Chapter 5

Boil a quart of new milk, have three pounds of flour, three eggs well beaten, a quarter of a pound of lard, a table-spoonful of salt; rub the lard in the flour and while the milk is still warm, (but not hot,) stir it in the flour, put in the eggs, and a tea-cup of good yeast: beat all well, and set them in a warm place to rise, when light they should be set in a cool place till you are ready to bake them, which should be in rings, or round cakes on the bake-iron, in a dutch-oven, or the dripping-pan of a stove, butter just as you send them to table. If the batter is kept in a cold place it will keep good for two days in winter. Before baking muffins, or any kind of light cakes, taste the batter, and if at all sour, put in a small portion of salaeratus, (previously dissolved in hot water.)--In this way superior muffins may be made.

Mansfield Muffins.

Take a quart of milk, three eggs, quarter of a pound of butter or lard, a tea-cup of yeast, and flour to make a soft dough; heat the whites of the eggs alone, the yelks with the milk; melt the butter and stir it in after all is mixed; bake them in rings, or in round cakes on the griddle: split and butter before sending them to table.

Rice Muffins.

Pour a quart of milk on four heaped spoonsful of rice flour, stir it well, and put in a little salt and wheat flour, to make it a proper thickness, two eggs and two spoonsful of yeast, allow it four hours to rise, and bake in rings, or thin it and bake as batter cakes.

Muffins.

Warm a pint of milk, and stir into it a pound and a quarter of flour, (a quart of flour is about equal to a pound and a quarter,) and two eggs, the yelks beaten with the batter, the whites alone, mix with these two spoonsful of lively yeast and a little salt, let them rise, and when you are nearly ready to bake them, stir in a large spoonful of melted butter, butter the rings and bake on a griddle, or in the dripping-pan of a stove. Split and butter before sending them to table.

Mush Muffins.

Make a quart of mush, put into it a lump of butter or lard, the size of two eggs, and a little salt, previously to making the mush, have ready a pint of light rising, stir into it a pint of new milk, and the mush, with as much wheat flour as will make it a very thick batter, let it rise four or five hours, and when light, set it in a cold place, till you are ready to bake, dip a spoon in water each time, and put the batter on the griddle in small cakes, or bake in rings. You may make it a little stiffer, and roll it out to bake in large cakes. If it should sour, put in a little salaeratus. If you have no milk, water will do instead. They will be nice toasted.

A Loaf of Muffin Batter.

Stir into a pint of mush a small lump of butter, a little salt, a pint of milk, and wheat flour to make a thick batter; stir into it half a tea cup of yeast, and let it rise, when it is light, butter a pan, pour it in and bake, eat it hot, at breakfast or supper. It will bake in a shallow pan in half an hour, if in a deep vessel, allow more time.

Boiled Milk Muffins.

Boil a quart of new milk, and pour it boiling hot, on as much flour as will make a thick batter, put in a table-spoonful of butter, and the same of lard, two tea-spoonsful of salt, half a tea cup of yeast, one egg beaten; allow time to rise from six to eight hours; when perfectly light, set them in a cool place, till you are ready to bake, when you may use rings, or not, as you please--but be sure to butter the rings.

Cream Muffins.

Take a quart of sour cream, and two eggs well beaten, a tea-spoonful of salt; stir the eggs into the cream, gradually; add sifted flour enough to make a thick batter, dissolve a tea-spoonful of salaeratus in as much vinegar as will cover it, and stir it in at the last; bake in small cakes on the griddle, or in muffin rings in the dripping-pan of a stove.

Waffles.

Make a batter of a pound and a half of flour, quarter of a pound of melted butter, and two large spoonsful of yeast; put in three eggs, the whites and yelks beaten separately; mix it with a quart of milk, and put in the butter just before you bake, allow it four hours to rise; grease the waffle-irons, fill them with the batter--bake them on a bed of coals. When they have been on the fire two or three minutes, turn the waffle-irons over,--when brown on both sides, they are sufficiently baked. The waffle-irons should be well greased with lard, and very hot before each one is put in. The waffles should be buttered as soon as cooked. Serve them up with powdered white sugar and cinnamon.

Quick Waffles.

Take a pint of milk, and beat into it three eggs, and enough wheat flour to make a thick batter; add a table-spoonful of melted butter, and a little salt; bake them immediately. Some persons add two table-spoonsful of sugar, and a little cinnamon; others dust loaf sugar and cinnamon, or nutmeg over each waffle, as it is baked.

Rice Waffles.

To six spoonsful of soft boiled rice, add two tea-cups of water or milk, and some salt, stir in three tea-cups of ground rice, and bake as other waffles.

Flannel Cakes.

Warm a quart of milk, put in a spoonful of butter, a little salt, and two eggs well beaten, stir in flour till it is a thin batter, and two spoonsful of yeast; beat all well together, adding the eggs at the last; allow it five hours to rise, and bake it on the griddle in cakes, the size of a breakfast plate. Do not butter them till you send them to the table.

Mush Flannel Cakes.

Mix a pint of corn mush with two of wheat flour, a spoonful of butter or lard, two eggs and half a tea-cup of yeast; make it in a batter with water or milk, and bake like buckwheat cakes.

Bread Batter Cakes.

Soak slices of stale bread in cold sweet milk for half an hour, then put it over the fire, and let it come to a boil; and mash it well, when nearly cool, add wheat flour enough to make a stiff batter, beat this together with two eggs, a tea-spoonful of salt, and a table-spoonful of good yeast, let it rise and bake as buckwheat cakes, if light before you are ready, set them in a cold place.

Butter-milk Cakes.

You may make a very good batter cake without eggs. To a quart of butter-milk, put a piece of lard, the size of an egg; warm them together, and stir in a tea-spoonful of salaeratus; make it in a thin batter with flour; beat it a few minutes, and bake it as other cakes.

Buckwheat Cakes.

Take quart of buckwheat flour, half a pint of wheat flour, and a spoonful of salt; make them into a thick batter, with milk-warm water, put in a half tea-cup of yeast, and beat it well, set it by the fire to rise, and if it should be light before you are ready to bake, put a tea-cup of cold water on the top, to prevent it from running over, if it should get sour, pour in a tea-spoonful of salaeratus, dissolved in hot water, just before you bake.

It is best to make them up quite thick, and thin them with a little warm water before you bake; butter them just as you send them to table. If you can get brewers' yeast, it is much better for buckwheat cakes. In very cold weather, they may be kept made up for several days, and baked as required.

Sally Lunn.

Warm a quart of milk with a quarter of a pound of butter, and a heaped spoonful of sugar, beat up three eggs, and put in, with a little salt, and flour enough to make it stiffer than pound cake, beat it well, put in a tea cup of yeast, and let it rise, butter a fluted pan and pour it in, bake it in a quick oven, slice and butter it. If you wish tea at six o'clock, set it to rise at ten in the morning. Bake it an hour.

Butter-milk Batter Cakes.

Soak pieces of dry stale bread in a quart of butter-milk, until soft, break in two eggs, add a little butter or lard, and salt and flour enough to make it stick together, beat it well, add a tea-spoonful of salaeratus, dissolved in warm water; thin it with a little sweet milk, and bake as other batter cakes. They may be prepared in a short time.

Toast.

Cut your bread (which is better to be stale) in tolerably thick slices, brown it slowly before the fire on each side; you may either butter it dry, or mix butter in water, with a little salt added, and after making it boiling hot, pour over each slice as you send it to table.

A Dish of Milk Toast for Breakfast.

Boil a quart of rich milk, take it off, and stir in half a pound of fresh butter, mixed with a small spoonful of flour, let it again come to a boil; have ready a dish of toast, pour it from a spoon over each piece, and what remains, pour over the whole, keep it covered and hot, till you send to table.

General Remarks on making Bread of Indian Corn Meal.

A wooden spoon with a long handle, is the best for stirring and mixing the bread or cakes. It requires more salt than other bread, and should be well mixed or beaten. If it is mixed over night, it should generally be done with cold water, and set in the cellar or some cool place in summer, in winter it requires rather a warmer place to stand. It sours more easily than bread made of other flour. In the morning, if you find that it is at all acid, dissolve half a tea-spoonful of salaeratus in warm water, and stir it just before it is put to bake. Where milk is used, it should be baked immediately, and the richer the milk, the more palatable it is. Whatever you bake this bread in, should be well greased first, as it is more apt to adhere to the oven than some other kinds of flour. It should bake with a quick heat.

When you buy salaeratus, pound it fine, put it in a wide-mouthed bottle, and cork it tight. Some persons keep it dissolved in water, but you cannot judge of the strength of it so well.

Corn Meal Porridge.

Put on to boil in a sauce-pan a quart of milk, mix a small tea-cup of corn meal with half a pint of cold water, (let it settle, and pour off what swims on the top,) then stir it in well to keep it from being lumpy; let it boil only a few minutes; add salt to the taste. This makes a good breakfast for children, and is a light diet for an invalid. It can be seasoned with sugar.

Mush, Mush Cakes, and Fried Mush.

Mush will keep for several days in cool weather; the best way of making it is to have a pot of boiling water, and stir in corn meal, mixed with water, and salt enough to season the whole; let it boil, and if it is not thick enough you can add more meal; keep stirring all the time to prevent it from being lumpy. It should boil an hour.

To make the cakes, take a quart of cold mush, mix in it half a pint of wheat flour, and a little butter or lard, make it out in little cakes with your hands, flour them and bake them on a griddle or in a dripping pan. Fried mush is a good plain dessert, eaten with sugar and cream. Cut the cold mush in slices, half an inch thick, or make them into small cakes, dip them in flour, and fry them in hot lard.

Journey Cake.

Pour boiling water on a quart of meal, put in a little lard and salt, and mix it well, have an oak board with a rim of iron at the bottom, and an iron handle fastened to it that will prop it up to the fire; put some of the dough, on it, dip your hand in cold water and smooth it over; score it with a knife, and set it before coals to bake.

Corn Batter Cakes.

Take a quart of good milk, three eggs, a little salt, and as much sifted corn meal as will make a thin batter; beat all well together, with a spoonful of wheat flour to keep them from breaking, bake in small cakes, keep them hot, and butter just as you send to table. Another way to make corn batter cakes, is to take a quart of corn meal, two eggs, a small lump of butter or lard, and mix it up with milk, or half water, if milk is scarce, and bake them either thin or thick.

Rice Cakes.

Take a pint of soft boiled rice, a pint of milk, a little salt, and as much corn meal as will make a thin batter with two eggs; beat all together, and bake as corn batter cakes, or make it thicker and bake it in a pan.

Corn Bannock.

To one quart of sour milk, put a tea-spoonful of salaeratus, dissolved in water; warm the milk slightly, beat up an egg, and put in corn meal enough to make it as thick as pudding batter, and some salt; grease a pan and bake it, or you may put it in six or eight saucers.

Virginia Pone.

Beat three eggs, and stir them in a quart of milk, with a little salt, a spoonful of melted butter, and as much sifted corn meal as will make it as thick as corn batter cakes; grease the pans and bake quick.

Lightened Pone.

Take half a gallon of corn meal, and pour boiling water on one-third of it; mix it together with warm water till it is a thick batter; put in two table-spoonsful of lively yeast, and one of salt; stir it well and set it by the fire to rise; when it begins to open on the top, grease the dutch-oven and put it to bake, or bake it in a pan in a stove.

Cold Water Pone.

Make a stiff batter with a quart of Indian meal, cold water and a little salt; work it well with the hand; grease a pan or oven, and bake it three-quarters of an hour. Eat it hot at dinner, or with milk at supper.

Indian Bread with Butter-milk.

To one quart of butter-milk, slightly warmed, put a tea-spoonful of salaeratus, dissolved in water, two eggs, well beaten, a table-spoonful of melted butter or lard, a little salt; stir in with a spoon as much Indian meal as will make a thick batter; beat it for a few minutes, grease your pans, and bake quickly. If you bake this quantity in two pans, a half hour will be sufficient, or if in one, it will take an hour. Look at it often while baking, as it is liable to burn. An excellent recipe.

Little Indian Cakes.

Put a spoonful of lard in a quart of meal, and two tea-spoonsful of salt, pour boiling water on half the meal, stir it; then add as much cold water as will enable you to make it out in cakes of a convenient size, bake on the bake-iron over the fire.

Maryland Corn Cakes.

Mix a pint of corn meal with rich milk, a little salt, and an egg, it should be well beaten with a spoon, and made thin enough to pour on the iron; take in cakes the size of a breakfast plate; butter and send them hot to table.

A Virginia Hoe Cake.

Pour warm water on a quart of Indian meal, stir in a spoonful of lard or butter, some salt, make it stiff, and work it for ten minutes, have a board about the size of a barrel head, (or the middle piece of the head will answer,) wet the board with water, and spread on the dough with your hand, place it before the fire, prop it aslant with a flat-iron, bake it slowly, when one side is nicely brown, take it up and turn it, by running a thread between the cake and the board, then put it back, and let the other side brown. These cakes used to be baked in Virginia on a large iron hoe, from whence they derive their name.

Batter Bread with Yeast.

Rub a piece of butter the size of an egg, into a quart of com meal, add a little salt, make it in a batter with two eggs and some new milk, add a spoonful of yeast, set it by the fire an hour to rise, butter little pans, and bake with a quick heat.

Carolina Corn Rolls.

Take a pint of corn meal; pour over it sufficient boiling water to make a very stiff dough, then add a table-spoonful of salt, and permit it to stand until about milk-warm; work it well with the hand, then make out the rolls, of an oblong shape, and bake them from half to three-quarters of an hour, according to their size. The addition of a small lump of butter or lard is an improvement. If they are rightly made, they will split on the top in baking, and can be eaten by those who cannot partake of other preparations made of corn flour.

Mixed Bread.

Put a little salt, and a spoonful of yeast, into a quart of flour; make it sufficiently soft with corn meal gruel; let it rise; bake in a mould.

New England Hasty Pudding, or Stir-about.

Boil three quarts of water in an iron pot; mix a pint of Indian meal in cold water, and make it thin enough to pour easily; when the water boils, pour it in; stir well with a wooden stick kept for the purpose; it takes about an hour to boil; salt to your taste; stir in dry meal to make it thick enough, beating it all the time. Eat it with milk or molasses, or butter and sugar. This is said to be a wholesome diet for dyspeptic patients, and makes a good meal for children.

Corn Muffins.

Warm three pints of milk, and stir into it as much corn meal as will make it as thick as pudding batter, add two handsful of wheat flour, two tea-spoonsful of salt, three eggs, and a tea-cup of yeast. Beat the whole well together, and let it rise about six hours, when bake as other muffins.

Soaked Crackers for Tea.

Pour boiling water on crackers, put in some butter and a little salt; cover them close and keep them warm till tea is ready; if you have milk, boil it, and pour over instead of water. This is easily prepared.

PIES, PUDDINGS, CAKES, &c.

To Make Common Pies.

One pound of lard to a gallon of flour will make very good common pies. Work the lard in the flour, put in some salt, and wet it with water, make it so that it can just be rolled out, when you have put in the fruit, wet the crust with water, put on the top and close it up, stick it with a fork on the top.

To Stew Fruit for Pies.

All fruits that are not fully ripe should be stewed and sweetened. To boil a gallon of molasses at a time, and keep it to sweeten pies, is cheaper than sugar, and answers a very good purpose, where there is a large family. When fruit is fully ripe it does very well to bake in pies, without being stewed.

After washing the dried fruit, put it on to stew in a bell-metal kettle over the fire, or in a tin pan in a stove, let it have plenty of water, as it swells very much, and if it seems dry, put in more water. Apples take longer to stew than peaches, and should have more water. Fruit stewed in this way is very good to put on the table to eat with meat. Do not stir the fruit while it is stewing, or it will burn. Dried cherries and damsons may be stewed in the same manner, adding the sugar before they are quite done.

Pie Crust.

Sift a pound and a half of flour, and take out a quarter for rolling; cut in it a quarter of a pound of lard, mix it with water, and roll it out; cut half a pound of butter, and put it in at two rollings with the flour that was left out.

For making the bottom crust of pies, cut half a pound of lard into a pound of flour, with a little salt; mix it stiff, and grease the plates before you make pies; always make your paste in a cold place, and bake it soon.

Some persons prefer mixing crust with milk instead of water.

Paste for Puddings.

Sift a pound of flour, have half a pound of butter and quarter of a pound of lard, save out a quarter of the flour for rolling, cut the lard into the remainder, and mix it with water; roll it out, and flake in half of the butter; dust over it some of the flour, close it up; roll it again, and put in the rest of the butter. This quantity will make crust for five or six puddings.

Another Way.

To three and a half pounds of sifted flour, put two pounds of lard, and a piece of volatile salts (as large as a full sized nutmeg) dissolved in a little water;--make a pretty stiff paste; then roll in three-quarters of a pound of butter. This will make about eight pies and twelve shells.

Puff Paste.

Sift a pound of flour, and take out a quarter for rolling, divide a pound of butter into four parts, cut one part of the butter into the flour with a knife, make it a stiff dough with water, roll it out, and flake it with part of the butler, do this three times till it is all in, handle it as little as possible, and keep it in a cool place. This quantity will make crust sufficient for three puddings and ten puffs. They should bake with a quick beat, but do not let them burn, they will take from ten to fifteen minutes to bake, according to the number of layers of paste. Do not put on the preserves till a short time before they are eaten.

Rich Mince Pies.

Take four pounds of beef, boiled and chopped fine, pick and chop three pounds of suet, wash two pounds of currants, and one of raisins; grate the peel of two lemons, and put in the juice, pound a spoonful of dried orange peel, slice an ounce of citron, and chop twelve large apples, mix these together with three pounds of sugar, half a pint of wine, and the same of brandy--and sweet cider to make it a proper thickness, put in mace and nutmeg to your taste. If the cider is not sweet, you must put in more sugar before the pies are baked, cut several places in the top of each with a pair of scissors.

Mince Pies not so Rich.

Take four pounds of beef after it has been boiled and chopped, one of suet, two of sugar, two of raisins, and four of chopped apples, mix these together with a pint of wine and cider, to make it thin enough, season to your taste with mace, nutmeg and orange peel; if it is not sweet enough, put in more sugar. Warm the pies before they are eaten. Where persons are not fond of suet, put butter instead, and stew the apples instead of so much cider.

Farmers' Mince Pies.

When you kill a beef, save the head for pies; it is some trouble to prepare it, but it is very nice for the purpose. Split the head, take out the brains and eyes, wash it well in cold water, and soak it all night with two hog's heads that have been cleaned; in the morning, boil them till you can take out the bones easily; skim off the froth as it rises, or it will stick to the meat; pick out the bones, and chop it fine, with three pounds of suet. This should be done the day before you want to bake.

Mix to this quantity of meat, two gallons of chopped apples, four pounds of raisins, half a gallon of boiled molasses, a pint of currant wine, a tea-cup of rose brandy, an ounce of cinnamon, orange peel and mace, from two to four nutmegs, and sweet cider enough to make it the right thickness; if the cider is not sweet, put in more molasses; when all is mixed, it is best to bake a small pie, as you can alter the seasoning, if it is not to your taste. If you have not raisins, dried cherries or small grapes, that have been preserved in molasses, are very good, or stewed dried apples, instead of green; and where you have no cider, stew the apples in plenty of water, so as to have them very soft; a little good vinegar, sweetened and mixed with water, also does instead of cider, but is not so good.

This will make about forty pies, and if you have a convenient way of keeping them, you may bake all at once, as they will keep for two months very readily when the weather is cold. If you do not bake all at once, put what is left in a jar, cover the top with melted suet, and over this put a piece of white paper, with a tea-cup of spirits poured on the top; tie it up and keep it where it will not freeze. Where persons have a large family, and workmen on a farm, these pies are very useful.

Rhubarb Pie.

Peel the stalks, cut them in small pieces, and stew them till very soft in a little water; when done, mash and sweeten with sugar; set it away to cool; make a puff paste, and bake as other pies. Some prefer it without stewing, cutting the stems in small pieces, and strewing sugar over them before the crust is put on. These pies will lose their fine flavor after the first day. They take less sugar than gooseberries.

Peach Pie.

Take mellow clingstone peaches, pare, but do not cut them; put them in a deep pie plate lined with crust, sugar them well, put in a table-spoonful of water, and sprinkle a little flour over the peaches; cover with a thick crust, in which make a cut in the centre, and bake from three-quarters to one hour.

Sweet Potato Pie.

Boil the potatoes, skin and slice them; put a layer of potatoes and a layer of good apples sliced thin in a deep dish; put potatoes and apples alternately till the dish is filled, mix together wine, water, sugar, butter and nutmeg, and pour over, cover it with crust, and bake as oyster pie.

Pork Mince Pies.