This sourdough recipe was used in the days of gold prospecting and by many hunters and cowboys far from home.
“Place one pint of flour in a pail with a lid. Add two tablespoons sugar and one tablespoon salt. Mix well. Stir in one and one-half cups water and beat to smooth dough. Add one tablespoon vinegar to the batter. Set pail in warm place where it will sour thoroughly.
“When it sends up a sour odor, it is ready to use. Take nearly all of this and add flour, a little sugar and a teaspoon soda. Make a stiff dough. Put in your pan and let rise. Bake till brown. By varying the amount of flour used, you can make a stiffer dough and cut or pinch off pieces and make biscuits, or you can add less flour and make hotcakes.
“Take the remaining sour dough and mix it with a little more flour, sugar, salt and water and set aside for the next baking.”
Mrs. Joe Hoffman
Atchison, Kansas
Back in 1955 a call went out from the editors of the then CAPPER’s Weekly asking for readers to send in articles on true pioneers. Hundreds of letters came pouring in from early settlers and their children, many now in their 80s and 90s, and from grandchildren of settlers, all with tales to tell. So many articles were received that a decision was made to create a book, and in 1956, the first My Folks title – My Folks Came in a Covered Wagon – hit the shelves. Nine other books have since been published in the My Folks series, all filled to the brim with true tales from CAPPER’s readers, and we are proud to make those stories available to our growing online community.
