"FRAU SCHMIDTS" GOOD WHITE BREAD (SPONGE METHOD)
To one quart of potato water, drained from potatoes which were boiled for mid-day dinner, she added about ½ cup of finely-mashed hot potatoes and stood aside. About four o'clock in the afternoon she placed one pint of lukewarm potato water and mashed potatoes in a bowl with ¼ cup of granulated sugar and ½ a dissolved Fleischman's yeast cake, beat all well together, covered with a cloth and stood in a warm place until light and foamy. About nine o'clock in the evening she added the reserved pint of (lukewarm) potato water and ½ tablespoonful of salt to the yeast sponge, with enough warmed, well-dried flour to stiffen, and kneaded it until dough was fine-grained. She also cut through the dough frequently with a sharp knife. When the dough was elastic and would not adhere to molding-board or hands, she placed it in a bowl, brushed melted lard or butter over top to prevent a crust forming, covered warmly with a cloth and allowed it to stand until morning. Frau Schmidt always rose particularly early on bake day, for fear the sponge might fall or become sour, if allowed to stand too long. She molded the dough into four small loaves, placed it in pans to rise until it doubled its original bulk. When light she baked it one hour. Bread made according to these directions was fine-grained, sweet and wholesome. She always cut several gashes across top of loaf with a sharp knife when loaves were set to rise, to allow gas to escape.
EXCELLENT "GRAHAM BREAD"
At 6.30 A.M. place in a quart measure ½ cup of sweet cream and 3½ cups of milk, after being scalded (1 quart all together). When lukewarm, add 1 Fleischman yeast cake, dissolved in a little of the luke warm milk, 3 tablespoonfuls sugar and 1 tablespoonful salt. Add 3 cups each of white bread flour and 3 cups of graham flour (in all 6 cups or 1½ quarts of flour). Mix well together and stand in a warm place, closely covered, a couple of hours, until well-risen. Then stir sponge down and add about 2½ cups each of graham and of white flour. (Sponge for graham bread should not be quite as stiff as a sponge prepared from white flour.) Set to rise again for an hour, or longer; when light, stir down sponge and turn on to a well-floured board. Knead well, divide into four portions, mold into four small, shapely loaves, brush with soft butter, place in well-greased pans, set to rise, and in about one hour they should be ready to put in a moderately-hot oven. Bake about fifty minutes. Graham bread should be particularly well-baked. Brush loaves, when baked, with butter, which makes a crisp crust with a nutty flavor.
Should cream not be available, one quart of scalded milk, containing one tablespoonful of butter, may be used with good results. If cream be used with the milk, no shortening is required in the bread. Bread is considered more wholesome when no shortening is used in its preparation.