Bohemian-American Cook Book/Yeast and Bread

This is best when made in warm weather, as it dries quicker. Pour a quart of water over one fourth of a package of hops and simmer about fifteen minutes, then cool. Strain and add to the water enough white flour to make a thin batter. Then add dry yeast dis​solved in tepid water or home made liquid yeast and beat well. If you wish more yeast, you may add warm water. After this has fermented thoroughly, stir a bit and let it rise again. Then stir in enough cornmeal to make a stiff dough. Knead thoroughly and roll thin, cut into small squares and lay them on a board sprinkled with corn meal. Dry outside in the open, turning each day, and taking it in at night. When thoroughly dry, hang in a dry place in clean bags. This yeast lasts a long time and is very good.

Dissolve a piece of yeast in tepid water and mix with flour to make a sponge as for bread. Do this in the afternoon. In the morning boil three peeled and sliced potatoes in two quarts of water about ten minutes, then add five cents' worth of dry hops and a tablespoon of salt and boil longer. When done, strain into cornmeal, add a cup of sugar, and stir into a stiff dough. When cool, add the raised batter prepared the day before, let it rise one hour, then add enough cormeal to make the dough stiff as for bread. Let this rise again, then roll, cut into squares and dry by the fire or in the sun. One piece of this yeast is sufficient for six loaves of bread.

Peel and boil two large potatoes in a quart of water with two ounces of hops. Boil half an hour, cool and strain. Sift corn meal, add a teaspoon of sugar and the hop water, making a stiff dough. While the hops are boiling, dissolve one cake of yeast in tepid water, beat smooth with enough flour to make a thin batter, let it rise and then add it to the dough. Let this rise, then knead on the board with corn meal, until the dough is very stiff. Roll half an inch thick, cut into ​squares and dry in a shady place, turning daily. When thoroughly dry hang in a dry place in clean bags.

Dissolve three cakes of dry yeast in a cup of tepid potato water. Heat two quarts of buttermilk, add enough cornmeal to form a stiff batter and boil thoroughly, stirring occasionally. When done, turn into another dish, cool and when cold, pour the dissolved yeast into the batter and let the mixture rise over night. In the morning add enough cornmeal to make the dough very stiff, roll thin, cut into squares and dry.

Add six large peeled and grated potatoes to three quarts of boiling water, let it boil a moment or two, then take away from the stove, add a tablespoon of sugar and when it has cooled so that it is tepid, add a pint of liquid yeast, or two cakes of dry yeast dissolved in tepid water. Mix well. After standing all day in a warm kitchen the yeast is ready for use. One cup of this yeast will be enough for one large loaf or more.

Boil six peeled potatoes in a gallon of water, in the evening. Strain, saving the water, mash the potatoes and press them through a sieve. When the potatoes are cool, pour over them the water in which they have boiled, add one piece of dry yeast or one piece of compressed yeast, dissolved in tepid water, or one cup of liquid yeast, a cup of sugar, half a cup of salt, mix, and let it stand until morning. In the morning pour off a pint of this yeast for future nse and use the remainder for making bread. This starter is used instead of the regular sponge, that is, you may set the ​dough with it in the morning when you want to bake. Put a pint of the starter in a Mason jar and keep in a cool place for future use. If will keep two weeks. When ready to bake bread the next time, boil potatoes and proceed as directed, adding the starter instead of yeast. If you do not make enough bread to use a gallon of water, use less potatoes, etc.

For three loaves of bread use one cup of liquid yeast or one cake of dry yeast (this should be soaked half an hour in tepid water). Pour the liquid or soaked yeast into a crock, add a cup of tepid water and enough sifted flour to make a thin batter, as for pancakes. Beat well and put in a warm place to rise. In the winter the batter or sponge is made in the afternoon before baking. In warm weather set the sponge in the evening and in very hot weather late in the evening. If the sponge rises too quickly, it sours or ferments. When this occurs, it may be remedied by adding a pinch of baking soda moistened with hot water.

In the morning add a quart of tepid water to the sponge, a dash of salt and a teaspoon of sugar. One or two grated potatoes will add to the flavor of the bread. Then add enough flour to make the dough medium stiff. Beat thoroughly with a wooden paddle, then knead on the board, adding flour, until the dough does not stick. Place the dough in the crock and let it rise double its bulk. The time for this varies from one and a half to two hours, depending upon the amount of yeast and the atmosphere. The quicker the dough rises, the lighter the bread will be. When the dough has risen, knead again about five minutes and let it rise once more, fifteen or twenty minutes. Then form loaves and place them in buttered pans, letting them rise double their bulk. When indi​vidual bread pans are not used, two or three loaves may be formed and put in one pan, buttering the sides of each loaf, so that they may be easily taken apart after they are done. Rub the top with lard and bake.

The oven should not be too hot. The proper test is when the heat is such that you can keep your hand in while quickly counting twenty. After the bread is in the oven, the heat should be kept even for forty-five minutes, then it may be lessened until the bread is done. Bread, like cake, is done when it has shrunk from the sides of the pan and is a nice brown color.

Make a sponge with a pint of starter described in recipe No. 756 and let is rise in a warm place. It should be ready in an hour. Add enough flour to make the dough medium thick, then proceed as described in the preceding recipe.

Peel and boil six large potatoes, then drain, mash and pour over them three pints of tepid water and drain through a colander. Add enough sifted flour to make a thin batter and then add a cup of liquid yeast. When this has risen, add enough sifted flour to make a medium stiff dough, beat well and let it rise. When it has risen, add enough flour to make a stiff dough and let it rise again. When it has risen, make loaves and let them rise once more in the pans, then bake.

Mix together two cups of boiling water, a teaspoon of sugar, a fourth of a teaspoon of salt and a fourth of a teaspoon of baking soda. Allow this to become tepid, then add enough flour to make a rather thick batter. Beat two minutes, then set the vessel in another ​containing warm water, but not too hot, so the batter would not be injured. Keep at even heat until the batter rises. If you set this in the morning, it should be ready for mixing by eleven oclock. Use milk instead of water when mixing, and proceed as shown in the preceding recipes, being careful not to let the dough rise too much.

Mix a quart of corn meal, two cups of rye flour (sifted), a cup of New Orleans molasses, a teaspoon of baking soda dissolved in hot water and enough sour milk to make the batter thicker than for pancakes, add salt, and beat well. Pour into pans and bake four hours in a slow oven.

Mix two cups of corn meal, one cup of rye flour, half a cup of syrup, a heaping teaspoon of baking soda dissolved in hot water and added to three cups of sour milk, salt and beat thoroughly. Place in a round tin (a lard bucket, coffee can etc.) and steam four hours, then place in the oven for twenty minutes.

Graham bread may be made with yeast, the same as white bread. With soda it is made as follows: mix together two cups of sweet milk with nearly two-thirds of a cup of molasses, a pinch of salt and a teaspoon of baking soda dissolved in hot water. Beat well, add a quart of Graham flour, beat thoroughly and bake forty-five minutes in a slow oven.

When making rye bread, it is best to leave a piece of dough from one baking to the next, about ​two tablespoons. The day before baking, pour about two cups of, tepid water on this dough, to properly moisten it. Stir it up in the evening, add enough flour to make batter as for pancakes, and let it stand over night in a warm place to rise. If you have not a piece of dough to begin with, dissolve a piece of dry or compressed yeast in two cups of tepid water the evening before baking, or use a cup of liquid yeast, add enough rye flour to make batter somewhat thicker than for pancakes, beat smooth, add a pinch of fennel or caraway seed, or both, and let the batter rise over night in a warm place. In the morning add a quart of tepid water in which you have dissolved a fourth of a teaspoon of baking soda, salt, and enough rye flour to make a stiff dough. Beat with a wooden paddle until the dough does not stick, sprinkle with flour, cover with a napkin and let it rise half an hour. Then knead the dough on the board, make a loaf and let it rise in the pan. Bake in a hot oven. One quart of water and four pounds of flour will make one loaf, but as flours vary, the cook must use her experience to guide her in this matter. You may use part milk, whey or sour milk, the bread will be better and more digestible.

Boil three large peeled potatoes in two quarts of water the evening before baking. When boiled until nearly dissolved, press through a sieve, and if the water has boiled away, add enough cold water to make two quarts, then add half a cup of flour, a cake of compressed yeast dissolved in tepid water, beat and set in a warm place over night. In the morning add a pinch of salt and enough rye flour to make batter as for pancakes, let it rise half an hour. Then pour on a floured board, add more flour and knead until ​the dough does not stick. Place in the bowl and let it rise fifteen minutes. Knead again, let it rise a short time, then form loaves, place in pans and when they have risen once their bulk, bake.

Mix two cups of sour milk, two yolks, a pinch of salt, half a teaspoon of melted lard, two cups of cornmeal, a teaspoon of baking soda dissolved in hot water, beat thoroughly with a wooden paddle. Beat two whites and fold into the batter. Pour into a buttered pan and bake a light brown. You may add two tablespoons of cracklings instead of the lard.

Beat together one egg, two tablespoons of sugar, half a teaspoon of salt, two tablespoons of melted butter or lard, three fourths of a cup of white flour, one and three fourths of a cup of corn meal, a liberal cup of sour milk to which you have added a teaspoon of baking soda. Pour into a buttered pan and bake at least half an hour.

Mix together a quart of corn meal, a teaspoon of salt, three pints of sweet warm milk, a teaspoon of soda dissolved in two tablespoons of hot water, eight eggs, the whites and yolks beaten separately. Fold the whites in last. Bake one hour in a medium oven.

Mix together one beaten egg, a tablespoon of lard, a cup of corn meal, a pinch of salt, four tablespoons of sugar, beat smooth. Add a cup of sour milk or buttermilk, then add a fourth of a cup of milk in which ​has been dissolved a teaspoon of baking soda. Pour into a warm buttered pan and bake in a quick oven.

Pour one cup of boiling water over three cups of corn meal, stir well and when it has cooled, add one cup of white flour, a cup of milk, a cup of molasses, two teaspoons of baking powder and salt to taste, stir thoroughly and steam three hours.

In the evening before baking warm two cups of milk, add a tablespoon of sugar, a cake of compressed or dry yeast dissolved in tepid water, or half a cup of liquid yeast, and enough flour to make a batter as for pancakes, sprinkle with flour and stand in a warm place over night. In the morning add half a cup of butter, one beaten yolk and two whites beaten stiff, salt and enough flour to make a stiff dough. Knead until it does not stick, and let it rise. When it has risen, roll three fourths of an inch thick and cut with a biscuit cutter. Rub each with lard, fold one end over, place on a greased pan and let them rise. When light, bake in a hot oven twenty-five minutes. You may make rusks with bread dough also, adding to same a piece of butter or lard and sugar, if you like.

Sift one quart of flour with two teaspoons of baking powder and a pinch of salt. Work in a tablespoon of lard, then add a cup of sweet milk, stir but do not beat, turn on a floured board and roll about an inch thick. Cut with a biscuit cutter and bake in a buttered pan twenty minutes in a hot oven. Handle as lightly as possible.

Sift one quart of flour with a pinch of salt. Work in a tablespoon of lard, then add one and a half cups of sour milk or buttermilk, to which you have added a teaspoon of baking soda moistened with vinegar, and mix all together. Turn the dough out on a floured board and knead until smooth, but not stiff. Cut with a cutter and bake in a hot oven.

Rub four cups of sifted flour with a tablespoon of solid lard and salt to taste. Dissolve a teaspoon of baking soda in a tablespoon of hot water, pour it into two cups of sour milk and pour this on the flour, stirring constantly. If necessary add flour enough to make quite a stiff dough, then roll and cut. Bake twenty or twenty-five minutes in a hot oven.

Warm two cups of sweet milk, when it is tepid add two tablespoons of sugar, one cake of compressed yeast and two tablespoons of butter. When light, pour into a bowl, add salt and three cups or more of flour, enough to make dough as for bread. Beat well, turn on a floured board, knead fifteen minutes, adding flour, until the dough does not stick. Then place back. in the bowl and let it rise in a warm spot. When risen double its bulk, knead two or three minutes, roll half an inch thick, cut and place in a buttered pan. Rub with butter, let them rise once more and bake in a hot oven.

Peel and boil six medium-sized potatoes, drain and mash. Add two cups of hot milk, two heaping ​tablespoons of butter or lard, a teaspoon of salt and the same of sugar, half a cup of flour, beat and let it cool. When cool, add a cup of liquid yeast or one cake of compressed yeast dissolved in tepid water and enough flour to make a stiff dough, beat about five minutes until it does not stick, cover, stand in a warm place and let it rise three hours, then add enough flour to make a soft dough, knead lightly and quickly fifteen minutes, then roll half an inch thick and cut. Arrange in a buttered pan, cover and stand in a warm place. When light, bake in a hot oven.

Melt a piece of butter in two cups of tepid milk, add two eggs, a pinch of mace, salt, compressed or dry yeast dissolved in tepid milk and enough white flour to make dough softer than for dumplings. Beat until smooth, let it rise, turn on a floured board, roll and cut rather large biscuits. Let these rise, then bake on both sides, or fry in lard. Spread with prune jam, sprinkle with cottage cheese or grated marzipan, and melted butter or thick sweet cream.

For these you must have the regular bread-stick form or pan, called “bread-stick pan”. When making bread, take a piece of dough, work into it a tablespoon of lard (to one pound of dough) and let it rise. Then knead lightly, cut into small pieces and roll these into slender long rolls or “sticks”. Place in the buttered bread-stick pan, let them rise forty-five minutes in a warm place, and bake in a very hot oven. The hot oven is necessary, because the bread-stick pan is iron and must heat quickly. Cover the top with paper. Bake twenty-five minutes until brown and crisp.

Beat together two cups of tepid milk, two yolks, half a cup of butter, a cake of compressed or dry yeast dissolved in tepid milk, salt and enough flour to make dough as for dumplings. Let it rise, turn on a floured board, knead medium stiff, roll about half an inch thick, cut into squares, cut off one corner of each and roll up, the cut-off part inside. Place on a buttered pan, shaping each into a crescent, brush with beaten egg, sprinkle with. poppy seed or caraway seed and salt, and bake.

Dissolve a cake of compressed yeast in a cup of tepid milk, add enough flour to make a thin batter and let it rise. When it is light, add one beaten egg and two yolks. Cream half a cup of butter with two tablespoons of sugar, add it to the batter, mix together with a fork and add a dash of salt. Add enough flour to make rather stiff dough, knead and stand in a warm place to rise, then knead lightly and make rolls. Roll the dough half an inch thick, cut into oblong pieces, about four by six inches, roll each up, pinching the ends down well. Arrange in a buttered pan, shape each in a crescent, brush with melted butter and let them rise. When light, brush with beaten egg and bake in a hot oven.

Pick over and wash a four-pound head of cabbage, mince fine, press out the juice, season with salt, and stew in the oven, until tender. Blend a piece of butter the size of an egg with enough flour to thicken it. Add half a cup of hot water, then the stewed cabbage, a tablespoon of sugar and pepper to taste, and if necessary ​more salt. Prepare dough as for tarts (see recipe 786). When the dough has risen, roll half an inch thick, cut into squares, place a tablespoon of the cabbage in each and roll up, pressing the edges down all around so the cabbage does not run out. Arrange in a buttered pan and bake about half an hour.

Prepare the dough as for rolls. When light, divide into three parts. Roll out in long round pieces, and braid together in one loaf. Let this rise, brush with beaten egg, sprinkle with poppy seed and bake. You may sprinkle with caraway seed and salt instead of the poppy seed, if you wish.

Mix together a quart of buttermilk, two beaten yolks, a teaspoon of baking soda dissolved in a tablespoon of hot water, salt, and enough flour to make a batter thicker than for pancakes; finally fold in the whites of two eggs beaten stiff. Pour the batter into heated buttered muffin rings and bake twenty minutes in a hot oven.

Beat together two cups of sweet cream, three yolks, a tablespoon of butter, salt and enough flour (adding a teaspoon of baking powder to same) to make a batter somewhat thicker than for pancakes. Bake as directed above.

Sift a pound of flour on the board, make a well in the middle, pour in two eggs, six tablespoons of lard, salt, a pinch of mace, enough milk to form a stiff ​dough, mix with a knife and then knead smooth. Roll half an inch thick, cut round or square, make several dents in each with the dull edge of a knife, arrange in a pan and bake slowly.