The following receipts will be found useful and easy:
262. Loaf Bread.—Sift together two or three times one pound of flour, three teaspoonfuls of baking powder, one saltspoonful of salt, and one teaspoonful of fine sugar; mix with enough cold sweet milk to make the dough of the consistency of biscuit; or, if you have no milk, use cold water. Work the dough only long enough to incorporate the flour well with the milk or water; put it into a baking-pan buttered and slightly warmed, and set it immediately into a hot oven; after about five minutes cover it with paper so that the crust may not form so quickly as to prevent rising; bake about three-quarters of an hour. This bread is sweet and wholesome, and may be eaten by some persons whose digestion is imperfect, with greater safety than yeast-fermented bread.
263. Breakfast Rolls.—Mix well by sifting, one pound of flour, three teaspoonfuls of baking powder, half a teaspoonful of salt, and one heaping teaspoonful of pulverized or fine sugar; into a small portion of the above rub two ounces of lard, fine and smooth; mix with the rest of the flour, and quickly wet it up with enough cold milk to enable you to roll it out about half an inch thick; cut out the dough with a tin shape or with a sharp knife, in the form of diamonds, lightly wet the top with water, and double them half over. Put them upon a tin, buttered and warmed, and bake them in a hot oven.
264. Tea Biscuit.—Mix as above, using the same proportions, and cutting out with a round biscuit-cutter; when they are baked, wash them over with cold milk, and return them to the oven for a moment to dry.
265. Finger Biscuit.—Mix as above, cut out with a sharp knife in strips three inches long, one inch wide, and one-quarter of an inch thick; lay them upon a buttered tin so that they will not touch, brush them over with an egg beaten up with one tablespoonful of milk, and bake them in a hot oven.
266. Cream Breakfast Rolls.—Mix as above, substituting cream for the milk in moistening the dough; cut them out with an oval cutter, two inches long and one and a half inches wide; brush the tops with cream, and pull them slightly lengthwise; then fold them together, leaving a slight projection of the under side; put them on a buttered tin, brush the tops with cream, and bake them in a hot oven.
267. Breakfast Twist.—Mix as for breakfast rolls, cut in strips three inches long and half an inch thick; roll each one out thin at the ends, but leave the centre of the original thickness; place three strips side by side, braid them together, and pinch the ends to hold them; when the twists are all made out, lay them upon a buttered tin, brush them over with milk, and bake them in a hot oven. A little fine sugar dusted over the tops glazes them and improves their flavor.
Hot rolls and biscuits should be served well covered with a napkin.
268. How to freshen stale Bread.—A loaf of stale bread placed in a close tin vessel, and steamed for half an hour will be completely freshened.
269. Toast.—But few persons know how to prepare toast properly. It should be made with the aim of evaporating from the bread all the superfluous water, and transforming its tough and moist substance into digestible food: for this reason the slices should be exposed gradually to heat of a gentle fire, first upon one side and then upon the other, for one minute, and after that they may be toasted golden-brown; at this stage it has become pure wheat farina, and is not liable to produce acetous fermentation in the stomach; besides, it will now absorb the butter thoroughly, and both substances will be in condition to be freely subjected to the action of gastric juice, and consequently will be digested with ease. Dry toast should be sent to the table the instant it is made. Buttered toast should be set into the oven for about five minutes to render it crisp.