Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-11-17

sometimes used in bread-makins. 10 likely
to be full Of microbes which ferment bread.
Compressed yeasts are found to be more
uniform in strength and composition. They
are made by growing yeast plants in sweet
liquid. then drying the material to check
their growth and COMPRISING it. Starch
Is added to make the cakes keep their
shape.
Bread Fads Now Raging.
Hundreds of thousands of Americans
might be supplied their daily bread free
were materials lost in yeast-growing saved
and sold for charity. Yeast also eats up
some of the nutritious ingredients of bread.
Scientists the world over are laboring to
procure good substitutes for it. For his
army Uncle Sam has introduced a self
rising flour mixed with powdered substi
tute for yeast. Such substitutes are easily
adulterated and bread made from them Is
often taSteleSs, according to the food
perts. "Aerated bread" popular in Lon
don, is made with water charged with car
bon dioXide gas which bubbles in the
dough and has the raising effect of yeast.
Among many Americans there is just now
tad Tor eating salt rising bread. To
make this the housewife may take warm
milk and corn meal, mixing them to a stiff
batter and leave them at blood heat until
fermented by certain bacteria always pres
ent in the air. The same batter, used AXE
kneaded with dough made of salt, flour
and hot water. the result being a light,
porous loaf without yeast. Another fad
possessing many Americans is the adoption
of "unleavened bread" The most ancient
variety of this has been used by the Jews
during Passover week since the time of
Moses. 1t is simply a mixture of flour and
water baked in small round cakes until dry
hard and similar to water-crackers. Pilot
bread, or ships biscuit is similar and can
be kept for any length of time. Crackers,
OF course, represent innumerable forms Of
unleavened bread. The original graham
bread was unleavened, but contained a few
holes due to fermentation caused by the
useful bacteria In the flour or air. Gluten
bread prescribed for patients who can
not eat starchy foods, is made from dough
pressed and strained under a stream of
water which carries off the starch and
leaves the gluten. The government experts
can also advise the home breadmaker how
to bake beaten bread or Maryland biscuit
another unleavened staff of life. The dough
is pounded, beaten and folded over and over
until 1t incloses small quantities of air in
numerous little blisters. When baked. the
loaf Is light and puffy.
Here is an interesting discovery concern
ing stale bread 1t will interest the dys-
peptic. The hardness Of stale bread has
been supposed to be due to its loss of wa
ter Experiment shows that it is caused
rather by the shifting of the water from
the crumo to the crust. Stale bread has
crisp crumb and moist crust, and is there
fore the reverse of fresh bread. If stale
bread Is put in the oven for a few min
utes the moisture returns to the crumb and
the crust becomes dry, as before. Hence.
II the dyspeptc wishes no moisture in his
bread, he should eat only the crust of the
1resh and only the inside of the stale.
Fraudulent Breads and FIours
Valuable facts about fraudulent breads
and fours are being ferreted out by the food
experts. The careless miller allows foreign
seeds to mingle with the grain put in the
hopper. Those most to be dreaded are
cookies and darnel. The former discoIors
the flour and the latter is poisonous. Rye
flour, corn -four, rice meal, potato starch
and meal from peas or beans are added
to cheaper the cost of flour milling. Min
erals, such as alum, borax, chalk, carbon
ate of magnesia and bone are sometimes
added to whlten the flour or neutralize Its
sourness, but these are more often added
by the baker. Alum, most commonly added
to make weak -four absorb more water, is
really injurious to the stomach. The house
Keeper can detect alum in her bakers
bread if she soaks piece in tincture of
loswood and ammonium carbonate The
alum will turn the liquid blue. Copper sui
phate, used to produce the effect of alum,
is even more dangerous. Lime eXerts the
same influence, but is less harmful. Yet
1t gives poor bread the appearance of
better grade
bread. One OF these is the potato bacillus
He finds his way into the ma terials or
the dough, often the yeast, survives the
baking and causes the otherwise healthy
loaf to decompose. Shiny bread" often a
surprise to the household, and which may
be pulled into strings, sometimes several
feet long, is usually suffering from this
disease. Bread Is also attacked by a mi
crobe which makes blood-red spots in the
dough. These spots gave rise to many SUI
perstitions during the middle ages. Sour
ness in bread is caused by undesirable mi
crobes which give off acid. Bread mold.
like yeast, is minute plant whose seeds
are floating about everywhere in the at
mosphere.
JOHN ELFRETH WATKINS, Jr.