Bread Rolls, Scones or Teacakes

One pound of Vienna flour, one ounce of butter, half an ounce of compressed yeast, half a teaspoonful of salt, the same of castor sugar, one egg, and half a pint of milk. Put the yeast and sugar into a small basin, stir with a wooden spoon until it is mixed. Add a table- spoonful of flour, and half the milk, which should be slightly warmed. Stand the basin in a warm place for ten minutes for the yeast to rise (this is called the sponge). In the meantime put the flour in a mixing basin with the salt and butter. Rub the butter well into the flour with the fingers. Beat up the egg lightly, stir it to the rest of the tepid milk. Afterwards mix the egg and milk with the yeast sponge. Make a hole in the middle of the flour, pour in the liquid, and with a spoon gradually work the flour into a smooth dough. Knead it a little, cover the basin with a cloth, and stand in a warm place for an hour (or rather more) for the dough to rise. If it rises very quickly, push it down again with the hands. This may be done a time or two during the hour, and will help to make the bread light. Turn the dough on to a floured board, flour the hands, and knead it until it is perfectly smooth and elastic to the touch. It will take from five to ten minutes. Kneading is a continual turning of the outer edges of the dough into the middle, and pressing it down with the hands. Shape the dough into two or three loaves. Vienna Bread is generally made into pointed loaves with three crossway gashes across the middle, or with a plait. When shaped, place the loaves on a floured tin; set this on a pan of boiling water for the head to rise (from ten to twenty minutes). Next, bake in a well-heated oven. The loaves take from thirty to forty minutes to bake. If they sound hollow, when tapped with the hand, they are cooked. They should be set on end, or placed on a sieve till cold.