38 MOTHER EARTH NEWS December 2016/January 2017centuries. Between the white, yeasted,
enriched French breads published in
France (and interpreted by British au-
thors in the 1600s and 1700s) and the
classic American bread that was the star
of cookbooks throughout most of the
19th and 20th centuries, the only dif-
ference is that bakers started adding a
little sugar to the dough and bumped
up the amount of salt. Because most of
that sugar is consumed by the yeast in
the same way that a cider or wine goes
“dry” during the fermentation process,
adding a little sugar is more to soften the
bread and increase its loft than to make
it taste sweet.
I want to reintroduce you to American
sandwich bread from its real source:
France, via early British cookbooks.
Fantastically, the French bread recipe I
offer you here, first published by Henry
Howard in 1708 in England, is the samerecipe for sandwich bread published in
two classic American cookbooks — the
1924 Boston Cooking-School Cook Book
and the 1970s edition of Joy of Cooking.
The only effective difference between the
1708 recipe and the modern American
recipes is the addition of sugar. The
white, enriched American loaf breads
you find in cookbooks and online are
direct descendants — and virtually un-
changed at that — of what the French
used to call pain de luxe : bread of luxury.
They are breads of luxury. They deserve
a fresh look.Abundant Uses
This bread was meant to be served along
with other foods — spread with butter and
jam or toasted and put into soup. To help
you get into this bread, I’ve included,
along with the basic recipe (on Page 37),
some of the ways I most often use it.
Sandwiches. This is the classic home-
made sandwich loaf — soft, and a lovely
yellow. Slice thinly and fill with your fa-
vorite sandwich ingredients.
Bread and butter. Here’s a reason to
make your own butter and jam: the sim-
ple yet out-of-this-world flavor of spread-
ing them on warm, classic French bread.
To make butter, whip some cream in a
food processor until it “breaks” (when
the fat separates from the liquid). Pour
into a bowl, and then pour off the liq-
uid. Add some cold water. Using a spoon,
work the butter in the cold water to rinse
out the buttermilk and repeat until the
water remains clear (meaning you’ve re-
moved all the milk). Next, drain it, work
the butter one more time to eliminate at
least some of the water trapped inside,
and then place the butter on a plate and
serve with the bread and jam. Ideal for a
holiday gathering.
Sippets. If you only try one of these rec-
ipes, this is the one to choose. The British
sippet takes many forms. The version I of-
fer here falls into that class of foods I label
“beyond delicious.” All I could say when I
tested the recipe for this article was, “Oh,
my God!” That’s how great it is.Bread crisps (recipe on Page 39) are easy to make and great for spreads or served alongside soups.If you try only one of these variations, make it the British sippet, fried on a griddle until light brown.When this recipe was When this recipe was When this recipe was
published, eggs were published, eggs were published, eggs were
backyard eggs, milk backyard eggs, milk backyard eggs, milk
was raw, and butter was raw, and butter was raw, and butter
was freshly churned. was freshly churned. was freshly churned.
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