Tips

To clean drains:

½ c water, ½ c vinegar, ½ c salt, and 2 or 3 tblsp baking soda. Mix and pour in sink and follow with a pot of hot water.

When a recipe calls for 1 c cake flour, you can use 1 c minus 1 tblsp all purpose flour instead
1 c sour milk = 1 c sweet milk + 1 tblsp vinegar or lemon juice
1 tblsp corn starch = 2 tblsp flour
1 square of chocolate = 2 2/3 tblsp cocoa and ½ tblsp shortening
For unsweetened chocolate use 3 – 4 tblsp cocoa and 1 tblsp short.
1 c shortening or butter = 2/3 c oil and dash of salt
27 graham wafers makes 1 generous cup of crumbs
I prefer pecans when recipes call for walnuts
Butter browns faster but tastes better than margarine.
Use some margarine to prevent burning
When cutting round layer cakes cut in half, then cut your slices. If you cut all the way across the cake will be unstable

YEAST

Don’t add the yeast directly after adding salt. Add after adding some flour as salt kills yeast
Always read yeast directions – check date.
Quick or Fast rise and Bread Machine yeast go directly into batter/mix
Traditional yeast gets dissolved in water and sugar
One “package” of yeast is 2 1/2 teaspoons
Dissolve a tsp of sugar in a bit of warm water. Add yeast to activate but do not stir. Takes about 10 minutes
When starting buns, beat shortening, lard, etc with sugar and then eggs real well.
Add salt and some of the flour before adding yeast.
The more you punch the dough the better the buns.
Keep rising bread warm and out of a draft.
When making bread, melt the lard or bacon drippings, strain clear and add to dough when cool.