The independent press. (Abbeville C.H., S.C.) 1853-1860, 1857-01-16
Food.--PhiIosophY--Bread.

There is no kind of vegetable food more
palntabl", healthy, nutritious than goot
bread made Of fcrincntcd wheat flour. Aut
although it is no: the most common bread
used III every country, yet we believe it j.
the most highly esteemed by all. Where
Or 10y whom lcavcncd bread WAS first discuv.
cred, is unknown. The earliest history in
forms MS that the most ancient ma,rons OF
Israel were acquainted with it, but the
name for the good housewife who made til,
tlrst fcrmcntcd wheaton loaf has not been
nandcd down it the oIlcn chronicles. II
her name were known, she certainly would
deserve the first toast at all public dinners
(and private ones tn".) hui since this is I'M.
known, we conjecture the discovery was
made by accident undoubtedly it never re.
suited from Reasoning rriori, as no one
naturally, would suppose, that the frrment;-
ton OF flour WIS anything but rotting pro
cess, rendering it not only useless, but pos,
ltlVcly injurious for human food in any form
n certain quantity Of Hour is put into !.
vessel and mixci viii, certain quantity OF
m'lk-warm water aud little yeast, then
kncadci to proper consistency, exposed to
Il heat OF about G5 Fah for few hours,
when it rises, as it is termed, and is after
ward kncadcd again with some fresh -four,
Then put into m oven aud baked: it is Ia
ken out in the form "floavcs, called "bal-
cd wheaton bread. "fhiS is about all that
is known, generally, Of the philosophy of
bread making.
Chemists differ in opinion regarding tho
primary cause Of fermentation but it is
known that leavcn induces this action in
dough, and that alcohol and cnri,omic acid
are formed thereby, the -four being lccom-
posed anl passing off in the form Of these
substances. This is the reason why some
have dccried the use of lavencl bread, be-
cause they said, it was formed by wasting
"somc ofthc nu;rmenl Of the -four, But as
none OF the nutritious part of the flour is
driven oft in fermentation, only carbon and
hydrogen being
dispersed, their loss is compensated by the
improved hoaIthiul quality and pleasant
taste Of such bread
RAISED bread made Of cffrrvcscing salts
such as saleratus, is not So palatablc, so heal
thy, norwlll it keep so long, rs bread raised
by fermentation. The public has often,
times been cajolcd by persons prctcnding to
make bread which contained I'LL the ali
ment Of the flour that passes off us spirit in
ferncnted bread. a moments reflection will
convince any person that, weight for weight,
tcrmcn,cd bread must contain the greatest
amount Of nu,rimcnt, because fcrncntcd
bread contains great amount of respiratory
substances-and us consequence, less Of
the nutricious.
Que part Of the philosophy Of brcad.m
king-anl it is TO this feature we wish
more particularly to invite general attention
us the maintaining Of the heat constantly
above the boiling point of water. The
starch Of flour is insolublc in water Mt a
temperature below 2l2 deg. it has to be
we'll boiled before it becomes soluble, but
when moistcncd with wafer and exposed
Tor short time in an oven to heat OF
about 800 deg. Fab. (ncver below ol2 deg.
at last y IFS nature is changed it becomes
dcxtrinc, which is soluble in cold water
The heat Of every loaf of bread placed
III an oven must bc exposed to 2l2 deg.
Fab at least, or it will not be properly ba-
kcd, an'l cannot he easily lircstcd, heavy,
imperfcctly baked bread is therefore not
only unpalatahlc but also unhealthy.
The bakers OF Paris have a worldwide
celebrity for making beautiful fcrmcnte,
bread. Their skill and science are mostly
displayed in managing the temperature Of
their own ovens they employ thermometers
to Indicate their heat, and watch them
with unccasing attention their baking heat
is maintained from ol2 deg. to 400 deg.
Fab.