HFF 4.15: Tea Party

The Challenge: Tea Party-- A delicate refection for teatime, and/or party food.

The Recipe: To Make Wigs from Mrs. Corwen's American Lady's Cookery Book (page 289)

The Date/Year and Region: American, 1866

How Did You Make It: I made this no a 1/3 scale, with 1 1/6 lb flour, 1/4 lb butter, 1/3 lb sugar, 1/6 nutmeg (grated), 1/3 tsp ground ginger, [1 egg (beaten very light)], 1/3 gill baker's yeast, and 1/3 teacup brandy, enough warm milk to make a dough. Not having baker's yeast, I put 3 1/4 tsp of active dry yeast into 1/4 cup warm water and let it start to wake up. 

Per the instructions, I started out by rubbing the butter into the flour until it was worked into small pieces ('like grated bread'), then added the sugar and seasonings, and when they seemed well-mixed, make a well in the center and added the yeast-water and brandy (forgetting the egg 'beaten very light' that should have been included). As I worked those in, I added milk to make a smooth dough, and let it rise 2 hours 'in a warm place' (the oven, on its 100F "bread proof" setting).  

It has risen nicely in that time, so I shaped it gently into 8 fairly large rolls (6-8 in the instructions), brushed the tops with milk and egg white, and baked them for 25-30 minutes at 375F. The rolls browned very quickly, so I pulled them just before the half hour to avoid burning. The very of some of the rolls was a touch soft still, so next time I'd try leaving them in the oven for the fulll half-hour.

[Yeast math: 1 gill = 1/2 cup, 1/3 gill ~ 8 tsp; 8 tsp baker's yeast compares to ~3.2 tsp active dry yeast]

Time to Complete: ~3 hours

Total Cost: Uncertain, ingredients all on hand

How Successful Was It?: Tasty, and with good, light texture. I didn't really notice the sugar when I was eating the wigs, but the nutmeg and ginger came through with a delicate but distinct flavor. The texture and appearance was that of plain rolls, and I could see them working very well with jam, and possibly even with cheese/meat/savory relishes (if my brain can get past associating the ginger and nutmeg with sweets). At any rate, the wigs were very tasty served hot with butter, and remained palatable cold the next day without (they didn't get stale overnight). Overall, they reminded me a lot of hot cross buns, but less sweet and a bit lighter. 

How Accurate Is It?: I forgot the egg, but otherwise think I followed the recipe fairly closely. As usual, I ended up substituting active dry yeast for baker's yeast, and using skim milk.

Wigs: Light, Tasty Rolls With A Hint of Spice.