Press enter after choosing selection

Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread image
Parent Issue
Day
1
Month
June
Year
1882
Copyright
Public Domain
OCR Text

The great scarcity, high price, and poor quality of our potatoes, east and west, make it unusually important to have good bread. Potatoes are not very nutritious, and by no means an essential diet; but "meat and potatoes" seem made to go together, the starch of the potatoes balancing the flbrine of the beef or other lean meats. But potatoes are over four-fifths water, by weight, and easily dispensed with when we get xised to it. We can also live comfortably, healthfully, andsatisfactorily without meat, if we have nourishing bread pleasaut to our taste. Many think we have this in Graham, . but genuine Graham is hard to find now-a-days; It has been suggested 1 that we secure small hand-mills, strong coffee milis, for inatance, and grind our own wheat. This would be well if we could not do better. But I would gladly dispense with bran as an article of diet. It affords no nourishment that 13 not now perfectly obtained by the new process of grinding, and it is quite doubtful whether all of the food elements once left clinging to the bran could easily be digested and assimilated when taken in that condltion. It is claimed by some of our best authorities that bran, in its haste through the digestive organs, carries along with it much that would be assimulated and used as good building and strenghening material. This action of the bran makes Graham flour an excellent food and medicine for painpered appetites. The poor and ill-fed cannot afford to eat it. But we need something beside white flour in our daily bread if we rely upon it as food - especially if we would have gems. Thoughvery light white flour gems can be made, much as you would make muffins, they would prove a sleoder ataff of life." We have been using for a few weeks a flour purporting to be the whole wheat ground to a fine flour with only the bran removed, and it professes to contain all of the nourishinent originally stored in the wheat in a form easily assimulated. I believe in the tbeory, but lost some enthusiam when testing it practically. It had an odd taste especially when made with yeast, which we called bitter at first. But we have got used to it, and prize it especially on account of the delicious water gems it makes. Af ter a month's trial we deem it a very satisfactory food in all respects. We liked our water gems from the first, and have hardly eaten a breakfast without thera for over three weeks, liking them better and better as we mix them thinner. I find the best pronortions three cups of water.and four cüps of sifted "Entire Wheat Flour," sifted in a little at a time. Have the gem irons very hot, butter them, üll nearly level with the batter; bake partly on the oven rack, and partly on the bottom, baking tboroughly. Sweet milk is better than water, but the water-mixed gems are a daily delight in our house just now. They rise but little, the flour swellingin thethin batter as it cooks; they are not the least sticky when f ully done, but have a üne spongy texture and excellent flavor. Those unused to water gems may prefer using sour milk; with eggs freely added, the best possible pancakes are made from this flour. I disagree with those who think tliat white bread is necessarily "flat and in&ipid," though most of it is so. There always ehould be a decidedly sweet taste to Jight bread f rom the flne white Üour. Sometime8 this is concealed by too much salt, which ínany of us never add while preparing and cooking üour. Sornetimes the yeast overpowers all other flavors, but usually the sweetoess is lost by excessive fermentation which often takes place iu the efliort to have the bread very light, Our English neighbors are making a great stir about a much needed Bread lleform. They want something better than the palé insipid bread of their bakeries. The Bread Reform League members embrace many well-known influential ñames. They recommend no particular brand of flour, they insist that bread made from wheat, our best cereal, shall contain all of the nourishing elements of the wheat. Their phamphlets indícate that their Graham of ooarse bread is no better than what we have here. The several companies in this country furnish more nutritious flour than that common in our markets, better than the ordin.iry patent and straight white flours, and the mixtures called "Graham." Soinetimes flve bran coats are removed, and sometimes only one. I have tried several kinds, and am now in a mood for experimenting farther. Habit is strong, and those sending out flour containing elements unfamiliar to the consuméis of white flour bread, should urge a long trial before judgment is pronounced.

Article

Subjects
Old News
Ann Arbor Democrat