When bread is to be raised by the acetous fermentation of yeast, the sponge should be maintained at a temperature of 89° Fahr. until it is sufficiently light, and the baking should be accomplished at a heat of over 320°. When yeast is too bitter from the excess of hops, mix plenty of water with it, and let it stand for some hours; then throw the water off, and use the settlings. When yeast has soured it may be restored by adding to it a little carbonate of soda or ammonia. When dough has soured, the acidity can be corrected by the use of a little carbonate of soda or ammonia. If the sponge of "raised bread" be allowed to overwork itself it will sour from excessive fermentation, and if the temperature be permitted to fall, and the dough to cool, it will be heavy. Thorough kneading renders yeast-bread white and fine, but is unnecessary in bread made with baking-powder. Great care should be taken in the preparation of yeast for leavened bread, as the chemical decomposition inseparable from its use is largely increased by any impurity or undue fermentation. Experience and judgment are necessary to the uniform production of good bread; and those are gained only by repeated trials. We subjoin one of the best receipts which we have been able to procure, for making yeast.
255. Homebrewed Yeast.—Boil two ounces of the best hops in four quarts of water for half an hour, strain off the liquor and let it cool till luke-warm, and then add half a pound of brown sugar and two heaping tablespoonfuls of salt; use a little of this liquor to beat up one pound of the best flour, and gradually mix in all of it with the flour; let it stand four days to ferment in a warm place near the fire, stirring it frequently. On the third day boil and mash three pounds of potatoes, and stir them into it. On the fourth day strain and bottle it; it will keep good for months.
256. Homemade Bread.—Put seven pounds of flour into a deep pan, and make a hollow in the centre; into this put one quart of luke-warm water, one tablespoonful of salt, one teaspoonful of sugar, and half a gill of yeast; have ready three pints more of warm water, and use as much of it as is necessary to make a rather soft dough, mixing and kneading it well with both hands. When it is smooth and shining strew a little flour upon it, lay a large towel over it folded, and set it in a warm place by the fire for four or five hours to rise; then knead it again for fifteen minutes, cover it with the towel, and set it to rise once more; then divide it into two or four loaves, and bake it in a quick oven. This quantity of material will make eight pounds of bread, and will require one hour's baking to two pounds of dough. In cold weather, the dough should be mixed in a warm room, and not allowed to cool while rising; if it does not rise well, set the pan containing it over a large vessel of boiling water; it is best to mix the bread at night, and let it rise till morning, in a warm and even temperature.
257. Milk Bread.—Take one quart of milk, heat one-third of it, and scald with it half a pint of flour; if the milk is skimmed, use a small piece of butter; when the batter is cool, add the rest of the milk, one cup of hop yeast, half a tablespoonful of salt, and flour enough to make it quite stiff; knead the dough until it is fine and smooth, and raise it over night. This quantity makes three small loaves.
258. Rice Bread.—Simmer one pound of rice in three quarts of water until the rice is soft, and the water evaporated or absorbed; let it cool until it is only luke-warm; mix into it nearly four pounds of flour, two teaspoonfuls of salt, and four tablespoonfuls of yeast; knead it until it is smooth and shining, let it rise once before the fire, make it up into loaves with the little flour reserved from the four pounds, and bake it thoroughly.
259. Potato Bread.—Take good, mealy boiled potatoes, in the proportion of one-third of the quantity of flour you propose to use, pass them through a coarse sieve into the flour, using a wooden spoon and adding enough cold water to enable you to pass them through readily; use the proper quantity of yeast, salt, and water, and make up the bread in the usual way. A saving of at least twenty per cent is thus gained.
260. Pulled Bread.—Take from the oven an ordinary loaf of bread when it is about half baked, and with the fingers, while it is yet hot, pull it apart in egg-sized pieces of irregular shape: throw them upon tins, and bake them in a slow oven to a rich brown color. This bread is excellent to eat with cheese or wine.
Where bread is made with baking powder the following rules should be closely observed: If any shortening be used, it should be rubbed into the flour before it is wet; cold water or sweet milk should always be used to wet it, and the dough should be kneaded immediately, and only long enough to thoroughly mix it and form it into the desired shape; it should then be placed in a well-heated oven and baked quickly—otherwise the carbonic acid gas will escape before the expanded cells are fixed in the bread, and thus the lightness of the loaf will be impaired.
As a very large margin of profit is indulged in by the manufacturers of baking powders, we subjoin a good formula for making the article at home at a considerable saving.
261. Baking Powder.—Mix thoroughly by powdering and sifting together several times the following ingredients; four ounces of tartaric acid, and six ounces each of bi-carbonate of soda, and starch. Keep the mixture in an air-tight can.