As it appeared in the December 1974 Madonna House Restoration newspaper

by Catherine Doherty

How much we miss in fun, taste, adventure, and economy in bypassing yeast-raised dough and all the wondrous things one can make with it!

For some unearthly reason the modern housewife considers yeast dough, and all that goes with it, first a mystery, secondly a chore. Nothing could be further from the truth. It is less a chore than many elaborate dishes, and there is no mystery attached to it nowadays, because of the new fast-raising yeasts and the perfectly timed electrical or gas ranges. In fact it is very simple to dazzle the family with many new variations on an old theme, and to bring into the modern home that good homey nostalgic smell of newly baked yeast dough, which sharpens appetites even before one sees the finished product itself!

Take a yeast-dough meat pie with rich gravy. Make it, say, for a family of four.

Two fast raising yeast envelopes (Fleishman is best)
½ cup of lukewarm water
2 teaspoons of granulated sugar

First stir sugar in lukewarm water until sugar is well dissolved. Then add yeast. Add by sprinkling. Don’t mix. Let stand ten minutes. In the meantime, heat 2 ¾ cups of milk (or water) to scalding temperature. Add ½ cup of granulated sugar, 1/3 cup of shortening or any other fat you prefer (or have on hand) and ¼ teaspoon of salt.

Mix yeast mixture with second mixture and work into this combined liquid 4 cups of sifted ordinary white flour. Beat well until dough is elastic and smooth. Add about 2 to 3 cups more of white sifted flour. Put on board and knead until flour is well mixed and dough soft and elastic again. It takes only a few minutes really.

Then put into greased dish and let rise until double its original size. Keep it in a warm place in your kitchen, away from drafts. Usually it will rise enough in an hour. Then take half of your dough. Flour table or bread board well and roll dough out with rolling pin. At first it will sort of stretch, and you may think you are not getting anywhere. Jest press harder on the rolling pin and make of the dough a nice square – big enough to fit into the baking pan you want for the occasion (you know your family’s appetites!) and enough to cover over. For what you have in mind is a meat pie, remember.

O.K. So you rolled your dough over. It is a nice good square of orderly shape. Now you take the meat. Best for this is leftovers of beef that have been ground through a machine, with two raw onions and then seasoned to taste with salt and pepper. (I add just a pinch of paprika and sage.)

Now you lay out this meat mixture on half of your square of rolled out dough. Then cover it with the other half, and pinch sides all around nicely. Put into greased baking dish and smear the top with some melted butter. Put into oven and bake at 300 degrees for one hour. Serve piping hot with the following gravy:

Four finely chopped onions, browned
1 can of celery soup
Salt, pepper, sage and paprika to taste

If this gravy is a wee bit too thick for you, add water.

Some dough may have remained. Make buns with it. Usually though, everyone asks for a second helping. That meat pie is good cold too, for school lunches.

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