taking care that the finger tips do not break through the light film which will form upon the outside of soft dough when well managed. Keep the dough constantly in motion until it is smooth, elastic, and fine-grained.  The hands and the board may need a light dusting of flour at frequent intervals.  If the dough sticks, lift it quickly, and clean the board, that it may be kept smooth.  The dough will not stick if kept in constant motion.  Do not rub off little wads of dough either from the hands or the board and keep kneading them into the loaf; they will seriously injure the uniform texture of the bread.

HOW MANY TIMES SHALL BREAD BE KNEADED?—­As the objects to be attained in kneading dough are to render the gluten more elastic and thoroughly to diffuse the yeast, it will be seen that there has been sufficient kneading when all the flour necessary for the bread has been added.  Furthermore, it must be apparent that continued manipulation of the dough at this stage will dissipate and press out the little vesicles of gas held in place by the elastic gluten, and thus lose in part what so much pains has been taken to secure.  At whatever stage the requisite amount of flour be added, the dough should then be thoroughly kneaded once for all.  If allowed to rise in bulk, when light it should be shaped into loaves with the greatest care, handled lightly, and worked as little as possible, and if at all diminished, allowed to rise again before baking.

DRYNESS OF THE SURFACE.—­Bread in all stages should be covered over the top, since it rises much more evenly, and does not have a stiff, dried surface, as when placed in a warm place exposed to air.  It sometimes happens that this precaution is forgotten or not sufficiently attended to, and a dry crust forms and over the dough, which, if kneaded into the loaves, leaves hard, dry spots in the bread.  In case of such a mishap, take the dry crust off, dissolve it in a little warm water, add flour enough to mold, make it into a small loaf, and raise it separately.

SIZE OF LOAVES.—­The lightness of the bread after baking depends upon the perfection with which the little air-cells, formed during the fermenting process, have become fixed by the heat during the baking.  The heat expands the carbonic acid gas contained within the open spaces in the dough, and at the same time checks further development of gas by destroying the yeast plant.  The sooner, then, that the cells can be made permanent after the arrest of fermentation, the more light and porous the bread will be.  Although this fixing of the cells is largely dependent upon the degree of heat maintained, it likewise in a measure depends upon the size of the loaf, as the heat will penetrate and fix the cells of a small loaf throughout much sooner than, those of a large one.  Therefore, bake in small loaves, and have a separate pan for each, as that admits of an equal degree of heat to all sides.  This aids in a more rapid fixing of the air-cells and likewise gives more crust, which is the sweetest and most digestible part of the bread.