CRACKED WHEAT POP-OVERS.
By Mrs. A. C. Bainbridge
When once our sisters have learned the value of steam-cooked grains as a basis of bread-making, all desire for yeast-power or eggs will vanish. Cook one cup of cracked wheat in five cups of water. Use cold water, and stand the vessel containing it in another vessel of cold water. Cover both carefully, and do not uncover the former until the wheat is done. Let it boil for five hours after it has reached the boiling point, renewing the water in the outer vessel as fast as it boils away, by adding more boiling water; but do not uncover the inner vessel. The wheat will swell and become light. When done, put it away in a bowl, pouring out carefully, and smoothing the top, if it does not settle flat. Let it get perfectly cold—and better to stand overnight. Turn the wheat out on a well-floured board. Peel off the top, as you would peel a potato, and you will find the wheat of uniform lightness, easily moulded. Work into it white or whole-wheat flour until it will leave your hands and the board, forming smooth rolls. At first it will crumble, and seem as if it could never become a smooth mass; but keep on working, for the more it crumbles, the lighter it will be; and very soon you will find the whole mass getting so light that it will resume its shape when pressed with the finger. Work fast and lightly. Knead in the flour smoothly, and then cut or tear into small pieces; the size will depend on the size and shape of your gem pans. Have your oven very hot, and the gem pans (iron, not granite or tin) heating in the oven. Place them on the top of the stove to fill. Oil lightly, and press the dough into them, filling every space and making them even or rounding full. Put in the oven and avoid opening the door for ten or fifteen minutes. Keep up a good heat. I must have one side of my oven red-hot if I want them light. Moderate the heat toward the last. Give them twenty to thirty or forty minutes, according to the size of your irons. When removing from the oven, if you want them crisp, cool on a board; if you like them soft, stand on their edges in a covered pan. You will find you can vary their texture by the amount of flour you use, etc.