LUNCHEON AND TEA ROLLS
- 2 quarts of flour.
- 3 cups of boiled milk.
- 3 tablespoonfuls of sugar.
- 1 teaspoonful of salt.
- ½ cupful of butter.
- Whites of 2 eggs.
- ½ yeast cake.
Boil the milk, dissolve in it the sugar and salt, and add the butter to melt it. When this mixture becomes tepid, add the beaten whites of the eggs and the yeast, dissolved in two tablespoonfuls of water; then stir in the flour, and knead it for twenty to thirty minutes; cover it well, and put it aside in a warm place free from draughts to rise over night. If to be used for breakfast, mold the rolls to any shape desired; let them rise to more than double their size, and bake for thirty minutes. If they are to be used for luncheon, cut down with a knife the raised dough in the morning, and keep it in a cool place until an hour and a half before the time for serving the rolls; then mold, raise, and bake them. If they are to be used for tea, do not set the dough until morning. In summer allow four and a half hours for the whole work, the same as directed for bread on page [340].
PARKER HOUSE ROLLS
- 2 quarts of flour.
- 2 tablespoonfuls of butter, or lard, or cottolene.
- 1 teaspoonful of salt.
- 1 pint of milk.
- ⅓ compressed yeast cake.
- ½ cupful of sugar (scant).
Put the salt into the flour, and work in the shortening thoroughly. Dissolve the yeast in one cupful of warm water. Scald the milk, and dissolve the sugar in it after it is taken off the fire. When the milk is lukewarm, mix the yeast with it. Make a hollow in the center of the flour, and pour into it the milk and yeast mixture. Sprinkle a little of the flour over the top. Cover the pan well, and leave it to rise. If this sponge is set at five o’clock, at ten o’clock stir the whole together thoroughly with a spoon. Do not beat it, but stir it well, as it gets no other kneading. In the morning turn the dough onto a board, work it together a little, and roll it evenly one half inch thick. Lift the dough off the board a little to let it shrink all it will before cutting. Cut it into rounds with a good-sized biscuit-cutter. Place a small piece of butter on one side, and double the other side over it, so the edges meet. Let them rise for two hours, and bake in a quick oven for twenty minutes. If the rolls are to be used for luncheon, cut down the dough in the morning and keep it in a cool place until the time for molding them. If for tea, set the sponge in the morning, using one half cake of compressed yeast.[352-*]
TEA BISCUITS MADE WITH BAKING POWDER
- 4 cupfuls of sifted flour.
- 3 teaspoonfuls of baking-powder.
- 1 teaspoonful of salt.
- 1 tablespoonful of butter.
Add the salt and baking-powder to the flour and sift them. Rub in the butter well. With a fork stir in lightly and quickly sufficient milk to make a soft dough. The dough must be only just stiff enough to roll. Flour the board well, turn the dough onto it, and lightly roll it to a half inch thickness. Cut it into small circles, brush the tops with milk, and bake in a quick oven for twenty to thirty minutes.