BEATEN BISCUITS (Sufficient to Serve Twelve)
1 qt. pastry flour 1 tsp. salt 1/3 c. fat 1 c. milk or water
Sift the flour and salt and chop in the fat. Moisten with the milk or water and form into a mass. Toss this on a floured board, and beat it with a rolling pin for 30 minutes, folding the dough over every few seconds. Roll the dough 1/3 inch in thickness, form the biscuits by cutting them out with a small round cutter, and prick each one several times with a fork. Place the biscuits on baking sheets or in shallow pans, and bake them in a moderate oven for 20 to 30 minutes.
63. SOFT GINGERBREAD.--As a hot bread for breakfast, soft gingerbread like that illustrated in Fig. 17 is very satisfactory, and with or without icing it may be served as cake with fruit for luncheon. Sweet milk and baking powder are generally used in gingerbread, but sour milk may be substituted for sweet milk and soda in the proper proportion may be used in place of baking powder. If not too much spice is used in a bread of this kind, it is better for children than rich cake, and, as a rule, they are very fond of it.
SOFT GINGERBREAD (Sufficient for One Medium-Sized Loaf)
2 c. flour 2 tsp. baking powder 1/2 tsp. soda 1/4 c. sugar 1/2 tsp. salt 2 tsp. ginger 1 tsp. cinnamon 1 egg 1/2 c. milk 1/2 c. molasses 1/4 c. butter or other fat
Mix the flour, baking powder, soda, sugar, salt, and spices. Beat the egg, add the milk and molasses to it, and stir these into the first mixture. Melt the fat and stir it into the batter. Pour the batter into a well-greased loaf pan, and bake in a moderate oven for about 35 minutes. If preferred, the mixture may be poured into individual muffin pans and baked in a moderate oven for about 25 minutes.
64. BOSTON BROWN BREAD.--A hot bread that finds favor with most persons is Boston brown bread, which is illustrated in Fig. 18.
Such bread, instead of being baked in the oven, is steamed for 3-1/2 hours. It may be made plain, according to the accompanying recipe, or, to give it variety, raisins or currants may be added to it. Boston brown bread may be steamed in an ordinary coffee can, such as is shown in Fig. 18, in a large baking-powder can, or in a can that is made especially for this purpose. A regular steaming can for Boston brown bread is, of course, very convenient, but the other cans mentioned are very satisfactory. A point to remember in the making of brown bread is that the time for steaming should never be decreased. Oversteaming will do no harm, but understeaming is liable to leave an unbaked place through the centre of the loaf.