Sift the dry ingredients together, chop the fat into the flour with a knife, slowly add sufficient milk to make a dough not too soft to be handled. Toss and roll the dough gently on a slightly-floured board and cut into small biscuits. Moisten the tops with a little milk. Handle the dough quickly, lightly, and as little as possible. Place on a buttered sheet. Bake in a hot oven till brown—from 12 to 15 minutes. Either white or whole wheat flour may be used for the biscuits. Serves six to eight. Oven test—the oven should be hot enough to colour a piece of unglazed white paper to a golden brown in one minute.
2 c. flour | ½ tsp. salt | |
½ tsp. soda (scant) | 1 c. sour milk (scant) | |
| 2 tbsp. shortening (lard orother fat) | ||
Proceed as for Baking-powder Biscuits.
If the sour milk is not thick enough to curdle, it will not contain sufficient acid to neutralize the soda, and the biscuits will be yellow and bitter. To avoid this, cream of tartar may be mixed with the soda (1 teaspoonful). If there is no cream of tartar at hand, it will be wise to use the recipe for Baking-powder Biscuits.
METHOD OF WORK
Have the oven and pans prepared and all the measurements made. Demonstrate the mixing of the muffins and, while these are baking, the mixing of the biscuits. Have one pupil take charge of the baking of the muffins and another of the baking of the biscuits. When the breads are done, have the class sit down and serve them to one another, or to all the pupils at the school lunch hour.
LESSON XV: MEATS
Composition and food value. How to make tough cuts of meat palatable. Pork chops with fried apples. Beef or mutton stew with vegetables and dumplings. Rabbit stew. Bacon.