HOT BREAKFAST BREADS
Hot breads—comprising griddle-cakes, biscuits, muffins, Sally Lunns and crumpets—may not be wholesome for everybody. I seriously incline to the belief that they are not, especially in warm weather, and if partaken of too freely.
But the best types of these are good, and their appearance upon the board where John had looked for stale bread, or charred toast, is a means of breakfast grace not to be underrated by the wise housewife. She is a canny woman who runs down into the kitchen for ten or fifteen minutes on a stormy morning, or when the bread is especially dry, or John is “a wee bit blue,” and tosses up (always by rule and measure) ingredients that come out of a quick oven, puffy, hot, delicious, to gladden the boys’ hearts and give their father pleasanter food for consideration than business worries. If the men of any family were called upon for their opinion of what a dietetic crank, better versed in anatomy and chemistry than in courtesy, once anathematized at my breakfast table as “rank poison, madam! and nothing short of a sin!” they would say of his tabooed hot breads—“Naughty! but nice!”
One John—who hankers for the buckwheat cakes and sausage of his boyhood as the wanderers in the wilderness, their souls a-weary of manna, lusted for Egyptian flesh-pots—maintains, upon fairly tenable hygienic principles, that warm bread is made unwholesome because it is not masticated properly.
“We chew stale bread,” he says. “We bolt griddle-cakes and muffins because they are soft and easily swallowed. Give the salivary glands a chance to act upon them and they will not harm you.”
The prescription is easily tried.
Breakfast rolls (No. 1)
Sift a quart of flour with a half-teaspoonful of salt and a teaspoonful of sugar, rub into it a tablespoonful of butter, add a cup of warm milk and a third of a yeast-cake that has been dissolved in three tablespoonfuls of warm water, and knead this dough for twenty minutes. Set to rise for six or eight hours, make into rolls, put these into a greased baking-pan, and let them rise for half an hour longer before baking.
Breakfast rolls (No. 2)
Sift a quart of flour and stir into it a saltspoonful of salt, a teaspoonful of sugar, a cup of warm milk, two tablespoonfuls of melted cottolene or other fat, and two beaten eggs. Dissolve a quarter of a cake of compressed yeast in a little warm milk and beat in last of all. Set the dough in a bowl to rise until morning. Early in the morning make quickly and lightly into rolls, and set to rise near the range for twenty minutes. Bake for about an hour.
Parker house rolls
One cup of scalded milk (not boiled) left to cool until a little more than blood-warm, one-half yeast-cake dissolved in four tablespoonfuls of warm water, one tablespoonful of butter, three cups of flour, or a little less, one even tablespoonful of sugar, one-half teaspoonful of salt.
Melt the butter in the milk, add salt, sugar and yeast with rather less than half the flour. Make a sponge of these ingredients, beat hard for five minutes and set in a warm, sheltered place to rise.
It should be quite light in an hour and a half in winter, an hour in summer. Work in the rest of the flour until you have a soft dough. Knead three minutes and set to rise with a folded cloth over the bowl to exclude the air. When it has doubled its original bulk, turn out upon your kneading-board, and work quickly, but lightly, with fingers, not fists, for one minute. Roll with quick strokes and few into a thick sheet, rub over with melted butter (not hot). Roll up and knead one minute longer to incorporate the butter. Pull off bits of the dough three times as large as a walnut, and roll on the board into the desired shape. Arrange close together in the baking-pan. Cover and let them rise for half an hour, again doubling their size; then bake in a brisk, steady oven. Twenty minutes should suffice. When they have been in five minutes cover with whitey-brown grocer’s paper. Five minutes before the time is up take this off and brown.
Vienna rolls
Set a plain bread sponge at six o’clock in the evening. At bedtime make out a dough as directed for home-made bread. Cover in your mixing-bowl and set in a moderately warm place until six o’clock next morning. Make into round rolls as large as a small egg; set in a floured baking-pan so far apart that they will not touch as they rise; cover and leave for an hour. Just before they go into the oven cut half through the middle of each with a floured, sharp knife. Bake in a moderate oven to form a good crust. Cover at the end of ten minutes with paper. Remove this fifteen minutes later and brown.
Raised apple biscuits
(An old Virginia recipe)
One cup of scalded milk left to become blood-warm; one tablespoonful of butter melted in the milk; one tablespoonful of sugar; one-half teaspoonful of salt; one-half teaspoonful of baking-soda; one-half cake compressed yeast, dissolved in warm water; one cupful of grated apple; enough flour for making soft dough.
Mix the sugar with the butter and milk, and add the yeast. Sift salt twice with a cupful of flour. Make a hole in the middle and pour in the liquid. Beat into a batter and let it rise four hours. When light, sift the soda twice with another cupful of flour; grate the just-pared apple into the batter and beat in before it can change color. Finally, work in the sifted flour and soda. Let it rise for an hour, make into round, flat cakes with your hand; set close together in a pan, and when very light bake in a moderate oven. They are very good split open while hot, and buttered and sugared.
Sally Lunn
Sift together a pint of flour, a half-teaspoonful of salt and the same of powdered sugar.
In a large bowl beat stiff two eggs, pour on them a half-cup of warm milk, three tablespoonfuls of butter, melted, and a quarter of a tablespoonful of baking soda dissolved in a tablespoonful of hot water. Now slowly beat in the sifted flour and a quarter of a yeast-cake dissolved in half a cup of warm water. Whip to a smooth batter, and turn into a large greased mold to rise. In the morning set the mold in a steady oven and bake for half an hour, or until a straw pierced through the center of the loaf comes out clean. Turn out and serve at once.
Dried rusk
(An old Dutch family recipe)
Mix together a pint of milk, four tablespoonfuls of melted butter, a teaspoonful of salt and a half-cake of yeast dissolved in a half-cup of lukewarm water. Add enough flour to make a thick batter, beat it in well, cover the bowl containing this, and set in a warm place for two hours. Now work in the beaten eggs, and, when these are incorporated, add enough flour to make a dough that can easily be rolled out. Set to rise for two hours longer, then turn upon a floured board, roll out and cut into round biscuits. Lay in a baking-pan and set these near the range to rise for half an hour. Bake, and when done leave in the open oven to dry out. See that the fire is so low that the rusk will dry, not brown or burn. If you can spare the oven so long leave the rusk in it for six or eight hours; then set in a dry closet for several days before using. When you wish to use them lay in a deep bowl, pour iced milk upon them and let them soak until soft. Serve very cold with butter.
They are delicious for summer-morning breakfasts.
Caraway biscuits
(Contributed)
Sift together three pints of flour, one teaspoonful of salt and one and one-half teaspoonfuls of baking-powder. Rub into this four tablespoonfuls of shortening. Add two tablespoonfuls of caraway seed, two eggs, well beaten, and one pint of milk. Mix this into a smooth, firm dough. Knead quickly; roll out to about a quarter of an inch in thickness and cut with a large biscuit-cutter. Prick with a fork, lay on greased baking tins and bake in a hot oven fifteen minutes.
Egg biscuits
(Contributed)
Sift together a quart of flour and two teaspoonfuls of baking-powder. Rub into this a piece of butter the size of an egg. Add two well-beaten eggs, one teaspoonful of sugar and one teaspoonful of salt. Mix together quickly with one cup of milk or more if needed. Roll to one-half inch thickness, cut into biscuits and bake at once in a quick oven twenty minutes.
French rolls
(Contributed)
To three cupfuls of sweet milk add a cup of shortening and one-half cake of compressed yeast and one teaspoonful of salt. Add flour enough to make a stiff dough. Let this rise over night. In the morning add two well-beaten eggs; knead thoroughly and let rise again. Make into balls about as large as an egg and then roll between the hands. Place close together on well buttered pans. Cover, let rise again, then bake in a quick oven to a delicate brown.
Fruit rolls
(Contributed)
Sift two cupfuls of flour, two teaspoonfuls of baking-powder, one-half teaspoonful of salt thoroughly together and mix with two-thirds cup of milk. Roll to a quarter of an inch thickness. Brush over with two tablespoonfuls of melted butter. Mix together one-third cupful of stoned raisins, chopped fine, two teaspoonfuls of citron, chopped fine, two teaspoonfuls of sugar and one-third teaspoonful of cinnamon. Spread this mixture over the dough, roll up like a jelly roll, cut in pieces three-fourths of an inch in thickness, and bake in quick oven fifteen minutes.
Hot cross buns
(Contributed)
To three cups of milk add flour enough to make a thick batter. Into this stir one cake of compressed yeast dissolved in warm water. Set this to rise over night. In the morning add a few spoonfuls of melted butter and one-half spoonful of grated nutmeg, one saltspoon of salt, one teaspoonful of soda, and flour enough to make a stiff dough like biscuit. Knead well and let rise five hours. Roll to one-half inch thickness, cut in round cakes and put in buttered baking pans. Let stand until light. Make a deep gash in each with a knife. Bake in moderate oven till light brown. Brush over the top with the beaten white of an egg and powdered sugar.
Currant buns
Warm a cupful of cream in a double boiler, take it from the fire and stir into it a cupful of melted butter which has not been allowed to cook in melting. Beat three eggs very light, add them to the cream and butter, then stir in a cupful of sugar. Dissolve a half-cake of yeast in a couple of tablespoonfuls of water, sift a good quart of flour, make a hollow in it, stir into it the yeast and then, after adding to the other mixture a teaspoonful, each, of powdered mace and cinnamon, put in the flour and yeast. Beat all well for a few minutes, add a cupful of currants that have been washed, dried and dredged with flour, pour into a shallow baking pan, let it rise for several hours until it has doubled in size, bake one hour in a rather quick oven. Sprinkle with fine sugar when done.
Raised muffins
In a quart of warm milk dissolve thoroughly half a yeast-cake. Stir into this two tablespoonfuls of sugar, a teaspoonful of salt, and a tablespoonful of melted cottolene or other fat. Add enough flour to make a quite stiff batter—not dough—and set to rise over night. In the morning whip into the batter four well-beaten eggs and turn into heated and greased muffin-tins. Bake at once.
English muffins
Bring a pint of milk to the boiling point and stir into it a teaspoonful of cottolene or other fat. Set aside until the mixture is lukewarm, then add two cups of flour into which a teaspoonful of salt has been sifted. Now beat in half a yeast-cake dissolved in a quarter of a cup of warm water, and set the batter aside to rise all night. In the morning add a cup of sifted flour, and with floured hands make lightly into round muffins and set to rise in greased muffin-tins for half an hour. Slip the rings and their contents on to a greased griddle and bake, first on one side, then on the other, until done.
English crumpets (No. 1)
Mix together three gills of lukewarm water, a half-teaspoonful, each, of salt and sugar and a teaspoonful of melted butter; then dissolve a quarter of a yeast-cake in this mixture. Into this stir enough flour to make a very stiff batter. Beat for ten minutes, adding as you do so enough lukewarm milk to make batter just stiff enough to be poured slowly from the bowl. Grease shallow muffin-rings, place these on a soapstone griddle, and when hot pour the batter into them to the depth of a quarter-inch and bake slowly, not turning until brown on the under side. Then turn for just a few minutes.
English crumpets (No. 2)
On baking-day take a pint of dough from your bread-bowl an hour before breakfast. Put into a bowl and make a hole in the middle. Have ready two eggs beaten very light, and work them into the dough. Then thin it with milk and water to the consistency of griddle-cakes; beat it well, let it rise until breakfast, bake them on a hot griddle, butter and send to the table hot.