First, two Fleischman's compressed yeast cakes were placed in a bowl and dissolved with 4 tablespoonfuls of luke-warm water; she then added 1 cup of lukewarm water, ½ tablespoonful of sugar and ½ teaspoonful of salt and stirred all well together. The bowl containing this yeast foam was allowed to stand in a warm place, closely covered, one hour.
At the end of that time the yeast mixture should be light and foamy. It was then poured into the centre of a bowl containing about 4½ cups of warmed flour, mixing the foamy yeast with a portion of the flour to make a soft sponge, leaving a wall of flour around the inside edge of bowl, as our grandmothers used to do in olden times when they mixed a sponge for bread of liquid flour and yeast, in one end of the old-fashioned wooden "dough tray," using a wooden stick or small paddle for stirring together the mixture.
The bowl containing the sponge was placed in a warm place to rise. In about 15 or 20 minutes ½ cup of lukewarm water was added to the sponge, stirring in all the outside wall of flour until a dough, the proper consistency for bread, was formed. The dough was turned out on the molding board and given a couple of quick, deft turns with the hands for several minutes, then placed in the bowl and again set to rise in a warm place, free from draughts, for 25 or 30 minutes. When light, with hands slightly greased with butter, she kneaded the dough a short time, until smooth and elastic, divided the dough into two portions, placed each loaf in warmed, well-greased bread pans and stood in a warm place about ¼ hour. Then turned the contents of bread pans onto bake-board, one at a time. Cut each loaf into three portions, rolled each piece into long, narrow strips with the palms of the hands. Pinched ends of the three strips together and braided or plaited them into a braid almost the length of bread pan. Placed each braided loaf in a bread pan and set to raise as before. When well-raised, brush the top of loaves with melted butter. Bake about three-quarters of an hour in a moderately-hot oven. An old-fashioned way of testing the heat of the oven was to hold the hand in the oven while counting thirty. Should one be unable to bear the heat of oven a longer time, then the temperature was correct for baking bread. Should one be able to allow the hand to remain in the oven a longer time, the heat of the oven should be increased.
As a result of carefully following these minute directions, even an inexperienced housewife should have sweet, wholesome bread.
Frau Schmidt insisted that rolling portions of dough separately before combining in a loaf, as for braided loaves, caused the bread to have a finer texture than if just shaped into round loaves.
AN "OATMEAL LOAF"
For a loaf of oatmeal bread, place 1 cup of crushed oats, or common oatmeal, in a bowl, pour over ½ cup of hot milk. When luke warm, add 1 cup of sponge, or batter, reserved from that raised over night for making loaves of white bread; 1 teaspoonful butter, 1 teaspoonful sugar and ½ teaspoonful salt, and about 2 scant cups of white flour. Knead a few minutes, set to rise in a warm place, closely covered, about one hour or until doubled in bulk. Then knead down and form into a shapely loaf, place in a pan, brush melted butter over top (this improves crust), and when raised, doubled in bulk (in about one hour), place in a moderately hot oven and bake from 40 to 45 minutes. Raisins may be added to this loaf, if liked. Mary preferred this oatmeal loaf to graham bread.
The sponge or batter from which this oatmeal-loaf was made had been prepared in the following manner: