The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1901-10-16

conducted by Ida AmeS Willis, Mar
quette Building, Chicago, to whom all
inquiries should be addressed.
All rights reserved by Banning Co.,
Chicago.
The Story of Loaf of Bread.
There is nothing that seems so indis-
pensable to the human family as bread
IN some form, and certainly nothing
that so appeals to the interested house
wl1e and contributes more to the sum
OF human happiness than the skillful
knowledge of how to produce a perfect
loaf of homemade bread.
mat this accomplish ent is not COM
mon in every household is a fact to be
deplored and remedied.
Homemade bread is a luxury for the
rich man and not too dear for the poor.
In fact one is more likely to find it in
the humber home than where the mis-
tress of the house does not concern her
self about the preparation of foods. The
history of the wheat grain which gives
US our bread flour is most interesting
but we need not go back beyond the
story of evolution given by one of our
well known poets: Behind the nutty
loaf is the mill wheel; behind the mill
is the wheat field; on the wheat field
rests the sunlight; above the sun is
God" Can we have a more beautiful
word picture than this to show us that
there is no grossness in eating food to
sustain the body, except in our mis-
guided minds and judgment?
BREAD FLOUR
The generally accepted term means
flour prepared from the wheat grain, of
course Not only does the wheat grain
give nearly all the essential elements of
nutrition, but its flavor makes it uni
versally agreeable and the constant use
does not pail upon the taste. This is a
most important property for it to pos
sess in addition to its cheapness and
food value, for it is probable that tie
bodily vigor and mental and moral
health of the people of ten perate
climes can be sustained by this vegeta-
BILE product more than any other.
Yet in spite of the very important
and vital part bread is designed to full
fill in the human economy, there is no
other food of like result that so uni
versally fails in its mission This may
be attributed to two causes: utter ig.
norance of the proper process of bread
making (Which is the most commonly, or
the poor quality of flour used.
QUALITY OF FLOUR.
AS the quality of the loaf first de-
ponds on the character of flour used,
it goes without saying that only good
flour can produce good and nutritious
loaf, even under the manipulation of
the most skillful hands. The quality of
the flour is not to be gagged by the
brand until proven through successful
baking; even a good and reliable
brand of flour may differ slightly in
results under certain conditions, de-
pending on whether it is new or old;
whether it has been kept in a clean,
dry place, or exposed to dampness.
Good flour, whatever the mixture OF
grain or process of milling, will be dry
and of a sweet, nutty Odor and flavor.
The color of good flour that contains
the entire nutritive properties of the
wheat is of a decidedly creamy tinge
and richer or darker than a poor quail
ity. However, a flour may be dark anG
yet be a very poor kind. owing to the
wheat not being properly cleaned or Of
a dark variety The whole wheat flours
are often inferior on account of care
lessness in cleaning or adulteration by
mixing with bran or other grains. A
good white flour can be DISTINGUISHED
more readily than pure entire wheat
-four Any substance added to the
white flour, such poor flour, rice
flour, potato starch, corn flour or alum,
will give it a suspicious whiteness that
is an indication that the nutritive value
of the flour is lessened Alum is the
most harmful of all the substances
added. This is mixed only with a very
inferior flour that is made from a poor
quality of grain that has not been thor
oughly cleaned or has deteriorated by
rust, mould or exposure.
The quality of the principal varieties
of wheat grain-the red and the white
varies according to climate and season.
The best quality is that cultivated in
temperate climates, such as Russia and
the United States, where the heat of the
sun is only great during the summer
months; and a northern latitude is most
favorable.
The red wheat is the stronger food the
grain is usually harder and smaller,
while the white grain is large and par
ticularly adapted to the making of
fine white flour. The admixture of these
two is for the same purpose.
The modern miller must combine skill
with intelligence in order to be able to
ix kinds of grain in DrOnQr
portion to produce the best flour. BY the
best flour we mean the one that retains
the highest percentage of the nutrient
qualities, while it gives us a flour that
will answer for general use in families
who prefer to do their own baking. Po