CHAPTER IV
Pecan Yeast Breads
The use of nuts in bread, while only widely fol- lowed in America in recent years, is no new idea.
Centuries ago the natives of Spain and Italy, in the chestnut-growing districts, prided themselves on their nut bread; and the primitive American Indian, while he may not have had any food knowledge other than that which came by instinct and observation, ground pecans into his meal.
What did the Indian gain by this use of pecans, compared to the far-famed chestnut breads of Bal Europe? He secured from the pecan practically twice as much protein as the chestnut provided; and practically fourteen times as much fat. True, he secured only one-third as much carbohydrate, but the carbohydrate of the chestnut is largely search which is abundantly provided by the flour itself.
With peeans added, the bread becomes bread and meat, a balanced ration, particularly if whole wheat flour is used.
For generations there have been delicious Southern recipes using pecans in the breads and hot breads for which the Southern housewife is famous; the very persistence of these Southern cooks in using pecans in the old days, when the kernels were so small and the shells so hard, is a tribute to that high food value and that wonderful palate appeal which the pecan adds to bread.
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