Salt-Rising Bread

Salt-Rising Bread

Ingredients:
1 c. fresh milk
1/4 c. corn meal
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. sugar
2 c. lukewarm water
7 c. white flour
1/2 c. white flour additional for kneading

Directions:
Scald the milk and pour it over the corn meal, salt, and sugar. Allow
this mixture to stand in a warm place for several hours or overnight,
when it should be light. To this batter add the warm water and enough
flour to make a drop batter. Allow this to stand in a warm place until
it is light; and then add the remainder of the flour so as to make a
dough, and knead. Allow this to rise, shape it into loaves, put it in
pans, let it rise again, and bake.
RECIPES FOR ROLLS, BUNS, AND BISCUITS
83. While the preceding recipes call for bread in the form of loaves, it
should be understood that bread may be made up in other forms, such as
rolls, buns, and biscuits. These forms of bread may be made from any of
the bread recipes by adding to the mixture shortening, sugar, eggs,
fruit, nuts, spices, flavoring, or anything else desirable. Since these
things in any quantity retard the rising of the sponge or dough, they
should be added after it has risen at least once. Rolls, buns, and
biscuits may be made in various shapes, as is shown in Fig. 18. To shape
them, the dough may be rolled thin and then cut with cutters, or the
pieces used for them may be pinched or cut from the dough and shaped
with the hands. After they are shaped, they should be allowed to rise
until they double in bulk. To give them a glazed appearance, the surface
of each may be brushed before baking with milk, with white of egg and
water, or with sugar and water. Butter is also desirable for this
purpose, as it produces a crust that is more tender and less likely to
be tough. Rolls, buns, or biscuits may be baked in an oven that has a
higher temperature than that required for bread in the form of loaves,
as is indicated in Fig. 4, and only 15 to 20 minutes is needed for
baking them. If such forms of bread are desired with a crust covering
the entire surface, they must be placed far enough apart so that the
edges will not touch when they are baking.
118 / 151
So that experience may be had in the preparation of rolls, buns, and
biscuits there are given here several recipes that can be worked out to
advantage, especially after proficiency in bread making has been
attained.
84. Parker House Rolls.--Of the various kinds of rolls, perhaps none
meets with greater favor than the so-called Parker House rolls,. Such
rolls may be used in almost any kind of meal, and since they are
brushed with butter before they are baked, they may be served without
butter, if desired, in a meal that includes gravy or fat meat.