UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS BULLETIN Issued Weekly Vol. XV FEBRUARY ii, 1918 No. 24 [Entered as second-class matter December ii, 1912, at the post office at Urbana, Illinois, under the Act of August 24, 1912.] WHEAT SAVING By RUTH WHEELER Assistant Professor of Household Science PUBLISHED BY THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS Under the Direction of the War Committee URBANA Women of Illinois: Saving wheat is more important now than saving money Women of Illinois: It is imperative that we make a greater effort to save wheat. Our soldiers and sailors and the allies must have bread. A light digestible loaf cannot be made without some wheat. There is not enough wheat in the world to give everybody the necessary minimum amount if anybody uses wheat unnecessarily. And as far as the nourishment of the body is concerned, wheat is not at all superior to corn or oats. Therefore, be sure your breakfast food is not made of wheat, no matter what ornamental name it may bear; serve quick breads, cookies, puddings, pastries made without wheat; replace one-third or even one-half of the wheat in yeast bread by finely ground corn or oats or by potato flour or mashed potato. The Irish potato is one of the most highly nutritious foods we have. Potato bread is delicious; it keeps fresh longer than all-wheat bread; it makes a beautiful golden toast. Remember that graham flour and macaroni are all wheat! Use crackers made of other grains than wheat. YEAST BREADS Potato Riced boiled potato or commercial potato flour can be substituted for one-half of the wheat flour in bread. The product is es¬ pecially satisfactory if the coarser wheat flours, graham or whole wheat, are used. The baking temperature should be somewhat lower than that for wheat bread. Corn A mixture of one-half white wheat flour, one-fourth corn meal, and one-fourth corn flour makes a good bread. Oats When one-half of the wheat is replaced by oats, the latter should be in the form of meal or of rolled oats put thru a food chopper. The sponge should be made of wheat and the baking tem¬ perature the same as that of all-wheat bread. Rye One-half the wheat flour in bread may be replaced by rye flour or rye meal, the latter giving a rather better product. The first dough should be relatively soft and contain all of the ingredients except one-fifth of the white flour which is saved for the last mixing. A fair bread may be made by using half rye and for the other half of the flour a mixture of three-fifths wheat flour and two- fifths commercial potato flour. C- \ I i Rye breads should be baked at a lower temperature than wheat breads thruout the baking period. Our supply of rye and barley is being rapidly decreased by shipments to the allies. Use corn, oats, and potato, preferably, therefore. . QUICK BREADS Good digestible quick breads may be made without any wheat. On wheatless days either these should be served or no bread at all. When large quantities must be baked at once, quick corn bread, such as wafer corn bread or corn dodger, is particularly useful. It is a good food from the nutritive standpoint, is palatable, takes little manipulation, and so is quickly made. Wafer Corn Bread 2 cups fine corn meal i egg 2 teaspoons baking powder i tablespoon fat ^ teaspoon salt 2 cups milk 2 tablespoons molasses Mix corn meal, baking powder, and salt. Add melted shortening, molasses, and beaten egg. Beat. Pour into shallow pans to a depth of not more than one-fourth inch. Bake in hot oven. Prairie Bread ^2 cup corn meal 1^2 cups rye flour Yi teaspoon salt ^ 4 teaspoons baking powder 1 tablespoon vegetable oil %cup milk Ys cup boiling water % cup chopped nut meats Put corn meal into a bowl, add salt, oil and boiling water. Mix. Let stand twenty minutes. Now add flour mixed with baking powder and the milk and nuts. Mix lightly, pour into a well greased bread pan; let stand in a warm place twenty minutes. Bake in a moderately hot oven. Do not cut until cold. Corn Dodger 2 cups corn meal 2 teaspoons fat I teaspoon salt 1% cups boiling water Pour the boiling water over the other materials. Beat well. When cool, form into thin cakes and bake thirty minutes in a hot oven. Makes fourteen biscuits. Boston Brown Bread 2 cups corn meal 2 teaspoons soda 2 cups rye flour i cup molasses 1 teaspoon salt 2 cups sour milk Steam for three hours. This is a good flavored bread and compares favorably with other brown breads. Drop Barley Biscuits 2 cups barley flour i teaspoon salt 3 teaspoons baking powder i egg 2 tablespoons fat i cup milk Muffins Good muffins can be made without wheat by using one cup of rye meal with one cup of potato, rice, corn, or barley flour, or by using one cup of rye flour with one cup of corn, buckwheat or oat meal. In either case, one egg, milk, fat, sirup or sugar, baking powder, and salt are used, ajid the whole baked in a hot oven. DESSERTS Rye and Rice Pastry 2^2 cups rye flour i teaspoon salt 1V2 cups rice flour % cup fat I teaspoon baking powder % cup water Sift flour, salt, and baking powder together; cut the fat into the flour mixture. Add water, mixing and handling as little as possible. Chill until ready to roll. Drop Cakes I cup rye flour DA cups rolled oats Vz cup shortening 1/4 cup brown sugar % cup corn sirup I egg Combine the €ugar and the fat. the flour, rolled oats, baking powder. Add the cinnamon, nuts, and raisins, moderately hot oven. 3 tablespoons water 2 teaspoons baking powder Vz teaspoon salt Vz teaspoon cinnamon Vz cup nut meats ^2 cup raisins the sirup and the water. Combine and salt, and add to the first mixture. Drop on greased pans and bake in a MENU FOR A WHEATLESS DAY Breakfast: Fruit, rice and corn meal waffles and maple sirup, coffee Lunch: Baked soy beans, oatmeal muffins, jam Dinner: Tomato soup, pot roast, mashed potatoes, rice custard, coffee REFERENCES Secure the following bulletins from the United States Department of Agriculture, Washington, D. C. “Start the Day Right” “Do you know Corn” “Do you know Oatmeal” “Plenty of Potatoes” “Cereal Foods,” Caroline L. Hunt and Helen W. Atwater, Farmers’ Bulletin No. 817. “Partial Substitutes for Wheat in Bread Making”, Hannah L. Wessling, States Relations Service Document No. 64. Let us do more than the Food Administration asks! We can if all American women make food conservation their first concern and put their best thought into planning wheatless, meatless, sugar¬ less meals that are nutritious and so interesting that the family will look forward to the “-less” meals! We must save more wheat even if it costs more money!