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Two Loaves of Wheat Bread
-F. F.
To two cups of scalded milk or boiled water, in a mixing-bowl, add two tablespoonfuls of sugar, one teaspoonful of salt, and, when the liquid becomes lukewarm, one yeastcake dissolved in half a cup of water, boiled and cooled. With a broad-bladed knife cut and mix in enough well-dried flour, sifted, to make a stiff dough (about seven cups).
Knead until the dough is elastic; cover, and set to rise in a temperature of about 70° Fahr. When the dough has doubled in bulk, "cut down" and knead slightly without removing from the mixingbowl. When again double in bulk, shape into two double loaves and set to rise in buttered pans; when it has risen a third time, bake one hour.
A plain white loaf from the sandwich chapter, written for cooks who baked several times a week and needed no oven temperature told to them. Two things are missing for a modern kitchen: the heat and the yeast conversion.
- Oven temperatureThe original gives none, since a wood or coal range was judged by hand and paper. Bake at 375F for the stated hour; the loaves are done at an internal temperature of 190-200F and should sound hollow when the bottom is tapped.
- Yeast cakeOne yeastcake was most likely a cake of compressed fresh yeast, commonly around 0.6 oz, though cake sizes varied and dry yeast cakes were also sold. Substitute one 1/4-oz packet (about 2 1/4 teaspoons) of active dry yeast; the half cup of boiled and cooled water should be lukewarm, 105-110F.
- Scalding the milkScalding was done to kill souring organisms in unpasteurized milk, and it is also thought to deactivate a whey protein that otherwise slackens the dough. With modern pasteurized milk many bakers simply warm the milk to lukewarm; whether the scalded-and-cooled loaf rises appreciably taller is arguable.
- Flour quantitySeven cups is an estimate, and "well-dried flour, sifted" measures much lighter than flour scooped from a modern bag: about 28 oz by weight. Work by feel, for a dough that is stiff but still tacky. Bread flour gives the chew a sandwich loaf wants.
- Rising temperature70F is deliberate and slow, an unheated pantry in practice. Expect roughly 1 1/2 to 2 hours for each of the first two rises and about an hour for the final one in the pans. A warmer spot works but costs flavor.
- Three risesThe recipe calls for one "cut down" and light knead before shaping, then a third rise in the pans. The repeated rising is the point of the recipe, not fussiness: it builds the fine even crumb that slices thin without tearing, which suits a sandwich chapter.
- "Double loaves" and pansA double loaf is generally taken to mean two rounds of dough set side by side in one pan, so the baked loaf pulls apart in the middle. If that holds no appeal, shape two ordinary cylinders for 8 1/2 x 4 1/2-inch pans. Butter the pans generously, as directed.
- YieldTwo loaves, each giving 14-16 sandwich slices. Cool completely on a rack before slicing or the crumb will compress under the knife.
Bread recipes in a book of salads and chafing-dish dishes tell you something about what a sandwich meant around 1900: commercial bakery bread existed but was often regarded with suspicion by household writers, who considered its texture too coarse and its keeping quality doubtful for thin slicing. Sandwich making in this period was closely tied to the tea table and the ladies' luncheon, and the ideal was a close, even crumb that could be cut wafer-thin and buttered without crumbling, then trimmed of crusts.