any but a strong-handled spoon in stirring it. 
Such bread also requires longer and slower 
baking, and is less well adapted to biscuits 
than to loaves. 
RECIPES. 
During the forenoon, for two loaves of 
bread, boil three fair-sized potatoes and mash 
them thoroughly (I use a fork)in the bread- 
pan, add one tea-cupful of flour, one table¬ 
spoonful of sugar, one-half of salt, one-fourth 
of ginger and one very scant quart of boil¬ 
ing water. 
The water should be added gradually till 
the mixture is perfectly smooth, and when 
luke-warm add one dissolved yeast cake or 
one-half cupful of sweet lively yeast, and keep 
where it will not get chilled. At night the 
sponge should be very foamy and then add 
all the sifted flour that can be stirred in and 
during hot weather, at bed-time, put it down 
in the cellar or in the refrigerator. In the 
morning, add flour to handle, divide into 
loaves and mold thoroughly, adding flour till 
the dough can be rolled back and forth 
across the board, or a pinch can be rolled be¬ 
tween the hands without sticking; then put 
it in warm and well greased tins, only half 
full, cover up and keep near the fire till the 
dough has filled the tins and rounded up in 
the middle; then bake in a moderately quick 
oven till it looks done; then try it with a 
broom-splint, remembering that scorched 
bread is ever so much better than unbaked 
dough. 
Just before putting the dough in the tins, I 
divide each loaf into two or three parts, roll 
each piece out long, and then lay them on, 
side by side. A loaf containing two parts 
may be pulled apart before cutting, making 
nice square slices. Potatoes may be omitted 
from this bread, and it will be light and 
sweet, but slower and will not keep so long. 
The sponge may be started at noon with the 
same result, if kept warm in cold weather, or 
at night, stirring in all the flour possible, 
when the yeast is added, and molding twice 
in the morning. But I think the bread is bet¬ 
ter if started in the morning, and the work 
does not interfere with the dinner at noon or 
give any trouble at night, aside from simply 
stirring the flour in. As it requires but one 
molding and rises quickly, if potatoes are 
used, it is baked and out of the way early in 
the m irning, which is desirable during the 
warm mornings of summer or the short fore¬ 
noons of winter. Frequently the sponge will 
be light at noon or a little after, and in warm 
weather I set it down in the cellar or where it 
will keep moderately cool, although I have 
never had it sour, and there is no reason why 
it should do so if the water used is boiling-hot. 
It differs little from soft yeast that always 
stands about the kitchen at least two days, 
and is expected to keep sweet from one to 
two weeks. 
I use one yeast cake for only two loaves of 
bread, to get rid of them, if for no other 
reason, as a package will then last over a 
mon h; but in making a large amount of 
bread, the yeast and wetting are not increased 
according to the amount used for one or 
two loaves. 1 consider an oven ready for 
bread when the doors are hot on the outside 
to the outspread hand and siss on the inside. 
The air th ,t comes out should be quite warm, 
but if actually hot, the bread will surely 
burn. MEDORA CORBETT. 
In common with all inexperienced young 
house-keepers, I experimented with more or 
less success in bread-making, trying this way, 
and that, as I saw it recommended, or heard a 
friend advocate it, and I have come to the 
conclusion that, for me at least, the following 
is the best method I have yet found. In cold 
weather I prefer good potato yeast to any 
other, but as it must be made very often in 
summer, and then sometimes will be past us¬ 
ing when we still supposed it good, I find the 
following just as satisfactory and always 
good. The day before baking bread we have 
mashed potatoes for dinner, and I take of 
them when prepared for the table a pint, or 
so, soak a good fresh yeast cake in as little 
water as will soak it thoroughly, and mix it 
well with the potato, using the hands; then 
pack it in a bowl, cover closely, and set in a 
warm place. If this is done directly after 
dinner, by the time one wishes to sponge the 
bread in the evening, it will be light—not 
raised up, but light all through, and just 
right for use. If one wishes to wait . until 
morning before using, the yeast will not be 
injured by standing, only one should not let it 
gee chilled. The yeast cake may be of one’s 
own make, or any of the standard kinds. 
When ready to sponge the bread have warm 
water and warm flour, which has been plac¬ 
ed in the oven long enough to be dry and get 
warm through. I consider dry , warm flour 
one of the strong points of success. Stir in 
the flour with a spoon, not very stiif, and put 
it in a warm place to rise. If this is done 
early in the morning, following directions, the 
sponge ought to be ready to knead up as soon 
after breakfast as one may wish. Then it is 
made up stiff, add a little sugar and salt, also 
a little lard if wished; but no soda unless the 
sponge is too light to be good, and if that is 
the case some must be added, but the bread 
will not be first-class. Be sure to use the 
sponge before it needs the soda. Use warm 
flour this time also, and let no draught strike 
the bread at any time. Knead it up so stiff 
that it will need no more flour when made into 
loaves; put it in the bread pan to rise, and 
with the fist make a dent in the center to 
the bottom of the bread. When this is well 
rounded out the bread is ready to form into 
loaves. Place the pan in a warm place free 
from draughts. I find a box having one or 
more shelves, to be set behind the kitchen 
stove a great convenience. 
We usually save enough of the sponge for 
a Graham loaf; sweeten, add a little shorten¬ 
ing and stir in enough good Graham flour to 
make it as stiff as can be stirred with a spoon, 
put directly in the dish in which it is to be 
baked; let it rise once, and bake in a little 
slower oven and a little longer than the wheat 
bread, and you ought to have a nice Graham 
loaf, fit for the dyspeptic or any one else. 
When the bread in the pan is light, if time or 
strength is any object, divide it into loaves, 
taking care not to have them too large for the 
tins in which they are to be baked, and take a 
chopping-knife and chop the bread instead of 
spending a half hour or more kneading each 
loaf, and I think you will agree with me that 
the work is much easier, and the dough makes 
just as good bread. Chop and fold over, and 
chop again, and again, molding in shape as 
needful. Put the loaves in the tins and let 
them rise until very light—just here no 
written directions can take the place of ex¬ 
perience. 
Perhaps at first, if you are just beginning— 
and we all have to do so once—it would be well 
to make your baking tins nearly half full. Try 
until you get it just right, and remember just 
how large your loaves were, and how they 
looked and felt, as you placed your finger 
against them, and by observing closely you 
will soon get so as to know when it is exactly 
right for the oven. As to the heat required to 
bake, and the time also, ovens vary so much 
that I never feel sure of any but my own. 
But an observing woman will soon get ac¬ 
quainted with her stove and oven, so that she 
will be mistress of the operation every time, 
if no one else is allowed to attend to the fire 
while she is baking. If this shall prevent any 
young housekeeper from making the mistakes 
I did during the first few weeks of bread-bak¬ 
ing, I am more than paid. l. a. e. 
Save the water drained from the potatoes 
for dinner, mashing some of them in it if 
desired. Addas much water as will make 
the amount of bread required, allowing one 
pint for a medium-sized loaf. Dissolve one- 
third of a dry yeast cake for each loaf in a 
cup of warm water and stir it into the potato 
water, being sure to have it warm but not 
too warm. Add a teaspoonful of salt for 
each pint, beat in as much flour as will make 
as stiff a batter as you can well beat with a 
spoon and set in a warm place to rise. The 
last thing before going tx> bed, make into a 
dough just stiff enough to knead well; knead 
for 10 minutes and again put it in a warm 
place to stand over-night. As soon as you 
are up in the morning your bread will be 
light. Knead another 10 minutes, mold into 
loaves and put into tins. I prefer small or 
medium sized ones to bakers or dripping-pans 
as the bread bakes more evenly and thorough¬ 
ly and is sweeter and richer. When light 
bake in a moderate oven three quarters of an 
hour. Place the loaves on the sides to cool 
and put away in a stone jar or tin bread box. 
GRAHAM OR BROWN BREAD. 
Set the yeast at night the same as for white 
bread, leaving out the potato water and al¬ 
lowing one-half the amount for each loaf. 
In che morning, when light, add one large cup 
of new milk and one tablespoonful of brown 
sugar or New Orleans molasses for each loaf. 
Beat in Graham flour so long as you can stir 
with a spoon or paddle, pour into deep baking 
tins and stand in a warm place until it nas 
risen to twice its bulk and bake one hour in a 
moderate oven. Wrap in damp cloths to 
soften the crust, if preferred. 
Geraldine germane. 
Nothing but “salt-rising bread,” is ever 
found at “Forest Home,” for the staff of life, 
and the following is the formula for making 
Two teacupfuls of boiling water poured into 
a clean sweet dish—I use a tin quart can_ 
in which I have put a teaspoonful of salt. 
When it has cooled enough so that I can 
bear to hold my finger in it, I stir in flour 
enough to make a rather stiff batter, and set 
it where it will keep warm. I myself do this 
the night before I want to bake, say, about 
seven or eight o’clock in the evening. It will 
keen warm in the oven till midnight. In the 
morning set it into a kettle of very warm— 
not hot water—and with frequent stirring it 
will soon be warmed through, when about 
half a teaspoonful of saleratus is moistened or 
dissolved in a spoonful of warm water and 
stirred into the batter, and it is then left 
to keep warm and rise. When the dish is 
nearly full, which will be in two or three 
hours, the bread-pan receives a quantity of 
flour, into which I put about one quart of very 
warm water, stirring in some of the flour first 
and then pouring in the rising, and stirring 
together to a thick batter. I cover this with 
flour about half an inch thick to help keep in 
the heat, and set it in a warm place. In an hour 
it should be up light enough to mold, and will 
make three good-sized loaves, which are set 
back in the warm place, to rise again for 
three-quarters of an hour at least—sometimes 
it takes an hour, if molded too stiff. Then 
bake in a well heated oven, about 40 minutes, 
though the cook must use her own judgment, 
for stoves differ. If the flour is made by the 
roller process, a handful of cannaile thrown 
in the batter facilitates the rising very ma¬ 
terially. MAY MAPLE. 
Our kitchen is rather cold, and I stand the 
flour near the fire to warm. At supper time 
1 put one yeast cake to soak in a cup half full 
of warm water. After supper, I mash the yeast 
cake fine, and pour it in a milk-pan. Add one 
quart of warm water, and stir well. Make a 
hole in the middle of the flour, pour in the 
yeast and water, and stir in flour to make a 
batter thicker than griddle cakes. I then 
beat this well and spread flour over the top. 
As the room is cold, I spread a large blanket, 
(kept for the purpose) on the table, set the pan 
on this, cover with a board, bring the blanket 
up over the board and tuck the pan snugly in. 
This sponge is light when I get up next morn¬ 
ing, and while breakfast cooks, I knead it, 
after I add some salt, use all the flour I 
can knead in, and knead the dough till it is 
smooth, and will rise when pressed down by 
the finger. Put back in the pan, cover with 
a towel and let it rise again. Make in small 
loaves with as little handling as possible, and 
when again light, bake a very light brown. I 
usually rub some butter or lard on the sides 
of the loaf. After baking this bread one 
hour, I lift out a loaf. If it is done, the in¬ 
side will spring back when pressed in. When 
done, turn from the tin, wrap well in a clean 
cloth, and stand in a cool place. 
MRS. LEYI NILES. 
Unfortunately for my family, as well 
as for myself, I didn’t learn the art of bread 
making in my youth, and when it became 
necessary for me to have a practical know¬ 
ledge of that art, many were my trials—trials 
indeed, for I fried everybody’s way; home¬ 
made, hop yeast,brewers’, bakers’, compressed, 
salt rising and so on, always with varying 
success. Harrowing tales might be told of 
this period, covering years, when my spirits 
rose ana tell with the “risin.” But I am 
happy to say that for five years I have not 
had a failure, and light sweet, nutritious 
bread is alway on hand. The following is my 
method of making it: 
Two yeast cakes dissolved in one-half pint 
of warm water, add to this two tablespoonfuls 
of flour,one-fourth cup of sugar and one-fourth 
cup of salt. One dozen potatoes boiled and 
mashed are to be stirred with one quart of 
boiling water, cooled with two quarts of cold 
water and to this add the yeast-cake mixture. 
Cover close and put in a warm place till 
morning. I usually prepare this yeast while 
getting dinner. To each loaf, allow a pint of 
yeast, use no other wetting. Stir as stiff with 
flour as possible, or mix lightly with the hands 
if preferred, and leave to rise, which will be 
in an hour or two according to temperature. 
Mold and let rise again in bulk; when light 
mold for tins, taking care this time not to let 
it get too light for fear the bread will be crum 
bly. I prefer and use covered tins for bak¬ 
ing, as they improve the crust. 
This yeast will keep two or more weeks, and 
though it may seem sour, will make good 
sweet bread without the use of soda or other 
alkali. 
GOOD BROWN BREAD 
can be made by taking one pint of the stirred 
sponge when light and adding one-half cup of 
good molasses and one-half cup of warm milk. 
Stir very stiff with Graham flour. Mold in¬ 
to loaves with the spoon and bake in a rather 
slow oven. mary mann. 
Grate one large or two small boiled pota¬ 
toes into the mixing bowl, add a cupful and a 
half of hot water, and the same quantity of 
new milk. If milk is not plentiful, water will 
make good bread with or without butter or 
lard according to taste. Dissolve a com¬ 
pressed yeast cake in this, add a large tea¬ 
spoonful of salt and mix at once into a stiff 
dough, molding with the hands. It is not 
necessary to add the flour slowly and the ex¬ 
act quantity cannot be given as flour variep 
so much in thickening quality. After one 
learns the kind of flour she is using she can 
put in nearly the amount required at first, 
and, stirring with a spoon or knife through 
the center rather than around the outside of 
the dough, it can be gathered into a mass 
very soon and will require but little kneading 
to make it so that it will not stick to the 
board, when no more is necessary. Set it to 
rise in the warmest part of the kitchen 
covered with a cloth, and in three hours it 
will be light as will be seen by its being 
double the size it was when it was mixed. 
Mold it lightly into loaves and put in pans for 
baking. In half an hour it will be ready for 
the oven. Have a good heat at first and then 
close the stove to fiuish slowly. Mix early in 
the morning and it can be baked before the 
noon dinner. Or it can be made over-night 
in cool weather and baked early in the niorn- 
ing, cutting off a part into rolls or biscuits for 
breakfast. This is a very heterodox way to 
make bread decided upon after 30 years of 
sponging and working down and kneading a 
long time with various other devices to make 
the “staff of life” more difficult to prepare than 
any other article of food. But it is pro¬ 
nounced “splendid bread-” 
MRS. ALICE R. DODGE. 
Good flour, lively yeast, and skill are all 
required to make good bread. At night take 
two quarts of warm water and one teacupful 
of yeast, stir in flour until it makes a stiff, 
batter. Cover and let it remain over-night; 
in the morning mix with more flour, but not 
too hard. Knead the dough well and return 
it to the bread pan and let it rise again until 
it is quite light; then make into loaves and 
let rise a half hour in the pans and bake. 
Before mixing in the spoDge, it is an addition 
to rub a tablespoonful of fresh lard into the 
flour. Careful baking is an important part 
of the process. 
For the yeast, grate eight good-sized pota¬ 
toes: boil a large handful of hops in three 
pints of water, strain this over the grated 
potato, set the dish containing this on the 
stove, and thicken it with a little flour and 
water, stirring all the time to keep it from 
burning. When it has boiled up, remove 
from the fire and when nearly cold, stir in a 
teacupful of yeast or a yeast cake dissolved in 
a little water. When light add a teaspoon of 
salt, one of ginger and one of sugar, stir well 
and set away in a cool place. Stoneware is 
best to keep yeast in. 
FOR MILK RISING BREAD. 
Early in the morning take a lump of soda 
the size of a pea, a half teaspoonful of salt 
and a teaspoonful of sugar; dissolve this in a 
pint of warm water, and stir in flour until 
quite thick. Cover close and set in a warm 
place and in about five hours it will com¬ 
mence to rise. Mix with this as much milk or 
water as is warned for bread, make into 
dough with flour, let rise and make into 
loaves, it will soon oe ready to Dane, and 
must not be allowed to stand too long or there 
will be an offensive odor connected with it. 
Many people prefer this kind of bread, but it 
does not bear acquaintance like good hop 
yeast bread. 
GRAHAM BREAD. 
Make a sponge as for white bread, put in 
the white of an egg beaten light, a teaspoon¬ 
ful of salt, one tablespoonful of sugar, one of 
lard, beat all together and stir in the sponge 
when it is light. Then mix soft with Graham 
flour, knead on the board lightly, let it re¬ 
main in the dish to rise, then make into 
loaves and let rise again. When done strictly 
by rule this is very fine. aunt rachel. 
For perfect bread one must have perfect 
flour and good yeast; given these two essen¬ 
tials, all the rest is easy. Take two quarts of 
flour, sift it, add to it one even teaspoonful of 
salt, sugar and lard or butter. Rub these in¬ 
gredients through the flour; have a pint and 
one-half of warm water, into which dissolve 
one cake of compressed yeast: stir up well. 
With a wooden spoon mix the water through 
the flour, beating thoroughly. This mixture 
must be of the consistency of warm mush. 
Some flour absorbs more water than others, 
so if the above quantity of water proves insuf¬ 
ficient, you must necessarily add more. 
Cover warmly and place in a position near the 
fire. This should rise in two hours, or at most 
in two hours and one-half, which will be 
known by the mixture becoming foamy all 
