Semi-historic food question

[chowmama]

I'd been looking for a 1943 (not '46) Joy of Cooking for a long time because I'm interested in the period. I never expected to use it; just ro read it. I finally got one a few months ago.

It's wonderful. Every other JoC I’ve seen, including the modern one I was gifted, has left me completely cold. (Of my old cookbooks, it was Betty Crocker for preference and Good Housekeeping second, both from around the year of my birth). I cracked the 1943 edition open and, within a page or two, thought ‘Wow, this is how I cook’. And there are hacks for shortages and rationing. And I love the sense of humor and occasional snide comment. This is my JoC.

But there are some differences. Apparently, 7” pies used to be a thing. (Goodwill had one plate, so now I have it. And I'm going to use it this week.) I can figure out a lot of things on my own. For instance, dry vermouth is called 'French vermouth', sweet vermouth is 'Italian'. Some can sizes are different. A few products are just no longer available. And it tells you how to open-kettle can food, which is not, repeat not, safe.

But the biggest one is that she only refers to 2 kinds of white flour, cake and bread. No mention at all of all-purpose or plain flour. Is her 'bread' flour just flour that isn't cake flour? Some of the uses make me suspect this. But when did what we now think of as bread flour (higher gluten) become commonly available? It was invented by this time, but might have only been used by professional bakers.

[bucolic_frolic]

1. Surely AI knows how to bake!

1940s bread flour vs. cake flour vs modern all-purpose vs. pizza flour:

The flours you're asking about differ significantly based on their intended uses, protein content, and processing, both in the 1940s and today. Here’s how they compare:

1940s Bread Flour

Protein Content: High (12-14%). This makes it great for chewy bread with strong gluten development.
Texture: Coarser than modern flours, as milling technology wasn’t as refined as today.
Use: Used for hearty loaves, sandwich bread, and rolls. Yeast-raised dough thrives with the extra protein for elasticity.

1940s Cake Flour

Protein Content: Low (7-9%). The lower protein prevents gluten formation, leading to soft, tender baked goods.
Texture: Fine and powdery, often bleached to further weaken gluten and create a pure white color.
Use: Ideal for light, airy cakes, and pastries, when a delicate crumb was essential.
Note: Cake flour was a luxury during wartime rationing, so recipes often substituted with other flours or used creative methods.

Modern All-Purpose Flour

Protein Content: Medium (10-12%). Designed as a versatile flour that balances gluten development for both bread and tender baked goods.
Texture: Moderately fine, milled with precision for consistency.
Use: Great for everyday cooking and baking, from cookies to pie crusts, though not specialized enough for artisan bread or super-soft cakes.

Modern Pizza Flour (e.g., Tipo 00)

Protein Content: Moderate to High (10-13%), depending on the brand and region.
Texture: Ultra-fine, especially in Italian "00" varieties, which is key for smooth, stretchy pizza dough.
Use: Designed for high-temperature baking like pizza ovens. Produces crisp, yet tender crusts.
Note: Sometimes labeled specifically for pizza or pasta; gluten strength and extensibility are optimized for shaping and stretching.

Key Differences

Protein Content: Cake flour has the least, bread flour the most, while all-purpose and pizza flour sit in between.
Texture: Modern flours are more finely milled than those in the 1940s.
Processing: Modern flours are more consistent due to advances in milling and blending, while 1940s flours often had variability based on regional wheat crops and less advanced milling.
Fortification: Modern flours are often enriched with vitamins and minerals; this wasn’t standardized in the 1940s.

Choosing the Right Flour

For bread: Stick with bread flour for chewy, structured loaves.
For cakes: Use cake flour for a tender, soft crumb.
For general use: All-purpose flour can handle most tasks but may need tweaking (e.g., adding vital wheat gluten for bread or cornstarch for cakes).
For pizza: Pizza flour or "00" flour gives the best results, especially in traditional-style crusts baked at high heat.

[chowmama]

5. So it's the all-purpose flour that wasn't available

Ok, that's why I couldn't find it. I only researched bread flour.

I bake all the time and have all 3 kinds. Sounds like for most uses, I can use AP and maybe mix in a little bread flour to up the protein if it seems appropriate. I can't see using higher than AP for muffins, for example.

I guess I assumed the bread flour was the newer because most of my old cookbooks refer to non-cake flour as just 'flour'. And I couldn't find any sources that told me whether the protein contents had changed from 1940 to now.

[Lithos]

2. Most people would use general purpose flour...

But you can go to specialty mills such as King Arthur (find at Whole Foods and similar stores) and get flour for bread, cake, general purpose, pizza, and even specialty bread.

I'm sure there are other brands, but King Arthur is the one I have access to.

L-

[moniss]

3. That JoC should probably also

talk about using lard in baking. Not the horrible stuff from the grocery store either. Home rendered. Makes the best pie crust ever.

[dhol82]

4. Lard for pastry is usually leaf lard

It’s from a special place on the pig. Makes the best pie crust!

https://www.thespruceeats.com/what-is-leaf-lard-2216904

[moniss]

7. Additionally for fruit pies

I came across an Amish kitchen that tossed a very light sprinkle of white granulated sugar in the bottom of the pie tin before putting in the crust. It has an amazing effect of adding just a hint of caramelized specks here and there on the bottom of the crust. I'd just about give up the modern world and marry an Amish woman who would keep me in Amish blueberry, raspberry, peach and apple pie!!

For anybody who has never traveled in Pennsylvania Dutch country or in Ohio/Indiana areas you just can't believe what you're missing when you find an honest to goodness, non touristy, Amish restaurant. I used to get to Goshen, Indiana all the time and there was a place in that town that was open from breakfast until mid afternoon. Bikes and buggies outside. Everything made from scratch. It was a nice mix of people.

St. Charles, Minnesota used to have a great one too. I don't know how many survived over the years. Maybe it's a thing that has become less and less like the great church suppers out in the rural Midwest.

[chowmama]

6. I have lard from my Mexican grocery in the freezer.

I haven't tried it for pastry yet, though.

I also cleaned and 'sterilized' (well, just got it really hot for a while) beef fat drained from canning ground beef in tomato sauce. I'm using it when recipes call for 'drippings; and it adds good flavor. Without the non-fat components, it stays good in the fridge for long enough to use up.

Unlike my mom's coffee can by the side of the stove for all fat pour-offs. Rancid or not, it lived there until it was full and she could bring herself to throw it out, since there was no longer a munitions factory to give it to. And if you didn't put the lid on it once it was cool, the flies got to it. Once the dog got to it and was sick for a week. Didn't do the house much good, either.

[moniss]

8. LOL!! and I remember the coffee can

and my Grandma used to melt it and strain it through a dish towel.

[JustAnotherGen]

9. A few years back

My mom gave me her mom's cookbooks and recipe tins. I'm.still working through the first tin. I get the biggest kick out of her 1940's ones. Rationing and substitutions!

Her recipe baking cards she has different altitudes time in the oven, baking powder etc etc. So from Denver, to La Jolla, to Lake Tahoe. She would experiment then write it down.


Have fun with it!

[surrealAmerican]

10. Interesting.

I have a copy of Irma Rombauer's, A Cookbook for Girls and Boys also from the 1940's. It's a very amusing book, complete with anecdotes, and appears to have been written for the sort of child who cooks all their family's meals.