The next question is, how shall we prepare the grain so as to make the best bread from it? This is done by grinding the grain as finely as possible with stones, and then using the resulting flour for bread-making. The grain should be first cleaned and brushed, and passed over a magnet to cleanse it from any bits of steel or iron it may have acquired from the various processes it goes through, and then finely ground. To ensure fine grinding, it is always advisable to kiln-dry it first. When ground, nothing must be taken from it, nor must anything be added to the flour, and from this bread should be made. Baking powder, soda, and tartaric acid, or soda and hydrochloric acid, or ammonia and hydrochloric
acid, or other chemical agents, must never be used for raising bread, as these substances are injurious, and affect the human system for harm. The only ferment that should be used is yeast; of this the French variety is best. If brewer's yeast is used it must be first well washed, otherwise it gives a bitter flavour to the loaf. A small quantity of salt may be used, but not much, otherwise it adds an injurious agent to the bread.
BARLEY BANNOCKS.
Put 1/2 pint of milk into a saucepan allow it to boil; then sprinkle in barley meal, stirring it constantly to prevent lumps till the mixture is quite thick and almost unstirrable. Turn the mass out on a meal-besprinkled board and leave to cool. When cool enough to knead, work it quite stiff with dry meal, take a portion off, roll it as thin as a wafer, and bake it on a hot girdle; when done on one side, turn and cook on the other. The girdle is to be swept clean after each bannock. Eat hot or cold with butter.
BUN LOAF.
1 lb. Allinson wholemeal flour, 1/2 lb. butter, 1/2 lb. brown sugar, 1/4 lb. currants, 1/4 lb. raisins, 1/4 lb. candied peel, 4 eggs, 1/2 teacupful of milk. Mix the flour, sugar, currants, raisins, candied peel (cut in thin strips), the butter and eggs well together; mix with the milk; pour into a buttered tin, and bake in a moderate oven for 2 hours.
BUNS (1).
1 lb. flour, 1/4 lb. sugar, 4 oz. currants, 2 oz. butter, or vege-butter, 1 teacupful of milk, 1 oz. French yeast, 2 eggs, a little salt. Mix the flour, sugar, salt, and currants in a basin, warm the butter and milk slightly, mix it smoothly with the yeast, then add the eggs well beaten; pour this on the flour, stirring well together till it is all moistened; when thoroughly mixed, set it to rise by the fire for 1/2 hour; make into buns, set to rise by the fire for 10 minutes, brush the tops over with egg, and bake from 10 to 15 minutes.