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To Make a Peck of Good Bread

A historical recipe from The Book of Household Management, by Beeton, Mrs. (Isabella Mary) (1861).

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A historical recipe

The Book of Household Management, by Beeton, Mrs. (Isabella Mary) (1861). Project Gutenberg eBook #10136.

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

Ingredients 6 ingredients

  1. 6 pints of cold water
  2. 1/2 pint of good yeast
  3. a peck of flour
  4. 2 oz. of salt
  5. 5 pints of water
  6. 20 lbs. Time

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.

Method

  1. 1719.
  2. INGREDIENTS.--3 lbs.
  3. of potatoes, 6 pints of cold water, 1/2 pint of good yeast, a peck of flour, 2 oz.
  4. of salt.
  5. Mode.--Peel and boil the potatoes;
  6. beat them to a cream while warm;
  7. then add 1 pint of cold water, strain through a colander, and add to it 1/2 pint of good yeast, which should have been put in water over-night, to take off its bitterness.
  8. Stir all well together with a wooden spoon, and pour the mixture into the centre of the flour;
  9. mix it to the substance of cream, cover it over closely, and let it remain near the fire for an hour;
  10. then add the 5 pints of water, milk-warm, with 2 oz.
  11. of salt;
  12. pour this in, and mix the whole to a nice light dough.
  13. Let it remain for about 2 hours;
  14. then make it into 7 loaves, and bake for about 1-1/2 hour in a good oven.
  15. When baked, the bread should weigh nearly 20 lbs.
  16. Time.--About 1-1/2 hour.
  17. THE RED VARIETIES OF WHEAT are generally hardier and more easily grown than the white sorts, and, although of less value to the miller, they are fully more profitable to the grower, in consequence of the better crops which they produce.
  18. Another advantage the red wheats possess is their comparative immunity from the attacks of mildew and fly.
  19. The best English wheat comes from the counties of Kent and Essex;
  20. the qualities under these heads always bearing a higher price than others, as will be seen by the periodical lists in the journals.

Plating

Cookware for this recipe

  • Saucepan
  • Vegetable peeler
  • Wooden spoon
  • Sieve
  • Colander
Source Public domain in the USA
Credit

From The Book of Household Management, by Beeton, Mrs. (Isabella Mary) (1861). Digitised by Project Gutenberg, eBook #10136 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/10136). 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.