Chapter 20

Mix and sift together the corn meal, flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar. Add to them the milk and well-beaten egg, and stir in the melted fat. Pour into a well-greased loaf pan, and bake in a moderate oven for about 30 minutes.

58. Molasses Corn Cake.--Molasses corn cake, just as its name indicates, is corn cake containing molasses. To those who find the taste of molasses agreeable, this recipe will appeal. Others not so fond of molasses will, without doubt, prefer the plain corn cake. Besides adding flavour, the molasses in this recipe adds food value to the product.

MOLASSES CORN CAKE (Sufficient for One Medium-Sized Loaf)

1 c. corn meal 3/4 c. flour 3-1/2 tsp. baking powder 1 tsp. salt 3/4 c. milk 1/4 c. molasses 1 egg 2 Tb. melted fat

Mix and sift the corn meal, flour, baking powder, and salt. Add the milk, molasses, and well-beaten egg and stir in the melted fat. Pour into a well-greased loaf pan, and bake in a moderate oven for about 30 minutes.

BISCUIT RECIPES

59. Baking-Powder Biscuits.--The ability of the housewife as a cook is very often judged by the biscuits she makes; but they are really very simple to make, and if recipes are followed carefully and measurements are made accurately, only a little experience is required to produce excellent ones. The principal requirement in making baking-powder biscuits, which are illustrated in Fig. 11, is that all the ingredients be kept as cold as possible during the mixing. Tiny, thin biscuits may be split, buttered, and served with tea, while larger ones may be served with breakfast or luncheon. In order to utilise left-over biscuits of this kind, they may be split and toasted or dipped quickly into boiling water and heated in a quick oven until the surface is dry.

BAKING-POWDER BISCUITS (Sufficient to Serve Six)

2 c. flour 1 tsp. salt 4 tsp. baking powder 2 Tb. fat 3/4 c. milk

Mix and sift the flour, salt, and baking powder. Chop the fat into the dry ingredients until it is in pieces about the size of small peas. Pour the milk into the dry ingredients, and mix them just enough to take up the liquid. Make the mixture as moist as possible, and still have it in good condition to handle. Then sprinkle flour on a molding board, and lift the dough from the mixing bowl to the board.

HOT BREADS

Sprinkle flour thinly over the top and pat out the dough until it is about 1 inch thick. Cut the dough with a biscuit cutter, and place the biscuits thus cut out on baking sheets or in shallow pans. If a crusty surface is desired, place the biscuits in the pan so that they are about an inch apart; but if thick, soft biscuits are preferred, place them so that the edges touch. Bake 18 to 20 minutes in a hot oven.

60. EMERGENCY BISCUITS.--As shown in Fig. 12, emergency biscuits resemble very closely baking-powder biscuits, and so they should, because the recipe given for baking-powder biscuits may be used for emergency biscuits by merely adding more milk--just enough to make the dough a trifle too moist to handle with the hands. When the dough is of this consistency, drop it by spoonfuls in shallow pans, as in Fig. 13, or on baking sheets. Then bake the biscuits in a hot oven for 18 to 20 minutes.

61. PINWHEEL BISCUITS.--To create variety, a baking-powder biscuit mixture may be made into pinwheel biscuits, a kind of hot bread that is always pleasing to children. Such biscuits, which are illustrated in Fig. 14, differ from cinnamon rolls only in the leavening agent used, cinnamon rolls being made with yeast and pinwheel biscuits with baking powder.

PINWHEEL BISCUITS (Sufficient to Serve Six)

2 c. flour 1 tsp. salt 4 tsp. baking powder 2 Tb. fat f 3/4 c. milk 2 Tb. butter 1/3 c. sugar 1 Tb. cinnamon 3/4 c. chopped raisins

To make the dough, combine the ingredients in the same way as for baking-powder biscuits. Roll it on a well-floured board until it is about 1/4 inch thick and twice as long as it is wide. Spread the surface with the 2 tablespoonfuls of butter. Mix the sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle them evenly over the buttered surface, and on top of this sprinkle the chopped raisins. Start with one of the long edges and roll the dough carefully toward the opposite long edge, as shown in Fig. 15. Then cut the roll into slices 1 inch thick. Place these slices in a shallow pan with the cut edges down and the sides touching. Bake in a hot oven for about 20 minutes.

62. BEATEN BISCUITS.--In Fig. 16 is illustrated a form of hot bread known as beaten biscuits. Such biscuits are used very extensively in the South; in fact, they are usually considered typical of the South. Formerly, all the lightness of beaten biscuits was produced by beating, but as the mixture is made today it may be run through a food chopper a few times before it is beaten. If this is done, the labor of beating is lessened considerably, beating for 15 to 20 minutes being sufficient. When the beating is finished, the texture of the dough should be fine and close and the surface should be smooth and flat.

BEATEN BISCUITS (Sufficient to Serve Twelve)

1 qt. pastry flour 1 tsp. salt 1/3 c. fat 1 c. milk or water

Sift the flour and salt and chop in the fat. Moisten with the milk or water and form into a mass. Toss this on a floured board, and beat it with a rolling pin for 30 minutes, folding the dough over every few seconds. Roll the dough 1/3 inch in thickness, form the biscuits by cutting them out with a small round cutter, and prick each one several times with a fork. Place the biscuits on baking sheets or in shallow pans, and bake them in a moderate oven for 20 to 30 minutes.

MISCELLANEOUS HOT-BREAD RECIPES

63. SOFT GINGERBREAD.--As a hot bread for breakfast, soft gingerbread like that illustrated in Fig. 17 is very satisfactory, and with or without icing it may be served as cake with fruit for luncheon. Sweet milk and baking powder are generally used in gingerbread, but sour milk may be substituted for sweet milk and soda in the proper proportion may be used in place of baking powder. If not too much spice is used in a bread of this kind, it is better for children than rich cake, and, as a rule, they are very fond of it.

SOFT GINGERBREAD (Sufficient for One Medium-Sized Loaf)

2 c. flour 2 tsp. baking powder 1/2 tsp. soda 1/4 c. sugar 1/2 tsp. salt 2 tsp. ginger 1 tsp. cinnamon 1 egg 1/2 c. milk 1/2 c. molasses 1/4 c. butter or other fat

Mix the flour, baking powder, soda, sugar, salt, and spices. Beat the egg, add the milk and molasses to it, and stir these into the first mixture. Melt the fat and stir it into the batter. Pour the batter into a well-greased loaf pan, and bake in a moderate oven for about 35 minutes. If preferred, the mixture may be poured into individual muffin pans and baked in a moderate oven for about 25 minutes.

64. BOSTON BROWN BREAD.--A hot bread that finds favor with most persons is Boston brown bread, which is illustrated in Fig. 18.

HOT BREADS

Such bread, instead of being baked in the oven, is steamed for 3-1/2 hours. It may be made plain, according to the accompanying recipe, or, to give it variety, raisins or currants may be added to it. Boston brown bread may be steamed in an ordinary coffee can, such as is shown in Fig. 18, in a large baking-powder can, or in a can that is made especially for this purpose. A regular steaming can for Boston brown bread is, of course, very convenient, but the other cans mentioned are very satisfactory. A point to remember in the making of brown bread is that the time for steaming should never be decreased. Oversteaming will do no harm, but understeaming is liable to leave an unbaked place through the centre of the loaf.

BOSTON BROWN BREAD (Sufficient for One Medium-Sized Loaf)

1 c. white flour 1 c. graham flour 1 c. corn meal 3/4 tsp. soda 2 tsp. baking powder 1 tsp. salt 3/4 c. molasses 1-3/4 c. sweet milk

Mix and sift the flour, corn meal, soda, baking powder, and salt. Add the molasses and milk and mix all thoroughly. Grease a can and a cover that fits the can tightly. Fill the can two-thirds full of the mixture and cover it. Place it in a steamer and steam for 3-1/2 hours. Dry in a moderate oven for a few minutes before serving.

65. NUT LOAF.--The use of nuts in a hot bread increases the food value and imparts a very delicious flavour. It is therefore very attractive to most persons, but it is not a cheap food on account of the usual high price of nuts. Thin slices of nut bread spread with butter make very fine sandwiches, which are especially delicious when served with tea.

NUT LOAF (Sufficient for One Medium-Sized Loaf)

2 c. flour 1/2 c. sugar 4 tsp. baking powder 1 tsp. salt 4 Tb. fat 1 egg 1 c. milk 1/2 c. English walnuts

Mix and sift the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt, and then work in the fat. Add the egg, well beaten, and the milk, and then stir in the nut meats, which should be chopped. Turn into a well-greased loaf pan, and bake in a moderate oven for about 45 minutes.

UTILISING LEFT-OVER HOT BREADS

66. As a general rule, not much consideration need be given to the utilising of left-over hot breads, for these are not often baked in large quantities and consequently are usually eaten at the meal for which they are intended. Still, if any should be left over, they should never be wasted, for there are various ways in which they may be used. The small varieties, such as muffins, biscuits, etc, may be freshened so that they will be almost as good as when first baked by putting them into a hot oven for a few minutes. If they are quite stale, they should be dipped quickly into hot water before being placed in the oven. The moisture on the surface is driven into the interior of the bread by the intense heat, with the result that the biscuits become moist and appear as fresh as they did formerly. If it is not desired to freshen them in this way, biscuits, muffins, and even pieces of corn bread that have become slightly stale may be made delicious by splitting them and then toasting them.

LUNCHEON MENU

67. As in the preceding Sections, there is here submitted a menu that should be worked out and reported on at the same time that the answers to the Examination Questions are sent in. This menu is planned to serve six persons, but, as in the case of the other menus, it may be increased or decreased to meet requirements. The recipe for macaroni with cheese and tomatoes may be found in _Cereals,_ and that for baking-powder biscuit, as well as that for popovers with apple sauce, in this Section. Recipes for the remainder of the items follow the menu.

MENU

Macaroni With Cheese and Tomatoes Baking-Powder Biscuit Jam Watercress-and-Celery Salad Popovers Filled With Apple Sauce Tea

RECIPES

WATERCRESS-AND-CELERY SALAD

Arrange on each salad plate a bed of watercress, or, if it is impossible to obtain this, shred lettuce by cutting it in narrow strips across the leaf and use it instead of the watercress. Dice one or two stems of celery, depending on the size, and place the diced pieces on top of the watercress or the lettuce. Pour over each serving about 2 teaspoonfuls of French dressing made as follows:

1/2 tsp. salt 1/4 tsp. pepper 1/4 tsp. paprika 6 Tb. oil 2 Tb. vinegar

Mix the salt, pepper, and paprika, and beat the oil into them until it forms an emulsion. Add the vinegar gradually, a few drops at a time, and continue the beating. Pour the dressing over the salad.

TEA

Measure 1 teaspoonful of tea for each cupful that is to be served. Scald the teapot, put the tea into it, and add the required number of cups of freshly boiling water. Allow it to steep until the desired strength is obtained. Serve at once, or pour from the leaves, serving cream and sugar with it if desired.

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HOT BREADS

EXAMINATION QUESTIONS

(1) (_a_) In what way do hot breads differ from yeast breads? (_b_) What are the principal ingredients of hot-bread batters and doughs?

(2) (_a_) What is a leavening agent? (_b_) What is the effect of leavening agents on batters and doughs?

(3) (_a_) How is physical leavening accomplished? (_b_) On what does the success of breads raised by physical leavening depend?

(4) (_a_) How is chemical leavening brought about? (_b_) What two things must be supplied to produce the best action of a chemical leavening agent for making a flour mixture light?

(5) Why are soda and sour milk and soda and molasses not accurate leavening agents?

(6) In making a batter or a dough, how much soda should be used with: (_a_) each cupful of sour milk? (_b_) each cupful of molasses?

(7) How should soda and sour milk or soda and molasses be combined with the other ingredients of a hot-bread mixture?

(8) (_a_) In hot-bread batters and doughs, how much baking powder should be used to 1 cupful of flour? (_b_) How should baking powder be combined with the other ingredients?

(9) Mention, in the order they should be carried out, the steps for making and baking a dough mixture.

(10) Tell what general proportion of liquid and flour is usually used for: (_a_) a thin batter; (_b_) a thick batter; (_c_) a soft dough; (_d_) a stiff dough.

(11) Give examples of hot breads made from: (_a_) thin batters; (_b_) thick batters; (_c_) soft doughs; (_d_) stiff doughs.

(12) What will cause a change in the general proportions of liquid and flour for a batter or a dough?

(13) Explain briefly the two general methods of combining ingredients for hot-bread mixtures.

(14) What is the approximate temperature for: (_a_) a moderate oven? (_b_) a hot oven?

(15) Mention a simple test for: (_a_) a moderate oven; (_b_) a hot oven.

(16) How may hot breads be tested in order to determine whether or not they are properly baked?

(17) Why are baking-powder biscuits and popovers mixed differently?

(18) (_a_) Why does a loaf of nut bread require longer baking than muffins? (_b_) Which should be baked in a moderate oven?

(19) Why should gingerbread be baked in a moderate oven?

(20) Make a recipe for muffins, using 2 cupfuls of flour and sour milk and soda for liquid and leavening.

REPORT ON MENU

After trying out the luncheon menu given in the text, send with your answers to the Examination Questions a report of your success. In making out your report, simply write the name of the food and describe its condition by means of the terms specified here.

Macaroni With Cheese and Tomatoes: cooked sufficiently? properly flavoured? too much salt? not enough salt? too much liquid? too little liquid?

Baking-Powder Biscuit: tender? tough? light? heavy? good texture? poor texture? sufficiently baked? underdone? overdone? sufficient salt?

Watercress-and-Celery Salad: appearance attractive? dressing well mixed? properly seasoned?

Popovers Filled With Apple Sauce: tender? tough? underdone (this is observed by shrinking or falling after removing the popovers from the popover cups)? overdone?

Tea: strong? weak? clear? hot? bitter?

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INDEX

A

Abbreviations of measures, Absorption and digestion of food, of food, Abundance of production of cereals, Acquiring skill in bread making, Action of yeast, Adjusting cook-stove dampers, Agents, Classes of leavening, Leavening, Aids, Yeast, A la, au, and aux, Meaning of terms, la creole, Meaning of, Albumin, Effect of cooking on, Aluminum cooking utensils, Anthracite, or hard, coal, Apple, Composition of, corer, Artificial gas, Ash, or mineral salts, pan, Coal-stove, pit, Coal-stove, Au gratin, Meaning of, naturel, Meaning of, Avoirdupois weight,

B

Bacon, Composition of, Bacteria, Baked hot breads, Testing, potatoes, Bakers' flour, Baking bread, Distinction between roasting and, griddle cakes, Procedure in, Meaning of, Oven temperature for bread, powder, -powder biscuits, Baking powder, Recipe for, Purpose of bread, the hot-bread mixture, the hot-bread mixture, Utensils for, Time for bread, waffles, Procedure in, Balanced diet, Elements of a, Banana, Composition of, Banking a coal fire, Barley, Left-over, Pearl, Recipes for, Use and origin of, with fruit, Pearl, Batter, Thick, Thin, Batters and doughs, Bean, Composition of dry navy, Composition of fresh shelled, Composition of green string, Beaten biscuits, Beating of food ingredients, Bechamel, Meaning of, Beech wheat, Beef, Composition of dried, steak, Composition of, suet, Composition of, Biscuit glace, recipes, Biscuits, Baking-powder, Beaten, Emergency, rolls, and buns, Recipes for, Bisque, Meaning of, Bituminous, or soft, coal, Blanching foods, Blend flour, Blueberry muffins, Body, Function of water in the, Boiled coffee, rice, Boiler, Cooking cereals in double, Boiling, Cooking cereals by, on foods, Effect of, point, rice, to sterilize water, Boston brown bread, Bouchees, Meaning of, Boudin, Meaning of, Bouquet of herbs, Boxes, Window, Braizing, Bran bread, muffins, Bread, after baking, Care of, and cake mixer, as food, Importance of, Baking, Baking hot, Boston brown, Bran, Composition of corn, Composition of rye, Composition of toasted, Composition of whole-wheat, Convenient equipment for making, Corn, Distinction between hot and leavened, dough, Care of the rising, dough, Kneading, dough, Motions used in kneading, dough, Purpose of kneading, Graham, Hot, ingredients, Quick-process, sponge method of combining, Leavened, Left-over, Long-process, sponge method of making, making, Acquiring skill in, making, Combining the ingredients in, making, Convenient equipment for, making, Ingredients for, making, Long process of, making, Long-process, sponge method of, making, Long-process, straight-dough method of, -making materials, Proportion of, making, Necessary equipment for, -making processes, making, Quick process of, making, Quick-process, sponge method of, making, Quick-process, straight-dough method of, -making requirements, making, Utensils for, Milk and fat in, mixer, Use of, mixers, mixture, Preparation of hot-, Object of scoring, Oven temperature for baking, Purpose of baking, Quick, recipes, Rice, Rye, Salt-rising, Scoring, Serving, sponge, Utilizing left-over hot, White, Whole-wheat, Whole-wheat fruit, with nuts, Graham, Breads, Correct oven temperature for hot, Distinction between yeast and hot, General proportions used in hot, Hot, in the diet, Hot, Mixtures used for hot, Principal requirements for hot, Purpose of utensils for making hot, Quick, Recipes for hot, Requirements and processes for making hot, Serving hot, Varieties of mixtures in hot, Breakfast food, Composition of cooked oat, foods, Meaning of, menu, Broiling, Pan, Brown bread, Boston, Browned rice, Browning, or toasting, of cereals, Buckwheat, cakes, Composition of, Description of, rye, and millet, Building a coal fire, Buns, Fruit or nut, Graham nut, Nut or fruit, rolls, and biscuits, Buns, Sweet, Butter, Composition of, Composition of peanut, Buttered hominy, toast, Buttermilk, Composition of,

C