>
<p></p>
<h3>Quick Waffles.</h3>
<p></p>
<p>Take a pint of milk, and beat into it three eggs, and enough wheat
flour
to make a thick batter; add a table-spoonful of melted butter, and a
little salt; bake them immediately. Some persons add two
table-spoonsful
of sugar, and a little cinnamon; others dust loaf sugar and cinnamon,
or
nutmeg over each waffle, as it is baked.</p>
<p></p>
<p></p>
<h3>Rice Waffles.</h3>
<p></p>
<p>To six spoonsful of soft boiled rice, add two tea-cups of water or
milk, and some salt, stir in three tea-cups of ground rice, and bake as
other waffles.</p>
<p></p>
<p></p>
<h3>Flannel Cakes.</h3>
<p></p>
<p>Warm a quart of milk, put in a spoonful of butter, a little salt,
and
two eggs well beaten, stir in flour till it is a thin batter, and two
spoonsful of yeast; beat all well together, adding the eggs at the
last; allow it five hours to rise, and bake it on the griddle in cakes,
the size of a breakfast plate. Do not butter them till you send them to
the table.</p>
<p></p>
<p></p>
<h3>Mush Flannel Cakes.</h3>
<p></p>
<p>Mix a pint of corn mush with two of wheat flour, a spoonful of
butter or
lard, two eggs and half a tea-cup of yeast; make it in a batter with
water or milk, and bake like buckwheat cakes.</p>
<p></p>
<p></p>
<h3>Bread Batter Cakes.</h3>
<p></p>
<p>Soak slices of stale bread in cold sweet milk for half an hour, then
put
it over the fire, and let it come to a boil; and mash it well, when
nearly cool, add wheat flour enough to make a stiff batter, beat this
together with two eggs, a tea-spoonful of salt, and a table-spoonful of
good yeast, let it rise and bake as buckwheat cakes, if light before
you
are ready, set them in a cold place.</p>
<p></p>
<p>Butter-milk Cakes.</p>
<p>You may make a very good batter cake without eggs. To a quart of
butter-milk, put a piece of lard, the size of an egg; warm them
together, and stir in a tea-spoonful of salaeratus; make it in a thin
batter with flour; beat it a few minutes, and bake it as other cakes.</p>
<p></p>
<p></p>
<h3>Buckwheat Cakes.</h3>
<p></p>
<p>Take quart of buckwheat flour, half a pint of wheat flour, and a
spoonful of salt; make them into a thick batter, with milk-warm water,
put in a half tea-cup of yeast, and beat it well, set it by the fire to
rise, and if it should be light before you are ready to bake, put a
tea-cup of cold water on the top, to prevent it from running over, if
it
should get sour, pour in a tea-spoonful of salaeratus, dissolved in hot
water, just before you bake.</p>
<p>It is best to make them up quite thick, and thin them with a little
warm
water before you bake; butter them just as you send them to table. If
you can get brewers' yeast, it is much better for buckwheat cakes. In
very cold weather, they may be kept made up for several days, and baked
as required.</p>
<p></p>
<p></p>
<h3>Sally Lunn.</h3>
<p></p>
<p>Warm a quart of milk with a quarter of a pound of butter, and a
heaped
spoonful of sugar, beat up three eggs, and put in, with a little salt,
and flour enough to make it stiffer than pound cake, beat it well, put
in a tea cup of yeast, and let it rise, butter a fluted pan and pour it
in, bake it in a quick oven, slice and butter it. If you wish tea at
six
o'clock, set it to rise at ten in the morning. Bake it an hour.</p>
<p></p>
<p></p>
<h3>Butter-milk Batter Cakes.</h3>
<p></p>
<p>Soak pieces of dry stale bread in a quart of butter-milk, until
soft,
break in two eggs, add a little butter or lard, and salt and flour
enough to make it stick together, beat it well, add a tea-spoonful of
salaeratus, dissolved in warm water; thin it with a little sweet milk,
and bake as other batter cakes. They may be prepared in a short time.</p>
<p></p>
<p></p>
<h3>Toast.</h3>
<p></p>
<p>Cut your bread (which is better to be stale) in tolerably thick
slices,
brown it slowly before the fire on each side; you may either butter it
dry, or mix butter in water, with a little salt added, and after making
it boiling hot, pour over each slice as you send it to table.</p>
<p></p>
<p></p>
<h3>A Dish of Milk Toast for Breakfast.</h3>
<p></p>
<p>Boil a quart of rich milk, take it off, and stir in half a pound of
fresh butter, mixed with a small spoonful of flour, let it again come
to
a boil; have ready a dish of toast, pour it from a spoon over each
piece, and what remains, pour over the whole, keep it covered and hot,
till you send to table.</p>
<p></p>
<p></p>
<h3>General Remarks on making Bread of Indian Corn Meal.</h3>
<p></p>
<p>A wooden spoon with a long handle, is the best for stirring and
mixing
the bread or cakes. It requires more salt than other bread, and should
be well mixed or beaten. If it is mixed over night, it should generally
be done with cold water, and set in the cellar or some cool place in
summer, in winter it requires rather a warmer place to stand. It sours
more easily than bread made of other flour. In the morning, if you find
that it is at all acid, dissolve half a tea-spoonful of salaeratus in
warm water, and stir it just before it is put to bake. Where milk is
used, it should be baked immediately, and the richer the milk, the more
palatable it is. Whatever you bake this bread in, should be well
greased
first, as it is more apt to adhere to the oven than some other kinds of
flour. It should bake with a quick heat.</p>
<p>When you buy salaeratus, pound it fine, put it in a wide-mouthed
bottle,
and cork it tight. Some persons keep it dissolved in water, but you
cannot judge of the strength of it so well.</p>
<p></p>
<p></p>
<h3>Corn Meal Porridge.</h3>
<p></p>
<p>Put on to boil in a sauce-pan a quart of milk, mix a small tea-cup
of
corn meal with half a pint of cold water, (let it settle, and pour off
what swims on the top,) then stir it in well to keep it from being
lumpy; let it boil only a few minutes; add salt to the taste. This
makes
a good breakfast for children, and is a light diet for an invalid. It
can be seasoned with sugar.</p>
<p></p>
<p></p>
<h3>Mush, Mush Cakes, and Fried Mush.</h3>
<p></p>
<p>Mush will keep for several days in cool weather; the best way of
making
it is to have a pot of boiling water, and stir in corn meal, mixed with
water, and salt enough to season the whole; let it boil, and if it is
not thick enough you can add more meal; keep stirring all the time to
prevent it from being lumpy. It should boil an hour.</p>
<p>To make the cakes, take a quart of cold mush, mix in it half a pint
of
wheat flour, and a little butter or lard, make it out in little cakes
with your hands, flour them and bake them on a griddle or in a dripping
pan. Fried mush is a good plain dessert, eaten with sugar and cream.
Cut
the cold mush in slices, half an inch thick, or make them into small
cakes, dip them in flour, and fry them in hot lard.</p>
<p></p>
<p></p>
<h3>Journey Cake.</h3>
<p></p>
<p>Pour boiling water on a quart of meal, put in a little lard and
salt,
and mix it well, have an oak board with a rim of iron at the bottom,
and
an iron handle fastened to it that will prop it up to the fire; put
some
of the dough, on it, dip your hand in cold water and smooth it over;
score it with a knife, and set it before coals to bake.</p>
<p></p>
<p></p>
<h3>Corn Batter Cakes.</h3>
<p></p>
<p>Take a quart of good milk, three eggs, a little salt, and as much
sifted
corn meal as will make a thin batter; beat all well together, with a
spoonful of wheat flour to keep them from breaking, bake in small
cakes,
keep them hot, and butter just as you send to table. Another way to
make
corn batter cakes, is to take a quart of corn meal, two eggs, a small
lump of butter or lard, and mix it up with milk, or half water, if milk
is scarce, and bake them either thin or thick.</p>
<p></p>
<p></p>
<h3>Rice Cakes.</h3>
<p></p>
<p>Take a pint of soft boiled rice, a pint of milk, a little salt, and
as
much corn meal as will make a thin batter with two eggs; beat all
together, and bake as corn batter cakes, or make it thicker and bake
it in a pan.</p>
<p></p>
<p></p>
<h3>Corn Bannock.</h3>
<p></p>
<p>To one quart of sour milk, put a tea-spoonful of salaeratus,
dissolved
in water; warm the milk slightly, beat up an egg, and put in corn meal
enough to make it as thick as pudding batter, and some salt; grease a
pan and bake it, or you may put it in six or eight saucers.</p>
<p></p>
<p></p>
<h3>Virginia Pone.</h3>
<p></p>
<p>Beat three eggs, and stir them in a quart of milk, with a little
salt, a
spoonful of melted butter, and as much sifted corn meal as will make it
as thick as corn batter cakes; grease the pans and bake quick.</p>
<p></p>
<p></p>
<h3>Lightened Pone.</h3>
<p></p>
<p>Take half a gallon of corn meal, and pour boiling water on one-third
of
it; mix it together with warm water till it is a thick batter; put in
two table-spoonsful of lively yeast, and one of salt; stir it well and
set it by the fire to rise; when it begins to open on the top, grease
the dutch-oven and put it to bake, or bake it in a pan in a stove.</p>
<p></p>
<p></p>
<h3>Cold Water Pone.</h3>
<p></p>
<p>Make a stiff batter with a quart of Indian meal, cold water and a
little
salt; work it well with the hand; grease a pan or oven, and bake it
three-quarters of an hour. Eat it hot at dinner, or with milk at
supper.</p>
<p></p>
<p></p>
<h3>Indian Bread with Butter-milk.</h3>
<p></p>
<p>To one quart of butter-milk, slightly warmed, put a tea-spoonful of
salaeratus, dissolved in water, two eggs, well beaten, a table-spoonful
of melted butter or lard, a little salt; stir in with a spoon as much
Indian meal as will make a thick batter; beat it for a few minutes,
grease your pans, and bake quickly. If you bake this quantity in two
pans, a half hour will be sufficient, or if in one, it will take an
hour. Look at it often while baking, as it is liable to burn. An
excellent recipe.</p>
<p></p>
<p></p>
<h3>Little Indian Cakes.</h3>
<p></p>
<p>Put a spoonful of lard in a quart of meal, and two tea-spoonsful of
salt, pour boiling water on half the meal, stir it; then add as much
cold water as will enable you to make it out in cakes of a convenient
size, bake on the bake-iron over the fire.</p>
<p></p>
<p></p>
<h3>Maryland Corn Cakes.</h3>
<p></p>
<p>Mix a pint of corn meal with rich milk, a little salt, and an egg,
it
should be well beaten with a spoon, and made thin enough to pour on the
iron; take in cakes the size of a breakfast plate; butter and send them
hot to table.</p>
<p></p>
<p></p>
<h3>A Virginia Hoe Cake.</h3>
<p></p>
<p>Pour warm water on a quart of Indian meal, stir in a spoonful of
lard or
butter, some salt, make it stiff, and work it for ten minutes, have a
board about the size of a barrel head, (or the middle piece of the head
will answer,) wet the board with water, and spread on the dough with
your hand, place it before the fire, prop it aslant with a flat-iron,
bake it slowly, when one side is nicely brown, take it up and turn it,
by running a thread between the cake and the board, then put it back,
and let the other side brown. These cakes used to be baked in Virginia
on a large iron hoe, from whence they derive their name.</p>
<p></p>
<p></p>
<h3>Batter Bread with Yeast.</h3>
<p></p>
<p>Rub a piece of butter the size of an egg, into a quart of com meal,
add
a little salt, make it in a batter with two eggs and some new milk, add
a spoonful of yeast, set it by the fire an hour to rise, butter little
pans, and bake with a quick heat.</p>
<p></p>
<p></p>
<h3>Carolina Corn Rolls.</h3>
<p></p>
<p>Take a pint of corn meal; pour over it sufficient boiling water to
make
a very stiff dough, then add a table-spoonful of salt, and permit it to
stand until about milk-warm; work it well with the hand, then make out
the rolls, of an oblong shape, and bake them from half to
three-quarters
of an hour, according to their size. The addition of a small lump of
butter or lard is an improvement. If they are rightly made, they will
split on the top in baking, and can be eaten by those who cannot
partake
of other preparations made of corn flour.</p>
<p></p>
<p></p>
<h3>Mixed Bread.</h3>
<p></p>
<p>Put a little salt, and a spoonful of yeast, into a quart of flour;
make
it sufficiently soft with corn meal gruel; let it rise; bake in a
mould.</p>
<p></p>
<p></p>
<h3>New England Hasty Pudding, or Stir-about.</h3>
<p></p>
<p>Boil three quarts of water in an iron pot; mix a pint of Indian meal
in
cold water, and make it thin enough to pour easily; when the water
boils, pour it in; stir well with a wooden stick kept for the purpose;
it takes about an hour to boil; salt to your taste; stir in dry meal to
make it thick enough, beating it all the time. Eat it with milk or
molasses, or butter and sugar. This is said to be a wholesome diet for
dyspeptic patients, and makes a good meal for children.</p>
<p></p>
<p></p>
<h3>Corn Muffins.</h3>
<p></p>
<p>Warm three pints of milk, and stir into it as much corn meal as will
make it as thick as pudding batter, add two handsful of wheat flour,
two tea-spoonsful of salt, three eggs, and a tea-cup of yeast. Beat the
whole well together, and let it rise about six hours, when bake as
other muffins.</p>
<p></p>
<p></p>
<h3>Soaked Crackers for Tea.</h3>
<p></p>
<p>Pour boiling water on crackers, put in some butter and a little
salt;
cover them close and keep them warm till tea is ready; if you have
milk,
boil it, and pour over instead of water. This is easily prepared.</p>
<p></p>
<p></p>
<hr>
<p></p>
<p></p>
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