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German Yeast Bread

Put some flour (the quantity to be regulated by the size of the family) into a bowl. To one quartern allow one tea-spoonful of salt, one ounce of German yeast, and one quart of new milk. Dissolve the yeast smoothly and gradually with a little lukewarm milk or water; make a hole in the middle of the flour, and put it in; mix it with sufficient flour to make a batter; strew a little flour over the top, and allow the leaven to rise. When it is swollen and cracked, the bread should be kneaded at once, and should be done thoroughly, as on this its quality very much depends. It should be quite firm and smooth. Leave it in the bowl, make one or two slight gashes with a knife on the surface, cover it with a cloth, and, if it be winter time, leave it near the fire to rise, but not sufficiently near to make it hot. In about an hour it will have risen considerably, and be ready for making into loaves of any size that may be desired. Let them rise a minute or two after being put into the tins, and prick them lightly in one or two places with a fork, to let the steam escape. Bake in a good oven. Time to bake, about two hours for a quartern loaf. If a larger quantity of flour is used, so that all the dough cannot be baked at once, that which is left in the bowl must be kept in a moderate temperature, neither very warm nor very cold.