Wash, pare, and soak one large potato. Steep one tablespoonful of hops (loose) in one pint of boiling water; mix one heaping tablespoonful of flour, one teaspoonful of sugar, one teaspoonful of salt, one teaspoonful of ginger; grate the potato into the flour mixture; let the hot water boil briskly for one minute, strain it over the flour and potato mixture, and mix thoroughly; if it does not thicken like starch, place it over the fire for a few minutes, stirring briskly. If too thick, add boiling water till thin as cream. When lukewarm or at 70 degrees, add one half cake of yeast. Raise in a warm place till frothy, beat it down every half hour. Bottle and keep in a cool place.
Pour one cupful of boiling water over two tablespoonfuls of flour and beat well; when this becomes lukewarm add two teaspoonfuls of sugar and one yeast cake that has been dissolved in one half cupful of lukewarm water. Beat thoroughly, add flour enough to make a thick batter, beat until light and set in a warm place, about 90 degrees F. Keep covered and let rise until light and frothy, with this proportion of yeast it should rise in thirty minutes. When light add one cupful of scalded milk, cooled to lukewarm, and flour enough to make a stiff dough; stir in the flour with a spoon, beating it thoroughly; when the dough begins to stiffen, cut in the flour with a bread knife; add flour until the dough slips easily from the board, and does not stick to the hands. Then knead the dough on a slightly floured board until smooth, elastic, and full of air bubbles. Knead it firmly, but lightly, using only the wrist movements, put back in bowl, cover, and let rise in warm place until it doubles in bulk; shape into loaves, or biscuit; brush lightly with melted butter, and place in warm buttered pan. Let rise, closely covered, until loaves have doubled in bulk. Bake in an oven hot enough to brown one teaspoonful of flour placed on a piece of paper, in five minutes. If biscuits are to be baked, the oven should be hot enough to brown flour in two minutes. Let the bread bake from forty-five minutes to one hour. The first quarter of the time the bread should rise, but not form a crust; the second quarter the crust should form; the third the crust should become golden brown; the fourth should complete the baking. Place the loaf to cool uncovered, and in such a position that the air can circulate freely around it, bottom and all.
Make a sponge of one half cupful lukewarm water, one half yeast cake dissolved in one fourth cupful lukewarm water, and one cupful of white flour; cover; and set in warm place,—about 90 degrees F.—until light and foamy; add one half cupful scalded milk, cooled to lukewarm, one half teaspoonful of salt and whole wheat flour to make a stiff dough; knead thoroughly, put into warm place, let rise until it doubles in bulk; mould into a loaf, put into a warm buttered pan, and keep closely covered in warm place until it rises sufficiently to double in size; put into a hot oven; at the end of fifteen minutes lower the temperature of oven and bake at least forty-five minutes longer. This makes one loaf.
This bread is usually made from whole wheat flour. It is cooked on a griddle, hence its name “Griddle Bread.” The griddle should be made thoroughly hot before placing the dough on it, and sprinkled with a little fine white flour. Measure the meal, and for every two level measures of meal allow one measure of boiling water; have the meal in a mixing bowl, and use a wooden spoon for stirring. Make a hole in the center of the meal and pour the boiling water into it, stirring all the time till it forms a mass or lump. No kneading is required. Sprinkle the paste-board with fine white flour and turn the mass onto it. Roll out into cakes, making the cake about half an inch thick. The edge should not be ragged, but dredged with fine flour and pressed with the knuckles to an even thickness. Dredge fine flour on each piece, rub it well in with the fingers, then turn it on the other side with the knife and do the same, so that the surface has a fine smooth appearance. As each piece is prepared, place it on the hot griddle plate. Two or three minutes is sufficient time to prepare the bread from the moment the water boils. The time for the cooking necessarily varies according to the heat of the fire, which should be kept at an even temperature; twenty to thirty minutes will be found the average.
Make a sponge of one cupful of lukewarm water, one cake of yeast, one fourth cupful sugar, and flour enough to make a soft dough. When sufficiently raised add a little over a cupful of softened butter, and three fourths of a cupful of luke warm milk and enough flour to keep it a sponge. Beat well and let rise; then add beaten white of one egg and enough flour to knead. Knead thoroughly and let it rise again; work down; place in a buttered bowl; let it rise again, turn onto a board, roll, and cut. Shape to suit fancy, in finger rolls, bread sticks, or cleft rolls; place in pans and let rise; bake in hot oven. For Cinnamon Rolls, make as above only roll out one fourth inch in thickness and spread with softened butter, sugar, cinnamon, and currants. All bread stuffs brown better if brushed over with melted butter.
Take one and one half cupfuls of whole wheat flour, one cupful of common flour, two teaspoonfuls of baking powder, mix, and sift together; beat up one egg and add one cupful of milk; add one tablespoonful of melted butter and stir into the dry mixture; bake in gem pans in a hot oven for about twenty minutes.
Mix thoroughly one cupful of white flour, one half cupful of fine yellow corn meal, one eighth cupful of sugar, two tablespoonfuls of baking powder; then beat one egg and stir in one cupful of sweet milk; stir into dry mixture; then add one tablespoonful of melted butter; beat well, and bake in muffin tins.
To one and one half cupfuls of graham, or rye flour, measured after sifting, add one eighth cupful of sugar, two teaspoonfuls of baking powder, one half cupful of white flour and mix thoroughly; then add one cupful of sweet milk and two tablespoonfuls of melted butter, and stir quickly. Put in hot gem pans, bake for twenty-five minutes in hot oven.
To one pint of sifted flour add two teaspoonfuls of baking powder; sift together twice; then rub in one tablespoonful of shortening until fine, like meal. Mix in gradually enough milk to make a soft dough, cutting it in with bread knife; when stiff enough to be handled it should look spongy in the cuts, and seem full of air; turn it out on a well floured board, toss with knife until well floured, pat with rolling pin, and when dough is about half an inch thick, cut it into rounds and bake at once in hot oven.
Sift one teaspoonful of baking powder into two cupfuls of flour; with one half teaspoonful of salt; add two cupfuls of milk and two eggs, beat the yolks and the whites of the eggs separately. Bake in gem pans in quick oven.
With one cupful of flour, mix one saltspoonful of salt; add slowly one cupful of milk; when a smooth paste is formed add one cupful more of milk and one egg beaten thoroughly; beat well; cook in hot buttered gem pans or earthen cups in a quick oven for half an hour, or until the puffs are brown and well popped over. The more the milk and flour are beaten the lighter the puffs will be.
Sift together one pint of flour, one teaspoonful of baking powder, one teaspoonful of salt; add one and one fourth cupfuls of milk to smooth the batter; then add the well beaten yolks of three eggs; beat well; then whip in one tablespoonful of melted butter; and add the stiffly beaten whites of the eggs, cutting and folding these in. Have waffle-iron hot and well greased; butter as soon as taken from the iron. Sugar can be added at the same time, if relished.
Take one pint each of whole wheat flour and Indian meal, one cupful of molasses, three fourths cupful of sour milk, and one half teaspoonful of soda, one and one half pints of cold water, mix; put in steamer on stove over cold water, which is afterwards brought to the boiling point and kept constantly boiling until bread is done; steam for four hours, and brown in the oven. Just before putting in the steamer add one cupful of seeded raisins.
Two teacupfuls of oatmeal, or barley meal, sifted with two teaspoonfuls of baking powder; add two beaten eggs, one tablespoonful of sugar and one pint of milk with a little salt, sifting in the meal. Mix and bake on a griddle.