Bread With Potato Sponge

Peel and boil 4 medium sized potatoes in 1 quart of water. When done, mash and pour both potatoes and water boiling hot over about 1 pint of flour, stirring well. Do this at dinner time. When cool add enough more water to make the wished-for amount of batter, 1 cupful of yeast for 4 loaves of bread, 1 tablespoonful of salt, 1 of sugar, and flour sufficient to make a moderately stiff batter. Keep in a warm place, and in the evening add flour enough to knead. Do this thoroughly, cover well, keep warm and in the morning knead down and let it rise again. After breakfast, if sufficiently light make into loaves moulding thoroughly and let it rise, covering warmly until sufficiently light. Bake in a hot oven at a uniform temperature from three-fourths to one hour. Brushing the loaves over with a little melted butter tends to soften the crust.

Some cooks prefer to use for scalding bread sponge the water only in which the potatoes have been boiled as making bread less moist and solid. Or boiling water may be used.

A still easier method will be found to scald a pint of flour with boiling water at night, adding yeast and instead of a sponge mix stiff and knead at once. Cover warmly; in the morning proceed as above. Scalding buttermilk or whey may be used instead of scalding water, and will be found an improvement.

Cold sweet milk half and half with cold water makes very sweet, tender bread.

In the winter it will be found a very good plan to heat the flour, set the sifted flour over a kettle of boiling water, or in the heating oven of a range.

Good Bread

Set a thick sponge at night with warm water, not milk, using 2 yeast cakes for four very large loaves; beat the sponge thoroughly. In the morning take 4 tablespoonfuls of white sugar dissolved in ¾ cup of melted butter, 1 teaspoonful salt and flour enough to make a soft dough. Mold vigorously. Let it rise until very light, mold again. Let it rise again less time. Make in loaves, rub each one with melted butter and bake in a good oven. Bread made in this way is deliciously light and tender.

Bread With Corn-Meal Sponge

Spread 8 quarts of flour in the bread-pan so as to leave a large cavity in the center. Make 2 quarts of sifted white corn-meal into mush by boiling it in either water or milk. When cool enough to add the yeast without scalding, turn into the flour, put in 1 cupful of yeast, 1 teaspoonful of salt and enough warm milk or water to make a suitable batter, mixing with it a portion of the flour. Cover the whole closely and let it stand over night. Stir stiff in the morning with the remainder of flour in the pan, knead and make into loaves. Let it rise near the fire and bake well. This is, an excellent article of light, sweet nutritious bread that will keep moist longer than any other and make the flour "hold out" wonderfully.

Salt-Rising Bread

Put 1 quart of warm water in a 3 quart pitcher or tin pail. Do this early in the morning. Add a teaspoonful of salt and 1 of brown sugar,a pinch of soda, 1 cupful of sweet milk if convenient, if not, 3 or 4 tablespbonfuls of corn-meal will answer, then stir in flour as for a, thick batter. Set the vessel in a kettle of warm water and keep at an even temperature. Stir quite often until it begins to foam and rise; then do not disturb or jar it. If water should rise over the yeast after standing a while, stir in a little more flour. When the yeast rises to the top of the pail or pitcher it is ready to use.

Sift 4 or 5 quarts of flour and spread in a pan so as to leave a large cavity in the center and put in 1 tablespoonful of sweet lard and butter. Pour over this 3 pints of warm water and add the rising. Mix and work into loaves. Rub butter over each. Put in long, deep tins and when it rises to the top bake three-fourths of an hour. Let cool uncovered, and put away in a large stone jar. This will make nice, moist, sweet bread.

Some cooks add 1 pint of corn-meal mush, when kneading up for baking. This ensures its moistness. Graham flour is better to set the rising with, than fine flour.