Chapter 19 assembled 20jy02
Its food value depends mainly on the kind of flour used to make the bread but also on other ingredients which may be added, such as dried milk, fats, sugar, and eggs. Today the nutritive value of white bread is controlled by law. The flour used is enriched with iron, calcium, and some B vitamins, making it of higher nutritive value than the old pre-war white loaf.
All breads are a good source of heat and energy for the body. In the average diet bread is also important as a source of body building protein, calcium, iron, and B vitamins.
By choosing the right type of filling, sandwiches can be made very satisfying and nourishing. In fact, a good sandwich meal is often better food-value than many a hot dinner. The ideal fillings for sandwiches are one of the body-building foods, such as cheese, meat, eggs, or fish, together with protective foods in the form of tomato, lettuce, watercress, or other vegetables.
To prevent bread from becoming stale too quickly it should be kept in a tin or a stone crock, but the container should not be airtight, or the bread may develop mould. A stone crock provides sufficient ventilation through its porous sides, but a tin should have a hole in the lid, or some other form of ventilation.
Bread should never be put away warm, as this encourages mould by making the container damp.
The bin or crock should be cleaned out regularly; avoid collecting odd scraps of bread in the bottom. Use them up in puddings, for crumbs, etc. If you are unlucky enough to have bread go mouldy, scald out the container with boiling water, as it will contain mould-spores waiting to settle on the fresh bread, and spoil it too.
Better toast is made with bread one or two days old than with new bread. If you like toast soft in the middle, cut the bread between ¼ and ½ inch [6-15mm] thick and toast quickly near a fierce heat. If crisper toast is preferred, cut the bread ¼ inch [6mm] thick and turn several times during toasting so that it dries as it toasts.
Melba toast is made by drying thin slices of stale bread cut ⅛-¼ inch [3-6mm]. Dry in a very slow oven until they are crisp and brown. When cool they may be stored in an airtight tin and will keep well.
Very stale bread may be used for toasting if it is first dipped in a little water, then toasted slowly, and buttered while hot.
4 thick slices stale bread
¼ pt. [140ml] Water (½ c.)
1 Tbs. sugar
Cut the bread in fingers. Dissolve the sugar in the water, and dip the bread in. Dry in a Slow oven 300 F. [149°C] Mark 2, until crisp and brown. When cold store in an airtight tin.
FRESH CRUMBS. When a recipe specifies fresh crumbs it generally means crumbs made from bread one or two days old. The crusts are removed and kept for making brown crumbs.
Preparing crumbs is not the slow, laborious business it used to be, because there are many excellent graters now available which do the job quickly and easily. Some people still insist on preparing crumbs by rubbing bread through a cook's sieve. This does produce very fine crumbs, but makes slow work of it, and the results do not justify the labour.
DRIED CRUMBS. These are made by drying bread until crisp. Then crush it with a rolling-pin or put it through a fine mincer. Finally sieve, to remove coarse crumbs, and crush these again. Store in a covered tin. White crumbs are made by drying the crumb of the bread and drying it so slowly that it does not colour. They are used for coating food to be fried. Brown crumbs are made by drying crusts and crumbs until golden brown.
'Raspings' may be either these brown crumbs or finely grated crust from a stale loaf.
Dried crumbs may be used in most recipes in place of fresh crumbs, but only half the amount is needed. Additional liquid must be used for mixing, as dried crumbs soak up more than fresh crumbs.
BUTTERED CRUMBS. Melt 1 oz. [30g] butter or margarine and add 2 c. fresh breadcrumbs. Stir until well mixed. This is used for the top of sweet and savoury dishes which are to be browned in the oven or under the grill, and is very much nicer than using ordinary breadcrumbs dotted with fat.
Quantities for 4 helpings:
4 oz. [110g] fresh breadcrumbs 1⅓ c.)
1 egg
½ tsp. vanilla or pinch of spice
2 Tbs. sugar
½ oz. [15g] margarine (1 Tbs.)
¼ tsp. salt
1 pt. [570ml] milk (2 c.)
2-3 Tbs. jam
Measures level. Place the first three ingredients in a basin. Heat the milk and pour over. Soak for a few minutes. Then add the otheringredients except the jam. Pour into a greased pie-dish and bake in a moderate-slow oven until set. Spread the jam over the top and serve.
NB. The yolk only may be added to the pudding and the white used to make a meringue to bake on top, as in #684. This makes the pudding generally known as Queen's Pudding.
Make as #773, and when cooked cover the top with sliced bananas.
Use the same recipe as #773, but with 4 oz. [110g] brown sugar (½ c.) instead of the white sugar, and heat it with the margarine until the sugar melts. Dissolve this in the hot milk before proceeding in the usual way. Cover the top with chopped nuts instead of the jam.
Use Recipe #773, adding an extra tablespoon of sugar and 4 level Tbs. cocoa to the breadcrumbs.
Use Recipe #773, but leave out the sugar and flavourings. Add 1 level tsp. salt, 1 level tsp. made mustard, pinch of pepper, and 4-6 oz. [110-170g] grated cheese (1-1½ c.). Fold in beaten egg-whites.
Use Recipe #773, adding ½ c. desiccated coconut to the crumbs.
338 THE PENGUIN COOKERY BOOK
Use Recipe #773, adding ½ c. chopped dates and ¼ c. chopped nuts. Decorate the top with dates instead of jam.
Use Recipe #773, flavouring with spice and adding 2 oz. [55g] any dried fruit (1/3 c.).
Use Recipe #773, adding the grated rind of one orange or lemon. Leave out the vanilla or spice and use marmalade instead of jam.
Temperature 375 F. [] Mark 5. Quantities for 4-6 helpings:
1 oz. [191°C] margarine (2 Tbs.)
2 C. fresh breadcrumbs
4 c. sliced apple (1-2 lb.)
2 oz. [55g] brown or white sugar (¼ c.)
¼ tsp. grated nutmeg
Rind and juice of ½ lemon
¼ Pt. [140ml] hot water (½ c.)
Measures level. Melt the margarine, add the crumbs, and mix well. Put alternate layers of crumbs and apples in the dish, sprinkling each layer with sugar, nutmeg, and lemon rind, finishing with crumbs. Pour over the water and lemon-juice and bake in a moderate oven until the apples are cooked and the pudding brown on top. Serve with custard or cream.
1. For easy cutting, it is better to have bread a day old, but if rolls are to be made, see #784, the bread must be new. When preparing a lot of sandwiches for a party it is a great help if you can buy the bread ready sliced.
2. The butter or margarine should be soft, so that it will spread easily. You will find a suggestion for making it go further in #148.
3. For picnic sandwiches cut the bread ¼ inch [6mm] thick; for dainty ones ⅛ inch [3mm] thick, and use a very sharp knife. Crusts may be removed or left on, according to taste.
4. To keep sandwiches fresh wrap them in a damp cloth or in waxed paper, keeping each kind separate.
5. Fillings should be moist enough to spread easily, but not so moist as to make the bread soggy if the sandwiches have to stand.
The bread for these must be new and the crusts are cut off. Rolled sandwiches may be made from one small slice of buttered bread with, for example, a piece of cooked or canned asparagus in it, or they may be made in long rolls with any soft filling. To make this kind, a sandwich loaf should have the crusts cut off and be sliced thinly lengthwise instead of across, to give long, narrow slices of bread. Spread these with butter and the filling, which should preferably be of a contrasting colour, and roll up like a Swiss roll. Press well and leave in a cool place for an hour or so. Then cut in ¼-½-inch [6-15mm] slices in the same way as you cut a Swiss roll.
These consist of a single layer of bread with the filling on top. They may be made very small for parties or made from whole slices of bread with a lot of filling on top and served for lunch or supper. This sort is very popular in Denmark, and all kinds of breads are used there for the base - white bread, rye or black bread, hard breads, and so on. It is a very useful idea when you have small amounts of food to use up, as two or three different kinds of these sandwiches are enough for a meal. They can be decorated to look very attractive. The small party kind should be as dainty and decorative as possible. They are best served on large flat meat-dishes, platters, or small trays.
This is a good way of using up stale sandwiches, or you can make them specially for the purpose, and in that case there is no need to spread them with butter or margarine. Fry the sandwiches in a little hot fat until brown on both sides.
These are merely ordinary sandwiches toasted brown on both sides. An alternative method is to toast a thick slice of bread, split it, and then add the filling.
EGG AND GHERKIN. Mix 2 chopped hard-boiled eggs with 2 chopped gherkins and moisten with salad dressing.
FISH. Mix any cooked, flaked fish with salad dressing.
COTTAGE CHEESE. See No. 168. Mix with chopped chives or pickles.
SCRAMBLED EGG. Fry a little chopped bacon or onion in the fat before cooking the eggs in the usual way. Use cold.
WATERCRESS. Chopped and mixed with salad dressing.
SALMON. Mix flaked, canned salmon with chopped gherkins or fresh cucumber and salad dressing.
APPLE AND CELERY. Mix equal quantities of chopped celery and apple and moisten with salad dressing. Chopped walnuts may be added.
MEAT AND CHUTNEY. Mince any cooked or canned meat and moisten with chutney.
GRATED CHEESE and sliced tomato.
GRATED CHEESE and chopped watercress, spinach, apple, or celery.
GRATED CHEESE and chopped nuts.
COTTAGE CHEESE, #168 and sliced radishes.
COTTAGE CHEESE and raw grated carrot.
EGG AND SAUCE. Mix 2 chopped hard-boiled eggs with 1 Tbs. tomato sauce, 1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce, 1 Tbs. chopped parsley, and season with salt and pepper.
CHEESE AND ONION. Grated cheese mixed to a paste with onion-juice and hot water (grate onion to provide the juice).
MUSHROOM. Mix chopped mushrooms into a white sauce and cook until tender.
LIVER AND HAM. Mince together 4 oz. [110g] cooked liver, 4 oz. [110g] cooked ham. Season well with salt and pepper and add 2 Tbs. chopped capers or gherkins.
LOBSTER. Finely chopped, cooked lobster moistened with salad dressing and seasoned well with salt, pepper, and lemon-juice.
BANANA. Mash well and add a little lemon-juice.
PEANUT BUTTER AND HONEY. ½ c. honey warmed and mixed with 1 Tbs. peanut butter.
PEANUT BUTTER AND APPLE. Mix peanut butter with raw grated apple.
MINT AND RAISIN. Mince equal quantities of mint and raisins and add a little hot water to make a spreading consistency.
DATE. Chop the dates and heat them with a little water until they make a smooth paste. Flavour with lemon juice or spice. A few chopped nuts may be added.
CHEESE. Cover the buttered bread with a thin slice of any kind of cheese. Decorate with gherkins.
MEAT. Place a thin slice of any kind of meat on the bread. Decorate with pickles.
SCRAMBLED EGG. Mix cold scrambled egg with a little chopped fried onion and place in a curled lettuce leaf on the bread.
SARDINE. Place 2 or 3 sardines on the bread and decorate with radishes or watercress.
SAUSAGE. Split a cold cooked sausage and spread with mustard. Place on the bread with a row of cucumber slices down one side and tomato slices down the other.
SMOKED FISH. Mix flaked, smoked fish with enough Parsley Sauce, #89, or Tartare Sauce, #115, to moisten. Decorate with parsley.
Smoked salmon and eel are cut in thin slices and placed on the bread.
SHRIMPS. Arrange in rows on the bread and decorate with lemon and parsley.
SCRAMBLED EGG AND SHRIMPS. Spread scrambled egg on the bread (egg hot or cold) and decorate with shrimps.
FRIED FILLET OF PLAICE garnished with tomato, cucumber, and lemon.
COLD HAM AND SCRAMBLED EGG.
SLICED COLD TONGUE with asparagus and mayonnaise.
CORNED BEEF with horse-radish sauce.
SALAMI SAUSAGE with scrambled egg and chives.
SCRAMBLED EGG and tomato.
TOMATO and fried onions.
HARD-BOILED EGG slices with pickles.
COLD HAM slices with vegetable salad.
COLD ROAST PORK and beetroot or pickled cucumber.
PICKLED HERRING and potato salad.