Any child with care and a little practice should be able to bake successfully any of the recipes given. They are not expensive, and yet if properly put together will make cake light and nice enough to offer any guest. The first, of course, is a trifle cheaper, but the others will give a good variety for any company, and when she has learned to make them so they turn out well every time, she will have made a great advance in her cooking lessons. Then by simply changing her icing she can have as many different kinds as the family desire.
BREAD
Home-made bread is one thing that everybody likes, and while it takes time and patience, it is not really hard to make. One little girl I knew took pride in making all the bread for a family of four, and it was fine, too. The recipe here given will make three large loaves, so if you prefer, you can use only half at first, until sure that you have learned to do it properly. Take three quarts of sifted flour, one even iron kitchen spoonful of salt, a rounded one of sugar, and one, also rounded, of lard melted in one cup of warm water—not hot. Dissolve one fresh compressed yeast cake in one cup of warm water, and add that, with two more cups of warm water. Mix this all well together, using your big spoon. When as smooth as you can get it that way, turn out on a floured board, and knead for fifteen or twenty minutes. Then set it away where it will not get chilled, and leave it to rise for from four to six hours, when it will be about double its original size. Then turn out on your bread board again, cut it in three parts, roll into nice smooth loaves, without more kneading, put in buttered bread tins, leave again in a warm place for about two hours, then bake in a moderate oven until a pretty brown. When done, go lightly over the hard crust with a small white cloth dipped in cold water, roll in a fresh tea towel and allow to cool before cutting. If you wish, you can start your bread and give the first kneading at night, then cover and leave until morning.
LIGHT BISCUIT
For light biscuit, take one of the three parts cut for the bread, twist off little pieces the size of an egg, roll smooth without working, wet over the top with melted butter or milk, let rise to double their size, and bake in a hot oven from fifteen to twenty minutes.
CHAPTER XI
Desserts Good in Summer
For the hot days of summer, I know the mothers and little cooks will be deeply interested in cold desserts of all kinds—dishes that can be made early in the morning and set away, as well as various frozen dainties. It is well to enjoy the delicious fruits and melons in their season (and really nothing finishes off a dinner better after a close, warm day), but still we all want to know how to make light puddings and jellies for a change.