Evening Republican, Volume 18, Number 242, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 13 October 1914 — MAKING BATTERS AND DOUGHS [ARTICLE]

MAKING BATTERS AND DOUGHS

Comparatively Simple Proceeding If the Cook Will Remember to Follow These Directions. The woman who cooks by recipe ha» not mastered the principles of her art, any more than the hoy has mastered geometry who is not able to construct a triangle on a givenßlne without referring to his textbook, says the Youth’s Companion. The principles that underlie tha making of batters and doughs are sin*pie and Interesting, and cooking becomes a delight when you apply them In devising new dishes and new combinations. The four essentials in all such mixtures are flour, wetting, salt, and * leaven. The four must always he in definite proportions, "but the non-es-sentials, namely, sugar, shortening, spice, fruit and flavoring, may vary according to individual taste. In these non-essentials lies the scope for Individuality in cooking. The proportions of the essential Ingredients should be committed to memory, and adhered to rather strictly. The wetting may be milk, water or beaten eggs, or of all three. For a thin batter yon must have equal parts of flour and wetting —a cupful of flour to a cupful of wetting; for a , thick batter, twice as much flour as wetting; for a soft dough, three times as much flour as wetting; for a stiff dough four times as much flour as /wetting. , Now for the proportions of the dry ingredients: One cupful of flour calls for one-quarter of a teaspoonful of salt; one cupful of flour calls for two level teaspoonfuls of baking powder. Lastly, If you remember that one cupful of flour will make four or-dinary-sized muffins, biscuits, gems, or pancakes, you will see that you can construct a recipe to serve as many or as few persons as you wish.