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

The bread, thus prepared, rises well in the oven, is of a light brown colour, and by no means of an unpleasant flavour; it tastes so little of the oatmeal, as to be taken, by those who are unacquainted with its composition, for barley or rye bread. It is sufficiently moist, and, if put in a proper place, keeps well for a week.

Rolls, French Bread, Muffins and Crumpets.

The dough of which rolls are made by the generality of the London bakers, is suffered to prove, that is to rise more, than dough intended to be made into loaf-bread. It is, therefore, left in the kneading trough, whilst the loaves made of the same dough are in the oven. During this period it rises more, and the fermentation is further promoted, by placing the rolls, when moulded, in a warm place, to cause the dough to expand as much as possible. When this has taken place, they are put in the oven to be baked, which is effected in about twenty or thirty minutes. When taken out of the oven they are slightly brushed over with a buttered brush, which gives the top crust a shining appearance, they are then covered up with flannel to cool gradually.

I have witnessed at a baker’s, who has the reputation for making excellent rolls, forty-eight pounds of dough moulded into one hundred (penny) rolls; they weighed, when drawn out of the oven, twenty-six pounds.

The bread called in this metropolis French rolls, and French bread, is made precisely in the same manner, namely, from common bread dough, but of a less stiff consistence; they are suffered to rise to a greater extent than dough intended for loaf-bread.

Some bakers make rolls and French bread of a superior kind, for private families, in the following manner:

Put a peck of flour into the kneading trough, and sift it through a wire sieve, then rub in three quarters of a pound of butter, and, when it is intimately blended with the flour, mix up with it two quarts of warm milk, a quarter of a pound of salt, and a pint of yeast; let these be mixed with the flour, and a sufficient quantity of warm water to knead it into a dough; suffer it to stand two hours to prove, and then mould it into rolls, which are to be placed on tins, and set for an hour near the fire or in the proving closet. They are then put into a brisk oven for about twenty minutes, and when drawn, the crust is rasped.

The cakes, called in this metropolis, muffins and crumpets, are baked, not in an oven, but on a hot iron plate.

For muffins, wheaten flour is made with water, or milk, into a batter or dough. To a quarter of a peck of flour is usually added three quarters of a pint of yeast, four ounces of salt, and so much water (or milk) slightly warmed, as is sufficient to form a dough of rather a soft consistence. Small portions of the dough are then put into holes, previously made in a layer of flour, about two inches thick, placed on a board, and the whole is covered up with a blanket and suffered to stand near a fire, to cause the muffin dough to rise. When this has been effected, the small cakes will exhibit a semi-globular shape. They are then carefully transferred on the heated iron plate to be baked, and when the bottom of the muffin begins to acquire a brown colour, they are turned and baked on the opposite side.

Crumpets are made of a batter composed of flour, water (or milk), and a small quantity of yeast. To one pound of the best wheaten flour is usually added three table-spoonsful of yeast. A portion of the liquid paste, after having been suffered to rise, is poured on a heated iron plate, and quickly baked, like pancakes in a frying pan.