The Grit-advocate., 1906-05-25

EY ETA ROWsEY SCHLOENBAcH.
To insure success in bread baking
III is necessary to understand the
chemical changes which take place
"A pinch OF this and dash of that
AT each baking will not produce uni
form result.
II yeast is used, an experiment in
chemistry is performed every time
loaf of bread is baked. Yeast is
plant. and under the proper conditions
grows and expands very rapidly. The
gluten and starch in the wheat are
particularly sensitive to the germs of
the yeast plant.
Various tiours may be used in bread
baking Rye flour, used entirely, gives
"a sticky bread; but. a mixture of wheat
-four with rye IS most nutritious. The
whittier the fouc. the less nourishment
1T contains. Whole wheat -four makes
the most healthful bread.
The ingredients used in making
bread are -four. yeast, salt, sugar.
shortening, milk or water.
The yeast should be perfectly fresh.
Compressed yeast is the most convent
ent form and one should always bear
in mind that 1t Is cheaper to throw
away two cents worth of yeast than
to risk spelling several loayes OF
bread
Enough sugar is added to make up
for the sugar, which is converted into
alcohol through fermentation. Lard
can be used, ard it makes a whittier
bread Milk produces mere tender
bread and one which will keep moist
longer.
The following chemical change takes
place in bread making:
There is present in wheat flour a
ferment called diastase. If the dough
were allowed to stand long enough
this would ferment. But by that time
hhe Dough would be sour So to help
ii along we ado a stronger ferment
called yeast. This ferment causes
some of the starch to change into
sugar, and the sugar into alcohol and
rarbonic acid gas. In the former there
is no physical sign. but as soon as the
sugar undergoes its change bubbles be-
gin to appear IN the dough and the
mass begins to rise.
This latter condition is caused by
the carbonic acid gas trying to es-
cape The gluten in the wheat being
very elastic, expands and stretches to
several times its normal volume. 1t is
this very elasticity of the gluten in
wheat flour which makes it so deslra-
ble for bread made from yeast.
The alcohol which is produced is
given off in the baking.
The fermentation must be checked
before the alcoholic stage is passed
and ascetic fermentation sets in. We
do this by cutting the dough down
and kneading it.
To bring about this chemical change
the conditions must be just right.
Boiling water kills the yeast plant,
las does freezing. The temperature OF
the water in which the yeast is dis
solved must be lukewarm or at blood
heat. The dough or sponge, to which
the dissolved yeast is added, must be
of the same temperature.
sponge is rlade by mixing a very
little -four with the other ingredients
The yeast is added to this and when
it becomes full of large bubbles we
add flour enough to knead. This is
then either made into round loaf
and set aside to rise. or is shaped into
loaves at once and then placed in a
warm place to rise in the pans. If
the former method is employed the
dough should be covered with several
thicknesses Of cloth to prevent crust
from forming, which would cause dark
streaks throughout the bread.
The old method of allowing the
dough to rise three times is really
unnecessary and increases the danger
of souring by ascetic fermentation SET
ting in.
A sponge set at night, made into
loaves in the morning and allowed to
rise one hour and then baked in Il
properly heated oven will give good
bread.
If one desires a fine-grained bread
knead the dough for about so minutes
Use as little -four as possible in knead-
ing. The loaf in the pan should dou.
BILE its size in rlsing-not more.
| nave stated that one hour is neces
sary for the rising after being shaped
into loaves Should the room be toe
warm and the loaf become double ir
size before that time, bake at once.
The bread may be perfect before
going into the oven and come out com
,pletely spoiled. Hence the necessit!
for perfectly heated oven. II a tea
spoon of -four put into the oven
lcomes out brown in five minutes the
temperature of the oven is abou
right.
Bread should bake about one hour
This hour may be divided into fou
quarters. During the first quarter th'
bread should rise: during the second
lit should continue to rise little ant
begin to brown: during the third quar-
ter it should stop rising, and finisl
browning; during tn, fourth quarter i
should settle and finish baking.
When the broad begins to brown,
crus. is formed which checks the ris
Ing. II this crust is not formed sool
enough, the bread will go on risinl
and sour. If the crust is formed tot
rapidly, the loaf will not rise in tn
oven and the bread will be heavy
For baking rolls the oven should be