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Another Brief Post

I will have something else up later today; after all, I do plan to make bread of some sort. I just thought I would offer a few brief thoughts on my (continued, but still not complete) reading of The English Bread Book. So, here are my thoughts.

  1. The "German yeast" used in 1857 seems to be like the yeast variously called "fresh yeast", "wet yeast" or "yeast cakes" that are often available (though I personally use the dry yeast). This seems to have been only available for sale in bakeries. If you've never seen fresh yeast, here's some (actual size about 1 inch by ½ inch by ½ inch):

    Fresh yeast. (Image courtesy of ElinorD, via Wikimedia Commons).

  2. Since German yeast was relatively expensive and didn't last long, the yeast in common use was that which would have been used in brewing beer; and there's considerable discussion of how it can be affected by hops, gentian, and other ingredients used to flavor beer or ale; also of the difference between the ale of strong beer and that of milder beer. It took me a while to realize that this yeast was a liquid, or at least a suspension. "Brewer's yeast", however, was definitely viewed as unsuitable for bread-baking.
  3. Quick breads were mentioned in the book, or at least the existence of bread which didn't require yeast for leavening. The recommended leavening agents were "soda" (i.e. baking soda, sodium bicarbonate) and muriatic acid. For those of you not familiar with muriatic acid, you might be more familiar with it under the name of "hydrochloric acid". If you are familiar with it, you might have seen something like this

    Muriatic acid. (Image courtesy of MarvinsBuildingMaterials.com).

    in your local hardware store, where it's available as a preparation for painted surfaces.
  4. Finally (for now), I have to make a comment on the oven. It was a bit of a surprise (though on reflection perhaps it shouldn't have been) that quite often, bread was not baked at home, even when it was made at home. Apparently many small cottages didn't have ovens, and the author remarks that even many small villages didn't have any. It seems to have been often assumed that the risen dough would be sent out for baking at the baker's. I suppose I let my assumptions about 19th-century English life be colored too much by my assumptions about 21st-century American life.

That's all I have for now. God speed, and remember: All sorrows are less with bread.

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