p. 295 | BREAD IN THE SOUTH by Jessie G. Young

Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · May 8, 1900

“BREAD IN THE SOUTH.”

By Jessie G. Young

JESSIE G. YOUNG.

(Keene, Tex.)

It seems that this subject has become a live topic in our paper since Sister Henry mentioned it in her report of the Texas camp-meeting. What she said is true of some bread here; but for the benefit of some who may desire to come South, but are puzzled over the “molding staff of life,” wondering how they would live without their good light bread, I will say, Come along. If you make good bread that will keep where you are, your bread and water shall be sure here.

I well remember when we used to bake a quantity of light bread, enough to last on the road to, and for several days during, camp-meeting; and sometimes before we reached the camp-ground the bread would mold, and have to be thrown away.

Poor sisters! we would then have to spend much of our time on the camp-ground, baking in ovens in open air, and our eyes would be red with weeping smoke-tears. (We did not rent stoves then as now.)

But why all that trouble?—Well, we were very careful not to let our bread bake long enough to form a hard crust. We liked soft bread. Then when it was baked, as we supposed, to be sure that our teeth should not be injured by masticating the hard bread, we would sprinkle the loaves with water, wrap in a damp cloth while warm, and put away in our bread box “to sweat.” Do you wonder that our bread had to be thrown away on our two- or three-days’ journey?

For several years light has been shining on the bread-maker’s pathway, and those who have gathered up the rays enjoy camp-meeting more than formerly,—and home life, too, for that matter.

I attended the Texas camp-meeting, and I never before enjoyed so much freedom from the “bread care” while on the camp-ground. Five days before the time to start, I opened a sack of good flour, and began to make my camp-meeting bread. Each day I made six good-sized loaves. I made the whole sack of flour into bread. I did not have a cut-and-dried recipe by which to make it, but good flour, good yeast, a good stove, and good wood. That bread baked—baked till a nice, thick, brown crust formed on top, sides, and bottom. Then it was turned out, and permitted to get entirely cold.

A quantity of it was sliced thin, and made into zwieback. All was put into a box made for the purpose, and my camp-meeting bread was ready to load into the wagon.

Did it keep?—Of course it did. We remained on the camp-ground two or three days after the ten-days’ meeting, and had some of the bread to use on the road home. This bread with two dozen jars of canned fruit formed the greater part of our camp-meeting bill of fare.

Such a comfortable time we sisters may enjoy at camp-meeting if we are willing to live on good, plain food, wear neat, plain, comfortable clothing, and attend the services instead of spending our time cooking and dressing.