The Myrtle Reed Cook Book. Reed Myrtle

sprinkle with sugar if desired.

RICE MUFFINS

      One cupful of cold boiled rice, two cupfuls of flour, two eggs, beaten separately, two tablespoonfuls of lard or butter, a teaspoonful of salt, and milk enough to make a thin batter. Beat hard and bake in a quick oven.

RICE MUFFINS – II

      One cupful of milk, one and one half cupfuls of flour, half a cupful of cold boiled rice, two level teaspoonfuls of baking powder, a pinch of salt, a teaspoonful of sugar, a heaping teaspoonful of butter, and one egg well beaten. Mix the dry ingredients, then melt the butter and rub it into the rice, add the egg, then the milk. Combine the two mixtures, beat well, and bake twenty-five minutes in buttered muffin-tins in a moderate oven.

RYE MUFFINS

      Sift together one cupful each of rye meal and white flour, add two teaspoonfuls of baking powder, a pinch of salt, and a tablespoonful of sugar. Mix with one egg, well beaten, and one cupful of milk. Bake in buttered muffin-rings.

RYE CRISPS

      One cupful of rye meal and one half cupful of white flour. Sift into a bowl with one teaspoonful of baking powder and mix thoroughly with one third of a cupful of finely minced beef suet. Add half a teaspoonful of salt, and enough milk to make a soft dough that may be easily handled with a spoon. Have well-buttered muffin-tins piping hot. Fill them two-thirds full and bake quickly in a very hot oven. They should be done in from twelve to fifteen minutes.

SALLY LUNN

      Four cupfuls of sifted flour, four eggs, beaten separately, one cupful of milk, one cupful of melted butter and lard, equal parts, one teaspoonful of salt, two heaping teaspoonfuls of baking powder. Mix, adding the whites the last thing. Bake in muffin-rings.

SCONES

      Spread a rich biscuit or muffin dough in a well-buttered pan, mark deeply into squares, brush with the yolk of an egg, and sprinkle with sugar.

SNOW BALLS

      Make a batter of one cupful of cream – the top of milk will do nicely – two tablespoonfuls of sugar, the yolks of four eggs, a heaping teaspoonful of baking powder, and flour enough to mix. Add the whites of the eggs last, beaten to a stiff froth. Fill buttered cups two thirds full, and bake in a hot oven.

SCOTCH SCONES

      Four cupfuls of sifted flour, one cupful of buttermilk, one tablespoonful of butter, one tablespoonful of sugar, one half teaspoonful of baking soda, and one half teaspoonful of salt. Rub the butter into the flour, add the sugar and salt, stir the soda into the buttermilk, and mix with the flour. Roll into a thin sheet, cut into triangles, and bake about thirty-five minutes on a floured tin. Just before they are done, rub a cloth dipped in milk over the tops and put back into the oven to glaze.

      Note. – Sour milk may be made from fresh by keeping the milk some hours in a warm place, or, more quickly, by adding a little lemon-juice or vinegar to the amount of milk required.

      RAISED BREAKFAST BREADS

      Although many recipes included in this section may seem, at first glance, to be unsuitable for breakfast on account of the length of time taken for rising, there are ways in which the time can be considerably shortened.

      A competent authority says that any mixture for rolls or muffins can be made ready for its second rising at night, and kept over night in any place where the dough will not freeze, or where the temperature is not so high as to cause too rapid rising and consequent souring of the dough.

      Moreover, rolls or muffins may be baked in the afternoon until done thoroughly, but not brown, wrapped in a cloth, and put away in a cool place. In the morning, they need only to be rubbed with melted butter and set into a hot oven for a very few moments. They will come out crisp and flaky, and free from all objections on the score of indigestibility. Bread twice baked is always much more digestible than fresh bread.

      Brioche, the most delicious of all hot breads, needs to stand in the refrigerator over night, and the second process is a quick one when the paste is once made. The paste will keep a week or more in a very cold place, and be the better for it. It is a French dough, for which many complicated recipes are given, but the following will be found satisfactory, and not difficult after one or two trials.

BRIOCHE PASTE

      One cake of compressed yeast, a pinch of salt, one and one fourth cupfuls of butter, four cupfuls of flour, one tablespoonful of sugar, two tablespoonfuls of warm water, and seven eggs. Dissolve the yeast in the water, adding a little more water if necessary, and rubbing the yeast cake with a spoon until thoroughly dissolved. Stir in enough sifted flour to make a stiff dough, rolling and patting with the hands until thoroughly mixed. Drop this ball of paste into a kettle of warm water and let stand in a moderate temperature until it has a little more than doubled in bulk. (Some recipes for Brioche say that the ball of paste should be light enough to float.) Put the remainder of the four cupfuls of flour into a mixing bowl, add the sugar, salt, and butter, softened but not melted, and four of the eggs, unbeaten. With the hand mix carefully to a paste, beat smooth, and add the rest of the eggs, unbeaten, one at a time. Take the ball of paste, when light, out of the warm water with a skimmer, and, still using the hand, incorporate it carefully with the egg mixture, folding the two together as lightly as possible. Let rise, in a moderate temperature, until double in bulk. Then turn the paste on a floured board and pat and fold with the hands until smooth in texture and inclined to stay in shape. Let rise once more until very light, then put into the refrigerator and let stand over night.

BRIOCHE ROLLS

      Roll a large lump of Brioche dough into a thin sheet on a floured board or pastry slab, working lightly and quickly, spread with softened butter, and fold so that the paste will be in three layers. Cut in strips an inch wide and twist, working from the ends, and arrange in circles on a baking-sheet, the ends of the strips pointing inward. The rolls should be very close together in the pan. Beat the yolk of an egg, dilute it with as much milk, and brush the rolls with the mixture. Let them rise a few minutes, then bake about half an hour in a moderate oven. A little sugar and water may be spread over the tops if desired.