Directions for Cookery, in its Various BranchesLeslie, Eliza
General
Directions for Cookery, in its Various Branches
Leslie, Eliza
Cooking, American
Cut up three quarters of a pound of butter in a quart of milk, and set
it near the fire to warm, till the butter becomes soft; then with a
knife, mix it thoroughly with the milk, and set it away to cool.
Afterwards stir in two wine glasses of strong fresh yeast, and add by
degrees as much sifted flour as will make a dough just stiff enough to
roll out. As soon as it is mixed, roll it into a thick sheet, and cut
it out into round cakes with the edge of a tumbler or a wine glass.
Sprinkle a large iron pan with flour; lay the biscuits in it, cover it
and set it to rise near the fire. When the biscuits are quite light,
knead each one separately; prick them with a fork, and set them again
in a warm place for about half an hour. When they are light again, bake
them in a moderate oven. They should be eaten fresh, and pulled open
with the fingers, as splitting them with a knife will make them heavy.
WHITE GINGERBREAD.
Sift two pounds of flour into a deep pan, and rub into it three
quarters of a pound of butter; then mix in a pound of common white
sugar powdered; and three table-spoonfuls of the best white ginger.
Having beaten four eggs very light, mix them gradually with the other
ingredients in the pan, and add a small tea-spoonful of pearl-ash
melted in a wine glass of warm milk. Stir the whole as hard as
possible. Flour your paste-board; lay the lump of dough upon it, and
roll it out into a sheet an inch thick; adding more flour if necessary.
Butter a large shallow square pan. Lay the dough into it, and bake it
in a moderate oven. When cold, cut it into squares. Or you may cut it
out into separate cakes with a jagging iron, previous to baking. You
must be careful not to lay them too close together in the pan, lest
they run into each other.
COMMON GINGERBREAD.
Cut up a pound of butter in a quart of West India molasses, which must
be perfectly sweet; if it is in the least sour, use sugar house
molasses instead. Warm it slightly, just enough to melt the butter.
Crush with the rolling-pin, on the paste-board, half a pound of brown
sugar, and add it by degrees to the molasses and butter; then stir in a
tea-cup full of powdered ginger, a large tea-spoonful of powdered
cloves, and a table-spoonful of powdered cinnamon. Add gradually
sufficient flour to make a dough stiff enough to roll out easily; and
lastly, a small tea-spoonful of pearl-ash melted in a little warm
water. Mix and stir the dough very hard with a spaddle, or a wooden
spoon; but do not knead it. Then divide it with a knife into equal
portions; and, having floured your hands, roll it out on the
paste-board into long even strips. Place them in shallow tin pans, that
have been buttered; either laying the strips side by side in straight
round sticks, (uniting them at both ends,) or coil them into rings one
within another, as you see them at the cake shops. Bake them in a brisk
oven, taking care that they do not burn; gingerbread scorching sooner
than any other cake.
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