St:o. 23.] 



TUE BREAD QUESTION. 



309' 



an ignorant cook, wliose obstinacy is in jtroportiotnto liur ignorance, and 

 ■whose threat of leaving if not left undisturbed in her kitchen, frightens her 

 timid, delicate mistress into silence and absence. How few mistresses there 

 arc who are able to contend with these kitchen autocrats, or are competent 

 to prove their ability to execute what they have undertaken to teach. 



"If an old housekeeper reads what has been written, she will cry out: 

 * La, what a fuss about bread-making, which any ninny can do !' And if 

 she has a batch of good bread unco in a fortnight, and that by good luck, 

 as she would call it, she thinks she knows all about it, and disdains to give 

 attention to such a trifling matter. Yet, if you ask her why her bread was 

 not invariably good, she can not explain otherwise than that the leaven wiw 

 overworked, the yeast not good, the water loo hot, or the flour was bad. 

 ]S'o wonder this question continues to agitate the world, since the work! is 

 daily doomed to dough and Inirnt crusts. Good bread is the exception and 

 not the rule in more than half the families of the world." 



For this reason wc think that some further rulea for bread-making, which 

 come from those who always have good bread, will be acceptable. The 

 lirst is from Waldo, Ohio. The writer says : 



"I soak about a pint of dry hops two or three liours, or until the water 

 foams, by which time I have boiled seven medium-sized potatoes, which I 

 then mash, boiling liot, with a saucerful of flour, leaving the skins on ; then 

 add a quart of cold water, little at a time, nuishing and mixing thorouglily 

 after each addition of water. When lukewarm, I stir in the hop-yeast, and 

 let it stand until morning ; then I run it through a cullender, with two 

 quarts of lukewarm water, which I add part at a time, that tiie feniifiit 

 may be rinsed from the potato-skins. Tlien add two rounding tablesjioon- 

 fuls of salt, and then flour until it can only be stirred witii difficulty. Then 

 I set It over a kettle of warm water in winter, or in a cudI i>hice in summer, 

 until it is very light, when I mi.t it ami knead it thoroughly until it will 

 not adhere to the tabic or brcad-l)Owl. When very liglit. knead into loaves 

 and put it in the pans, this time kneading as little and handling as ligiitly 

 as possible. When it is again light, I ])ut it in a hot oven, bake an hour, 

 taking care by watching not to let it burn. When done, rub the crust with 

 a little lard, and wrap up till cold. If the yeast sours, add soda to correct 

 acidity." 



Another woman, Lynda Lull, of Clevit, Eaton County, Mich., gives her 

 method, as follows : 



"Pare and slice four common-sized potatoes, and boil them in one ipiart 

 of water. When done, pour the water off into a ba*in, nuisii the potatoes 

 and put them in the water, and when about milk-warm add one teneupfiil 

 of good hop-yeast; stir in flour enough to' make a thick batter, an<l h-t it 

 stand about two hours in a warm place. Then i)Ut flour enough in your 

 bread-bowl to make three loaves of bread ; add three pint* of wann wafer 

 to the yeast, and stir it in the flour, and set in a warm dIuco till it has 

 sponged nicely; then mold, and bake one hour.'' 



