Baking in the American Colonies was far from an easy task. The women of the house made quite an art out of baking tasty loaves of bread, pastry, pies, cakes, cookies, and all of their other homemade goodies. In those days, homemakers couldnt always buy good flour. Almost every sack or barrel presented new baking problems. Flour always had to be tested for quality before using.

Heres how Mary Chew wrote it in her old receipt notes ledger in 1765. Miss Chew became the wife of William Paca (1740-1799) of Maryland in 1761. He would later sign the Declaration of Independence on August 2, 1776: As good a test of flour as can be had at sight, is to take up a handful and squeeze it tight; if good, when the hand is unclasped, the lines on the palm of the hand will be plainly defined on the ball of flour. Throw a little lump of dried flour against a smooth surface, if it falls like powder, it is bad.

In those days, the wood heated oven was not nearly as efficient as those used today. The method of measuring oven heat in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries was simple but effective. Baking was always a matter of guess. The homemaker relied on when it felt hot enough to bake in. If the heat was excessive, it scorched the inquiring hand.

As pointed out in the EARLY AMERICAN COOKBOOK: Big ovens of brick, always ready for baking, had been left behind in their old homes by the settlers. In the new land bricks were scarce. There was little known clay obtainable for brick making. Certainly none along the desolate shores of the broad Atlantic where the Pilgrims landed. And the Colonists were not at first equipped to manufacture bricks. So the Pilgrim mothers did their baking either in Dutch ovens of tin, set facing the open fire on the stone hearth with a tin shield to ward off the flames, or in an iron kettle with squat legs and a depression in the cover for hot coals to give the top heat.

Cookbooks used in the Colonies were initially brought over from England. One of the first to be reprinted in the colonies was THE COMPLEAT HOUSEWIFE, OR ACCOMPLISHED GENTLEWWOMANS COMPANION, written by E. Smith. William Parks in Williamsburg, Virginia, reprinted this in 1742. THE ART OF COOKERY MADE PLAIN AND EASY, by Hannah Glasse, was published in 1747 and became a favorite of Colonial homemakers for many years. It contained this recipe that is attributed to the mother of Sarah Hatfield. Sarah was but 21 when she married Abraham Clark (1726-1794) in 1749. Clark later gained a measure of fame as one of the 56 heroic signers of the Declaration of Independence. Heres how Sarah wrote it: Tasty Cakes of Ginger Bread. Take whole Pound Butter, three Pounds Flour, whole Pound Sugar. Beat 2 Ounces finely beaten Ginger till it is fine powder. . Grate big Nutmeg. Put with other ingredients; then take whole Pound Molasses, a Coffeecupful Cream. Heat Molasses and Cream together. Work dough for Bread till stiff. Lay on Board with little Flour. Roll to thin Cookies. Cut in rounds with small glass turned over or Teacup. Or roll to ball in hands the size of Hickory Nut. Lay on Bake Pan. Bake in slack Oven.

Then in 1772, Susannah Carters THE FRUGAL HOUSEWIFE OR FEMALE COMPANION was reprinted in Boston. Paul Revere made the printing plates for her cookbook. This was most popular with, and could be found in the homes of, many of the wives and mothers of the men who signed the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. Colonial Virginias most widely known cookbook was commonly used in the homes of those who signed the Declaration of Independence and our Constitution. Shipped to America from England, it was to be found in the kitchens of most wives and mothers of the Signers. Its incredible title read: THE HOUSEKEEPERS POCKET-BOOK, AND COMPLEAT FAMILY COOK: CONTAINING ABOVE TWELVE HUNDRED CURIOUS AND UNCOMMON RECEIPTS IN COOKERY, PASTRY, PRESERVING, PICKLING, CANDYING, COLLARING. ETC. WITH PLAIN AND EASY INSTRUCTIONS FOR PREPARING AND DRESSING EVERY THING SUITABLE FOR AN ELEGANT ENTERTAINMENT, FROM TWO DISHES TO FIVE OR TEN, ETC. AND DIRECTIONS FOR RANGING THEM IN THEIR PROPER ORDER.

Another excellent example of how old recipes were written is found in Amelia Simmons 48 page AMERICAN COOKERY published in 1796. This cookbook was also widely used in great many Colonial kitchens. It was the first originally American cookbook to be published in America. A recipe for Molasses Gingerbread is believed to have originally come from the mother of Nicholas Gilman (1755-1814) of New Hampshire, one of three lifelong bachelors who signed the Constitution. It reads as follows: One table spoon of cinnamon, some coriander or allspice, put to four tea spoons pearl ash, dissolved in half pint water, four pound flour, one quart molasses, four ounces butter, (if in summer rub in the butter, if in winter, warm the butter and molasses and pour to the spiced flour,) knead well till stiff, the more the better, the lighter and whiter it will be; bake brisk fifteen minutes; dont scorch; before it is put in, wash it with whites [egg whites] and sugar beat together.

One of the most popular cakes, as well as the only cake made without bread dough in the Colonies, was that called The Nuns Cake. The recipe for this special cake was carefully cherished and handed down as a prized heirloom from prior generations. It was no doubt, most often handwritten, and bequeathed from mother to daughter. This particular version of the recipe is believed to have been an original from the mother of Joseph Hewes (1730-1779), one of the 56 brave signers of the Declaration of Independence. Here it is:

Take Three Pounds of Double-Refined Sugar beaten and then sifted, and Four Pounds of Fine Flour; Mix together and let them dry by the fire as the other materials are prepared. Then take Four Pounds of Fresh Butter, beat with Wood Spoon until Soft and Creamy. Then beat Thirty-Five Fresh Eggs, and leave out Sixteen Whites, Strain off Eggs from the Shells, And Beat them and the Butter together till all look like Butter. Then Put in Four or Five spoonfuls of Orange-Flower Water or Rose Water, and Beat more. Now take the Flour and Sugar, with Six Ounces of Caraway Seeds, and Strew them in by degrees, Beating it up all the while for Two Hours together. Put in as much as you want of Amber-Grease or Tincture of Cinnamon. Butter your Hoop, and leave to Stand three Hours in a Moderate Oven. Carefully Observe Always, when Beating Butter, to do it with a Cool Hand and Beat it Always one way in Deep Earthen Dish.