The Allinson Vegetarian Cookery Book/Bread and Cakes
BREAD AND CAKES
THE ADVANTAGES OF WHOLEMEAL BREAD.
People are now concerning themselves about the foods they eat, and inquiring into their properties, composition, and suitability. One food that is now receiving a good deal of attention is bread, and we ought to be sure that this is of the best kind, for as a nation we eat daily a pound of it per head. We consume more of this article of food than of any other, and this is as it ought to be, for bread is the staff of life, and many of the other things we eat are garnishings. It is said we cannot live on bread alone, but this is untrue if the loaf is a proper one; at one time our prisoners were fed on it alone, and the peasantry of many countries live on very little else.
Not many years ago books treating of food and nutrition always gave milk as the standard food, and so it is for calves and babies. Nowadays we use a grain food as the standard, and of all grains wheat is the one which is nearest perfection, or which supplies to the body those elements that it requires, and in best proportions. A perfect food must contain carbonaceous, nitrogenous, and mineral matter in definite quantities; there must be from four to six parts of carbonaceous or heat and force-forming matter to one of nitrogen, and from two to four per cent. of mineral matter; also a certain bulk of innutritious matter for exciting secretion, for separating the particles of food so that the various gastric and intestinal juices may penetrate and dissolve out all the nutriment, and for carrying off the excess of the biliary and other intestinal secretions with the fæces.
A grain of wheat consists of an outer hard covering or skin, a layer of nitrogenous matter directly under this, and an inner kernel of almost pure starch. The average composition of wheat is this:—
Nitrogen 12
Carbon 72
Mineral Matter 4
Water 12
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100
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From this analysis we observe that the nitrogenous matter is to the carbonaceous in the proportion of one-sixth, which is the composition of a perfect food. Besides taking part in this composition, the bran, being in a great measure insoluble, passes in bulk through the bowels, assisting daily laxation—a most important consideration. If wheat is such a perfect food, it must follow that wholemeal bread must be best for our daily use. That such is the case, evidence on every side shows; those who eat it are healthier, stronger, and more cheerful than those who do not, all other things being equal. Wholemeal bread comes nearer the standard of a perfect food than does the wheaten grain, as in fermentation some of the starch is destroyed, and thus the proportion of nitrogen is slightly increased.
The next question is, how shall we prepare the grain so as to make the best bread from it? This is done by grinding the grain as finely as possible with stones, and then using the resulting flour for bread-making. The grain should be first cleaned and brushed, and passed over a magnet to cleanse it from any bits of steel or iron it may have acquired from the various processes it goes through, and then finely ground. To ensure fine grinding, it is always advisable to kiln-dry it first. When ground, nothing must be taken from it, nor must anything be added to the flour, and from this bread should be made. Baking powder, soda, and tartaric acid, or soda and hydrochloric acid, or ammonia and hydrochloric acid, or other chemical agents, must never be used for raising bread, as these substances are injurious, and affect the human system for harm. The only ferment that should be used is yeast; of this the French variety is best. If brewer's yeast is used it must be first well washed, otherwise it gives a bitter flavour to the loaf. A small quantity of salt may be used, but not much, otherwise it adds an injurious agent to the bread.
BARLEY BANNOCKS.
Put 1/2 pint of milk into a saucepan allow it to boil; then sprinkle in barley meal, stirring it constantly to prevent lumps till the mixture is quite thick and almost unstirrable. Turn the mass out on a meal-besprinkled board and leave to cool. When cool enough to knead, work it quite stiff with dry meal, take a portion off, roll it as thin as a wafer, and bake it on a hot girdle; when done on one side, turn and cook on the other. The girdle is to be swept clean after each bannock. Eat hot or cold with butter.
BUN LOAF.
1 lb. Allinson wholemeal flour, 1/2 lb. butter, 1/2 lb. brown sugar, 1/4 lb. currants, 1/4 lb. raisins, 1/4 lb. candied peel, 4 eggs, 1/2 teacupful of milk. Mix the flour, sugar, currants, raisins, candied peel (cut in thin strips), the butter and eggs well together; mix with the milk; pour into a buttered tin, and bake in a moderate oven for 2 hours.
BUNS (1).
1 lb. flour, 1/4 lb. sugar, 4 oz. currants, 2 oz. butter, or vege-butter, 1 teacupful of milk, 1 oz. French yeast, 2 eggs, a little salt. Mix the flour, sugar, salt, and currants in a basin, warm the butter and milk slightly, mix it smoothly with the yeast, then add the eggs well beaten; pour this on the flour, stirring well together till it is all moistened; when thoroughly mixed, set it to rise by the fire for 1/2 hour; make into buns, set to rise by the fire for 10 minutes, brush the tops over with egg, and bake from 10 to 15 minutes.
BUNS (2).
1/2 pint water, 1/2 pint milk, 1 oz. yeast, 1 oz. sugar, 6 oz. Allinson's wholemeal, 1 egg (not necessary). Warm water and milk to 105 degrees, dissolve sugar and yeast in it and stir in the meal, leave well covered up in a warm place for 45 minutes. Then have ready 1 3/4 lbs. Allinson's wholemeal, 1/4 lb. vege-butter, 5 oz. sugar, 1/2 lb. currants, pinch of salt. Melt down vege-butter to oil, make bay of meal, sprinkle currants round, stir the sugar and salt with the ferment till dissolved, then mix in the melted butter and make up into a dough with the meal and currants. Keep in warm place for 45 minutes, then knock gas out of dough and leave 1/2 hour more; shape buns, place on warm greased tin, prove 15 minutes and bake in moderately warm oven for 20 minutes.
BUNS (PLAIN).
1 lb. flour, 6 oz. butter, or vege-butter, 1/4 lb. sugar, 1 egg, 1/4 pint milk, 15 drops essence of lemon. Warm the butter without oiling it, beat it with a wooden spoon, stir the flour in gradually with the sugar, and mix the ingredients well together; make the milk lukewarm, beat up with it the egg and lemon and stir to the flour; beat the dough well for 10 minutes, divide into 24 pieces, put into patty pans, and bake in a brisk oven for from 20 to 30 minutes.
BUTTER BISCUITS.
1/2 lb. butter, 2 lbs. fine wholemeal flour, 1/2 pint milk. Dissolve the butter in the milk, which should be warmed, then stir in the meal and make into a stiff, smooth paste, roll it out very thin, stamp it into biscuits, prick them out with a fork, and bake on tins in a quick oven for 10 minutes.
BUTTERMILK CAKE.
2 lbs. Allinson wholemeal flour, 2 lbs. currants, 1/2 lb. sugar, 12 oz. butter, 2 oz. candied lemon peel, 1 pint buttermilk. Beat the butter to a cream, add the sugar, then the meal, fruit, and milk, mix thoroughly; butter a cake tin, pour in the mixture, and bake in a slow oven for 3 1/2 hours.
BUTTERMILK CAKES.
2 lbs. wholemeal flour, 1 pint buttermilk, 1 teaspoonful salt. Mix the meal well with the salt, add the buttermilk and pour on the flour; beat well together, roll it out, cut into cakes, and bake for from 15 to 20 minutes in a quick oven.
CHOCOLATE BISCUITS.
2 oz. of powdered chocolate, 2 oz. of white sugar, 2 whites of eggs beaten to a stiff froth. Mix all together, and drop in biscuits on white or wafer paper. Bake 16 minutes in a moderate oven.
CHOCOLATE CAKE (1).
1/2 lb. of fine wheatmeal, 1/4 lb. of butter, 5 eggs, 1/2 lb. of castor sugar, 1-1/2 oz. of Allinson cocoa, 1 dessertspoonful of vanilla essence. Proceed as in recipe of "Madeira Cake," adding the cocoa and flavouring with vanilla.
CHOCOLATE CAKE (2).
Work 4 oz. of butter to a cream, add a 1/4 lb. of castor sugar, 3 eggs, and a little milk. Mix together 1/2 lb. of Allinson fine wheatmeal, a heaped tablespoonful of cocoa. Add to the butter mixture, and bake on a shallow tin or plate in a quick oven. The cake can be iced when done, and cut, when cold, into diamond-shaped pieces or triangles.
CHOCOLATE MACAROONS.
1/2 lb. of ground sweet almonds, 1 oz. of cocoa, 1 dessertspoonful of vanilla essence, 1/2 lb. of castor sugar, the white of 4 eggs. Whip the white of the eggs to a stiff froth, add the sugar, cocoa, vanilla, and almond meal, and proceed as in the previous recipe.
CINNAMON MADEIRA CAKE.
1/2 lb. of fine wheatmeal, 1/4 lb. of butter, 1/2 lb. of sugar, 1/4 lb. of currants and sultanas mixed (washed and picked) 5 eggs, 1 dessertspoonful of ground cinnamon. Proceed as in recipe for "Madeira Cake," adding the fruit, and cinnamon as flavouring.
COCOANUT BISCUITS.
2 breakfastcupfuls of wheatmeal, 2 teacupfuls of grated cocoanut, 3 dessertspoonfuls of sugar, 3 tablespoonfuls of orange water, 2 oz. of butter, a little milk. Mix the ingredients, adding a little milk to moisten the paste, mix it well, roll the paste out 1/4 in. thick, cut out with a biscuit cutter. Prick the biscuits, and bake them in a moderate oven a pale brown.
COCOANUT DROPS.
1/2 lb. of desiccated cocoanut, 1/2 lb. of castor sugar, the whites of 3 eggs. Beat the whites of the eggs to a stiff froth, add the sugar, then the cocoanut. Place little lumps of the mixture on the rice wafer paper, as in recipe for "Macaroons," and bake in a fairly hot oven.
COCOANUT ROCK CAKES.
1 lb. of fine wholemeal flour, 6 oz. of desiccated cocoanut, 3 oz. of butter, 3 eggs, a little cold milk, 6 oz. castor sugar. Rub the butter into the meal, add the sugar, cocoanut, and the well-beaten eggs. Mix, and add only just enough milk to make the mixture keep together. Put small lumps on a floured baking tin, and bake in a quick oven.
CORNFLOUR CAKE.
1/2 lb. of cornflour, 4 eggs, 6 oz. butter, same of castor sugar; separate the yolks of eggs from the whites and beat separately for a 1/4 of an hour, cream the butter and sugar, mix with the yolks, then the whites, and lastly the flour, and whisk all together for 25 minutes, and bake for 1 hour in a moderately hot oven.
CRACKERS.
1 cupful butter, 1 teaspoonful salt, 2 quarts Allinson wholemeal flour. Rub thoroughly together with the hand, and wet up with cold water; beat well, and beat in meal to make brittle and hard; then pinch off pieces and roll out each cracker by itself, if you wish them to resemble baker's crackers.
CRISP OATMEAL CAKES.
1 lb. of oatmeal, 2 oz. of butter or oil (1 tablespoonful of oil is 1 oz.), 1 gill of cold milk. Make a dough of the butter, meal, and milk; shake meal plentifully on the board, turn the dough on to it, and having sprinkled this too with meal, work it a little with the backs of your fingers. Roll the dough out to the thickness of a crown piece, cut it in shapes, put the cakes on a hot stove, and when they are a little brown on the underside, take them off and place them on a hanger in front of the fire in order to brown the upper side; when this is done they are ready for use.
DYSPEPTICS' BREAD.
9 oz. of Allinson wholemeal, 1 egg, a scant 1/2 pint of milk and water. Separate the yolk from the white of the egg. Beat up the yolk with the milk and water, and mix this with the meal into a thick batter; whip up the white of the egg stiff, and mix it well into the batter. Grease and heat a bread tin, turn the mixture into it, and bake the loaf for 1-1/2 hours in a hot oven. This is very delicious bread, very light and digestible.
DOUGHNUTS.
1-1/2 lbs. of wheatmeal, 1/4 oz. yeast, 1 egg, 1 teaspoonful of cinnamon, 3 tablespoonfuls of sugar, enough lukewarm milk to moisten the dough, some jam and marmalade. Dissolve the yeast in a little warm milk, mix all the ingredients, adding the dissolved yeast and enough milk to make the dough sufficiently moist to handle. Let it rise 1-1/2 hours in front of the stove. When risen roll it out 1/2 in. thick, cut out round pieces, place a little jam or marmalade in the middle, close up the dough, forming the dough nuts, and cook them in boiling oil or vege-butter until brown and thoroughly done. Eat warm.
GINGER SPONGE CAKE (a nice Cake for Children who do not like Gingerbread).
3 breakfast cups of Allinson wholemeal flour, 1 breakfast cup of sugar, 3 eggs, 6 oz. of butter or vege-butter, 2 heaped teaspoonfuls of ground ginger, 1 saltspoonful of salt, 1/2 gill milk. Beat the butter, sugar, and eggs to a cream, mix all the dry ingredients together; add gradually to the butter, &c., lastly the milk. Put into a well-greased tin, bake about 20 minutes in a quick oven. When cold cut into finger lengths or squares.
ICING FOR CAKES.
To 8 oz. of sugar take 2 whites of eggs, well beaten, and 1 tablespoonful of orange-or rosewater. Whisk the ingredients thoroughly, and when the cake is cold cover it with the mixture. Set the cake in the oven to harden, but do not let it remain long enough to discolour.
JUMBLES.
1 lb. of wheatmeal, 1 lb. of castor sugar, 1/2 pint of milk, 1/4 lb. of butter, 1 lb. ground almonds. Cream the butter, add the other ingredients, and moisten with a little rosewater. Roll out and cut the jumbles into any shape desired. Bake in a gentle oven.
LEMON CAKES.
1/2 lb. of castor sugar, 1/2 lb. of wheatmeal, sifted fine, the grated rind of a lemon, 2 oz. of butter, and 2 well-beaten eggs. Rub the butter into the meal, and mix all the ingredients well together; roll the mixture out thin, lay it on a tin, and when baked cut into diamond squares.
LIGHT CAKE.
2 lbs. of brown breadcrumbs, 1/2 lb. of sultanas, 3 eggs, yolks and whites beaten separately; 2 oz. of butter, as much milk as required to moisten 1/4 lb. of sugar. Rub the butter into the breadcrumbs, add the fruit, sugar, yolks, and lukewarm milk. At the last add the whites beaten to a stiff froth. Put the mixture in a well-greased tin, and bake 1 hour in a moderate oven.
LUNCH CAKE.
A good lunch cake may be made by rubbing 6 oz. of butter into 1-1/4 lbs. of Allinson wholemeal flour, 6 oz. of sugar. Beat up the yolks of 4 eggs with a teacupful of milk, and work into the flour so as to make a stiff batter. Add 2 oz. of mixed peel cut small, and 1/2 lb. of mixed sultanas. Lastly, add the beaten white of the eggs, whisk well, and pour the mixture into a greased cake tin. Bake for 1-1/2 to 2 hours.
MACAROON.
1/2 lb. of ground sweet almonds, 1 oz. of ground bitter almonds, a few sliced almonds, the whites of 4 eggs, and 1/2 lb. of castor sugar. Whip the whites of the eggs to a stiff froth, add the sugar, then the almond meal, and mix all well; if the mixture seems very stiff add one or two teaspoonfuls of water. Lay sheets of kitchen paper on tins, over this sheets of rice wafers (or, as it is also called, "wafer paper"), which can be obtained from confectioners and large stores; drop little lumps of the mixture on the wafers, allowing room for the spreading of the macaroons, place a couple of pieces of sliced almond on each, and bake them in a quick oven until they are set and don't feel wet to the touch. If the macaroons brown too much, place a sheet of paper lightly over them.
MADEIRA CAKE.
1/2 lb. of fine wheatmeal, 1/2 lb. of castor sugar, 1/2 lb. of butter, 5 eggs, flavouring to taste. Beat the butter to a cream, add the sugar, then the eggs well beaten, the meal and the flavouring. Line a cake tin with buttered paper, and bake the cake in a moderate oven from 1 to 1-1/2 hours.
OATMEAL BANNOCKS.
Cold porridge, Allinson fine wheatmeal. Stir sufficient of the meal into any cold porridge that may be left over to form a dough just firm enough to roll out. Well grease and sprinkle with flour some baking sheets, roll the dough to the thickness of 1/2 an inch, cut into triangular shapes, and bake until brown on both sides. Butter and serve hot.
OATMEAL FINGER-ROLLS.
Use equal parts of medium oatmeal and Allinson fine wheatmeal, and add a good 1/2 pint of milk and water to 1 pound of the mixed meal. Knead into a dough, make it into finger-rolls about 3 inches long, and bake them in a quick oven from 30 to 40 minutes.
ORANGE CAKES.
6 oz. of Allinson wholemeal flour, 3 oz. butter, 4 oz. sugar, grate in the rind of 1 small orange, and mix all well together. Beat 1 egg, and stir in with the juice of the orange and sufficient buttermilk to make a smooth, thick batter. Half fill small greased tins with this mixture, and bake 15 minutes in a moderate oven.
PLAIN CAKE.
2-1/2 lbs. meal, 1 breakfastcupful sultanas, 1 oz. ground bitter almonds, 3 oz. chopped sweet almonds, 2 eggs, 3 oz. butter or 1/2 teacupful of oil, 6 oz. sugar and 1 teaspoonful cinnamon, 1/4 oz. yeast, milk to moisten the cake. Dissolve the yeast in a cup of warm water, 100 degrees Fahrenheit in winter, 85 degrees in summer; make a batter of the yeast and water, with two spoonfuls of the meal, and stand it on a cool place of the stove to rise; do not let it get hot, as this will spoil the yeast. Meanwhile prepare the fruit and almonds, mix the meal, fruit, butter (or oil), sugar, cinnamon and eggs; then add the yeast and as much lukewarm milk as is required to moisten the cake. The dough should be fairly firm and wet. Let the dough rise in front of the fire. Fill into greased cake tins and bake for 1-1/2 hours.
POTATO FLOUR CAKES.
A 1/4 lb. of potato flour, the same quantity of very fine wheatmeal (sift the latter through a sieve if not very fine), 4 oz. of castor sugar, 4 oz. of butter, the juice of 1/2 a lemon, 1 dessertspoonful of ground bitter almonds, and 1 egg. Cream the butter, which is done by beating the butter round the sides of the pan with a wooden spoon until it is quite creamy, add the egg well beaten, the lemon juice, then the sugar, meal, potato flour, and bitter almonds. Beat the mixture from 20 minutes to 1/2 an hour, then drop small lumps of it on floured tins, and bake the little cakes from 10 to 15 minutes.
QUEEN'S SPONGE CAKE.
1/4 lb. cornflour, 1/4 lb. wheatmeal, 1/2 lb. sifted sugar, 10 eggs, rind and juice of a lemon, some vanilla. Separate the yolks of the eggs from the whites; stir the yolks well, then sift in gradually, stirring all the time, the sugar and cornflour; add the lemon juice and rind; beat the whites of the eggs to a firm froth, mix it well with the rest; place the mixture in one or more greased cake tins and bake at once in a quick oven.
RICE CAKES (1).
1 lb. of ground rice, 1/4 lb. of castor sugar, 6 eggs, 2 oz. of sweet and bitter ground almonds mixed. Mix the almonds with the ground rice, adding the sugar, and the eggs, well beaten; beat all together and bake the cake in a buttered mould, in a moderately hot oven.
RICE CAKES (2).
4 eggs, 1/2 lb. sugar, 6 oz. ground rice, lemon or almond flavouring. Beat the eggs a little, add the sugar and flour, and beat well; pour into a tin mould, greased and warmed, only half filling it, and bake in a moderate oven 1 hour.
RICE AND WHEAT BREAD.
Simmer 1 lb. of rice in 2 quarts of water until quite soft. Let it cool sufficiently to handle, and mix it thoroughly with 4 lbs. of wheatmeal; work in also 1/2 oz. of yeast dissolved in a very little lukewarm water or milk. Add a teaspoonful of salt. Knead well and set to rise before the fire 1-1/2 hours. Bake in a good hot oven.
ROCK SEED CAKES.
1 lb. of wholemeal, 4 oz. of sugar, 4 oz. of butter, 1 oz. of ground carraway seeds, about 3/4 of a cupful of milk, and 3 eggs. Rub the butter into the meal, add sugar, seeds, the eggs well beaten, and the milk. Place the mixture in lumps on floured tins, and bake the cakes for half an hour in a hot oven.
SALLY LUNN.
3/4 of lb. of Allinson wholemeal flour, 2 oz. salt butter, 1 egg, 1-1/2 gills of milk, 1/4 an ounce of German yeast. Warm the milk and butter in a pan together, rub the yeast smooth with 1/2 a teaspoonful of sugar, add the milk and butter. Stir this mixture gradually into the flour, add the egg slightly beaten, mix till quite smooth. Divide into two, put into well-greased tins, set these in a warm place for 1 hour to rise. Put into a quick oven, and bake about 15 minutes.
SEED CAKE (1).
1/2 lb. fine wholemeal flour, 6 oz. butter, 6 oz. castor sugar, 2 eggs, 1/4 oz. carraway seeds. Beat the butter and sugar to a cream, add the eggs well beaten, and dredge in the flour, add a little cold water it too dry. Bake for 1/2 an hour.
SEED CAKE (2).
1-1/2 lbs. of wholemeal, 1/2 lb. of butter, 3/4 lb. of castor sugar, 1 oz. of ground carraway seeds, the yolks of 10 eggs, and the whites of 5 beaten to a stiff froth. Cream the butter, mix all the ingredients well together, adding the whites of the eggs last; line one or more tins with buttered paper, turn the mixture into them, and bake the cake or cakes from 1 to 1-1/2 hours, according to the size of the cakes and the heat of the oven. If a bright knitting needle passed through the cake comes out clean, the cake is done.
SEED CAKE (3).
The same as "Madeira Cake," adding 1/2 oz. of carraway seeds, ground fine, as flavouring.
SEED CAKE (4).
2 lbs. of meal, 6 oz. of sugar, 1 oz. of seed (crushed), 1/4 oz. of yeast, 4 eggs, 3 oz. of butter, and a little milk. Rub the butter into the meal, add the sugar, seed, and eggs; dissolve the yeast in warm milk and add to it the other ingredients. Moisten the dough with sufficient warm milk not to make it stick to your pan. Let the dough rise 1-1/2 hours in a warm place, fill into greased cake tins and bake the cakes 1-1/2 to 2 hours.
SEED CAKE (5).
4 eggs, their weight in sugar, meal and butter, 1/2 oz. of seed. Rub the butter to cream, then stir in gradually the other ingredients, first the eggs well beaten, then the sugar, the seed, and last the flour. Put in a greased tin and bake 1 to 1-1/2 hours.
SEED CAKE (6).
4 eggs, their weight in sugar, 1/2 their weight in butter, twice their weight in meal, 1/2 oz. of seed, a little lukewarm milk. Cream the butter first, then add the yolks of eggs, the sugar, seed, and meal, and enough milk to moisten the mixture; lastly, add the whites of the eggs beaten to a froth, and bake at once in a fairly quick oven.
SLY CAKES.
1 lb. Allinson wholemeal flour, 8 oz. butter, 8 oz. currants, 2 oz. sugar, and 6 drops essence of lemon; mix the flour and sugar, and make it into a smooth paste with water, but do not make it very wet. Roll out 3 times, and spread in the butter as for pastry; roll it very thin, and cut into rounds or square cakes. Spread half of them very thickly with currants, press the others very gently on the top, so as to form a sandwich, and bake in a quick oven till a light brown.
SPONGE CAKE (1).
6 oz. fine wheatmeal, 1/2 lb. castor sugar, 4 eggs, any flavouring to taste. Beat up the eggs, sift in the sugar, then the flour, and bake the mixture in a well-greased cake tin in a moderate oven from 1 to 1-1/2 hours.
SPONGE CAKE (2).
4 eggs, the weight of 3 in fine wheatmeal, and the weight of 4 in castor sugar, any flavouring to taste. Beat the eggs, sift in the sugar and meal, stirring all the time, add the flavouring, and pour the mixture into one or two greased cake tins, only filling them half full. Bake in a moderate oven for about an hour, until a knitting needle comes out clean.
SPONGE CAKE ROLY-POLY.
3 eggs, the weight of 2 in fine wheatmeal, of 8 in castor sugar, some raspberry and currant jam. Mix the ingredients as directed in "Sponge Cake," line a large, square, flat baking tin with buttered paper, pour the mixture into it, and bake it in a fairly hot oven from 7 to 12 minutes, or until baked through. Have a sheet of white kitchen paper on the kitchen table, on which sprinkle some white sugar. Turn the cake out of the tin on to the paper, spread the cake with jam, and roll up. This should be done quickly, for if the cake is allowed to cool it will not roll.
UNFERMENTED BREAD.
This is as sweet and pure a bread as the finger-rolls, and keeps fresh for several days, as it has to be mixed fairly moist. 2 lbs. of Allinson wholemeal, 1-1/2 pints of milk and water; mix these to a thick paste, and put the mixture into some small greased bread tins. Loaves the size of the twopenny loaves will want 1-1/2 hours in a hot oven.
UNFERMENTED FINGER-ROLLS.
These are bread in the simplest and purest form, and liked by most. 1 lb. of Allinson wholemeal, a good 1/2 pint of milk and water mixed; mix the meal and the milk and water into a dough, knead it a few minutes, then make the dough into finger-rolls on a floured pastry-board, rolling the finger-rolls about 3 inches long with the flat hand. Place them on a floured baking-tin, and bake them in a sharp oven from 1/2 an hour to 1 hour. The time will depend on the heat of the oven. In a very hot oven the rolls will be well baked in 1/2 an hour.
VICTORIA SANDWICH.
Proceed the same as in "Sponge Cake Roly-Poly," but bake the mixture in 2 round, flat tins; spread jam on one, and cover with the other cake.
WHOLEMEAL BREAD (FERMENTED).
This will be found useful where a large family has to be provided for, or where it is desirable to bake bread for several days. 7 lbs. of Allinson wholemeal, 2-1/2 pints of warm water (about 85° Faht.), 1 teaspoonful salt, 1/2 oz. of yeast; dissolve the yeast in the water, add the salt, put the meal into a pan, make a hole in the centre of the meal, pour in the water with the yeast and salt, and mix the whole into a dough. Allow it to stand, covered with a cloth, 1-1/2 hours in front of the fire, turning the pan sometimes, so that the dough may get warm evenly. Then knead the dough well through, and if necessary add a little more warm water. Make the dough into round loaves, or fill it into greased tins, and bake it for 1-1/2 hours. The oven should be fairly hot. To know whether the bread is done, a clean skewer or knife should be passed through a loaf. It it comes out clean the bread is done; if it sticks it not sufficiently baked. When it is desired to have a soft crust, the loaves may be baked under tins in the oven.
WHOLEMEAL CAKE.
1 lb. of wholemeal, 4 oz. of sugar, 1 teaspoonful of cinnamon, 1 breakfastcupful of currants and sultanas mixed, well-washed and picked over, 3 oz. of chopped sweet almonds, 1 dozen ground bitter almonds, 3 eggs, 1/4 oz. of German yeast, 1/4 lb. Vegebutter, and some warm milk. Rub the butter into the meal, add the fruit, cinnamon, almonds and sugar, and the eggs well beaten. Dissolve the yeast in a cupful of warm milk (not hot milk) add it to the other ingredients, and make all into a moist dough, adding as much more milk as is required to make the dough sufficiently moist for the spoon to beat all together. Cover the pan in which you mix the cake with a cloth, place it in front of the fire, and allow the dough to rise 1-1/2 hours, turning the pan round occasionally that the dough may be equally warm. Then fill the dough into one or several well-greased tins, and bake the cake or cakes from 1 to 1-1/2 hours (according to the size) in a hot oven. If the cake browns too soon, cover it over with a sheet of paper.
WHOLEMEAL GEMS.
Mix Allinson wholemeal flour with cold water into a batter, pouring this into greased and hot gem pans, and baking for 3/4 of an hour. All bread should be left for a day or two to set before it is eaten, otherwise it is apt to lie heavy on the stomach and cause a feeling of weight and uncomfortableness.
WHOLEMEAL ROCK CAKES.
1 lb. of meal, 3 oz. of butter or vege-butter, 1/4 lb. of sugar, a cupful of currants and sultanas mixed, 3 oz. of blanched almonds, chopped fine, 1 teaspoonful of cinnamon, or the grated rind of half a lemon, 3 eggs, and very little milk (about 3/4 of a teacup). Rub the butter into the meal, add the fruit, almonds, sugar, and cinnamon, beat up the eggs with the milk, and mix the whole to a stiff paste. Flour 1 or 2 flat tins, place little lumps of the paste on them, and bake the cakes in a quick oven 25 to 35 minutes. Particular care must be taken that the paste should not be too moist, as in that case the cakes would run. Vege-butter is a vegetable butter, made from the oil which is extracted from cocoanuts and clarified. It can be obtained from some of the larger stores, also from several depôts of food specialities. It is much cheaper than butter, and being very rich, goes further.