BREAD. 



in a bowl or trough by the fire in winter, from it in fummer, 

 will rife in about an hour ; they then mould it into loaves, 

 and put it into an oven to bake. 



For unleavened bread, part of the flour intended for it 

 being made into duugh with warin water and a little fait, 

 is laid in the reft of the flour an hour or more, in which time 

 it rifes to three times the bulk ; then they mix and knead tlic 

 whole with more water, till it be brought into a lUff dough ; 

 whicli being formed into loaves, is b.ikcd in the oven ; though 

 the more ufual way is to take a piece of dougli kneaded and 

 leave it in the tub till next time, when they break it fmall 

 and mix it with the meal, adding fomc yeaft. Hought. 

 Colled, torn. i. N° 90. p. 241. 



For Fiench bread, tliey take half a buHicl of fine flour, 

 ten eggs, and a pound and a half of frtlh butter, into which 

 they put as much yeaft, with a manchet j and tempering the 

 whole mafs with new milk, pretty hot, let it lie half an hour 

 to rife, which done, they inalie it into loaves or rolls, and 

 wa(h it over with an egg beaten with milk ; care is taken the 

 oven be not too hot. 



In Lancalhire, and feveral other northern counties of 

 England, the people have feveral forts of oaten-bread : 

 as, I. The bannocl, which is an oat-cake, kneaded only with 

 water, and baked in the embers. 2. Clap-hrcad, which is 

 made into thin hard cakes. 3. B'ltch'inefs-hrmd, which is 

 made of thin batter, and formed into thin foft oat-cakes. 

 4. liiddU-caka, which are thick and four, and very little 

 different from the hand-hover bread, which has but little 

 leaven, and kneaded ftiff. And, 5. Jminock, which is oaten- 

 bread made up into loaves. 



In Scotland they have peafe-bread, confifting either wholly 

 of the flour of peafe, or of this and oatmeal mixed ; the 

 dough, fometimes leavened, and fometimes made only with 

 water, is formed either into bannocks or cakes, and baked 

 over the embers ; or into what tlicy call ba^s, i. e. a kind of 

 flattifh rolls, and baked in the oven. 



In the ftatute of aflize of bread and ale, 51 Hen. III. 

 mention is made of waftel-bread, cockct-bread, and bread of 

 treet ; which anfwer to the three forts of bread now in ufe, 

 called "white, whealen, and houJJjold-bread. 



In religious houfes, they heretofore diflinguifhed bread 

 by the names, efquires-bread, pains anni^irorum ; monks- 

 bread, p.iitis conventuaUs ; boys-bread, panis puerorum ; and 

 tct';Mm-hres.A, panis famulorum, or paiils fer'jientaUs. A like 

 diftribution obtained in the houfholds of nobks and princes ; 

 where, however, we find fome other denominations, as mef- 

 fengers-bread, pan'is nundus, that given to meflTengers, as a 

 reward of their labour; court-bread, ^«n/V curia/is, that al- 

 lowed by the lord for the maintenance of his houfhold ; ele- 

 emofynary-bread, that diftributed to the poor in the way of 

 alms. Du-Cange GlofT. Lat. torn. iv. 



Bread is ufually made of the feeds, fometimes alfo of the 

 roots, and even the pith of plants. The firft bread is fup- 

 pofed to have been made of the plant " lotus." In fome 

 countries they make bread of acorns. See Acorns. In 

 the iflands of Banda and Amboyna, they make a kind of 

 bread called " facgem," or " fagoe," of the pith of a 

 farinaceous tree, which yields a white mealy fubftance, that, 

 being kneaded with water, fermented, and baked on the 

 ioals, fervcs the poor for bread. See Sago. In the Ca- 

 ribbee iflands, S:c. they make bread of the root of a poifonous 

 plant called " Manioc ;" probably the fame with the 

 CalfaJa bread, which is made of the root of the Yucca 

 Mexicana. See Manioc, and Cassada. To the denomi- 

 nation of bread, made of roots, may alfo be added potatoe- 

 bread, frequent in Ireland, and turnip-bread, ufed occafion- 

 »!ly in forae parts of England, Potatoes, previoufly peeled, 



cut into thin dices, and put between folds of paper, will dry 

 in a heat fomewhat lefs than ^5° of Reaumur's thermometer, 

 and, when thus dried, will preferve their white colour. la 

 this procefs they lofe about two-thirds of their weight, and 

 they may be then reduced to a fine powder, which indicates 

 the prefcnce of an amylaceous matter, and has the fmell and 

 tafte of wheat. It is alfo nutritious, and may be kept for a 

 long time. From thefe circumftances, M. Parmentier was 

 led to attempt the making of bread with the meal of wheat, 

 and that of potatoes, mixed in dift'erent proportions. By 

 combining one-fourth, one-tliird, one-half, and two-thirds of 

 the potatoe meal with the flour of wheat, and adding a little 

 fait and yeaft, he obtained bread that was well tafted, bnt 

 which had fermented little, was brown, and covered with 

 hard brown crufts. Bread made from the meal of potatoes 

 alone, with the addition of fait and yeaft, was eatable, but 

 heavy, unfermented, and very brown ; and apt to crumble 

 into powder. In order to give it greater adhefion, M. Par- 

 mentier- mixed with the meal a decoftion of bran, or a mix- 

 ture of honey and water, eith.er of which made it lighter and 

 more fermented ; it thus alfo obtained a cruft of a golden 

 colour, and became well tafted, and fufSciently adhefive. 

 He obtained alfo well fermented bread, of a good colour and 

 tafte, from a mixture of raw potatoe-pnlp with mealy 

 wheat, or potatoe-meal, with the addition of yeaft and fait. 

 Upon the whole, lie recommends, after various trials, the 

 mixture of potatoes, in times of fcarcity, with the flour of 

 wheat, inftead of employing rye, barky, or oats, which has 

 frequently been done; when grain is altogether wanting, he 

 recommends the ufe of bread made fiom a mixture of the 

 amylaceous powder of potatoes and their pulp, fermented 

 with leaven or honey. Tiie meal of this root, diluted with 

 hot water, acquires a tenacious and gluev confidence. This 

 meal, however, gives a grey colour to bread made by mixing 

 it with the flour of wheat ; but a mixture of the pulp of po- 

 tatoes with the flour of wheat does not produce brown-co- 

 loured bread. M. Parmentier made bread very much refem- 

 bling that of wheat, by mixing four ounces of amylaceous 

 powder of potatoes, one dram of mucilage extraflcd from 

 barley, one dram of the bran of rye, and I5 dram of glu- 

 tinous matter dried and powdered. See Potatoe. 



M. Parmentier alfo recommends the ufe of the horfe- 

 chefnut for the purpofe of making wholefome bread. With 

 this view he advifes taking off^ the fliin, and preffing out the 

 juice, and reducing the fruit into a pafte, which, being di- 

 luted with water, and ftrained through a fieve, will yield a 

 milky-coloured liquor, tliat, on being left to ftand, depofits 

 a fine powder. This powder, when dried, has neither fmell 

 nor tafte, and is very fit for aliment ; the mafs from which it 

 is procured retaining the bitternefs of the fruit. The roots 

 of the bryony, he fays, treated in the fume manner, yield a 

 finiilar white powder. By the fame treatment, fine, white, 

 infipid, inodorous powders may be procured from the roots of 

 the iris, gladiolus, ranunculus, fumaria, arum, dracuncuhis, 

 mandragora, colcliicum, hlipendula, and helleborus ; plants 

 which grow fpontaneoufly, and in great abundance. The 

 roots of the gramen caninum arvenfe, which fome naturalifts 

 have coiifidered as the original fpecies from which all our 

 grain is produced, are fwcet-tafted ; and in order to their 

 being prepared for bread, it is merely necclfary to clcanfe 

 them, to cut them fmall, and to dry and pound them. The 

 powder, he obferves, does not diflblve in cold vi'ater or 

 fpirits, but is difl'olved in boiling water, which it renders 

 thick and cloudy ; and, upon cooling, the whole mafs ob- 

 tains a gelatinous confiftence. Upon a chemical analyfis, it 

 yields an acid empyreumatic oil, which polfeifes a Angular 

 odour, refembling that which, is perceived on burning the 



plant 



