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Household Bread

A historical recipe from The Cook and Housekeeper's Complete and Universal Dictionary, by Eaton, Mary, active 1823-1849 (1822).

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A historical recipe

The Cook and Housekeeper's Complete and Universal Dictionary; Including a System of Modern Cookery, in all Its Various Branches, Adapted to the Use of Private Families, by Eaton, Mary, active 1823-1849 (1822). Project Gutenberg eBook #29084.

From an old book: a historical recipe, not current advice. Its methods, additives and storage may be unsafe by today's standards.

Ingredients 8 ingredients

  1. Four ounces of salt are dissolved
  2. three quarts of water
  3. a pint of yeast
  4. a peck of second flour
  5. a bushel of flour
  6. nine quarts of warm water
  7. a pound of salt
  8. five pounds each

Possible health benefits

General information, not medical advice.

  1. Flour Source of phosphorus · Source of copper · Source of manganese · +1

    Source of phosphorus · 106 mg per 100 g, 15% of the reference intake per 100 g

    • Phosphorus contributes to normal energy-yielding metabolism.
    • Phosphorus contributes to normal function of cell membranes.
    • Phosphorus contributes to the maintenance of normal bones.
    1 more authorised claims
    • Phosphorus contributes to the maintenance of normal teeth.

    Phosphorus is a mineral contained in each cell in our body. Most phosphorus is in the bones and teeth, and some is in your genes. NIH fact sheet

    Source of copper · 0.2 mg per 100 g, 17% of the reference intake per 100 g

    • Copper contributes to maintenance of normal connective tissues.
    • Copper contributes to normal energy-yielding metabolism.
    • Copper contributes to normal functioning of the nervous system.
    5 more authorised claims
    • Copper contributes to normal hair pigmentation.
    • Copper contributes to normal iron transport in the body.
    • Copper contributes to normal skin pigmentation.
    • Copper contributes to the normal function of the immune system.
    • Copper contributes to the protection of cells from oxidative stress.

    Copper is a mineral that you need to stay healthy. Your body uses copper to carry out many important functions, including making energy, connective tissues, and blood vessels. NIH fact sheet

    Source of manganese · 0.6 mg per 100 g, 28% of the reference intake per 100 g

    • Manganese contributes to normal energy-yielding metabolism.
    • Manganese contributes to the maintenance of normal bones.
    • Manganese contributes to the normal formation of connective tissue.
    1 more authorised claims
    • Manganese contributes to the protection of cells from oxidative stress.

    Manganese is a mineral that your body needs to stay healthy. Your body uses manganese to make energy and protect your cells from damage. NIH fact sheet

    Source of selenium · 10 µg per 100 g, 19% of the reference intake per 100 g

    • Selenium contributes to normal spermatogenesis.
    • Selenium contributes to the maintenance of normal hair.
    • Selenium contributes to the maintenance of normal nails.
    3 more authorised claims
    • Selenium contributes to the normal function of the immune system.
    • Selenium contributes to the normal thyroid function.
    • Selenium contributes to the protection of cells from oxidative stress.

    Selenium is a nutrient that the body needs to stay healthy. Your thyroid gland needs selenium to produce hormones and function properly. NIH fact sheet

    Nutrients per 100 g of “Flour, 00”, USDA FoodData Central.

Claims: EU Register of health claims (Regulation (EU) No 432/2012, © European Union, CC BY 4.0), shown only where the ingredient meets the claim's conditions (Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006). Nutrients: USDA FoodData Central (CC0). Facts: NIH Office of Dietary Supplements (public domain).

Cook safely

Keep children and pets away from the hob and the oven, and keep oven gloves and a lid within reach.

  • Oven and hot trays. Use dry oven gloves for trays and dishes: a hot tray looks just like a cold one. Open the oven door away from your face and let the first rush of heat out.
  • Boiling water and steam. Turn pan handles inward, away from the edge of the hob. Lift lids away from you, and pour hot water away from your body: steam burns too.
  • Sharp knives. Cut on a board that doesn't slip (a damp cloth under it helps), and curl the fingers of the hand that holds the food.

Method

  1. Four ounces of salt are dissolved in three quarts of water, and mixed with a pint of yeast.
  2. This mixture is poured into a cavity made in a peck of second flour, placed in a large pan or trough.
  3. When properly kneaded and fermented, it is divided into pieces of a certain weight, and baked.
  4. Sometimes, in farm houses, a portion of rice flour, boiled potatoes, or rye meal, is mixed with the flour, previous to kneading the dough.
  5. The rye and rice serve to bind the bread, but the potatoes render it light and spongy.--Or, for a larger quantity, put a bushel of flour into a trough, two thirds wheat and one of rye.
  6. Mix a quart of yeast with nine quarts of warm water, and work it into the flour till it becomes tough.
  7. Leave it to rise about an hour;
  8. and as soon as it rises, add a pound of salt, and as much warm water as before.
  9. Work it well, and cover it with flannel.
  10. Make the loaves a quarter of an hour before the oven is ready;
  11. and if they weigh five pounds each, they will require to be baked two hours and a half.

Plating

Cookware for this recipe

  • Saucepan
  • Chef's knife
Source Public domain in the USA
Credit

From The Cook and Housekeeper's Complete and Universal Dictionary, by Eaton, Mary, active 1823-1849 (1822). Digitised by Project Gutenberg, eBook #29084 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/29084). Public domain in the USA; its status may differ elsewhere.

What was changed: As printed, from the book's text; Project Gutenberg's header and licence removed. Ingredient lines were read out of the text by a program. A historical recipe, not current advice.