French Bread

The housekeeper's instructor; or, uni... · William Augustus Henderson · 1791

Source: The housekeeper's instructor; or, universal family cook
Status: success · extracted 11 days ago
Not a recipe: No

Ingredients (6)

half a bushel of the best white flour
a pint of good small beer yeast
three quarts of warm liquor
six quarts of skimmed milk blood warm
a pound of salt
two ounces of butter

Instructions (7)

Lay at one end of your trough half a bushel of the best white flour, and make a hole in the middle of it.
Mix a pint of good small beer yeast with three quarts of warm liquor, put it in, and mix it till work it till it is tough; put a flannel over it, and let it rise as high as it will.
When it is at the height, take six quarts of skimmed milk blood warm (the bluer the better, provided it is sweet) and a pound of salt.
Instead of working it with your hands, as you would dough for English bread, put the ends of your fingers together, and work it over your hands till it is quite weak and ropey; then cover it over with a flannel, put your fire into the oven, and make it very hot.
Observe, that when you take the dough out of the trough, you use your hands as before, or else you will not get it out till it falls when it will be good for nothing.
Lay it on the dresser, and instead of a common knife, have one made like a chopping-knife to cut it with; then make it up into bricks or rolls as you think proper.
When you work it up with the second liquor, you may, if you please, break in two ounces of butter.

Original Text

To make French Bread.
LAY at one end of your trough half a bushel of the best white flour, and make a hole in the middle of it. Mix a pint of good small beer yeast with three quarts of warm liquor, put it in, and mix it till work it till it is tough; put a flannel over it, and let it rise as high as it will. When it is at the height, take six quarts of skimmed milk blood warm (the bluer the better, provided it is sweet) and a pound of salt. Instead of working it with your hands, as you would dough for English bread, put the ends of your fingers together, and work it over your hands till it is quite weak and ropey; then cover it over with a flannel, put your fire into the oven, and make it very hot. Observe, that when you take the dough out of the trough, you use your hands as before, or else you will not get it out till it falls when it will be good for nothing. Lay it on the dresser, and instead of a common knife, have one made like a chopping-knife to cut it with; then make it up into bricks or rolls as you think proper. The bricks will take an hour and a half baking, and the rolls half an hour. Then draw them out, and either rub them with a rasp, or chip them with a knife; but the former is the most convenient, and is done with the greatest expedition. When you work it up with the second liquor, you may, if you please, break in two ounces of butter.

Notes

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