Chapter XXXI: Mary's Marriage (2)

This delicious German bread was usually made by "Aunt Sarah" one week before Christmas. It may be kept two weeks, and at the end of that time still be good. It is rather expensive as regards fruit and nuts, but as no eggs are used, and a very small quantity of butter; and as bread containing fruit is so much more wholesome than rich fruit cake. I think American housewives would do well to bake this German bread occasionally. Mary took one-fourth the quantity of everything called for in the recipe, except yeast. She used 3/4 of a cake of Fleischman's yeast and 1/4 of each of the other ingredients, and from these baked three loaves of bread. The prunes and pears should be covered with cold water at night and allowed to stand until the following morning, when, after stewing until tender, the juice should be drained from the fruit and water added to the fruit-juice to measure two quarts. Remove pits from prunes, cut pears and prunes in small pieces; stand aside. Clean currants and raisins, blanch and shred almonds, chop walnut meats, citron, orange peel and figs; add cinnamon, cloves and anise seed. Mix together flour and one quart of the fruit juice; add the compressed yeast cakes (dissolved in a little warm water), knead well, set a sponge as for ordinary bread; when raised, add the remaining quart of fruit juice, sugar, butter and salt. A small quantity of brandy or sherry may be added, but if not liked, fruit juice may be substituted.

Add the remaining ingredients, and knead thoroughly. Allow dough to raise from two to three hours and when light form into loaves and allow to stand an hour, when bake. This quantity of dough should be made into twelve small loaves. Should the flour and liquid used be warmed before mixing, the dough will raise more quickly. It simplifies the work if the fruits and nuts be prepared the day before the bread is baked.

AUNT SARAH'S WHITE BREAD AND ROLLS

1 quart potato water. 1 mashed potato. 1 tablespoonful butter or lard. 1 tablespoonful sugar. 1 Fleischman yeast cake, or 1 cup good yeast. 1/2 tablespoonful salt. Flour to stiffen (about three quarts).

At 9 o'clock in the evening put in a large bowl the mashed potato, the quart of luke-warm potato water (water in which potatoes were boiled for dinner), butter or sweet lard, sugar, salt, and mix with flour into a batter, to which add the Fleischman's or any good yeast cake, dissolved in a little luke-warm water. Beat well and stir in flour until quite stiff, turn out on a well-floured bake-board and knead well about 25 minutes, until the dough is smooth, fine-grained and elastic, and does not stick lo the bake-board or hands. Chop a knife through the dough several times; knead and chop again. This makes the bread finer and closer-grained, or, so Aunt Sarah thought. Knead in all the flour necessary when first mixing the bread. When sufficiently kneaded, form into a large, round ball of dough, rub all over with soft lard, or butter, to prevent forming a crust on top and keep from sticking to bowl, and set to rise, closely-covered with a cloth and blanket, in a warm place until morning. In the morning the bread should be very light, doubled in quantity. Take out enough dough for an ordinary loaf, separate this into three parts, roll each piece with the hand on the bake-board into long, narrow pieces. Pinch the three pieces together at one end and braid, or plait, into a narrow loaf. Brush over top with melted butter; set to rise in a warm place in a bread pan, closely-covered, until it doubles in size--or, if preferred, mold into ordinary-shaped loaves, and let rise until doubled in size, when bake in a moderately-hot oven with steady heat.

Frequently, when the "Twist" loaves of bread were quite light and ready to be placed in the oven, Aunt Sarah brushed the tops with yolk of egg, or a little milk, then strewed "Poppy Seeds" thickly over. The poppy seeds give an agreeable flavor to the crust of the bread.

AUNT SARAH'S RAISED ROLLS (FROM BREAD DOUGH)

A portion of the white bread dough may be made into raised rolls. These rolls are excellent without additional shortening, or, in fact, without anything else being added. Mold pieces of the bread dough into balls the size of a walnut; roll each piece flat with the rolling pin, dip in melted butter, fold and place close together in a bake pan. Let rise _very_ light, then bake about 15 minutes in a very hot oven. If a teaspoonful of flour browns in about two minutes in the oven, it is the right temperature for rolls.

CLOVER-LEAF ROLLS

Take pieces of the bread dough, the size of a walnut, cut into three pieces, mold with the hand into round balls the size of small marbles; dip each one in melted butter, or butter and lard, and place three of these in each Gem pan. (These pans may be bought six or twelve small pans fastened together, and are much more convenient than when each one must be handled separately when baking). Allow small rolls to become _very light_, bake in a hot oven, and you will find them excellent. Dipping the rolls in melted butter makes them crisp. Serve hot, or place in a hot oven a few minutes until heated through, if served after they have become cold.

"POLISH" RYE BREAD (AS MADE IN BUCKS COUNTY)

This excellent, nutritious bread, is made from the whole-ground grain. Every part of the grain is used in the flour, when ground. To bake this bread, sift together one quart of this "whole-ground" rye flour and two quarts of white-bread flour. Early in the morning of the day on which bread is to be baked, prepare a thick batter, or sponge, consisting of one quart of potato water (or the same quantity of luke-warm, scalded milk, or a mixture of the two); add one tablespoonful of a mixture of lard and butter and two boiled, mashed potatoes. Two tablespoonfuls of sugar, one-half tablespoonful of salt and one Fleischman's compressed yeast cake, dissolved in a small quantity of water; add about five cups of the mixed, sifted flour, beat the batter well, and stand in a warm place, covered, from one and a half to two hours. When well-risen and light, stir in balance of flour gradually, until all except one cup has been added; then turn onto a bake-board and knead well. This sponge should not be quite as stiff as for wheat bread. Turn the dough onto a clean, well-floured cloth in a large bowl, set to rise and bake according to directions for baking "Hearth-baked Rye Bread" or, if preferred, form into loaves, place in bread pans and, when light, bake.

PERFECT BREAKFAST ROLLS

One quart of scalded milk, when lukewarm, add the following: 1/2 cup of butter and lard (mixed), 1 egg, 1 tablespoonful of sugar, 1 teaspoonful of salt and 1 Fleischman's yeast cake; add flour to form a thick batter; beat all thoroughly. Mix the above at 9.30 P.M., stand in a warm place, closely-covered, over night. The following morning add more flour; dough should not be mixed quite as stiff as for bread. Allow it to raise in a warm place. When well-risen, place on bread board, roll, cut into small biscuits; dip each biscuit in melted butter, fold together, place in pans a distance apart, and when they have doubled in size, bake in a hot oven.

"AN OLD RECIPE" FOR GOOD BREAD

This country cook invariably baked good bread and always used potato-water in preference to any other liquid for setting sponge. She stood aside water, in which potatoes had been boiled for dinner (usually about one quart or less) and added two finely-mashed potatoes. About 3 or 4 o'clock in the afternoon of the day _before_ that on which she intended baking bread, she dissolved one cake of yeast (she used the small cornmeal commercial yeast cakes, sold under different names, such as National, Magic, etc.) in a half-cup of luke-warm water, added 1/2 teaspoon of salt and sufficient warmed, well-dried flour to make a thin batter. She placed all in a bowl and stood it in a warm place, closely-covered, until about 9 o'clock in the evening, when she added this sponge, which should be light and foamy, to the potato water, which should be lukewarm. She also added 1 tablespoon of salt and enough flour to make a rather thick batter. Heat thoroughly and allow this sponge to stand, well-covered, in a warm place until morning, when add 1 tablespoon sugar, 1 tablespoon butter or lard and warmed flour enough to make a stiff dough. Turn out on the bread board and knead for about twenty minutes, until the dough does not stick to the hands. Place stiffened dough into howl; allow it to rise until bulk is doubled. Mold into loaves, adding as little extra flour as possible. Cut several gashes on top of loaves, brush with melted butter, place in bread pans, and when loaves have doubled in bulk, place in moderately hot oven and bake about one hour.

STEAMED BROWN BREAD

Place in a bowl 3/4 cup graham flour and 1/2 cup of yellow, granulated cornmeal. Sift into this 3/4 cup of white flour, 1 teaspoonful of baking powder and 1/2 teaspoonful of salt. Mix all ingredients together to form a batter by adding 1 cup of sour milk, in which has been dissolved 3/4 teaspoonful of soda. Then add 2 tablespoonfuls of molasses. Pour into a well-greased quart can (the tin cans in which coffee is frequently sold will answer nicely), cover closely, place in a kettle of boiling water, steam about three hours; stand in oven a short time after being steamed. Cut in slices and serve as bread, or, by the addition of raisins or currants, and a little grated nutmeg or other flavoring, a very appetizing and wholesome pudding may be served hot, with sugar and cream or any pudding sauce preferred.

A WHOLESOME BREAD (MADE FROM BRAN)

Place in a bowl 4 cups of clean bran and 2 cups of white flour, sifted with 2 teaspoonfuls of baking powder, 1 teaspoonful of salt, 1 tablespoonful of melted butter. Mix into a soft batter with 2 cups of sweet milk; add 1/2 cup of molasses. Fill two layer cake pans and bake in a hot oven about 25 minutes. This is so easily and quickly made. The young housewife may mix, when commencing to prepare lunch, and when the meal is ready to serve the bread will be baked, and it is an excellent laxative.

FRAU SCHMIDT'S "HUTZEL BROD"

1 quart dried pears. 1 pint of pear juice. 1 Fleischman's yeast cake. 1 scant cup brown sugar. 2 eggs. 1/4 teaspoonful soda. 1 pound of soaked raisins. 3/4 cup of a mixture of lard and butter. 1 teaspoonful of fennel seed. Pinch of salt. 2 teaspoonfuls of ground cinnamon. Flour to stiffen, as for ordinary bread.

Cover one quart of dried pears with cold water and cook slowly about 20 minutes until they have cooked tender, but not soft (the night before the day on which the bread is to be baked).

Then drain the juice from stewed pears, which should measure 1 pint; when lukewarm, add 1 yeast cake, dissolved in a small quantity of lukewarm water, and about 3 cups of flour and a pinch of salt. Stand, closely-covered, in a warm place over night to raise.

The following morning, add 1/4 teaspoonful of baking soda, dissolved in a little warm water, to counteract any acidity of batter. Cream together sugar, butter and lard, add eggs one at a time, men the well-floured, diced pears, also raisins, cinnamon and fennel seed, and enough flour to stiffen as for ordinary bread. Knead well, let rise; it will require some time, as the fruit retards the raising process. When light, turn onto a bake-board, cut into four portions, mold into four shapely loaves, place in pans, brush with melted butter and when quite light, place in a moderate oven and bake one hour. This bread will keep well several weeks, if kept in a tin cake box.

This recipe is much simpler than Aunt Sarah's recipe for making "Hutzel Brod," but bread made from this recipe is excellent.

"AUNT SARAH'S" QUICKLY-MADE BROWN BREAD

2 cups of buttermilk, or thick, sour milk. 1/2 cup of sugar. 1/4 cup of molasses. 1 tablespoonful of melted butter. 1 egg. 1 teaspoonful of soda. 3/4 teaspoonful of salt. 3-1/2 cups of graham flour. 1/2 cup of white flour, sifted with 3/4 teaspoonful of baking powder.

The egg was placed in a bowl, and not beaten separately; sugar and butter were creamed together, before being added; then mix in salt and molasses, and gradually add buttermilk, in which the soda had been dissolved; then add white and graham flour, 3/4 cups of raisins may be added, if liked. Bake in a bread pan in a moderately hot oven.

"STIRRED" OATMEAL BREAD

Early in the morning 1 cup of oatmeal porridge, left over from that which had been cooked for breakfast, was placed in a bowl and added gradually 2 cups of scalded, luke-warm milk, 1 tablespoon of a mixture of lard and butter, 1/4 cup New Orleans molasses and one Fleischman's yeast cake, dissolved in a little of the milk; stir in about 3 cups of bread flour and stand in a warm place about 1-1/4 hours to rise; then add 3-1/2 cups more of bread flour and 1 teaspoonful of salt. Stir well with a spoon, and pour into three small bread tins; let rise, when well-risen, bake about 3/4 of an hour in a moderately hot oven. This is a delicious and wholesome bread and no kneading is necessary. 1-1/2 cups of the cooked oatmeal might be used, then use less white bread flour when mixing.

NUT AND RAISIN BREAD

2 cups buttermilk, or sour milk. 1/2 cup brown sugar, 2 cups graham flour. 1 cup wheat flour. 1 teaspoonful of soda, dissolved in a little of the milk. 1 teaspoonful of baking powder, sifted with the wheat flour.

Mix all together, add one cup of seeded raisins, 1/4 cup of ground peanuts and 1/4 cup chopped walnut meats. Bake in an ordinary bread pan.

"SAFFRON" RAISIN BREAD

For this old-fashioned, "country" bread, set a sponge in the evening, consisting of 1 cup of luke-warm water, 1 Fleischman's compressed yeast cake and 2 tablespoonfuls of saffron water, obtained by steeping 1/2 tablespoonful of dried saffron flowers in a small quantity of boiling water a short time. Use about 2 cups of flour to stiffen the sponge. Cover bowl containing sponge and stand in a warm place until morning, when add the following: 3/4 cup of soft A sugar, 1/4 cup lard and 1/8 cup of butter (beaten to a cream); then add one egg. Beat again and add this mixture to the well-risen sponge. Add also 3/4 cup of seeded raisins and about 1-3/4 cups of flour.

The dough should be almost as stiff as ordinary bread dough. Set to rise about one hour. Then divide the dough and mold into two shapely loaves. Place in oblong bread pans. Let rise about 1-1/2 hours. Brush melted butter over top of loaves and bake in a moderately hot oven, as one would bake ordinary bread.

This bread is a rich, golden yellow, with a distinctive, rather bitter, saffron flavor, well-liked by some people; saffron is not unwholesome.

"Speaking of saffron bread," said John Landis, to his niece, Mary, "I am reminded of the lines I was taught when quite a small boy:"

"Wer will gute kuchen haben, der muss sieben sachen haben;
Eier, butter un schmalz, milch, zucker un mehl;
Un saffron mach die kuchen gehl."

"Of course, Mary, you do not understand what that means. I will translate it for you. 'Who would have good cakes, he must have seven things--eggs, butter and lard, milk, sugar and flour, and saffron makes the cakes yellow.'"

RAISED ROLLS

2 quarts of sifted flour. 1 pint of boiled milk (lukewarm). 1 tablespoon sugar. 1/2 cup butter and lard, mixed. 3/4 cake compressed yeast, or 3/4 cup yeast. 1 teaspoon salt.

At 5 o'clock P.M. set sponge with half or three-fourths of the flour and all the other ingredients.

About 9 o'clock in the evening, knead well, adding the balance of the flour. Cover and let stand in a warm place until morning. In the morning, roll out about 3/4 of an inch thick, cut into small rolls, place in baking pans far enough apart so they will not touch, and when raised quite light, bake.

Or, take the same ingredients as above (with one exception; take one whole cake of compressed yeast), dissolved in half a cup of luke-warm water, and flour enough to make a thin batter. Do this at 8.30 in the morning and let rise until 1 o'clock; then knead enough flour in to make a soft dough, as soft as can be handled. Stand in a warm place until 4.30, roll out quite thin; cut with small, round cake-cutter and fold over like a pocketbook, putting a small piece of butter the size of a pea between the folds; set in a warm place until 5.30, or until very light; then bake a delicate brown in a hot oven. If made quite small, 70 rolls may be made from this dough.

To cause rolls of any kind to have a rich, brown glaze, when baked, before placing the pan containing them in the oven, brush over the top of each roll the following mixture, composed of--yolk of 1 egg, 1 tablespoon of milk, and 1 teaspoon of sugar.

"GRANDMOTHER'S" FINE RAISED BISCUITS

1 quart scalded milk (lukewarm). 3/4 cup of butter, or a mixture of butter and lard. 1/2 cup of sugar. 1 teaspoonful of salt. 2 Fleischman's yeast cakes. Whites of 2 eggs. Flour.

Quite early in the morning dissolve the two yeast cakes in a little of the milk; add these, with one-half the quantity of sugar and salt in the recipe, to the remainder of the quart of milk; add also 4 cups of flour to form the yeast foam. Beat well and stand in a warm place, closely-covered, one hour, until light and foamy.

Beat the sugar remaining and the butter to a cream; add to the yeast foam about 7 to 8 cups of flour, and the stiffly-beaten whites of the two eggs.

Turn out on a well-floured bread board and knead about five minutes. Place in a bowl and let rise again (about one hour or longer) until double in bulk, when roll out about one inch in thickness. Cut small biscuits with a 1/2 pound Royal Baking Powder can.

Brush tops of biscuits with a mixture consisting of yolk of one egg, a teaspoonful of sugar and a little milk; this causes the biscuits to have a rich brown crust when baked.

Place biscuits on pans a short distance apart, let rise until doubled in bulk; bake in a rather quick oven.

From this recipe was usually made 55 biscuits. One-half of this recipe would be sufficient for a small family.

Mary's Aunt taught her the possibilities of what she called a "Dutch" sponge--prepared from one Fleischman's yeast cake. And the variety a capable housewife may give her family, with the expenditure of a small amount of time and thought.

About 9 o'clock in the evening Mary's Aunt placed in a bowl 2 cups of potato water (drained from potatoes boiled for dinner). In this she dissolved one Fleischman's yeast cake, stirred into this about 3 cups of well-warmed flour, beat thoroughly for about ten minutes. Allowed this to stand closely covered in a warm place over night. On the following morning she added to the foamy sponge 1-1/2 cups lukewarm, scalded milk, in which had been dissolved 1 tablespoonful of a mixture of butter and lard, 2 generous tablespoonfuls of sugar and 1 teaspoonful of salt. About 6-1/4 cups of well-dried and warmed flour; she stirred in a part of the flour, then added the balance. Kneaded well a short time, then set to raise closely covered in a warm place 2-1/2 to 3 hours.

When dough was light it was kneaded down in bowl and allowed to stand about one hour, and when well risen she placed 2 cups of light bread sponge in a bowl, and stood aside in warm place; this later formed the basis of a "Farmers' Pound Cake," the recipe for which may be found among recipes for "Raised Cakes."

From the balance of dough, or sponge, after being cut into 3 portions, she molded from the one portion 12 small turn-over rolls, which were brushed with melted butter, folded together and placed on tins a distance apart and when _very_ light baked in a quick oven.

From another portion of the sponge was made a twist or braided loaf.

And to the remaining portion of dough was added 1/2 cup of currants or raisins, and this was called a "Currant" or "Raisin Loaf," which she served for dinner the following day.

The rolls were placed in the oven of the range a few minutes before breakfast and served hot, broken apart and eaten with maple syrup or honey and the delicious "Farmers' Pound Cake" was served for supper.

Aunt Sarah baked these on ironing day. The kitchen being unusually warm, as a result of the extra heat required in the range for heating flatirons, caused the dough to rise more quickly than otherwise would have been the case.

STIRRED BREAD

Frau Schmidt thought bread more easily digested and wholesome if ingredients of a loaf be stirred together instead of kneaded. This is the method she taught Mary. She poured into a bowl 3 cups of luke-warm water, added 1 cake of Fleischman's yeast, dissolved in a little of the water; sifted in gradually about 8-1/2 cups of flour, added 1 tablespoonful of sugar, 1/2 teaspoonful of salt, mixed all well together with a spoon until a stiff dough was formed, which she molded into two shapely loaves, handling as little as possible; placed in bread pans, allowed to stand several hours to raise, and when light baked. Mary said, "This bread may be more wholesome than old-fashioned bread, which has been kneaded, but I prefer Aunt Sarah's bread, well-kneaded, fine-grained and sweet," but, she continued, "I will make an exception in favor of Aunt Sarah's 'Stirred Oatmeal' bread, which, I think, fine."

POTATO BISCUITS

At 6 o'clock in the morning place in a bowl 1 cup of finely-mashed (boiled) potatoes (the cup of left-over mashed potatoes may be used as a matter of economy). Add 1 cup of potato water (the water drained from boiled potatoes), in which 1/2 cake of Fleischman's yeast had been dissolved, add 1 cup of flour and 1 teaspoon of sugar. Stand in a warm place to raise, from 1 to 1-1/4 hours. At the expiration of that time add to the foamy sponge 1 large tablespoonful of butter or lard, 1 egg and 1/2 teaspoonful of salt, beaten together before adding. Add about 2 cups of flour, beat thoroughly and allow to raise another hour; then roll out the dough about 1 inch in thickness and cut into small biscuits, dip each one in melted butter and place on pans, a short distance apart, stand about one hour to raise, when bake in a rather hot oven. These Potato Biscuits are particularly nice when freshly baked, and resemble somewhat biscuits made from baking powder. From this recipe was made two dozen biscuits.

AUNT SARAH'S POTATO YEAST

9 medium-sized potatoes. 5 tablespoons sugar. 2 tablespoons salt. 1 quart water.

Grate the raw potatoes quickly, so they will not discolor, pour over the grated potato the quart of boiling water, add salt and sugar, cook several minutes until the consistency of boiled starch, let cool, and when lukewarm add 1 cup of good yeast. Stir all together in a crock, cover and let stand in a warm place three or four hours, when it is foamy and rises to top of crock, stir down several times, then fill glass fruit jars, cover and stand away in a cool place until needed.

This yeast will keep about ten days. Use one cup to about three pounds of flour, or one quart of liquid, when setting sponge for bread. Save one cup of this yeast to start fresh yeast with.

PERFECTION POTATO CAKES

1 cup of boiled mashed potatoes. 1 cup sweet milk. 1 cup water in which 1 Fleischman yeast cake was dissolved. 2 cups soft A sugar. 1/2 cup butter and lard mixed. 2 eggs. A little salt. About 7 cups of flour.

Cream the sugar, butter and eggs together. Add mashed potatoes, milk and cup of water containing yeast, alternately with the flour, until about 7 cups of flour have been used, making a dough as stiff as can be stirred with a spoon. Stand, covered, in a warm place by the range until morning. These should be set to rise about nine o'clock in the evening. The following morning take pieces of the dough, on a well-floured bake board; roll about one inch thick, to fit in pie tins, place in pie tins to raise; when doubled in bulk spread with melted butter and sprinkle sugar thickly over top and bake in a moderately hot oven until lightly browned on top. This quantity of dough makes six cakes.

Instead of brushing the cakes with above mixture, place in a bowl 1/2 cup of soft A sugar, 1/2 cup flour, a tiny pinch of salt and baking powder each and 2 tablespoonfuls of butter (not melted), mix all together as crumbly as possible, then the crumbs were sprinkled thickly over tops of cakes, which had been brushed with a mixture of milk and sugar. Place cakes in oven when raised; bake 20 minutes.

This recipe was given Mary by an old "Bucks County" cook, noted for the excellence of her raised cakes.

MARY'S RECIPE FOR CINNAMON BUNS

Early in the morning mix a sponge or batter consisting of 1/2 cup of potato water (water drained from boiled potatoes) and 1/2 cup of lukewarm, scalded milk, one Fleischman's compressed yeast cake, dissolved in the 1/2 cup of lukewarm potato water, 1 teaspoonful sugar, pinch of salt and about 1-1/2 cupfuls of warmed flour. Stand this sponge in a warm place, closely covered, about 3/4 of an hour, to raise. At the end of that time add to the light, well-risen sponge, the following: 3 tablespoonfuls of a mixture of lard and butter, and 1/3 cup of soft A sugar, creamed together. Add one large egg. Beat well. Lastly, add about 2 cupfuls of flour. Mix all together thoroughly, and let raise again about 1-1/2 hours. Divide the well-risen sponge into four portions. Roll each piece with rolling-pin into lengthwise pieces about 1/2 inch thick and spread with one tablespoonful of melted butter, scant 2 tablespoonfuls of brown sugar, dust over this a small quantity of cinnamon, and 1 tablespoonful of dried currants. Shape into a long, narrow roll with the hands, on a well-floured bake-board. Cut each roll into five pieces. Pinch one end of each piece together and place each bun, cut side down, a short distance apart, in an iron pan which has been well greased, having brushed a little melted butter and a sprinkling of sugar over pan. Allow these to rise in a warm place as before, about 1-1/2 hours, until quite light, as having the extra sugar, butter and currants added retards their rising as quickly as would plain biscuits.

Bake 20 to 25 minutes in a moderate oven.

From this quantity of material was made 20 cinnamon buns.

"KLEINA KAFFE KUCHEN" (LITTLE COFFEE CAKES)

Scant 1/2 cup lard and butter. 2 cups sifted flour. 2 whole eggs and the yolks of 2 more. 3 tablespoons sugar. 1/4 cup cream. 1/4 milk. 1 Fleischman's yeast cake. 1/8 teaspoon salt.

The yeast cake was dissolved in the 1/4 cup lukewarm milk, a couple tablespoons of flour were added and mixed into a batter, and stood in a warm place to rise. The butter and sugar were stirred to a cream, salt was added, the eggs were beaten in, one at a time, next was added the sponge containing the yeast, the lukewarm cream, and the sifted flour. Grease slightly warmed Gem pans, sift a little flour over them, fill two-thirds full with the soft dough, set in a warm place to rise to tops of pans, and when quite light bake in a medium hot oven about 25 minutes. The oven should be hot enough to allow them to rise quickly. Put something underneath the pans in the oven to prevent bottom of cakes from burning. These may be set about 8 o'clock in the morning if cakes are wished for lunch at noon. These are not cheap, as this quantity makes only 12 cakes, but they are light as puffballs. The Professor's wife served them when she gave a "Kaffee Klatch." She doubled the recipe, baked the cakes in the morning, and placed them in the oven to heat through before serving. The cakes should be broken apart, not cut. The cakes made from this recipe are particularly fine.

GROSSMUTTER'S POTATO CAKES

1 cup hot mashed potatoes. 1-1/2 cups sugar. 1 scant cup butter and lard. 1 cup home-made yeast or 1 yeast cake dissolved in 1 cup lukewarm water. 3 eggs. Flour.

At 5 o'clock in the afternoon set to rise the following: One cup of sugar and one cup of hot mashed potatoes; when lukewarm add one cup of flour and one cup of yeast; beat all together, stand in a warm place to rise and at 9 o'clock in the evening cream together 1 cup of a mixture of lard and butter, 1 cup of sugar, 3 eggs and pinch of salt; add the sponge and beat well. Stir as stiff as you can stir it with a large spoon, cover, set in a warm place to rise until morning, when roll out some of the dough into cakes about one inch thick, put in pie tins to rise, and when light, make half a dozen deep impressions on top of each cake with the forefinger, spread with melted butter and strew light-brown sugar thickly over top, or mix together 1 cup sugar, butter size of an egg, 2 tablespoons flour, 2 tablespoons boiling water, beat well and spread the mixture on cakes just before placing in oven. Bake the cakes about 20 minutes in a moderate oven. This is a very old recipe used by Aunt Sarah's grandmother, and similar to the well-known German cakes called "Schwing Felders."

AUNT SARAH'S "BREAD DOUGH" CAKE

1 cup bread dough. 1 egg. 1/2 cup soft A sugar. 1 tablespoon lard or butter. 1/4 teaspoon soda.

When her bread dough was raised and ready to put in the pans she placed a cupful of it in a bowl and added the egg, sugar, butter, soda (dissolved in a little hot water); some dried raisins or currants, and just enough flour so it might be handled easily. Put in a small agate pan four inches deep, let rise until light, dust pulverized sugar over top and bake about 25 or 30 minutes in a moderate oven.

Double the materials called for, using 2 _cups_ of well-risen bread dough or sponge, and you will have a good-sized cake.

GOOD, CHEAP DUTCH CAKES

To a bowl containing 1 cup of scalded milk, add 1 tablespoonful of lard and 1 cup of sugar. When lukewarm add 1 yeast cake (Fleischman's), dissolved in 1 cup of lukewarm water, and about 5 cups of good flour. Set to rise at night about nine o'clock, the next morning roll out pieces about one and a half inches thick, to fit in medium-sized pie tins. Set in a warm place to rise. When light, brush top with melted butter and strew sugar thickly over and bake from 15 to 20 minutes in a moderately hot oven. These cakes are _inexpensive_ and _good_; _no eggs_ or _butter_ being used.

RECIPE FOR "LIGHT CAKES" (GIVEN MARY BY A FARMER'S WIFE)

In the evening mix a sponge consisting of 1/2 cup of mashed potatoes, 1/2 cup sugar, 1 cup of yeast or 1 cake of Fleischman's yeast dissolved in a cup of lukewarm water; 1/2 cup of a mixture of butter and lard and a pinch of salt and flour to thicken until batter is quite thick. Stand in a warm place, closely covered, until morning, when add 2 eggs and 1/2 cup of sugar and flour to stiffen as thick as sponge can be stirred with a spoon. Set to rise; when light roll out one inch thick, place in pie tins, brush tops with melted butter and brown sugar, set to rise, and, when well risen, bake.

BUTTER "SCHIMMEL"

Place in a mixing bowl 2 cups of warm, mashed potatoes and add 3/4 of a cup of shortening (a mixture of lard and butter), (or use Aunt Sarah's substitute for butter); one cup of A sugar and 1 teaspoonful salt.

Beat all to a cream. When lukewarm, add 2 eggs and either 1 yeast cake dissolved in 1 cup of lukewarm water, or 1 cup of potato yeast; use about 2 cups of flour to make a thin batter. Set to raise over night or early in the morning. When well risen add about 4 cups of flour. Make about as stiff a dough as can be stirred well with a mixing spoon. Place soft dough on a bake-board; roll out into a sheet about one-half inch thick; cut into squares about the size of a common soda cracker; bring each of the four corners together in the centre like an envelope; pinch together; place a small piece of butter (about one-eighth teaspoonful) on the top where the four corners join. Stand in a warm place to rise. When well risen and light place in the oven. When baked, take from oven, and while hot dip all sides in melted butter and dust granulated or pulverized sugar over top. These are not as much trouble to prepare as one would suppose from the directions for making. The same dough may be cut in doughnuts with a tin cutter and fried in hot fat after raising, or the dough may be molded into small, round biscuits if preferred, and baked in oven.

"BUCKS COUNTY" DOUGHNUTS

About nine o'clock in the evening a batter was mixed composed of the following:

1 cup milk. 1 cup hot water. 1 teaspoonful of sugar. 1 cup yeast (or one cake of Fleischman's yeast dissolved in one cup of lukewarm water). 1 pinch of salt. 3-1/2 cups of flour.

Stand in a warm place until morning. Then add 1/2 cup of butter and 1-1/2 cups of soft A sugar, creamed together, and from 3 to 4 cups of flour. The dough should be as stiff as can be stirred with a spoon. Set to rise in a warm place; when light and spongy, roll out on a well-floured bake-board and cut into round cakes with a hole in the centre. Let rise again, and when well risen fry a golden brown in deep fat and sift over pulverized sugar. This recipe will make 45 doughnuts. These are good and economical, as no eggs are used in this recipe.

EXTRA FINE "QUAKER BONNET" BISCUITS

For these quaint-looking, delicious biscuits, a sponge was prepared consisting of:

1 pint milk. 3 eggs. 1/2 cup mixture butter and lard. 1 yeast cake (Fleischman's). About 7 cups flour.

Set to rise early in the morning. When well risen (in about 3 hours), roll dough into a sheet about 1/4 inch in thickness, cut with a half-pound baking powder can into small, round biscuits, brush top of each one with melted butter (use a new, clean paint brush for this purpose), place another biscuit on top of each one of these, and when raised very light and ready for oven brush top of each biscuit with a mixture consisting of half of one yolk of egg (which had been reserved from the ones used in baking), mixed with a little milk. Biscuits should have been placed on a baking sheet some distance apart, let rise about one hour until quite light, then placed in a quick but not _too hot_ an oven until baked a golden brown on top.

Mary gave these the name of "Quaker Bonnet" Biscuits, as the top biscuit did not raise quite as much as the one underneath and greatly resembled the crown of a Quaker bonnet.

From this quantity of dough was made three dozen biscuits. These are not cheap, but extra fine.

BUCKS COUNTY CINNAMON "KUCHEN"

Explicit directions for the making of these excellent raised cakes was given Mary by an old, experienced Pennsylvania German cook. They were prepared from the following recipe: Early in the morning 1 pint of milk was scalded. When lukewarm, add 3-1/2 cups of flour and 1 cake of Fleischman's compressed yeast (which had been dissolved in 1 tablespoonful of lukewarm water). Beat the mixture well. Cover and stand in a warm place to rise. When well risen, which should be in about 2 hours, add the following mixture, composed of 3/4 cup of sugar and 1/2 cup of butter, creamed together; 1/2 teaspoonful of salt; 1 egg was beaten into the mixture, and about 2 cups of flour were added, enough to make a dough as stiff as can be stirred with a spoon. Dough should not be as stiff as for bread. Let stand about 1 hour. When well risen and light, divide into four portions. Roll out each piece of dough to thickness of one inch. Place cakes in medium-sized pie tins and allow them to stand about one hour. When well risen, doubled in bulk, make half dozen deep impressions on top of each cake with the forefinger. Brush top of each cake with 1/2 tablespoonful of melted butter. Sprinkle over 2 tablespoonfuls of soft A sugar and sift over a little pulverized cinnamon, if liked, just before placing cakes in oven. Bake cakes from 20 to 25 minutes in a moderately hot oven. From this dough may be made four cakes.

Excellent biscuits may also be made from this same dough, by simply moulding it into small biscuits and place in a pan some distance apart. Let rise and brush tops of biscuits with a mixture composed of a part of an egg yolk, a tablespoonful of milk and 1/2 teaspoonful sugar. This causes the biscuits to have a rich, brown color when baked.

The sponge from which these cakes or biscuits were made was mixed and set to rise at 6 o'clock in the morning, and the baking was finished at 11 o'clock. Sponge should be set to rise in a warm room. If these directions are carefully followed the housewife will invariably have good results. Always use hard Spring wheat for bread or biscuits, raised with yeast; and Winter wheat, which costs less, will answer for making cake and pastry. In cold weather always warm flour before baking, when yeast is used for baking raised cakes. Soft A sugar or a very light brown is to be preferred to granulated.

MORAVIAN SUGAR CAKES

At 5 o'clock P.M. set a sponge or batter, consisting of 1 cup of mashed potatoes, 2 cups of sugar, 1 cup of sweet milk, scalded and cooled, 1/2 cake of yeast, dissolved in 1 cup of lukewarm water, 2 eggs 3/4 cup of a mixture of lard and butter, add 3 cups of flour, beat well, stand in a warm place to raise; at 9 o'clock add about 6 cups of flour. Stand until morning in a warm place, near the range. The following morning turn out on a floured bake-board, roll out cakes one inch thick, place in pie tins, when ready for the oven; punch half a dozen small holes in the top of cakes, in which place small bits of butter. Sprinkle sugar over liberally and cinnamon if liked. Bake in a moderate oven.

MARY'S POTATO CAKES

1 cup freshly-boiled mashed potatoes. 1 cup scalded sweet milk. 1 cup sugar. Flour about 6 cups. 1 cake Fleischman's yeast. 2 eggs. 1/2 cup butter and lard mixed. 1/2 cup potato water.

At 7 o'clock in the morning Mary mixed a sponge consisting of a cup of mashed potatoes, 1 cup scalded milk, 1/2 cup sugar, 1-1/2 cups of flour and the cake of Fleischman's yeast, dissolved in half a cup of lukewarm potato water. This was set to rise in a warm place near the range for several hours until light. Then she creamed together 1/2 cup of sugar, 2 eggs and 1/2 cup of butter and lard, or use instead the "Substitute for Butter." Added the creamed sugar, butter and eggs to the well-risen sponge and about 4-1/2 cups of flour. Sift a couple of tablespoons of flour over top of sponge, and set to rise again about 1-1/2 hours. When light, take cut pieces of the sponge on a well-floured bread-board, knead for a minute or two, then roll out with a rolling-pin inlo pieces about one inch thick, place in well-greased small pie tins, over which a dust of flour has been sifted, set to rise about 1-1/2 hours. When light and ready for oven brush top with milk, strew crumbs over or brush with melted butter and strew sugar over top; after punching half dozen holes in top of each cake, bake in a moderately hot oven from 20 to 25 minutes until a rich brown, when cakes should be baked. Five potato cakes may be made from this sponge, or four cakes and one pan of biscuits if preferred. Use soft "A" sugar rather than granulated for these cakes, and old potatoes are superior to new. Or when these same cakes were raised, ready to be placed in the oven, Mary frequently brushed the tops of cakes with melted butter, strewing over the following: 1 cup of flour mixed with 1/2 cup of sugar and yolk of 1 egg, and a few drops of vanilla. This mixture rubbed through a coarse sieve and scattered over cakes Mary called "Streusel Kuchen."

GERMAN RAISIN CAKE (RAISED WITH YEAST)

Place in a bowl 1 cup of milk, scalded and cooled until lukewarm; add 1 tablespoonful of sugar and dissolve one cake of yeast in the milk. Mix in 1 cup of flour and stand in a warm place to raise 3/4 of an hour. Then cream together in a separate bowl 1/2 cup soft "A" sugar, 1/2 cup of butter or "butter substitute," add 1 egg and a pinch of salt; stir in 1-1/4 cups of flour, 1/2 cup of well-floured raisins, and 1/2 teaspoonful of vanilla flavoring. Add the yeast mixture and allow it to raise about 2 hours longer. At the expiration of that time turn the well-risen sponge out on a floured bake-board. After giving the dough several deft turns on the board with the hand, place in a well-greased fruit cake pan, which has been dusted with flour. Stand pan containing cake in a warm place, let rise until very light, probably 1-1/4 hours, when brush the top of cake with a small quantity of a mixture of milk and sugar. Sift pulverized sugar thickly over top. Place the cake in a moderately hot oven, so the cake may finish rising before commencing to brown on the top. Bake about 35 minutes.

"KAFFEE KRANTZ" (COFFEE WREATH)

1 cup sugar. 3/4 cup butter and lard. 4 eggs. 1 pint milk. 1 Fleischman's yeast cake. 4 cups flour.

Cream together the sugar, butter, lard and eggs, add the milk, which has been scalded and allowed to cool; flour, and yeast cake, dissolved in a half cup of lukewarm water; beat well. Set this sponge to rise in a warm place, near the range, as early as possible in the morning. This will take about 1-1/2 hours to rise. When the sponge is light add about 3 cups more of flour. The dough, when stiff as can be stirred with a spoon, will be right. Take about 2 cups of this sponge out on a well-floured bake-board, divide in three pieces, and braid and form into a wreath or "Krantz," or they may be made out into flat cakes and baked in pie tins after they have been raised and are light. Sprinkle sugar thickly over top after brushing with milk containing a little sugar, before placing in oven. These should rise in about 1-1/2 hours. Place in a moderately hot oven and bake from 20 to 25 minutes. This recipe Frau Schmidt translated from the German language for Mary's especial benefit.

This coffee wreath is particularly fine if small pieces of crushed rock candy be sprinkled liberally over the top and blanched almonds stuck a couple of inches apart over the top just before placing the cake in the oven, after the cakes had been brushed with a mixture of milk and sugar.

"MONDEL KRANTZ" OR ALMOND CAKE (AS MADE BY FRAU SCHMIDT)

1 pint sweet milk. 3/4 cup sugar. 3 eggs. 1 yeast cake or 1 cup yeast. 1/3 cup butter. 2 tablespoons rock candy. 1 orange. 2 tablespoons chopped almonds. Flour.

Set to rise early in the morning. To the scalded milk, when lukewarm, add the yeast and flour enough to make a batter, cover, set to rise until light, near the range, which will take several hours. Then add the sugar, butter and eggs beaten to a cream, grated rind and juice of orange, a couple tablespoons finely-chopped almonds, and add enough flour to make a soft dough, as stiff as can be stirred with a spoon; set to rise again, and when light, divide the dough in two portions, from which you form two wreaths. Roll half the dough in three long strips on the floured bake-board with the hands, then braid them together. Place a large coffee cup or bowl inverted on the centre of a large, round or oval, well-greased pan, lay the wreath around the bowl. The bowl in the centre of the pan prevents the dough from running together and forming a cake. Brush the top of the wreath with a little milk, containing teaspoon of sugar, over the top of the wreath, stick blanched, well-dried almonds, and strew thickly with crushed rock candy or very coarse sugar.

Let rise until light, then bake. This makes two quite large wreaths.

The Professor's wife told Mary when she gave her this recipe, this almond wreath was always served at the breakfast table on Christmas morning at the home of her parents in Germany, and was always baked by her mother, who gave her this recipe, and it was found on the breakfast table of Frau Schmidt Christmas morning as regularly as was made "Fast Nacht Kuchen" by Aunt Sarah every year on "Shrove Tuesday," the day before the beginning of the Lenten season.

THE PROFESSOR'S WIFE'S RECIPE FOR "DUTCH CAKES"

2 tablespoons of butter or lard. 2 eggs. 1 cup "Soft A" sugar. 1/2 yeast cake. 1 pint milk. 1/2 teaspoonful of salt. Flour.

She scalded the milk, added butter and eggs, well beaten, when the milk was lukewarm, then added yeast, dissolved in a little lukewarm water, sugar, salt and flour to make a thin batter. Beat all together five minutes, stood the batter, closely covered, in a warm place, over night. In the morning, added flour to make a soft dough, kneaded lightly for ten minutes, placed in bowl and set to rise again. When light, she rolled out dough one inch in thickness, placed in pie tins, and when raised a second time spread over the cakes the following mixture before placing in oven: 1 cup sugar, 2 tablespoonfuls of flour, 2 tablespoonfuls of boiling water and butter size of an egg, beaten well together. Bake 20 minutes.

"FARMERS' POUND CAKE" (AS AUNT SARAH CALLED THIS)

Place in a bowl 2 cups of light, well-raised bread sponge (when all flour necessary had been added and loaves were shaped ready to be placed in bread pan for final rising). Cream together 3/4 cup of a mixture of lard and butter, add 2 eggs, first yolks then stiffly beaten whites, also add 1-1/2 cups soft A sugar. Add to the 2 cups of bread sponge in bowl and beat well until fully incorporated with the dough, then add 1/2 cup of lukewarm milk, in which had been dissolved 1/2 teaspoonful of salaratus.

Beat all together until mixture is smooth and creamy, then add 2 cups of bread flour and 1/2 teaspoon of lemon flavoring. Beat well and add 1-1/2 cups of either currants or raisins, dusted with flour. Pour mixture into an agate pudding dish (one holding 3 quarts, about 2-1/2 inches in depth and 30 inches in circumference). Stand in a warm place 3 to 4 hours to raise; when raised to top of pan place in a moderately hot oven and bake about 40 minutes, when, taken from oven, dust with pulverized sugar thickly over top of cake.

This cake should be large as an old-fashioned fruit cake, will keep moist some time in a tin cake box, but is best when freshly baked.

GERMAN "COFFEE BREAD"

1/3 cup sugar 1/3 cup butter 1 cup hot milk 1 yeast cake 2 eggs 2-1/2 cups flour.

As Aunt Sarah taught Mary to bake this, it was fine. She creamed together in a bowl the sugar and butter, poured the hot milk over this, and when lukewarm, added the compressed yeast cake, dissolved in 1/4 cup of lukewarm water. She then added two small, well-beaten eggs, about 2-1/2 cups flour, or enough to make a stiff _batter_, and 1/2 teaspoonful salt. Beat thoroughly, cover and set to rise in a warm place about 1-1/2 hours or until doubled in bulk. This was set to rise quite early in the morning. When light, beat thoroughly and with a spoon spread evenly on top of well-greased, deep pie tins, which have been sprinkled with a little flour.

Spread the crumbs given below over the top of cakes, cover and let rise 15 minutes and bake a rich brown in moderate oven.

For the crumbs, mix together in a bowl 1 heaped cup of fine, soft, stale bread crumbs, 2-1/2 tablespoonfuls light brown sugar, 3/4 of a teaspoonful cinnamon, pinch of salt, 1/4 cup of blanched and chopped almonds, and 2 tablespoonfuls of soft butter. This sponge or dough should be unusually soft when mixed, as the crumbs sink into the dough and thicken it. Add only the quantity of flour called for in recipe.

"FAST NACHT KUCHEN" (DOUGHNUTS)

3 tablespoons honey. 3/4 quart milk. 2 quarts flour. 1 yeast cake. 1/2 cup butter. 2 eggs.

Without fail, every year on Shrove Tuesday, or "Fast Nacht," the day before the beginning of Lent, these cakes were made. Quite early in the morning, or the night before, the following sponge was set to rise: The lukewarm, scalded milk, mixed into a smooth batter with 1 quart of flour; add 1 Fleischman's yeast cake, dissolved in a very little water. Beat well together, set in a warm place to rise over night, or several hours, and when light, add the following, which has been creamed together: eggs, butter and lard, a little flour and the honey. Beat well, and then add the balance of the flour, reserving a small quantity to flour the board later. Set to rise again, and when quite light roll out on a well-floured board, cut into circles with a doughnut cutter, cut holes in the centre of cakes, let rise, and then fry in deep fat; dust with pulverised sugar and cinnamon, if liked. These are regular German doughnuts, and are never very sweet. If liked sweeter, a little sugar may be added. From this batter Mary made 18 "fried cakes," or "Fast Nacht Kuchen," as the Germans call them. She also made from the same dough one dozen cinnamon buns and two Dutch cakes. The dough not being very sweet, she sprinkled rivels composed of sugar, flour and butter, generously over the top of the "Dutch cakes." The dough for doughnuts, or fried cakes, should always have a little more flour added than dough for "Dutch cakes" or buns; baked in the oven. If _too soft_, they will absorb fat while frying.

"KAFFEE KUCHEN" (COFFEE CAKE)

2 cups milk. 1 heaped cup soft A sugar. 1/2 cup butter and lard. 1 egg. 1 Fleischman's yeast cake. Flour.