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most perfect flour, subsist upon bread of a very inferior qual- 

 ity. Some housekeepers assert that they can have no " luck " 

 in bread making ; their loaves are always heavy, or sour, or 

 doughy, or burnt, and they give up experimenting andbecome 

 discouraged. As with good materials every one can prepare 

 good bread, there should be no want of success. 



Success depends in a great measure upon good judgment, 

 faithfulness and patience in working, and in using the right 

 materials. It is quite preposterous to present a fixed recipe 

 and set it up as an infallible guide in this department of house- 

 hold labor. The method adopted in my family, and that by 

 which the specimen exhibited was prepared, is as follows : 



Sift five pounds of good flour and put it in an earthen pan 

 suitable for mixing and kneading. Have ready a ferment, or 

 yeast, prepared as follows : 



Take two potatoes the size of the fist, boil them, mash and 

 mix with half a pint of boiling water. A fresh yeast cake, of 

 the size common in the market, is dissolved in water, and the 

 two solutions mixed together and put in a warm place to fer- 

 ment. As soon as it commences to rise, or ferment, which re- 

 quires a longer or shorter time, as the weather is warm or 

 cold, pour it into the flour, and with the addition of a pint 

 each of milk and Water, form a dough, and knead for a full 

 half hour. Form the dough at night, and allow it to stand 

 until morning, in a moderately warm place ; then mould and 

 put in pans, and let it remain until it has become well raised ; 

 then place in a hot oven and bake. 



The points needing attention in this process are several. 

 First, the flour must be of the best quality ; second, the pota- 

 toes should be sound and mealy ; third, the yeast cake is to be 

 freshly prepared ; fourth, the ferment must be in just the right 

 condition ; Ji/th, the kneading shoul(i be thorough and effec- 

 tive ; sixth, the raising of the dough must be watched, that it 

 does not proceed too far and set up the acetic fermentation 

 and cause the bread to sour ; seventh, after the dough is placed 

 in pans it should be allowed to rise, or puff up, before placing 



