ART OF BREAD=MAKING

Wairarapa Times-Age, 15 July 1938, Page 8

ART OF BREAD=MAKING

SOME RELIABLE RECIPES. Bread-making has held a high place in the household of all periods and its history is filled with romance. It is likely that grinding meal and making bread are the two oldest activities known to man. In Egypt and ancient Greece it was a coveted honour to be appointed superintendent of the bake house; and many varieties of bread, from both dark and light meal, were made. On a menu card of an Egyptian king of the nineteenth dynasty, 16 kinds of bread are listed. It is supposed that leavened bread was accidentally discovered by working into a mass of dough a piece of old dough in which several yeast spores had developed, thus causing the new mixture to expand and become light when baked. Leavening of bread was practiced by the Egyptians and handed by them to the Greeks, who in turn 'passed it on to the Romans. Dough was kneaded as it is today, by hand. However, in large households such as that maintained by Rameses 111, where a large quantity of bread was consumed daily, doughs had to be mixed in tubs, and then were trodden with the feet. The slaves who performed this task held on to long poles to enable them to jump on the dough with more force. After the dough had reached the right elasticity it was placed in jars and carried to the court baker who molded it into various fancy shapes. We appreciate the fact that modern progress and sanitary methods have left their mark on the process of fermentation and kneading of bread. Plain Bread 1 cup lukewarm water 1 cup lukewarm milk. 2 teaspoons salt 1 tablespoon sugar 1 tablespoon lard or butter 1 cake compressed yeast (dissolved in i cup lukewarm water) Flour Place the water, milk, salt, sugar and fat into a bowl; add the dissolved yeast, and then the flour gradually. When dough is stiff enough to handle, turn the dough out on a floured board and knead until soft and elastic (about 10 minutes). Place in buttered bowl, cover, and let it rise in a warm place until double its bulk. Then place dough on floured board and knead about 5 minutes and divide into loaves; after each kneading the dough should be buttered to keep the surface from drying. Place loaves in buttered pans in which they are to be baked; cover and let rise till double in bulk; then bake. When bread is removed from oven it should be removed from pans and cooled on wire rack. The top of the crust is improved if buttered when first removed from oven. One cup of liquid makes one loaf of bread. An ordinary loaf of bread requires 1 hour to make. (350 deg F). Corn Bread 6 tablespoons butter i cup sugar 1 egg (well beaten) i cup cornmeal 4 teaspoons baking powder 1} cup flour 1 cup milk i teaspoon salt Cream butter, add sugar*, then beaten egg and then cornmeal. Last, add flour, baking powder and salt sifted together, alternately with milk. Mix thoroughly. Bake in square cake pans 2 of an hour. (375 deg F). Orange Bread 1 large orange. Cold water Raisins or dates 2 cup of sugar 3 tablespoons melted butter 1 egg (well beaten) 2 cups flour 2 teaspoons baking powder I teaspoon soda i teaspoon salt ( 1 teaspoon vanilla J cup chopped nuts Wash orange and squeeze to remove juice. Pour juice in a glass measuring cup and fill cup with cold water. Put orange rind through fine food chopper; place chopped rind in a glass cup and add enough dates or raisins to fill the cup.

Place orange and date mixture in bowl; add orange juice and water; add beaten egg, melted butter and vanilla and then the dry ingredients which have been sifted together. Last add nuts which have been dusted with a little of the flour. Pour into a well greased bread pan. Let rise for 15 minutes and then bake in moderate ’/oven for about 1 hour. (350 deg F).