The American Pictorial Home Book
or Housekeeper's Encyclopedia - online book

A reference manual of household management in Victorian times.

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222
STALE BREAD.
Our Own Bread.—Set your sponge over night with1-2 pint of lukewarm water, i teaspoonful of yeast and i pint of flour (measure before sifting). In the morning add 1-2 cup of milk (in water with a little butter in it), and stir into the sponge with a spoonful of lime water and 1 pint of flour. Knead into 2 loaves and put them into pan to rise. Bake 1-2 hour.
STALE BREAD.
To Renew Old Bread.—Soak the bread in enough water to moisten it sufficiently to dampen it inside. Then put into a bake oven and heat very hot all through, even to bake it a little would not hurt it. Do not cover the oven. In this way old and dry bread may be made moist and good, no matter what kind, if it is not musty or moldy.
To Economize Stale or Sour Bread, Crust and Crumbs.—Put them into a stove and bake them slowly for several hours ; then soak them and make pudding and griddle cakes and even sponge cake. The sour bread should have a little salaratus added to the batter when it is used for that purpose to correct the acidity. N. B. Rich cake that has wine or brandy in it will keep several months if kept in a cool, dry place. The day before it is to be eaten put it in a cake pan and set it in a bake pan that has a cup of water in it. Set on the bake pan cover and let the cake bake till it is thoroughly heated. Let it be cold before it is eaten.
Uses of Stale Bread.—When pounded or crumbled fine, and boiled milk poured over it, it is nice. These crumbs, mixed with an equal portion of stewed fruit and mixed well with common custard and baked, make an excellent light pudding or custard. The cust­ard, thickened with the crumbs without the fruit, forms a good pud­ding, or remnants of fish, meat or fowl chopped fine and mixed with such crumbs, with sufficient egg and a little butter, form a nice meat pudding when baked. It should be floured. This can also be dressed as hash with a little milk and water, salt and pepper in a stew pan, or fried in small balls.
Stale BreadEight Ways to Use It.—1. To make dressing for meat, crumble fine, turn hot broth over it, season, add butter and a well-beaten egg or more, according to quantity. 2. To make bread-pudding, soak two hours in sweet milk, then beat in eggs, sugar, spices and bake ; fruit may be added if liked. 3. To make biscuit, soak over night in sour milk, work with the hands, mix with your biscuit for breakfast, adding salt, lard and soda; they are better than with­out the stale bread. 4. To make pancakes oi gems, soak 10 hours in sour milk, add well-beaten eggs, corn meal or Graham flour