The Myrtle Reed Cook Book

BRIOCHE PASTE

One cake of compressed yeast, a pinch of salt, one and one fourth cupfuls of butter, four cupfuls of flour, one tablespoonful of sugar, two tablespoonfuls of warm water, and seven eggs. Dissolve the yeast in the water, adding a little more water if necessary, and rubbing the yeast cake with a spoon until thoroughly dissolved. Stir in enough sifted flour to make a stiff dough, rolling and patting with the hands until thoroughly mixed. Drop this ball of paste into a kettle of warm water and let stand in a moderate temperature until it has a little more than doubled in bulk. (Some recipes for Brioche say that the ball of paste should be light enough to float.) Put the remainder of the four cupfuls of flour into a mixing bowl, add the sugar, salt, and butter, softened but not melted, and four of the eggs, unbeaten. With the hand mix carefully to a paste, beat smooth, and add the rest of the eggs, unbeaten, one at a time. Take the ball of paste, when light, out of the warm water with a skimmer, and, still using the hand, incorporate it carefully with the egg mixture, folding the two together as lightly as possible. Let rise, in a moderate temperature, until double in bulk. Then turn the paste on a floured board and pat and fold with the hands until smooth in texture and inclined to stay in shape. Let rise once more until very light, then put into the refrigerator and let stand over night.

BRIOCHE ROLLS

Roll a large lump of Brioche dough into a thin sheet on a floured board or pastry slab, working lightly and quickly, spread with softened butter, and fold so that the paste will be in three layers. Cut in strips an inch wide and twist, working from the ends, and arrange in circles on a baking-sheet, the ends of the strips pointing inward. The rolls should be very close together in the pan. Beat the yolk of an egg, dilute it with as much milk, and brush the rolls with the mixture. Let them rise a few minutes, then bake about half an hour in a moderate oven. A little sugar and water may be spread over the tops if desired.

BRIOCHE BUNS

Shape the chilled paste into small balls, and put a bit of citron or a few raisins on the top of each one. Let rise a few moments and bake half an hour in a moderate oven.

BRIOCHE BREAKFAST CAKE

Butter a round cake-tin which has a tube in the centre, fill it half full of chilled Brioche paste, and let rise till the pan is two thirds full. Bake in a moderate oven and turn out. It should be torn apart with the fingers – not cut.

BATH BUNS

Dissolve a cake of yeast in two cupfuls of warm water. Add enough flour to make a moderately stiff sponge, let rise about two hours. Cream together one half cupful each of butter and sugar, add one cupful of lukewarm milk, a pinch of salt, and two eggs, well beaten. Mix with the sponge, let rise an hour longer, then knead, shape into buns, arrange close together in a baking-pan, and let rise till very light. Bake in a moderate oven.

“Bath Bunny, Currant Bunny, sang a comic song,Bath Bunny, Currant Bunny, sang it loud and long;When his friends had told him that he gave them all a pain,Bath Bunny, Currant Bunny, sang it twice again.”Louis Wain.ENGLISH BATH BUNS

Dissolve half a cake of compressed yeast in one cupful of milk, and add two cupfuls of flour, or enough to make a sponge. Let rise until light, then add two thirds of a cupful of melted butter and four eggs, well beaten. Knead and let rise again for about an hour. Make into balls the size of a small apple and press into each one some currants and bits of candied peel. Let rise ten or fifteen minutes in a warm place, sprinkle with sugar, and bake.

HOT CROSS BUNS

Rub one half cupful of butter into eight cupfuls of sifted flour, then add half a cake of compressed yeast dissolved in three cupfuls of scalded milk. Let rise two hours. Work into the sponge one cupful of sugar, one cupful of cleaned currants, and half a nutmeg grated. Knead, shape into buns, arrange in pans, score deeply with a cross, brush with butter, and let rise fifteen minutes. Bake forty-five minutes in a brisk oven. This is the genuine English recipe, and the buns are good at any time, but the cross is made only on Good Friday, or for Easter.

RISEN MUSH MUFFINS

One cupful of hominy, cerealine, corn-meal mush, oatmeal, rice, or other left-over cooked cereal, one teaspoonful of butter, one tablespoonful of sugar, one pinch of salt, one fourth of a cake of yeast (compressed) dissolved in one cupful of scalded milk, and two cupfuls of sifted flour. Mix thoroughly and let rise over night. In the morning, beat well and fill well-buttered muffin-pans half full. Let rise until double in bulk, then bake half an hour.

FINGER ROLLS

Mix one cupful of scalded milk with one tablespoonful of butter. When cool, add a teaspoonful of sugar, a pinch of salt, and one half cake of yeast dissolved in half a cupful of warm water. Add enough flour to make a soft dough – about three cupfuls. Mix thoroughly, knead for fifteen minutes, and set to rise in a warm place for three or four hours. When light, knead again, shape into balls, and roll into cylinders on a floured board, pointing the ends. Arrange in a shallow pan, and let rise until double in size – about an hour – glaze with beaten egg, and bake fifteen minutes in a hot oven.

SOUTHERN ROLLS

Six cupfuls of flour, two eggs, one cake of compressed yeast, one cupful of milk, two tablespoonfuls of lard, melted, and a teaspoonful of salt. Mix as other sponges, let rise five hours, knead, shape into rolls, let rise two hours longer, and bake about twenty minutes.

FRENCH ROLLS

Eight cupfuls of flour, four eggs, four teaspoonfuls of sugar, one tablespoonful of butter, one cake of compressed yeast dissolved in two cupfuls of milk. Mix like other sponges, let rise until light, knead, shape, let rise the second time, and bake in a moderate oven.

KENTUCKY ROLLS

Four cupfuls of flour, one tablespoonful of sugar, one teaspoonful of salt, two eggs, half a cupful of lard, and half a cake of compressed yeast. Mix the lard, sugar, and flour, then stir in the other ingredients, the yeast being dissolved in a little water, and add enough milk or warm water to make a thin batter. Let rise in a warm place, then add enough flour to make a stiff dough, and let rise again. When light, knead, shape, and put to rise for a third time. Bake in a quick oven.

ALABAMA ROLLS

Rub two hot baked potatoes through a colander. Stir in one cupful of melted butter, two eggs well beaten, half a cake of compressed yeast, dissolved, and mixed with one cupful of sifted flour. Work with the hand into a smooth sponge, and let rise three hours. Then work into the sponge two cupfuls of sifted flour and let rise five hours longer. Knead, make into roll shape, set to rise two hours more, and bake.

CORN ROLLS

To four cupfuls of well-salted hot corn-meal mush add one cupful of mixed butter and lard and half a cupful of sugar. When cool, add one cake of compressed yeast dissolved in a little warm water, and set to rise in a warm place. When light, work in enough sifted flour to make a stiff dough, knead thoroughly, and let rise again. Late at night, knead again and set in a cool place over night. In the morning, roll and cut out like biscuit. Spread half of each circle with softened butter and roll the other half over it. Let rise a few moments and bake. If the weather is very warm, add a teaspoonful of soda, dissolved in a little warm water, to the sponge.

PARKER HOUSE ROLLS

Dissolve one cake of compressed yeast in one cupful of lukewarm water, and add enough flour to make a thin batter. Put this sponge in a warm place to rise. Add one tablespoonful of lard, one tablespoonful of butter, two tablespoonfuls of sugar, and one teaspoonful of salt to two cupfuls of milk, and bring to the boil. Take from the fire and let cool. When the sponge is light stir in the milk, and add enough sifted flour to make a dough, usually about eight cupfuls, though the thickening qualities of various brands of flour vary greatly. Knead for fifteen or twenty minutes, then set to rise until very light. Shape, place in a baking-pan, let rise once more, and when light bake in a quick oven.

WHOLE WHEAT ROLLS

One teaspoonful of salt, one teaspoonful of sugar, one tablespoonful of butter, one cake of compressed yeast, one cupful of scalded milk, and three cupfuls of whole wheat flour. Add the salt, sugar, and butter to the scalded milk. Dissolve the yeast in two tablespoonfuls of warm water and add to the milk when it has cooled. Add half of the flour and beat hard for ten minutes, then work in the rest of the flour. Set it to rise for two hours. Roll out into a sheet an inch thick and cut into small rolls. Place close together in a well-buttered baking-pan, and let rise from fifteen to thirty minutes. Bake fifteen or twenty minutes in a quick oven. Brush with an egg-white beaten with a little milk if a glossy surface is desired. This should be done about ten minutes before taking out of the oven.

SWEDISH ROLLS

Use any plain roll mixture. When shaping for the last rising, roll the dough very thin, spread with softened butter, sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon, and add a few cleaned currants, bits of citron, and stoned raisins. Roll the dough like jelly cake, cut in half-inch slices from the ends, arrange flat in a well-buttered pan, let rise until double in bulk, and bake as usual.

PARIS ROLLS

Four cupfuls of milk, one half cake of compressed yeast, six cupfuls of flour, and the yolks of two eggs, well beaten. Mix thoroughly and set the sponge to rise. When it is very light, work into it two tablespoonfuls of melted butter, one whole egg, well beaten, one teaspoonful of salt, and half a teaspoonful of baking soda dissolved in hot water, one tablespoonful of white sugar, and enough sifted flour to make a soft dough. Let rise five hours. Roll out, shape into balls, score each one deeply crosswise with a sharp knife, and arrange close together in a well-buttered baking-pan. Let rise for an hour or more and bake about half an hour. This recipe makes a large number of rolls. They may be taken from the oven when beginning to turn brown and wrapped in a cloth. Five minutes in a hot oven, if brushed first with melted butter, will render them crisp, flaky, and very digestible.

RUSK

Two cupfuls of flour, two cupfuls of sugar, one cupful of melted lard, half a cake of compressed yeast, dissolved in a little warm water, and three cupfuls of lukewarm water. Make into a batter, let rise all day in a warm place. At night work into the sponge six cupfuls of sifted flour and two eggs, well beaten. Let rise over night in a moderately cool place. In the morning, shape the dough into rolls, let rise a few minutes in a warm place, and bake. The dough should be soft. These rolls may be sprinkled with sugar and spice.

GEORGIA RUSK

One cupful of milk, scalded and cooled, one tablespoonful of sugar, one teaspoonful of salt, one quarter of a cake of compressed yeast, dissolved in the milk, and two cupfuls of sifted flour. Set the sponge, and, when light, work into it half a cupful of melted butter, half a cupful of sugar, and one well-beaten egg. When very light, shape into small pointed rolls and let rise again. Brush with milk and egg and sprinkle with sugar just before baking.

SOUTHERN SALLY LUNN

Four cupfuls of flour, three eggs, one teaspoonful of butter, one cake of compressed yeast, and two cupfuls of milk. Beat the yolks of the eggs until very light. Stir in the butter, flour, and milk, the yeast being dissolved in the milk. Beat the whites to a stiff froth and add last. Set to rise, and when light bake in well-buttered muffin-tins.

SOUTHERN SALLY LUNN – II

Four cupfuls of flour, one teaspoonful of salt, two cupfuls of milk, one half cupful of sugar, and one cake of compressed yeast, dissolved in the milk. Make a batter and let rise in a warm place about three hours. Then work into it gradually five eggs, beaten separately, and one half cupful of melted butter. Add flour enough to make a stiff batter, fill buttered muffin-tins two thirds full, let rise, and bake.

SOUTHERN SALLY LUNN – III

Three cupfuls of flour, three eggs, one cake of compressed yeast dissolved in two cupfuls of milk, one half cupful of melted butter, and one tablespoonful of sugar. Beat well together into a stiff batter and let rise five or six hours. Then add a little warm water in which half a teaspoonful of baking soda has been dissolved, and pour the batter into a well-buttered cake-pan having a tube in the centre. Bake about three quarters of an hour and serve hot. It should be torn apart, not cut.

ZWIEBACK

One cake of compressed yeast dissolved in one cupful of scalded milk, a pinch of salt, and enough sifted flour to make a soft dough. Let rise until very light, then stir in one fourth of a cupful of melted butter, one fourth of a cupful of sugar, and one unbeaten egg. Mix thoroughly, and sift in enough more flour to make a smooth, elastic dough. Shape into a loaf and let rise until very light. A Russian-iron bread-pan holding one loaf is best for Zwieback. Let it rise once more until very light, then bake in a quick oven. Glaze with sugar dissolved in milk just before taking from the oven. When the loaf is cold, cut in half-inch slices and place in an open oven until golden-brown, dry, and crisp.

PANCAKES

The edible varieties of pancakes are readily distinguished from the poisonous growths. The harmless ones are healthful and nutritious and grow in private kitchens. The dark, soggy, leaden varieties are usually to be found in restaurants, but have been known to flourish in private kitchens also.

Batter for pancakes should be thoroughly beaten. A soapstone griddle is best, but an iron one will do, and many a savory pancake has come from a humble frying-pan. A pancake turner is essential, and no pancake should be turned more than once, as twice turning makes a soggy pancake from the most promising batter. In the following recipes, where exact proportions are given, they are not arbitrary as regards flour. The thickening properties of various brands of flour vary so much that no exact rule can be given. A perfect pancake batter will be smooth, light in texture, seem somewhat elastic to the touch of the mixing spoon, and will keep its shape on a griddle. Batter enough for one pancake should be dipped from the bowl with a cup or large spoon, as adding uncooked batter to that on the griddle even an instant after it has begun to cook will work disaster to the pancake – and the hapless mortal who eats it.

Maple syrup is the syrup par excellence for pancakes and waffles, but alas, it is difficult to procure. Much of it is made from corn cobs and molasses, sealed in tin cans bearing gaudy labels, and, sailing under false colors, is sold to the trusting consumer at a high price.

Even the bricks of maple sugar are not wholly trustworthy, though, as a rule, a better quality of syrup can be obtained by making it at home from the bricks. The ordinary adulterants cannot so readily be added to a crystallized as to a liquid product, though promising maple bricks are often made of brown sugar flavored with a little maple syrup.

Other syrups can be made easily and may possibly give welcome variety even to those fortunates who can secure the real maple syrup. Maraschino, noyeau, kirsch, and other cordials, orange-flower water, grated orange- and lemon-peel, and the fruit juices left from canned and preserved fruits, can all be used to advantage in flavoring a simple syrup made of sugar and water boiled till it hairs from the spoon. Always add flavoring to syrup just before taking it from the fire, and do not allow it to boil.

SOUTHERN BUCKWHEAT CAKES

Four cupfuls of buckwheat flour, sifted, one half cake of compressed yeast dissolved in a little lukewarm water, one teaspoonful of salt, and one tablespoonful of molasses. Mix with enough warm water to make a thin batter and set to rise over night. If the batter is sour in the morning add a bit of baking soda.

QUICK BUCKWHEAT CAKES

Three cupfuls of buckwheat flour and one cupful of white flour, one cupful each of milk and water, three heaping teaspoonfuls of baking powder, one teaspoonful of salt, and one tablespoonful of molasses. Sift the dry ingredients together, mix, and fry as usual.

KENTUCKY BUCKWHEAT CAKES

One cupful of flour, two cupfuls of buckwheat flour, one teaspoonful of salt, one cake of compressed yeast dissolved in lukewarm water, and one tablespoonful of molasses. Beat well together and let stand over night. Fry on a soapstone griddle greased with suet, salt pork, or bacon. A bit of suet or salt pork tied in a bit of cloth was the old-fashioned method of greasing a griddle for buckwheat cakes.

BUCKWHEAT CAKES WITH SOUR MILK

Take two cupfuls of thick sour milk, add a teaspoonful of salt, and enough buckwheat flour to make a thin batter. Let stand over night. In the morning add a teaspoonful of soda dissolved in two tablespoonfuls of lukewarm water and beat thoroughly. Fry at once.

CRUMB BUCKWHEAT CAKES

Two cupfuls of buckwheat flour, two and one half cupfuls of warm water, one cupful of dried bread crumbs, one cupful of milk, one tablespoonful of salt and half a cake of compressed yeast. Dissolve the yeast in the water and mix with the buckwheat flour. Add the salt, beat until well mixed, then cover and let stand over night in a warm place. Put the dried crumbs into the milk and let soak over night in a cool place. In the morning, mash the soaked crumbs and toss with a fork until light and dry, then mix with the risen buckwheat batter and fry as usual.

BLUEBERRY PANCAKES

Stir one cupful of blueberries into the batter for strawberry pancakes and fry as other pancakes.

CORN-MEAL PANCAKES

One cupful of corn-meal, one cupful of flour, four cupfuls of milk, one tablespoonful of melted butter, two tablespoonfuls of sugar, one teaspoonful of salt, and three eggs. Add the melted butter to the corn-meal, boil the milk and pour it, scalding hot, over the corn-meal. Sift the dry ingredients together, and after the meal and milk have cooled stir the dry mixture into it. Add the well-beaten eggs last, beat hard, and bake like other griddle cakes.

CORN-MEAL PANCAKES – II

Two cupfuls of corn-meal, one cupful of flour, one tablespoonful of sugar, one teaspoonful of salt, one teaspoonful of soda, one tablespoonful of melted butter, three eggs, and sour milk to thin the batter. Scald the meal with enough boiling water to mix it, then add the sugar and melted butter. Sift the flour and salt together and add to the meal. Add the eggs, beaten separately, the whites to a stiff froth, and the soda dissolved in a teaspoonful of warm water. Thin the batter with enough sour milk to make it of the right consistency and bake like other pancakes.

CORN-MEAL FLAPJACKS

Two cupfuls of corn-meal, one cupful of buttermilk, half a teaspoonful of salt, half a teaspoonful of soda, half a cupful of boiling water, and one egg, well beaten. Mix the salt with the meal, pour over the boiling water, mix thoroughly and let cool. Add the buttermilk, in which the soda is dissolved, and the eggs, well beaten. If too thin add a very little sifted flour. Fry in butter or in equal parts of butter and lard.

CRUMB PANCAKES

Two cupfuls of bread crumbs soaked in milk until very soft. Add a pinch of salt, one cupful each of sweet milk and buttermilk, one teaspoonful of soda and one egg beaten separately, the white to a stiff froth. Beat hard and add enough sifted flour to make a good batter – probably about a heaping tablespoonful. Fry in butter on a griddle.

GREEN CORN GRIDDLE CAKES

One cupful of milk, one cupful of grated green corn, a pinch of salt, half a teaspoonful of baking powder, one egg, beaten separately, and enough sifted flour to make a thin batter. Butter the cakes while hot and serve at once.

DANISH PANCAKES

One cupful of flour, three eggs beaten separately, one pinch each of salt and soda dissolved in a teaspoonful of vinegar, and enough milk to make a thin batter.

FLANNEL CAKES

Beat two eggs thoroughly. Add one teaspoonful of salt, one tablespoonful of sugar, three cupfuls of milk, and enough flour, sifted in with one teaspoonful of cream tartar and half a teaspoonful of soda, to make a thin batter. Bake on a greased griddle, butter, and serve very hot.

FRENCH PANCAKES

One and one half cupfuls of flour, one and one half cupfuls of milk, one teaspoonful each of salt and melted butter, two teaspoonfuls of brandy, and four eggs. Beat the yolks of the eggs till light-colored and creamy, add the other ingredients gradually and fold in the stiffly beaten whites last. Fry in a very hot frying-pan, using equal parts of lard and butter to fry in. Bake in small cakes, and after taking up spread very thinly with marmalade, honey, or jam, and roll up like a jelly roll. Sift powdered sugar over the rolls and serve at once, without butter or syrup.

FEATHER PANCAKES

Scald two cupfuls of milk, dissolve in it one half cake of compressed yeast, and add a teaspoonful of salt. Sift in enough flour to make a thin, smooth batter, and set to rise over night. In the morning add to it one cupful of thick sour milk, one tablespoonful of melted butter, two eggs, beaten separately, one teaspoonful of soda sifted in with enough flour to make a smooth, thin batter. Let stand twenty or thirty minutes, then bake as usual.

FRUIT PANCAKES

Add apple sauce, berries, chopped dates, figs or prunes, orange marmalade, chopped preserved quinces, or any desired fresh fruit or preserves to any good pancake batter, in the proportion of one heaping tablespoonful of fruit to each cupful of batter. The grated pineapple which comes in cans is particularly satisfactory and needs no further preparation. The fruit juice, sweetened, should be used instead of syrup wherever possible.

GRAHAM GRIDDLE CAKES

One cupful of wheat flour and one cupful of Graham flour, sifted with one teaspoonful of salt and one tablespoonful of sugar. Beat two eggs separately, the whites to a stiff froth. Add two cupfuls of thick sour milk in which a teaspoonful of soda has been dissolved, mix with the eggs, and stir the flour into the liquid. When the batter is well mixed, add a heaping tablespoonful of butter, melted, beat hard, and fry like other griddle cakes.

HOMINY GRIDDLE CAKES

Soak two cupfuls of fine hominy all night and cook it in a double boiler all day or until soft. When wanted for griddle cakes add two cupfuls of white corn-meal, sifted, three tablespoonfuls of butter, melted, a pinch of salt, three eggs, well beaten, and four cupfuls of milk, or less if necessary, to make a thin batter.

MARYLAND GRIDDLE CAKES

Three cupfuls of flour, three cupfuls of milk, one teaspoonful of salt, two teaspoonfuls of baking powder, and three eggs. Beat the eggs thoroughly, stir into the milk, sift the dry materials together, beat hard, and fry at once.

POTATO PANCAKES

Peel eight or ten good-sized potatoes and drop into cold water to prevent discoloration. Grate rapidly on a coarse grater. To the pulp add four eggs, well beaten, two teaspoonfuls of salt, and half a cupful of flour sifted with half a teaspoonful of baking powder. Mix lightly but thoroughly, and bake on a hot griddle. Serve with butter, but without syrup. Germans add a little grated onion to potato pancakes.

RAISED PANCAKES

Four cupfuls of milk, one half cake of compressed yeast, three tablespoonfuls of melted butter, one teaspoonful of sugar, one teaspoonful of salt, half a teaspoonful of soda, two eggs, and enough flour for a batter. Scald the milk and cool it, then dissolve the yeast in it and add the salt and sugar. Add enough sifted flour to make a smooth, thin batter, cover, and let stand over night in a warm place. In the morning add the melted butter, the soda dissolved in a little warm water, and the eggs, beaten separately. Cover and let stand half an hour in a warm place. Bake like other griddle cakes and serve immediately.

RAISED PANCAKES – II

Mix one cupful of scalded and cooled milk, in which one quarter of a yeast cake has been dissolved, with one heaping tablespoonful of butter, melted, one teaspoonful of sugar, one pinch of salt, and one cupful of sifted flour. Let rise over night. In the morning add one egg beaten separately, the white to a stiff froth. Beat to a smooth, thin batter and fry as usual.

SOUTHERN RICE PANCAKES

Boil one cupful of well-washed rice as directed in the chapter on Cereals. Add to it one half cupful of cream, two tablespoonfuls of flour sifted with one tablespoonful of baking powder, and two eggs, beaten separately, the whites to a stiff froth. Use only enough butter to keep the cakes from sticking to the griddle and serve as soon as done.