Mrs. Lincoln's Boston cook book : what to do and what not to do in cooking / by Mrs. D.A. Lincoln.

  • Lincoln, Mary J. (Mary Johnson), 1844-1921.
Date:
1884
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Mrs. Lincoln's Boston cook book : what to do and what not to do in cooking / by Mrs. D.A. Lincoln. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    81/604 (page 55)
    Sprinkle the board with flour, and leave a little in the corner to lay your hands upon. Scrape the dough from the bowl, and toss it over with the knife that it may be well floured. Flour the hands ; then, with the finger- tips, draw the dough farthest from you up and over to- ward the centre, letting the ball of the hand meet the dough, and then press down firmly, giving the dough some- what of a rolling motion, that it may not stick to the board. Repeat this motion until the dough is in a long narrow shape, then turn it at right angles, and draw up, fold, and press down again; and continue this process until the dough is smooth, elastic, fine, and even-grained. Dust the board and the palms of the hands with flour often, but only slightly. Should the dough stick, lift it quickly, and always scrape oflT what has adhered to the board before dusting again, that the board may be kept smooth. But do not let it stick; keep it in constant motion. Do not knead hard enough to break into the dough, nor let the finger-tips pierce the smooth crust that soon forms under proper kneading. Use the fingers merely in drawing the dough over, and keep them up and out of it when press- ing with the ball of the hand. Use both hands in the same manner, or draw up and press with the right, and turn the ball of dough with the left, that all parts may receive an equal pressure. When enough of this smooth, soft texture has been formed all through the dough, it can be worked for some time without even a dusting of flour. After a little experience, if care be taken in the beginning, and only a little flour added at each dusting, when the dough is sufificiently kneaded, the hands, the apron, and the board will be clean, and the dough of an even, elastic consistency, springing up instantly as you toss or pound or punch into it. The habit of mixing with the hands, and rubbing off little wads of dough from the fingers into the whole mass, should be avoided, especially toward the last of the process. There is no mechanical operation in cooking more fascinating than the deft, quick touches a natural kneader gives to a mass of dough. Young ladies