ROLLS, MUFFINS, FANCY BREADS

New Zealand Listener, Volume 17, Issue 431, 26 September 1947, Page 26

ROLLS, MUFFINS, FANCY BREADS

LETTER from a friend of mine who has married an American, and now lives on the border of Louisiana, gave me the idea of devoting this page to fancy breads. She writes: "We are living among the real old settlers of the South, mostly of British descent. Country folk of the old school scorn bought bread, and serve hot bread in some form at every meal-hot biscuits, hot cornbread, hot rolls." From another source came the idea, that the rather skimpy meal which is sometimes necessary can be made more important and interesting by serving with it a hot "quickbread." Of course, New Zealand housewives have always known how to brighten up a lunch or a "hot tea" by mixing up a batch of scones; so I thought a few new recipes on these lines might be interesting. We cannot make cornbread’ or Johnny cake because we don’t get the yellow cornmeal-which is quite different from cornflour. But we can have rolls and griddle cakes and Sally Lunns and muffins. Next week I will give some yeast rolls and quickbreads. Griddle Cakes These are hardly any different from our pikelets in the mixture. But they | are served hot in a pile of two or three, each spread with butter, and with lots of maple-syrip poured over; and are eaten with a fork. As we have limited butter, and no maple-syrup, we can use golden syrup heated up with a little lemon juice and-hot water and a knob of butter, which is quite a good substitute; or combine one part butter and two parts honey and heat them together. Pour hot. over the griddle cakes. They are delicious eaten with fried pork sausages and bacon. Or each griddle-cake may be wrapped round a sausage and eaten with bacon and marmalade instead of syrup. Don’t be afraid to try these combinations-they’re a little startling to contemplate, but are really toothsome to eat, and a bit different to our ordinary routine-meals. Griddle Cakes (American) Two cups flour; 4 teaspoons baking powder; 2 tablespoons sugar; 1 large egg; 2% cups milk; 4% teaspoon salt; 1% cup melted shortening. Combine the flour, sugar, salt and baking powder in a bowl.Separate the egg. Beat the white until stiff and the yolk until creamy. Add the milk and melted shortening to the yolk. Quickly*stir the flour mixture into this. and beat until smooth. If necessary, use a rotary egg beater to get any lumps out of the flour. Fold in the beaten egg whites. Fry or bake on a slightly greased heavy, hot griddle, dropping on the batter in generous tablespoonfuls and placing the cakes at least an inch apart to allow for spreading and rising. When golden brown on one side, turn and cook on the other side. Serve with butter and syrup of any kind, with honey, melted jelly, jam, or butterscotch sauce. HONEY AND BUTTER TO USE WITH GRIDDLE CAKES Combine one part butter with two ‘parts honey and heat together. This

makes both honey and butter go farther and has the added advantage of being hot when poured over the cakes. BUTTERSCOTCH SAUCE Cup and a-half brown sugar; %4 cup water; % tablespoon butter. Boil together for 10 minutes and serve. Ham Griddle Cakes Two cups soft breadcrumbs; 1 cup scalded milk; 1 cup finely chopped (minced) cooked ham, or sausage meat; 2 eggs; 2 tablespoons melted shortening or bacon-fat; 144 teaspoons salt; 1-8 teaspoon pepper; 2 tablespoons flour. Add the crumbs to the hot milk and let stand 5 minutes. Then stir in the ham (or sausage meat) the eggs well beaten, and the remaining ingredients. Drop by tablespoons on to a hot griddle greased just enough to keep the cakes from sticking. Cook golden brown on both sides, turning once. Serve plain or with tomato sauce. Waffles Two cups flour; 4 teaspoons baking powder; 4% teaspoon salt; 2 teaspoons sugar; 2 eggs; 1% cups milk; % cup butter. Mix and sift the dry ingredients together. Add milk which has been mixed with the beaten egg yolks. Add melted butter. Beat until all lumps have disappeared. Then fold ‘in beaten egg whites. Heat waffle iron. (Takes 8 to 10 minutes.) Put in small amount of mixture and bake about 3 minutes, or until steam has ceased to issue from the iron. This mixture will keep if not all used up at once. Makes enough waffles for about 6 persons. Serve with maple syrup, golden syrup or butter, Rolls Two cups flour; 3 teaspoons baking powder; 4% teaspoon salt; 4 tablespoons butter of any other shortening; 42 cup chopped nuts (optional); 1 egg; %%4 cup milk. Sift together the dry ingredients and lightly rub in the shortening; add the chopped nuts, the well-beaten egg, and the milk. Turn on to a floured board, roll to %-inch thickness and cut into rounds. Dip knife blade in flour and lightly crease across each round a. little to one side of the centre. Brush’ the smaller section of each sparingly with melted butter, then fold over, pressing the edges together. (This is the Parker House roll style, but the Parker House rolls are made with yeast.) Bake the rolls on an oiled pan in a very hot oven (400 to 425deg.) about 18 minutes. Muffins Three tablespoons butter or other shortening; 1 cup milk; 3 tablespoons sugar; 1% teaspoon salt; 1 large egg; 3 teaspoons baking powder; 2 cups flour. Melt the shortening; add the sugar; the egg yolk, beaten; the milk and then the dry ingredients sifted together. Fold in the egg white beaten stiff and beat to a smooth batter. Transfer to oiled muffin or gem pans and bake 20 minutes in a hot oven 375deg. Cereal Muffins This uses up any of the left-over porridge. Two cups flour; 4% teaspoon salt; 1 cup cold cooked cereal, any kind; 2 (continued on next page) ‘

(continued from previous page) tablespoons sugar; 1 egg; 3 tablespoons butter or other fat; 3 teaspoons baking | powder; 1 cup milk. Mix together the | salt, flour, sugar and baking powder. Chop in the cereal, add the egg well beaten, the milk and the shortening. Beat thoroughly. Bake in well-oiled hot gem | pans for about 35 minutes in a hot oven | (375-400deg.). ) Cheese Muffins 1 Make like cereal muffins except that 1% cup of grated cheese is substituted | for the cereal, and use only 1 tablespoon of sugar. Also they will take shorter time to cook-about 15 minutes. Sally Lunns | Two breakfast cups sifted flour, 2- » teaspoons baking powder; good pinch salt; % cup soft sugar; % cup milk; 1 tablespoon butter; 1 egg; 1/2 teaspoon essence of lemon; slices of candied lemon

peel. Mix all the dry ingredients together, then rub butter well in. Add milk beaten with egg, and essence of lemon. Pat on board to %4-inch thick. Cut into dia-mond-shaped cakes. Glaze over each with milk and sugar, or with egg. Place a piece of candied lemon peel on top of each cake. Bake till well browned in hot oven.