A treatise on the art of making good wholesome bread of wheat, oats, rye, barley and other farinaceous grains / Exhibiting the alimentary properties and chemical constitution of different kinds of bread corn, and of the various substitutes used for bread, in different parts of the world

by Friedrich Christian Accum

Home-made Wheaten Bread.

Take a bushel of wheaten flour, and put two third parts of it in one heap into a trough or tub; then dilute two pints of yeast with three or four pints of warm water, and add to this mixture from eight to ten ounces of salt. Make a hole in the middle of the heap of flour, pour the mixture of yeast, salt, and water into it, and knead the whole into an uniform stiff dough, with such an additional quantity of water as is requisite for that purpose, and suffer the dough to rise in a warm place.

When the dough has risen, and just begins again to subside, add to it gradually the remaining one third part of the flour; knead it again thoroughly, taking care to add gradually so much warm water as is sufficient to form the whole into a stiff tenaceous dough, and continue the kneading. At first the mass is very adhesive and clings to the fingers, but it becomes less so the longer the kneading is continued; and when the fist, on being withdrawn, leaves its perfect impression in the dough, none of it adhering to the fingers, the kneading may be discontinued. The dough may be then divided into loaf pieces, (of about 5lb. in weight). Knead each piece once more separately, and having made it up in the proper form, put it in a warm place, cover it up with a blanket to promote the last rising; and when this has taken place, put it into the oven. When the loaves are withdrawn they should be covered up with a blanket to cool as slowly as possible.