White Wine Negus.—Extract the juice from the peel of a lemon by rubbing loaf sugar on it, or cut the peel of a lemon very thin, and pound it in a mortar; cut 2 lemons into thin slices, add 4 glasses calves’-foot jelly in a liquid state, small quantities of cinnamon, mace, cloves, and allspice. Put the whole into a jug, pour 1 qt. boiling water upon it, cover the jug close, let stand ¼ hour, and then add 1 bot. boiling white wine; grate half a nutmeg into it, stir well together, sweeten to taste. In making port wine negus, omit the jelly. Negus is not confined to any particular sort of wine; if the jelly is omitted, it can be made with any or several sorts mixed together.
Wines, British.—There are many persons who would rather buy their drinks than have the trouble and expense of making them. Such will be glad to know that Beaufoy’s British wines and non-alcoholic drinks are to be recommended before all others.
[THE PANTRY.]
Bread
Bread.—Household bread may be made with brewers’ yeast (barm) or with German yeast.
(a) With Brewers’ Yeast.—Take a small quantity—say 2 lb. flour. This should be perfectly dry, or the dough will not rise well. Put it into a bowl—a brown earthenware one glazed on the inside is best—which should also be perfectly dry, and in the winter slightly warmed. Stir in 1 teaspoonful salt, then make a hole about 1½ in. in depth in the centre of the flour. Have ready 1½ tablespoonful fresh brewers’ yeast, mixed in 1 teaspoonful warm—not hot—water; pour this into the hole, and stir a handful of flour lightly into it with a wooden spoon. Then cover with flour again, lightly. Lay a thick cloth over the pan, taking care that it does not press on the flour, and stand it in a warm corner. When the flour at the top of the yeast begins to crack, and the “sponge”—i.e., fermented dough—runs through, which, if the yeast be perfectly fresh and good, it will do in about ½ hour; it is then fit to knead. Now the potatoes may be added, but they must first be finely mashed. A jug of warm water must be ready, and a small quantity at a time poured into a pan; this should be thoroughly mixed with the other ingredients—not with a spoon this time, but the hand. Continue pouring in water and mixing till the mass is perfectly free from lumps, and about the consistency of pastry for pies or puddings. Then turn it out of the pan on to a well-floured pastry board, and roll to and fro for about 3 minutes. Put it back into the pan, again covered with a thick cloth, and leave to rise. Another ½ hour or so will find it fit for the oven. This can easily be ascertained by pulling the dough slightly apart; if it be close and heavy, it must remain a while longer; but if it looks spongy and rises again quickly after the pressure is removed, it is ready for the baking. If tins are to be used, they should be warmed, and a very little butter or dripping should be rubbed over the bottom and sides, to prevent the dough sticking. Many people prefer “cottage” or “batch” loaves as they are called in some countries, made something in the shape of a brioche cake; but a tyro in the art will find it safest to trust to the tins till she has by practice become light-fingered enough to manipulate the dough easily and quickly; for it must be borne in mind that dough, like pastry, becomes heavy by rough or too frequent handling. (Bessie Tremaine.)
Ovens and Baking.—With regard to the baking. The loaves must not be put into too hot an oven at first, or they will not rise; neither must the oven be too cool, or the bread will be underdone, and taste heavy and sodden. A good test is to sprinkle a little flour on the bottom of the oven, and shut the door; if in 5 minutes the flour is found to be coloured a golden brown, the bread may with safety be put in; if, on the contrary, the flour is a deep brown and smells burnt, the oven is too hot, and the fire should be slightly checked, also the oven door left open for a few minutes. The best way of regulating the temperature of the oven is to use a Bailey’s pyrometer (W. H. Bailey and Co., Albion Works, Salford, near Manchester), by which it is easy to see whether the fire should be urged or checked, ensuring the proper degree of heat without wasting fuel.
Bread is generally supposed to have a more pleasant flavour when baked in a brick oven. One reason why this is so is because the brick oven (when there is one attached to a house) is generally so large and cumbrous, besides being troublesome to heat, that it is only used on baking days for bread or cake; so that there is no stale flavour of meat, game, or poultry hanging about it. This should be borne in mind when the baking is to be done in a kitchener, which should be thoroughly ventilated and washed out before the bread is put in. If this is attended to, the difference in the taste will be scarcely perceptible. (Bessie Tremaine.)