American flour is celebrated all over the world, and is more extensively used in England, especially the finest sorts for pastry; but, of course, the demand for it in the immense continent itself is something enormous. Take one instance, Philadelphia, which is celebrated for its good bread. Over one million barrels are sold in that city annually for home consumption, and two-thirds of this is made into bread. The 1300 bakers in Philadelphia use 600,000 barrels, a barrel of good flour making from 270 to 280 five cent. loaves, and the best flour is the cheapest to use. As a rule, the bakers use choice brands, and mix four grades to get the proper alloy, so to speak—two ‘Minnesota springs’ and two ‘Indiana winters.’ Some bakers, especially those who make the best breads, use only one grade of spring wheat and two of winter. In the olden time yeast was made of malt, potatoes, and hops, and it is still largely used, but the bakers of fancy breads use a patent yellow compressed yeast. There are seven large steam bread bakeries in Philadelphia, giving employment to three or four hundred hands. One large establishment manufactures the different varieties of Vienna bread exclusively. It is made of the best flour, and milk instead of water is used to mix the flour. The baking is done in air-tight ovens, and the steam generated in baking settles back on the bread instead of escaping. This makes the outer crust thin and tender, and gives the bread a particularly rich taste and pleasant aroma. With the addition of maize and buckwheat, the Americans use the same cereals for making bread as we do; but, of course, as is the case with every nation, there are specialities which do not travel abroad. Graham bread is our wholemeal bread, and should be made with the unbolted meal of wheat, and not only that, but the wheat of which it is made should be good plump grain, otherwise there would be a disproportionate quantity of bran. Then there is Boston brown bread, for which the following is the formula: One quart Indian corn meal, one quart Graham, one quart rye flour, one quart white flour, one quart boiling water, one pint yeast, one small cup of molasses, two teaspoonfuls of salt, half-cup of burnt sugar colouring. For rye and Indian corn bread it is only necessary to change the above recipe by leaving out the Graham and white flour and doubling the proportions of Indian corn meal and rye in their place. Of rolls there are very many varieties besides the ordinary French rolls. Many hotels have their speciality in this class of bread, and, consequently, we have Parker, Tremont, Revere, Brunswick, Clarendon, St. James, Windsor, &c., rolls, besides which there are twist and sandwich rolls. CHAPTER VII. EARLY ENGLISH BREAD.