Coffee-Bread
1 cake of compressed yeast soaked in 1/3 cupful of tepid milk. Sift and weigh 2 pounds of flour. Early in the morning make a small hole in the flour and put in it the milk and yeast; stir into a batter. Let this stand until light, from one to three hours. Then take 1/2 pound of washed butter, 1 small teacupful of sugar, 1 small teacupful of milk, the grated rind of a lemon, and 7 eggs. Put this in the bowl with the flour and yeast, and stir until thoroughly mixed. Set aside to rise. Separate into two parts, each of these into three parts, pull these into long rolls, and braid. Put into two buttered pans and let rise. When ready to put into the oven brush over with milk and egg (stirred together) and sift sugar on top.
A rich braided yeast bread built in two stages: an overnight-style sponge made at daybreak, then butter, sugar, eggs and lemon worked in. The original assumes a cook who knows when dough is ready, and it gives no oven temperature or baking time at all.
- The hinge: two separate risingsThe hinge: three separate risings -- the sponge, the enriched dough, and the shaped braids in the pans. The sponge should be fully light before the butter, sugar and eggs go in, since the enrichment slows fermentation. On so rich a dough the second rise may run 2 to 3 hours and the shaped braids about an hour, but judge by the dough rather than the clock.
- Compressed yeastA cake was commonly reckoned at around 0.6 oz, though period cakes varied in size. One packet (2 1/4 teaspoons) of active dry or instant yeast, softened in the tepid milk as directed, is a reasonable substitute.
- Two pounds of flourRoughly 7 to 8 cups of modern all-purpose flour, and more if it is sifted first as directed, since sifted flour measures lighter. The instruction to sift and weigh is deliberate: weigh it if you can, since volume measures of sifted flour vary widely.
- Washed butterButter was once kneaded under cold water to rinse out buttermilk and excess salt, which improved keeping and softened the flavor. Unsalted butter, softened but not melted, does the same job here.
- TeacupfulA small teacup in this period runs about 1/2 to 2/3 cup. The sugar and milk quantities are genuinely approximate; start at 1/2 cup of each and judge the dough by feel, adding milk only if it will not come together.
- OvenNone is specified. A rich, sugared, egg-washed dough of this size bakes at 350F for about 30 to 40 minutes; the sugar on top will color well before the crumb is set, so tent with foil if it darkens early.
- Egg wash and sugarBrush lightly, after the final rise and just before baking. Coarse or pearl sugar holds its shape better than sifted granulated, which tends to dissolve into the glaze.
- YieldTwo large braided loaves, each generous enough for eight to ten slices. The crumb is best on the day it is baked and is very good toasted afterward.