HOME-MADE BREAD.

North Otago Times, 3 September 1910, Page 1 (Supplement)

HOME-MADE BREAD.

i Who. has riot yearned for that dei licious comestible,,home-made broad, . which seemß, so far as'we are con- . cerned, to belong to the last gener- • atiou. But it appears quite a sim- > pie 'matter to make it, and Mr. M. 1 P. Key tells us in the "Lancet" how i to do so. Whether the bakers are to 1 blame, or whether they are merely i the sport of the fashion which de- - mands bread .of. perfect whiteness, i the fact remains, Mr, Key urges, . that an article of food which' forms ; the principal item in the dietary of . a large section of the population is ; singularly devoid 'of nourishment. • He has despaired of finding a baker who makes • good bread, ■ and for ; some time now has had his own baked. The details may be of ser- ; vice to any who would also, if they i could, deliver themselves from the ! tyranny of tho baker. Here is the . recipe evolved after many oxperij ments and used' for some time now with excellent results. In a large earthenware basin mix I 3 J pounds of white flour with a like quantity of whole meal, adding two tablespoonfuls of salt. Dissolve in i another basin two ounces of German yeast in a small quantity of cold water; add 3 pints of warm (not . hot) water, and pour the whole into the midst of the Hour-mixture. , Knead thoroughly; it will be ready [ when the dough does not stick to the hands. On no account add more water even if at first there does not appear to be enough moisture, It will come right in a few minutes. Next cover the dough with a cloth and set it near' the firo for 3 hours to rise, At the end of that time make up the loaves (the quantity mentioned produces five), put them in greased tins, and set them to rise for another 15 minutes. The baking, in a moderate oven, takes 11£ hours. CHEAPER THAN BAKER'S BREAD It has been found that the ordinary kitchen range bakes the bread : quite satisfactorily. Mr. Key some- ■ j times uses white flour only and no j whole meal; the only drawback is I that the bread is so delicious that 'it disappears with extraordinary 'rapidity. Our readers may be inUerested in some particulars as to ; cost. The bread is actually cheaper than the baker's. To supply a family of nine 14 baker's loaves at J 3d. equals 3/6 are required. Ten loaves of home-made bread go as far, and Mr. Key's family bake five i loaves twice a week, the bread rei'' taining its moisture so much longer than shop loaves. Buying flour a few stone at a time the cost is as . near as possible lOid. for one baking, . The yeast cbsts lid. This works out at 2/ per week exclusive of fuel, and. of course, other cooking can be done on the same day. Apart, from any financial saving, however, the benefit to the health of the family .has, we are told been most marked. j The Editor of the "Lancet" says I the bread in question has a crisp ,and attractive appearance, and apj pears to be a cross between a brown and white bread./ The texture is somewhat close,, and we think it would be improved by further feri mentation, but the flavour is very pleasant and compares favourably I with the uninteresting taste of many j white loaves. We found the bread lan amply satisfying addition to a meal, Dr, J. D, Leigh thinks that the following slight' alterations in the method just given would be a great improvement. The flour should be 'dry' and not cold. The best plan is to put it into the earthenware basin and leave in Iront of the fire for half an hour. It must not be hot, just warm, For two pounds of white flour at least three ounces of j German yeast should be used, and this should be mixed with lukewarm j not cold water, An hour in a brisk j oven is tha usual time, unless the loaves are large. A pleasant change from the square lonf, baked in tins, is to place the dough into long jam pots and bake in these; this produces a long thin loaf like a sandwitch loaf, with an excellent top_ crust.