io6o Rural School Leaflet. 



called " salt rising " bread made by exposing dough to the air and depend- 

 ing on the wild yeast plants which find their way in to make the bread 

 light. This is. not the surest way of making good bread, for while the 

 wild yeast is getting in there is nothing to keep the other little living 

 things out, and the presence of some of these may make the bread sour 

 and unwholesome. Carefully weeded fields of cultivated yeast plants 

 are within the reach of everyone now-a-days, in the form of the dry 

 or compressed yeast cakes, and it is no longer necessary to depend on 

 the wild plants to do the work. The housewife often makes what she 

 calls a " starter " and uses this in place of the yeast cake in making her 

 bread. The starter is mad» by planting yeast in a field which contains 

 just enough food to make it begin an active vigorous growth. If 

 " starter " is used instead of a dry yeast cake, the bread rises much 

 more quickly because the yeast plants are more numerous and more 

 active. Sometimes a little of the " sponge " is saved from one baking 

 to another and this sponge is used to make the bread light. It is just 

 like saving seed from one crop to start a new crop. 



There is no process in the household which is more interesting than 

 bread-making, fox it deals with living, growing things. Proper care 

 and an understanding of conditions will, as a rule, insure good results, 

 and when bread fails to be good there is always the consolation of know- 

 ing something of the cause of failure, — either poor, weak yeast plants, 

 or poor flour, or lack of cleanliness in milk, hands, or utensils, or too 

 much heat or cold, or too long rising. 



After bread has risen and is light the work of the little yeast plant is 

 accomplished and not only is it no longer needed, but its presence there 

 spoils the bread. So we bake the bread, and bake it long enough to 

 kill all the yeast present. This is not always done and in many homes 

 badly baked bread having many live yeast cells in the center of the 

 loaf is a common occurrence. 



In making bread wheat, or other cereal having a substance called 

 gluten must be used, for gluten is very elastic and does not break when 

 stretched by the gas bubbles and so it can hold the gas formed and a 

 nice, light porous loaf of bread results. A cereal like oatmeal can not 

 be used by itself in making bread for it is not elastic but sticky and the 

 gas bubbles will quickly escape. 



Suppose you try to plant a yeast garden and make a loaf of bread. 



For one loaf of bread : 



J pint of water or milk 

 J of a yeast cake, or 

 J cup of liquid starter 

 I teaspoou of salt 



