Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1901-03-08
THE STAFF OF LIFE
III
Bread Universally Used as Food in
All Ages.
PRIMITIVE METHODS OF BAKING
Care and Cleanliness Necessary in
"a "
Preparatioaef Dough-.
AS n UTR1MENr


says Miss Helen o. AtGater in a paper pre-
pared for the Department Of Agriculture
which Is so universally used as bread; and
not only Is 1t known almost everywhere,
but since history first begun it has in
some form or other made one of the staples
of diet among all but the most savage
peoples. In the earliest historical records it
is spoken Of, and the wild tribes which to-
day inhabit South Africa know something
of its use. OF course the bread made by the
Kafir today, or by the American Indian
three hundred years ago, Is very different
from our own. 1t would be interesting to
trace the relationship between the bread
making processes of given peoples and their
rank in the scale Of civilization. The Kaf1r
simply grnds his grain between two stones.
makes paste of this meal and water, and
bakes 1t In the ashes of his camp fire; Israel
In Egypt, ate leavened bread; the ancient
Greeks cultivated the yeast plant; in Pom
peii an oven was found containing eighty
one loaves of bread not unlike our own; the
Swiss peasant still bakes his weekly loaves
in the village oven; and SO on, to the mann
moth bakeries and innumerable fancy
breads Of our own large towns. No wonder
then, that the more intelligent a people
the better bread they make
The reason for this importance Of bread
is very simple Ever since the far-off days
when our forefathers first found the wild
cereals, or began to cultivate them, men
have known that food prepared from them
would support life and strength better than
any other single food except milk. The diet
Of the poor in India and China often con-
sists almost entirely Of wheat or millet
cakes or rice. and although in our own
land the ease with winch we can get other
foods makes bread seem less important.
there are still many districts In Europe
where the people eat very little else. To
a large part of mankind it is still the stan
of life, and If they pray for their daily
bread they mean 1t literally.
The Ingredients.
In regard to its ingredients bread is one
Of the simplest Of our cooked foods. but
in regard to the changes which the raw
materials must undergo to produce fin
ished loaf it is one Of the most complI-
rules apply to them all AS yeast
develops best at moderately high
Temperature CT to 95 degrees F., the ma
terials of the dough should be at least luke
warm, and the mixing and raising should
be done in a warm place. as free as pos
sible from drafts. # all portions of the
dough are to be equally aerated by the gas
thoroughly mixed with the flour and water;
moreover as the presence OF oxygen aids
the growth of the yeast, all parts of the
dough should be exposed to the air; both
these results are .aCGOHpllSileO ny the
kneading. Too little yeast will. of course,
yield a badly raised loaf. but too much
yeast is just as dangerous.
1t seems almost superftuous to say that
the greatest cleanlihess should be observed
in kneading bread Most household cooks
maintain that it is impossible to mix dough
as evenly with knife or spoon as with
the hands. Perhaps, where bread Is made
in small quantities and every rrecaution Is
taken against uncleanliness, this use of the
han 1S hp ed whole
sale bakeries, where dough is mixed in such
large quantities that the kneading Is vio-
lent physical exercise and the worker Is
unable to take his hands from the dough
long enough to wipe his dripping forehead.
In such establishments the modern knead-
ing machines, In which revolving metal
blades do the work of the hands are surely
to be advocated. and in general those breads
are to be recommended which are made
with the aid Of machinery so arranged that
none of the materials need be touched by
hand from the time they enter the bakery
until the finished loaves are taken from the
oven. Every utensil used for bread max
ing should be scrupulously Clean not only
on principles Of general decency, but be-
cause otherwise bacteria may get into the
dough and produce harmful fermentation.
Primitive Methods.
In the earliest days of bread making the
dough was simply put into the ashes of the
fire to bake: then came the ovens heated
by a fire within. which are still used to
some extent. and finally the deliberately con-
structed ovens which can be heated or cool
ed to any temperature by means OF fur
naces and ventilating devices around them.
But whatever the structure Of the oven, the
changes which the bread undergoes While
in 1t are essentially the same. 1t goes In
heavy, uniform mass and comes out a light
body of increased volume with crisp,
dark exterior-the crust-and firm, spongy
interiOr-the crunb.
One Of the most common and dangerous
faults in bread Is heaviness and sogginess.
AS we have seen, this may be caused by
the use Of cheap flours, poor in gluten, which
cannot absorb all the water put into the
dough, or, to state it in another way. by
the use of too much water In proportion to
the flour; by too little or by too poor yeast;
or by insufficient kneading, rising, or bak-
Ing. Heavy bread Is popularity considered
one of the most indigestible of foods. When
chewed it rolls itself into solid Jumps.
which give the saliva and gastric juices
very little chance to work upon them
Faults in Bread.
Occasionally the crumb of fresh bread
breaks when cut instead Of separating
clearly under the knife. According to
Jago, harsh dry fiours, not sufficiently fer
mented, may be the cause Of this, or the
dough may have lost its tenacity by being
oVerWorked.
Another common fault in bread, especial
irregular holes instead Of the small. even
pores which 1t should show. These occur
in overkneaded overraised dough- or If
they are found Just below the crust they
mean that the oven was too hot. and that
the crust formed before the carbon dioxid
had finished expanding.
Sometimes bread makers are troubled by
what Is known sticky" or "slimy"
bread In such cases bread three or four
days old takes on light brown color and
peculiar taste and odor. Gradually, too,
1t becomes sticky or Shiny until 1t may be
pulled into strings, sometimes several feet
In length The trouble appears to be caused
by the common potato bacillus. minute
organism which finds ftseway into the ma
terials of the dough, survives the baking.
and, growing in the bread, causes it to de-
compose. Accordingly. If yeasts are not
carefully made such trouble may occur at
any time, but especially when the weather
is warm and favorabie'ito the growth Of
the bacilli. The best. safeguards are to
keep the bread in cool place and to bake
only as much as can be consumed within
a day or two. ,,tso;
Not infrequently. especially in damp
weather, mold forms on the outside. or
even in the inside of bread. Mold, like
yeast, Is minute plant whose spores Cor
seeds are floating about everywhere in the
air, ready to settle down and grow wher-
nryn f1nxr f1,l