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Bread, the staff of life, must be palatable and good if we are to be satisfied with it when we eat.

Can you think of anything that will spoil a meal more quickly than poor, over moist, doughy or heavy bread?

Bread may truly be called the staff of life, as it will maintain life longer than any other single food.

Yet many women think bread-making is a simple task; that the ingredients can be thrown together helter-skelter and good results obtained; or that any kind of flour will make good bread. This is a great mistake. To make good palatable bread it requires good materials, a reasonable amount of care and attention. But first of all must come the knowledge of the flour.

A good blend of hard winter flour is necessary and it can easily be tested by pressing a small quantity of it in the hand; if the flour is good, it will retain the shape of the hand. Graham or whole wheat flour and rye flours can be used for variety and to advantage in making bread.

Other cereal flours do not contain gluten to allow them to be used alone for making the yeast-raised breads. Keep this in mind and thus prevent failures. The yeast is a single-cell plant and must be given the proper temperature, moisture and food for its successful growth. When this is supplied, each little cell multiples a thousand times, thus pushing and stretching the dough. This makes it rise or become light.