As a result of carefully following these minute directions, even an inexperienced housewife should have sweet, wholesome bread.

Frau Schmidt insisted that rolling portions of dough separately before combining in a loaf, as for braided loaves, caused the bread to have a finer texture than if just shaped into round loaves.

AN “OATMEAL LOAF”

For a loaf of oatmeal bread, place 1 cup of crushed oats, or common oatmeal, in a bowl, pour over 1/2 cup of hot milk.  When luke warm, add 1 cup of sponge, or batter, reserved from that raised over night for making loaves of white bread; 1 teaspoonful butter, 1 teaspoonful sugar and 1/2 teaspoonful salt, and about 2 scant cups of white flour.  Knead a few minutes, set to rise in a warm place, closely covered, about one hour or until doubled in bulk.  Then knead down and form into a shapely loaf, place in a pan, brush melted butter over lop (this improves crust), and when raised, doubled in bulk (in about one hour), place in a moderately hot oven and bake from 40 to 45 minutes.  Raisins may be added to this loaf, if liked.  Mary preferred this oatmeal loaf to graham bread.

The sponge or batter from which this oatmeal-loaf was made had been prepared in the following manner: 

To 1-1/2 cups of luke-warm potato water was added 1 teaspoonful of sugar, 1 cake of yeast; when dissolved, add 1-1/2 cups of white bread flour.  Beat all together well, stand closely-covered in a warm place until the following morning.  From one cup of this sponge was made one oatmeal loaf, and to the other cup of sponge white flour was added for a loaf of white bread or rolls.

AUNT SARAH’S WHITE BREAD (SPONGE METHOD)

Prepare the following “Yeast Sponge” at noon, the day preceding that on which you bake bread:  Place in a bowl (after the mid-day meal) 1 quart of potato water (containing no salt), in which potatoes were boiled; also two medium-sized, finely-mashed potatoes, 1 tablespoonful of sugar and, when luke warm, add 1 cup of good home-made or baker’s yeast.  Mix all well together; then divide this mixture and pour each half into each of two 1-quart glass fruit jars.  Place covers tightly on jars and shake each jar well, to mix yeast and potato-water thoroughly.  Stand yeast in a warm place near the kitchen range over night.  Jars should be covered only with a napkin.  The sponge should become light and foamy.  In the morning use this freshly-prepared yeast to set sponge for bread.

When preparing to set bread, place in a large bowl 1 pint of potato water, 1 tablespoonful of sugar, 1 pint of the yeast sponge, 1/2 teaspoonful of salt, and use about 3 pounds of sifted flour, well-dried and warmed.  Knead from 15 to 20 minutes, until a stiff dough is formed.  The dough should be fine-grained and elastic and not stick to bake board.  Place dough in the bowl to rise; this should lake