Do you ever wonder how our recipes today came into existence?
How were they made back then?
Let’s travel back through time as we venture into the origins of Peanut Butter And Jelly with Max on his Youtube Channel.
How did it come to be? The recipe was mentioned way back in 1901 in a book called “The Boston Cooking-School Magazine.”
Julia Davis Chandler explained how to make small sandwiches or bread fingers.
Turns out, it’s always been a triple-decker.
The sandwich consists of three layers of bread and 2 fillings. One of “peanut paste” and currant or crabapple jelly for the other.
Pullman bread is still the preferred bread for making sandwiches.
Max used the recipe from Bakers’ Bread by Paul Richards. The bread got its name from Pullman Train cars where it was served.
As history would have it, the ingredients are simple.
- 400 ml of water
- 2 teaspoons of dried yeast
- 85 grams of lard or butter
- 35 grams of sugar
- 600 grams of bread flour, and
- 2 1/4 teaspoons of salt
First, add the yeast and sugar to the water.
Wait a few minutes to activate before adding flour, salt, and butter into the mix and start working on the ingredients by hand.
Knead, knead, knead.
Once it becomes a rough dough, set it on a lightly floured surface or table and knead it until you have a smooth soft dough.
Add more flour, but not too much, until it becomes firm. After kneading, put it back into a lightly greased bowl and cover it with a wet towel.
Let it rise for about an hour and a half.
While waiting, prep your Pullman tin and spread a thin layer of butter.
Let the dough out of the bowl.
Spread it into a rectangular shape, slightly wider than your pan. Roll it up then seam together and tuck each end.
Set the dough, seam side down, into the tin and cover it with clear plastic, and let it rise again. Ideally, you want it to rise until it comes almost to the top.
Once the dough sets, place the cover and put it into the oven at 350℉ for 20 minutes.
Pull it out from the oven.
Remove the cover, and place it into the oven again for another 10 or 20 minutes.
You should get a brownish top.
Let it sit until it cools down. Do not cut while it’s hot.
As soon as you are able to, cut three thin slices of bread. Spread one with peanut butter, and jelly on the other.
Stack both on top of each other and add the third slice.
Cut them into finger slices and voila!
PB&J became popular with Soldiers during World War II.
When the war ended, they still had the craving back at home and eventually passed that craving to the new generation.
In the 1950s, that’s when PB&J became the de facto food for children. They were then introduced into every school cafeteria in the country.
It’s still, everyone’s favorite. PB&J is the go-to meal for a quick and easy treat that everyone loves.
See how to slap together your own 1901 version of a “true” PB&J in the video below!
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