Admiralty Eats: Potato Bread & Jam

In our last installment of Admiralty Eats, we explored the daily rations of the Newfoundland Royal Naval Reserve. As you may have noticed, they at a lot of bread! 24 ounces a day to be specific! This week we are sharing the recipes we used to make the bread and jam in our last video!

Potato Bread

Recipe Source: War Fare: From the Home Front to the Front Lines

http://exhibitions.theworldwar.org/war-fare/#/in-the-kitchen/recipes/potato-bread

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. potatoes, boiled and mashed

• 1 quart milk, warmed

• 1 ounce sugar

• 1 ounce salt

• 1 ounce bacon fat

• ½ ounce dry active yeast

• 3 lbs. flour (you may need more depending on the temperature and humidity)

Directions:

1. Heat the milk to warm. Add yeast to ¼ cup of milk. Make sure the milk is not too hot, you don’t want to kill the yeast. Set aside for about 15 minutes, until foamy.

2. Dissolve sugar, salt and bacon fat in the remainder of the milk.

3. Add yeast mixture and mashed potatoes to the liquid mixture. Mix well to combine.

4. Add the flour and knead. Knead for approximately 10-15 minutes by hand, or 8-10 minutes in a stand mixer. The dough will be sticky, but workable.

5. Let the dough rise for 1 hour, or until it has doubled in bulk.

6. Turn the dough onto a floured surface and shape into two loaves. Place in two loaf pans.

7. Let rise for 1 hour.

8. Bake at 350° for about 45 minutes, or until golden on top and hollow-sounding when tapped.

Potato bread was a popular choice during wartime. It was an economical option as it reduced the quantity of wheat flour required1, and also increased the moisture in the bread, lengthening it’s shelf life.

Simple Fruit Jam

Recipe source: Kitchn

https://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-make-basic-fruit-jam-cooking-lessons-from-the-kitchn-193560

Ingredients:

• 5 cups fresh blueberries (about 1 pound)

• ½ cup sugar

• 2 Tbsp. lemon juice

• Pinch of salt

Directions:

1. Place the fruit, sugar, lemon, and salt in a 2- to 3-quart heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat and mash the fruit a little with a potato masher or large fork into a chunky texture.

2. Bring the mixture up to a boil, stirring frequently. Continue to boil while keeping an eye on it, still stirring frequently, until the fruit is jammy and thick, about 20 minutes.

3. Once the jam has thickened, turn off the heat and carefully transfer the jam into 2 clean (8-ounce) glass jars. Cool to room temperature. Seal and store it in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks.

References

1. Day, Chris. 2015. “The Great War British Bake Off.” Text. The National Archives. https://blog.nationalarchives.gov.uk/great-war-british-bake/.