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1951 workbasket: one loaf of bread

(1 rating)
Recipe by
deb baldwin
blanchard, ID

This is a very good article on how to make bread: With the Cooks: ONE LOAF OF BREAD It's so easy to make a good loaf of bread! While it can be done in about four hours, the entire process can be stretched over the greater part of a day, if desired; the actual time spent working on the loaf is less than a half hour, and can be worked in quite painlessly with other home making tasks, even washing and ironing, it is so simple. You will need the following ingredients to make a loaf about 4 x 8 inches. The average or standard loaf weights about one pound. The crust is thin and golden in color. It should not have soggy spots or heavy streaks nor have a sour, yeasty odor. Good bread tastes sweet and nutty, like the grain from which the four as been milled. Workbasket, Volume 16, 2984 January 1951, #4

(1 rating)
yield 1 loaf of bread
cook time 35 Min
method Bake

Ingredients For 1951 workbasket: one loaf of bread

  • 3 c
    flour (about)
  • 1/2
    cake of compressed yeast, or 1/2 package of granular dry yeast
  • (a whole package speeds rising time by half, but makes a coarser loaf)
  • 1 tsp
    salt
  • 1 Tbsp
    sugar
  • 1 Tbsp
    fat--lard or shortnening
  • 1 c
    liguid, half scalded milk and half water or potato water

How To Make 1951 workbasket: one loaf of bread

  • 1
    Soften the yeast in 2 tablespoon of the water, adding the sugar. Scald the milk, pour over the fat to melt it and add the remaining water to cool it. Measure about 1 1/2 cups of flour, add the salt, and sift into a bowl. Stir into this the lukewarm liquid and the yeast mixture and beat hard, adding enough flour to make it possible to handle the dough.
  • 2
    Turn it out on a floured board and knead it, knead for exactly eight minutes (by the clock), working into the dough as much more flour as it will take up-sift a bit on the dough and on the board under it, and continue kneading with the "heel" of the hands. The exact amount of flour varies with the type of flour, but ease of handling and not sticking to the board will tell you when you have enough.
  • 3
    Grease a clean bowl generously, drop the ball of dough in, then turn it over and cover all with a cloth and let it rise. If you want to make out the loaf just any time it is ready, choose a warm place for this process. If you prefer to have it ready for baking after other tasks are out of the way, this rising can be delayed by placing the bowl in a cooler place. In a warm temperature, after about an hour or hour and a half, the dough will be double in bulk.
  • 4
    At this stage, punch it down and let rise again until double, which will require about half the time. This last rising may be omitted, but it produces a finer loaf.
  • 5
    Turn the dough out on a lightly floured board, stretch into oblong shape, and let it stand about five minutes before shaping into a loaf.
  • 6
    Fold into thirds, legthwise, stretch and fold into thirds again, into the length of your bread pan. Roll, jelly-roll fashion, and place into greased bread pan, the lapped edge underneath. Tuck into a warm corner, covered with a cloth, slightly damp. The loaf is permitted to double in size, then popped into a 400 degree oven and baked about 35 minutes uncovered until a golden brown. Bread that is done shrinks from pan and responds to tapping with a hollow sound.
  • 7
    The loaf should then be cooled on a rack or across the edges of the pan to give a nice crisp crust. For a soft crust, brush immediately with melted butter or fat. COMMON FAULTS IN BREAD MAKING Using too much flour can result in tough bread. Sub-standard ingredients can spoil and entire batch. Letting dough rise too long may cause a coarse crumb or souring. Insufficient raising will turn ot a soggy or heavy loaf. Not baking long enough or too much liquid may have the same effect. Not kneading enough (until dough is elastic) or too low and oven makes a coarse bread. Too high temperature may cause the top crust to crack.

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