Rural School Leaflet. io6i 



If a crumbly crumb is liked, use i teaspoon to i tablespoon of lard 

 or drippings or butter. 



If sweet bread is liked, use i teaspoon to i tablespoon of sugar. 



At first, use enough flour to make a batter (about 2 to 2^ cupfuls). 



After the batter has become very light add enough more flour to make 

 a dough. I cannot tell you how much flour to use at this time for dif- 

 ferent kinds of flour vary so much in the amount of water they take up, 

 but do not have the dough either very stiff or very soft. Knowing the 

 characteristics of yeast, you will not have any trouble in understanding 

 the following directions: 



Have hands, cloths, and utensils scrupulously clean. If milk is used, 

 boil it up once, add salt, butter and sugar and then let it cool until it is 

 about lukewarm. It is better to boil the water used for it may contain 

 some living things harmful to the yeast. After the liquid has cooled, 

 add the yeast and enough flour to make a batter and then beat it well 

 to put in plenty of oxygen. Cover with a clean cloth and set in a warm 

 place until light. If compressed yeast or "starter" is used the batter 

 will be light in three or four hours. If dry yeast is used it will take at 

 least over night for the yeast to get a good start. When the batter is 

 light, add enough flour to make a dough and knead it until it is no longer 

 sticky. Then, put it back into the same bowl or pan in which the 

 sponge was made and let it rise until it is a little more than double its 

 bulk. Shape into a loaf, put into a buttered bread pan, and let it rise 

 again until it has about doubled its size. It should feel light and very 

 elastic. Bake at once in a moderately hot oven for 40 to 45 minutes. 

 This will not make a very large loaf of, bread, but I hope you are 

 going to learn to make and to like the small loaves of bread for they are 

 easier to bake through, and they have a larger amount of good crust. 



A good loaf of bread should be evenly porous; should have a sweet 

 nutty flavor; should be thoroughly baked; should have no odor or taste 

 of yeast; the crumb should be tender and elastic; the crust should be 

 well browned; it should be so palatable as to encourage the family to 

 make it a prominent feature of the meal. 



" That the dining-room and the kitchen connect with the country and its pro- 

 cesses and products it is hardly necessary to say. Cooking may be so taught 

 that it has no connection with country life, and with the sciences that find their 

 unity in geography. Perhaps it generally has been taught without these con- 

 nections being really made. But all the materials that come into the kitchen 

 have their origin in the country; they come from the soil, are nurtured through 

 the influences of light and water, and represent a great variety of local environ- 

 pients." — John Dewey 



