Part 3 (1/2)

”4. You cannot knead bread too much. The more it is kneaded the firmer, sweeter and lighter it will be.”

When we had written this down Miss m.u.f.fet remarked:

”Mrs. Deacon Ead's bread always takes the prize at the county fair. It looks like pound-cake. I don't want you girls to make flabby, porous bread, full of air-holes. I want you to learn how to knead it till it is just like an India-rubber cus.h.i.+on.”

”If the dough is soft won't it stick to our fingers?” said Marjorie, with a dainty little s.h.i.+ver.

”Powder your hands very lightly with flour. That will keep the dough from sticking,” said Miss m.u.f.fet, ”and you will gain a knack after a while.

”5. The oven must be steadily hot, but not too quick, for bread. Hold your hand in it while you count thirty, and it will be right for putting in your bread.

”6. Grease your pans.

”7. When taking bread from the oven loosen the loaves from the pans, stand them upright, and let them lean against something to keep them in that position. Cover them lightly with a cloth.

”8. Do not put them away until they are cold.”

We all gathered about the table, but were disappointed that there was nothing for us to do except look on.

She took two quarts of flour and sifted it thoroughly into a large wooden bowl. In one pint of tepid water she dissolved a half-tablespoonful of salt and half a yeast cake. Pouring this into a hollow in the middle of the flour she gradually drew the flour into it from all sides, working it with swift, light touches until it was a compact ma.s.s. She pounced and pulled and beat this till it was as smooth and round as a ball, dusted a little flour over it, covered it with a thick cloth and set it aside.

”That is all that can be done to-night, girls,” she said. ”Be here every one of you at six in the morning, if Milly can be up so early. The bread will be ready then for another kneading. You must not overlook the fact, girls, that bread is not accommodating. It has to be attended to when the proper time comes, whether it is convenient for the maker or not. If neglected, it will be too light, or else heavy. Bread which is too light has a sour taste, and is just as unpalatable as that which is heavy, _i.e._, not raised enough, I mean.”

In the morning our bread had risen to the top of the bowl, and had cracks running in a criss-cross manner over its surface. Miss m.u.f.fet was the first one to appear on the scene. She gave us a lesson in kneading.

Such patting and pounding, throwing over, tossing back and forth, as she gave that poor dough. But the dough must have enjoyed it, for it seemed to grow lighter every minute.

After a full twenty minutes of this process the bread was set near the fire for a second rising. A half-hour pa.s.sed. Miss m.u.f.fet took it in hand again, and again she pounced and patted, beat and pounded the helpless ma.s.s, this time dividing it into three small loaves, which she set near the fire for the final rising.

”Bread is nicer made in little loaves,” she told us. ”More convenient for use on the table, easier to bake, and less likely to become dry.”

And now let me give you a receipt for Ingleside waffles. Mother considers these very good, and so do we girls who have tried them.

”Make one pint of Indian meal into mush the usual way, which is by stirring the meal into boiling water and letting it boil until it is thick. While hot put in a small lump of b.u.t.ter and a dessertspoonful of salt. Set the mush aside to cool. Beat separately the whites and yolks of four eggs until very light; add the eggs to the mush, and cream in by degrees one quart of wheat flour; add half a pint of b.u.t.termilk or sour cream, in which you have dissolved a half-teaspoonful of bicarbonate of soda; add sweet milk enough to make a thin batter.

”Have the waffle-irons hot. They should be heated in advance, not to keep the batter waiting. b.u.t.ter them thoroughly and half fill them with the batter. Bake over a quick fire.”

I never eat waffles without thinking of a pleasant home where two girls and a boy who read this paper have good times every summer. They often go out on the bay for an afternoon sail, and come home in the rosy sunset in time for waffles. Waffles, with sugar and cream, are a very nice addition to a supper table.

Another receipt of Miss m.u.f.fet's:

_Delicious Corn m.u.f.fins._--One pint of corn meal sifted, one egg, one pint of sweet milk, a teaspoonful of b.u.t.ter, and half a teaspoonful of salt. Pour this mixture into m.u.f.fin-rings and bake in a very quick oven.

This receipt is one that mother sometimes uses on a cold winter evening when she has nothing else hot for supper. They are great favorites in our household.

CHAPTER IV.

HOW TO SWEEP.

In the first chapter of this story I spoke of the trouble housekeepers in Bloomdale had to get and keep good servants.