BREAD.
One of the chief difficulties experienced by those trying to compa.s.s a complete scheme of hygienic dietary, is to get a pure, wholesome, easily digested, and, at the same time, palatable bread. We have long since exploded the idea that _whiteness_ is a test of superiority, for we know that this is attained by excluding the most wholesome and nutritious part of the wheat and by the use of chemicals. Even when we use brown bread, we are by no means sure of having a wholemeal loaf, for it is as often as not merely the ordinary flour with some bran mixed in. And bran is only one part--by no means the most important--of that in which the meal is lacking. We want to get as much as possible of the real "_germ_," the essential part of the grain, but I am informed by experts, that the process of drying and preparing this germ meal is so much more troublesome, and, in consequence, expensive, that the easier and cheaper method is that generally adopted. But, if we want a really good thing we must be willing to pay for it, and by creating a demand for the superior article make it worth while to manufacture it, and it were poor economy to save on the bread bill at the expense of health. It is well to know exactly what const.i.tutes a really wholesome bread, for bakers and purveyors everywhere are ready to meet their customers" wishes. But if people are ignorant or unreasonable enough to demand a light-coloured, puffy loaf, when a pure whole-wheat loaf is rather dark and solid looking, they must be prepared to find that they are served with what pleases their taste, and to take the risks. Some may like to try baking their bread at home, and it may interest them to know that it is possible to make very good wheaten bread without any raising ingredients whatever, simply with wheatmeal and water, aerating it by beating air into it. This is best managed by the home baker in the form of
Wheatmeal Gems.
There are sets of thick iron gem pans to be had, which are very good for this purpose, but one can manage quite well with oven-plates made of sheet-iron or black steel.
Into a large basin put 2 cupfuls of the coldest water procurable. Aerate by pouring from one vessel to another several times, or by whipping up with a spoon or spatula. Take 4 cupfuls whole meal, and pa.s.s several times through a sieve. Sprinkle the meal into the water a little at a time, whipping vigorously all the while till about three-fourths are worked in, and continue whisking from 20 to 30 minutes till the mixture is full of air bubbles. Sprinkle in the rest of the wheatmeal and mix thoroughly.
Meanwhile, see that the oven is very hot, as a strong steady heat is necessary. Make the gem pans or oven-plates also very hot and grease lightly. Half fill the pans and put at once in oven, so that the moist air may be as quickly as possible converted into steam, and thus puff up the bread. If oven-plates are used, put dessertspoonfuls some distance apart on these and put in oven. If the oven is hot enough, a crust will at once form, and the steam trying to force its way out will send them up like puff b.a.l.l.s. Moderate the heat, if possible after 10 or 15 minutes, and allow to bake for about 30 minutes longer. It is very easy to regulate the heat if a gas stove is used; if a range, put on some small coal. When baked turn out on a sieve, and when quite cold split open and toast on the inside.
Another excellent kind of bread, which can be managed quite easily with a little trouble and practice, is raised with eggs. It is generally known as
Wallace Egg Bread,
and as I have the recipe direct from Mrs C. Leigh Hunt Wallace, the inventor of this kind of bread, I am able to pa.s.s it on at first hand.
Ten ounces wheatmeal, 1 large egg (weighing 2 ozs.), 1 gill milk and 1 gill water, the whole to be made into a batter, the white of egg being beaten separately to a stiff froth and incorporated with the batter very thoroughly but very quickly; the whole to be baked in 1 lb. cake or loaf tin, the tin being very hot and thoroughly oiled or b.u.t.tered before the batter is turned into it. Put for 50 minutes in a very hot part of the oven (350 degrees to 380 degrees fahr.) and keep in another 50 minutes to soak. I can vouch for the excellence of this bread, and may say that I have managed it with very little difficulty. I use a gas oven and loaf pans made of black steel, as these take and retain the heat much better than tins. If any amateur, however, is doubtful as to how this loaf should be, she cannot do better than send for a sample loaf or two to the Wallace Bakery, 465 Battersea Park Road, London, S.W. There is also a depot in Edinburgh--Messrs Richards & Co., 7 Dundas Street, where these can be got. By comparing one"s own achievements with these, one will be the better able to attain the desired result. In case any may think this egg bread sounds expensive, I may say that it is exceedingly economical to use; a small loaf going much farther than a large one of the ordinary puffed-up kind.
PASTRY.
""Meat for Repentance"--Pork pies for supper--or otherwise!"
Short Crust.
Take 1/2 lb. flour, mix with it 1/2 teaspoonful baking powder and put two or three times through a sieve. Rub in 4 ozs. b.u.t.ter. If vegetable b.u.t.ter is used, 3 ozs. will do, as it contains much less water. Beat up an egg.
Add a teaspoonful lemon juice to the flour, &c., nearly the whole of the egg, and mix into a very dry paste with cold water. The mixing is best done with a knife. Turn out on floured board and form into an oblong piece, still using a broad knife as much as possible. Roll out evenly a good deal larger than the dish to be covered, and cut off a piece all round, leaving it the exact size and shape. Wet the edges of the dish, put a band of paste on. Wet that again, and lay on the cover. Make the edges neat with a knife or pastry cutter. Brush over with egg and bake in very hot oven for thirty to forty minutes. If used for covering a fruit tart, dust over with sifted sugar before serving.
Rough Puff Paste.
Take same quant.i.ties as for short crust. Divide b.u.t.ter into pieces on floured board and flatten with the rolling-pin--a stoneware bottle, by the way, is much better than a wooden rolling-pin. Put the b.u.t.ter with the flour and mix as before with egg, lemon juice and water. Turn out on floured board, make into a neat, oblong shape, beat down with rolling-pin and roll out very evenly to about 1/8-inch thickness. Dust with flour and fold in three, turn half round so as to have open end in front of one, and roll out as before. Repeat this until it has got 4 turns, taking care to keep the edges as even as possible, and for the last time roll out a good deal larger than the dish. Put a band of paste on the dish, wet this and lay on the cover. Flute the edges neatly. Brush over with egg. Cut the tr.i.m.m.i.n.gs of paste into leaves, &c., and decorate the pie, putting a rose in the centre. Brush these also with egg. Make one or two slits to let out the steam, and bake in hot oven. The oven should be made very hot _before_ the pastry is put in, and then the heat should be moderated.
This can of course be managed best with a gas oven.
This rough puff paste is very suitable for small sausage rolls. Roll out for last time quite square. Divide into nine equal squares, put a small quant.i.ty of sausage meat on centre, wet edges and press together. Brush over with egg and bake. Remember never to brush the edges with egg, as that would stick them together and prevent rising.
Rich Puff Paste
suitable for patties, vol-au-vent, &c., is made as above, but with 6 ozs.
b.u.t.ter to 8 ozs. flour. For patties leave the paste at last rolling out 1/2 inch thick. Stamp out into rounds with lid or biscuit-cutter, about 2-1/2" or 3" diameter, and with a smaller cutter mark about half-way through the paste. Brush with egg and put on oven-plate. See that the oven is specially hot, and yet regulated so that the pastry will not scorch before thoroughly risen, as the oven door must not be opened for fifteen to twenty minutes after putting in. They should rise to three or four times the thickness of the paste. Allow to bake some time longer, remove from oven, and with a sharp-pointed knife remove the centre lid. Fill in with the mushrooms, tomatoes, &c., replace top, and make very hot again before using.
Vol-au-Vent
is done exactly in same way, only all in one. Cut out the whole of the paste round, oval or square, and with a sharp-pointed knife mark half-way through all round about an inch from the edge. Bake as for patties, but the larger piece of pastry will require longer to bake through and through.
Remove lid carefully, put in filling and replace lid.
Raised Pie Crust.
This paste is most wholesome and economical. For a good-sized pie take 3/4lb. flour and 3 ozs. b.u.t.ter or Nut b.u.t.ter. Put the flour in a basin.
Bring the b.u.t.ter to boiling point with a teacupful water. Pour in among the flour, stirring all the time till thoroughly mixed, then knead well. When nearly cold take off about a third and make the rest into a ball, flatten and work up by hand till the case is about 2-1/2 inches high, and slightly narrower at the top--Melton-Mowbray shape. Slip on to greased oven-plate, and when quite firm, fill rather more than half-full with haricots, tomatoes, &c. Roll out the bit of paste remaining, cut out lid, wet the edges of it and the pie-case and pinch together. Brush all over with egg.
Ornament with the tr.i.m.m.i.n.gs, brush again and bake in good steady oven for at least three-quarters of an hour. When ready, pour in some more gravy, or if to be used cold, some dissolved savoury jelly.
Should there be difficulty at first in raising this entirely by hand, it might be moulded round a jar or round tin. Another way is to use a tart ring, but a very simple and handy way, which finds favour especially with children, is to make bridies. Divide the paste into ten or twelve pieces.
Roll out a nice oval, put some savoury mixture on one half, wet edges with egg or water, press together and pinch into neat flutes, brush over with egg and bake.
Suet Paste.
Allow 3 ozs. vegetable suet to 8 ozs. flour. Chop the suet or run through nut-mill. Add to flour along with salt and pepper, and if liked, a little grated onion and chopped parsley. Make into a firm paste with water, which may have a little ketchup or "Extract" diluted in it.
This is, of course, for savoury pies, &c. If for sweet dishes--roly-poly, apple dumpling, &c.--omit all seasonings and add sugar and any flavouring preferred, such as clove, ginger, or cinnamon.
CAKES, SCONES, &c.
Only a few cakes, &c., are given here, as there are a number of excellent ones among the contributed recipes in last section, under heading of Bazaar contributions, and, besides, there is nothing about them peculiar to food reformers. Those who are studying wholesomeness and digestibility, however, will avoid as far as possible the use of chemicals for raising, and fats of doubtful purity such as hog"s lard. The injurious character of carbonate of soda, tartaric acid, &c., if used at all to excess, is now fully recognised, and those whose health is not quite normal should avoid them entirely. When such cannot be dispensed with, use very sparingly and in the exact quant.i.ties and proportions of acid and alkali, which will neutralise each other by converting into a gas which pa.s.ses off in baking, if the oven, &c., is all right. But the latter point is rather a big and very essential "if,"
and many cooks try to make up for deficiencies in mixing and firing, by putting in an extra allowance of baking powder. There is considerable diversity of opinion still as to the exact nature and place of these chemicals in the economy of the body, and where "doctors differ" the amateur cook or hygienist dare hardly dogmatise, but all are agreed that the slightest excess is hurtful. Cakes, scones, pastry and the like, should depend rather for lightness upon cool, deft handling, and skilful management of the various details which contribute to successful baking.
A fine essential is to have good, reliable flour. See that it is perfectly dry, and pa.s.s several times through a fine sieve to aerate and loosen it.
Try to bake in a cool, airy place, and be provided with all the necessary tools for accomplishing the work in expert and expeditious fashion, for the success of many things depends upon the celerity with which the process is performed. Have the oven at just the right heat, at the right time. A cake which would otherwise be excellent may be heavy or tough by having to wait till the oven cools down or heats up to the proper temperature. With a gas oven, one can regulate at will, and a safe general rule is to have the oven thoroughly hot _before_ the cakes are put in, and then to moderate the heat very considerably. With a coal fire, if the oven is too hot, put on a quant.i.ty of small coal.
Artox Gingerbread.
One and a half pounds Artox wholemeal, 10 oz. golden syrup, 9 oz. b.u.t.ter, 4 oz. sugar, 1/2 oz. carbonate of soda, 1/2 oz. ginger, 2 eggs, little milk. Cream together the b.u.t.ter and sugar, add the eggs, well beaten, and the syrup, stir until dissolved. Add the Artox wholemeal with the soda and ginger previously sifted in, and a little milk if necessary, to make a stiff batter. Put into greased tins, and bake in a moderate oven.
Artox Seed Cake.
Beat 10 ozs. of fresh b.u.t.ter to a cream, add 6 ozs. sugar and beat into the b.u.t.ter. Separate yokes and whites of 4 eggs and beat each ma.s.s separately. Then mix well with the b.u.t.ter and sugar, adding the yokes first and the whites last. Add 1 teaspoonful carraway seeds and 10 ozs. Artox wholemeal. Mix thoroughly, put into b.u.t.ter papered tins and bake in a quick oven.
Artox Shortbread.
One and a quarter pounds Artox wholemeal, 10 ozs. b.u.t.ter, 4 ozs. sugar, 1 egg, 1/4 oz. baking powder. Rub the Artox wholemeal, sugar, and b.u.t.ter together, add the baking powder, and make into a stiff paste with the egg.
Mould it into cakes, crimp the edges, and bake in a moderate oven.