e after being placed in a pan, before baking; when perfectly risen,
the bread feels light when lifted and weighed upon the hand. It is
better to begin the baking before it has perfectly risen them to wait
until it has become so light as to commence to fall, since if the
fermentation proceeds too far, the sweetness of the grain will be
destroyed, and the bread will be tasteless and innutritious, even if it
does not reach the acetous stage.

The exercise of a little judgment and careful attention to detail will
soon enable a person successfully to determine the proper degree of
lightness of bread in its various stages. Bread which passes the extreme
point of fermentation, or in common phrase gets "too light," will have a
strong acid odor, and will pull away from the bowl in a stringy mass,
having a watery appearance very different from the fine, spongy texture
of properly risen dough. The acidity of such dough may be neutralized by
the addition of an alkali, and housewives who through carelessness and
inattention have allowed their bread to become "sour," often resort to
saleratus or soda to neutralize the acid. The result of such treatment
is unwholesome bread, wholly unfit for food. It is better economy to
throw away bread material which needs to be sweetened with soda than to
run the risk of injury to health by using it.

KNEADING THE DOUGH.--As fresh flour is added during the
bread-making, it is necessary to mix it in thoroughly. As long as the
batter is thin, this can be done by thoroughly beating the mixture with
the addition of material; but when it is a thick dough, some other
method must be adopted to bring about the desired result. The usual way
is by mixing the dough to a proper consistency, and working it with the
hands. This is termed _kneading_. Much of the excellence of bread
depends upon the thoroughness of this kneading, since if the yeast is
not intimately and equally mixed with every particle of flour, the bread
will not be uniform; some portions will be heavy and compact, while
others will be full of large, open cavities, from the excessive
liberation of gas.

The length of time required for kneading depends upon the perfection
with which the yeast cells have been previously diffused throughout the
sponge, and upon the quality of the flour used in preparing the bread,
much less time being required for kneading dough made from good flour.
Some consider an hour none too long to knead bread. Such a leng