Molly Gavin's own cookbook

In making quick breads always sift baking powder with dry ingredients. Have liquids cold, except melted fat, which can be lukewarm, but must not be hot. Always add liquids to dry ingredients as they will mix more smoothly. In making biscuits always add enough liquid to make a soft dough, as this is one of the secrets of making good biscuits or shortcakes. Mix with a flexible knife rather than with a spoon or the hand. The less biscuits are handled, the better. Place a little apart in the pan and they will be lighter and more crusty. The smaller the biscuits and muffins, the hotter you can have the oven and the more attractive they will be. Brush with milk when you want a brown crust; brush with melted butter when you want a tender crust.

Remember these rules in making good biscuits: Have dough soft and nearly sticky; very little handling; a quick oven; don’t allow biscuits to touch each other in pan; use pastry flour.

When baking soda is used in making quick breads mix it with the dry ingredients. The old custom of putting soda into sour milk or molasses is not good practice, because as soon as they are mixed gas begins to escape. A scant half teaspoon of baking soda is about the right amount to use for each cup of sour milk, or an even half teaspoon for a cup of molasses. It is better to use too little soda than too much. In all quick breads except pop-overs sour milk can be substituted for sweet milk. For thin batters, soda and sour milk furnish enough leavening, but for thick batters or doughs, baking powder is usually needed in addition.

Fat makes quick breads tender. Any milk-flavored, clean fat is satisfactory. All fat of meat should be rendered out and clarified and kept for baking purposes.

POP-OVERS

1 c milk, 1 c flour, 1 to 2 tsp fat, 1 to 2 eggs, ⅓ tsp salt.

Stir liquid slowly into dry ingredients to avoid forming lumps; fill hot, well-greased muffin pans (preferably iron or granite because they hold the heat), not more than half full of batter; place at once in hot oven. After 20 min, lower temperature, so that inside of pop-overs will dry out a little without making crusts too hard and brown. Pop-overs require baking about 45 min.

PLAIN MUFFINS

2 c flour, 4 tsp bp, 1 tsp salt, 2 tbp sugar, 1 egg, ¾ to 1 c milk, 2 tbp melted fat.

Sift together dry ingredients; beat together egg, milk and melted fat; stir liquid into dry ingredients; bake in well-greased muffin tins in hot oven 20 to 30 min.

Bran—Substitute 1½ c bran for 1 c wheat flour; add molasses if desired, ¼ to ½ c.

Whole Wheat—Substitute 1 c whole wheat for 1 c flour.

Corn—Substitute ¾ c yellow cornmeal for 1 c flour.

Cereal—Substitute cooked rice, oatmeal, or other cereal for part of flour, ⅓ or ¼.

Fruit—Add ½ to 1 c nuts or fruit; double sugar, if sweet muffins are desired.

BAKING POWDER BISCUITS

2 c flour, 2 tbp fat, 4 tsp bp, ½ tsp salt, 2 tbp fat, ¾ c milk, 1 tbp sugar.

Sift dry ingredients together; work in well fat with a fork; slowly mix in milk; stir as little as possible; place on floured board and pat out to ½″ thickness; cut in small biscuits; wipe over top of biscuits with milk; place on greased pan; bake in hot oven 12 min.

WAFFLES

1 c milk, 1⅓ c flour, 2 tbp melted fat, 1 or 2 eggs, 2 tsp bp, 1 tbp sugar, ½ tsp salt.

Mix dry ingredients together; slightly beaten egg yolk, milk; melted fat, then stiffly beaten egg white; have waffle iron hot enough to brown the waffles quickly and well greased unless it is the electrically heated aluminum kind. If it is, you must add 1 tbp melted fat to the batter.

GRIDDLE CAKES

1 c milk, 1½ c flour, 2 tbp fat, 1 egg, 2 tsp bp, 1 tbp sugar, ½ tsp salt.

Sift dry ingredients together; add milk, slightly beaten egg, then melted fat; bake on lightly greased hot griddle. This amount makes 16 to 24 cakes, depending on size of cakes.

FRITTERS

1 c milk, 1 tbp fat, 1¾ c flour, 1 egg, 2 tsp bp, ½ tsp salt.

Mix dry ingredients together; then milk; beaten egg; melted fat; mix well; dip large pieces of fruits, tomatoes, or vegetables into this batter and fry in deep hot fat. When fruit or vegetables have liquid with them such as canned corn, this may take the place of part of the milk.

BREAKFAST MUFFINS

1 c milk, 2 c flour, 2 to 4 tbp fat, 2 tsp bp, 1 egg, 1 to 2 tbp sugar, ½ tsp salt.

Mix dry ingredients together; add milk; well beaten egg; then melted fat; pour into well greased muffin tins; bake in hot oven 20 min.

Proportions for Quick Breads, Cakes, Cookies, and Pastry.

RAISIN BREAD

1 c corn meal, 1 c corn flour, 2 c wheat flour, 6 tsp bp, ½ tsp soda, 2¼ c sweet milk, ½ c molasses, 1 egg, 1 c raisins, 1 tsp salt.

Mix dry ingredients, adding molasses, egg and milk, mixed; bake in a loaf in a slow oven 1½ hr.

VIRGINIA BATTER BREAD

1 c sifted meal, 1 tbp lard, 1 tsp salt, pinch of soda, 1 c milk, 2 eggs.

Mix meal, salt, soda and lard with enough boiling water to make a mush; add egg yolks; thin with milk and then fold in stiffly whites of eggs; pour into greased baking pans and bake 30 min.

VIRGINIA SPOON BREAD

1 qt sweet milk, 1 c white cornmeal, 2 well beaten eggs, 2 tbp butter, 1 tsp salt.

Bring 1 pt of milk to boiling point and stir into it the cornmeal and salt; cook 5 min; then beat in butter and ½ c cold milk; add the eggs, gradually beating in the rest of the cold milk; pour mixture into well greased baking dish and bake for about ½ hr in a rather hot oven. Serve at once from baking dish.

HONEY BREAD

2 c honey, 4 c rye flour, 1 tsp soda, 4 tsp aniseed, 2 tsp ginger, 4 tsp powdered cardamom seed, 2 egg yolks, ¼ c brown sugar.

Sift the flour with the spices and soda and add the other ingredients; put the dough into shallow buttered pans to the depth of about an inch and bake in a hot oven.

ONE EGG MUFFINS

3½ c flour, 6 tsp bp, 1 tsp salt, 1⅓ c milk, 3 tbp melted fat, 1 egg, 3 tbp sugar.

Sift dry ingredients together; add gradually milk, egg well beaten, and melted butter; bake in buttered gem pans 25 min; if iron pans are used they must be previously heated. This recipe makes 30 muffins. Use half proportions given and small egg, if half the number is required.

BERKSHIRE MUFFINS

⅔ c scalded milk, 1 egg, 1 tsp salt, 1 tbp fat, 4 tsp bp, ⅓ c corn meal, ½ c wheat flour, ½ c cooked rice.

Pour the scalded milk over the meal and let stand 5 min; add the other ingredients, folding in the beaten white of egg last.

RYE BISCUIT

2 c rye flour, ½ tsp salt, 4 tsp bp, 2 tbp shortening, 1 egg, ¾ c milk.

Sift together flour, salt and baking powder; rub in the shortening and mix to a light dough with the egg and milk. Roll out on a floured board, cut into biscuits and bake 15 min in a hot oven.

POTATO BISCUIT

1 potato, 1½ c flour, 4 tsp bp, ½ tsp salt, ¼ c shortening, 1 egg, 1 c milk.

Boil and mash the potatoes, having them free from lumps; sift the flour, salt and baking powder.

CORNMEAL PUFFS

1 pt. milk, ⅓ c corn meal, 4 tbp sugar, ½ tsp salt, 4 eggs, grated nutmeg (if desired).

Cook milk and meal together 15 min with salt and sugar; when cool add eggs well beaten; bake in greased custard cups; serve with stewed fruit or jam.

CORNMEAL PANCAKES

2 c wheat flour, ½ c corn meal, 1½ tbp bp, 1½ tsp salt, ⅓ c sugar, 1½ c boiling water, 1¼ c milk, 1 tbp melted fat, 1 egg.

Add meal to boiling water; boil 5 min; turn into bowl; add milk and remaining dry ingredients mixed and sifted; then egg well beaten, and butter; cook on greased griddle.

HOMINY MUFFINS

1 c cold boiled hominy grits, 1 c sweet milk, 1 egg, 1¼ c corn flour, 2 tsp bp, ½ tsp salt, 1 tbp melted fat.

Beat milk and egg into hominy grits; add melted fat and dry ingredients; mix well; bake in well-greased muffin pans 30 min.

BOSTON BROWN BREAD

1 c corn meal, 1 c rye meal, 1 c graham flour, 2½ tsp soda, 4 tsp bp, 1 tsp salt, ¾ c molasses, 2 c sour milk, or 1¾ c sweet milk.

Mix and sift dry ingredients and add molasses and milk; beat thoroughly and steam 3½ hr in well-buttered covered molds or baking powder cans; remove covers and bake bread long enough to dry top.

This may be made also with 1½ c each of corn meal and rye meal and no graham flour. A cup of seeded raisins or prunes or a cup of currants may be added.

CUSTARD CORN CAKE

2 eggs, ¼ c sugar, 1 tsp soda, 1 tsp salt, 1 c sour milk, 1 c sweet milk, 1⅔ c corn meal, ⅓ c wheat flour, 2 tbp fat, 1 c cream or milk.

Mix all ingredients but cream and butter; melt fat in deep pan, using plenty on sides; pour in batter; add (without stirring) cup of cream; bake 20 to 30 min; when cooked there should be a layer of custard on top of cake or small bits of custard distributed through it. Milk may be used in place of cream in this recipe.

SPOON CORN BREAD

2 c water, 1 c milk, 1 c white corn meal, 1 tbp butter, 1 tsp salt, 2 eggs.

Mix as directed for Custard Corn Bread; add eggs well beaten and other ingredients; beat thoroughly; bake in well-greased pan for 25 min in hot oven; serve from same dish with a spoon.

DATE OR FRUIT GEMS

1 c chopped dates, 2 c flour, ½ level tsp salt, ⅓ c shortening, 1 egg, 1⅓ c milk, 4 level tsp bp.

Stone dates and chop coarsely; sift together flour, salt and baking powder; rub shortening into flour; mix in dates and form to a stiff batter with beaten egg and milk; bake in hot, well-greased gem pans in moderate oven about 20 min. Other fruit or berries can be substituted for dates.