6i8 Reading-Course for Farmers* Wives. 



The processes of making bread light are of three general kinds : ( i) by 

 means of yeast; (2) by means of working air into it mechanically; (3) 

 by means of bicarbonate of soda. 



4a. Bread-making ivith yeasts. 



Yeast or leaven appears to be the most ancient article used to make 

 doughs light, and, like many another necessity of the present day, its 

 power probably was discovered by accident. Perhaps some primitive 

 cook left some of her dough of meal, water and salt unbaked from one 

 day to the next and thus the ferments or wild yeasts of the air had a 

 chance to begin their work upon it. The result would be a more pala- 

 table dough than that household had known before, and that plan would 

 naturally be followed thereafter. 



From such experiments were derived the processes known as " salt 

 rising," and " milk emptins," which are still extant is some sections of 

 our country, but which are seldom managed in a way to result in whole- 

 some bread. The leaven of the 

 Israelites mentioned in the Bible 

 appears to have been a portion of 

 the raw dough kept to start fer- 

 mentation for another baking. 

 From the wild yeasts and from 

 leaven, our modern home-made 

 and commercial yeasts have been 



Fig. 158. The modern yeast cake. 



Many housekeepers still make 



the liquid yeast which was the dependence of all a generation or two 

 ago. The foundation of this yeast is a starchy fluid made from flour, 

 or boiled and mashed potatoes, or raw potatoes grated and scalded with 

 boiling water. Hops or ginger were often added to this, probably with 

 the effect of preventing undesirable fermentation, but later recipes de- 

 pend principally upon salt for this purpose. A small amount of sugar 

 was added to aid the growth of the yeast. When the mixture had 

 cooled to a point at which there was no danger of destroying the effi- 

 ciency of the yeast, a small portion of the previous lot was added and 

 the whole kept in a warm place until it became " lively." 



