TO MAKE A PECK OF GOOD BREAD.
1719. INGREDIENTS.—3 lbs. of potatoes, 6 pints of cold water, 1/2 pint of good yeast, a peck of flour, 2 oz. of salt.
Mode.—Peel and boil the potatoes; beat them to a cream while warm; then add 1 pint of cold water, strain through a colander, and add to it 1/2 pint of good yeast, which should have been put in water over-night, to take off its bitterness. Stir all well together with a wooden spoon, and pour the mixture into the centre of the flour; mix it to the substance of cream, cover it over closely, and let it remain near the fire for an hour; then add the 5 pints of water, milk-warm, with 2 oz. of salt; pour this in, and mix the whole to a nice light dough. Let it remain for about 2 hours; then make it into 7 loaves, and bake for about 1-1/2 hour in a good oven. When baked, the bread should weigh nearly 20 lbs.
Time.—About 1-1/2 hour.
THE RED VARIETIES OF WHEAT are generally hardier and more easily grown than the white sorts, and, although of less value to the miller, they are fully more profitable to the grower, in consequence of the better crops which they produce. Another advantage the red wheats possess is their comparative immunity from the attacks of mildew and fly. The best English wheat comes from the counties of Kent and Essex; the qualities under these heads always bearing a higher price than others, as will be seen by the periodical lists in the journals.