El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1913-08-16

differ materially, the principles of
bread making are the same. Tor in ev-
cry case the sponge must be mixed,
the mass must be allowed time for the
1 yeast germs to develop the required
lightness, and the dough must be
cooked by baking in some sort of
an oven. These first principles of
| raised bread making have been recog-
nized by every baker since the time of
the Pharaohs. The Improvement and de-
velopment Of these first essentials con-
stitute the of the mod
ern raised bread whether it is the
product of a regular bakery or of the
home kitchen. Two systems CT de-
velOping the yeast germs are IN COM
mon use and each has its followers.
There are also a number of compro-
misses between the two distinct meth
DDS.
straight, and 'spOnge' Dough
The results are usually known to
the baker as straight dough- and
sponge dough-. The first, which is
also known as off hand" dough, is
made by mixing all of the
, materials at one time M then setting
the mass in a warm place 70 rise for
several hours before Dakiug. This meth
Cd requires more yeast and Ong
flour than does the other method in
which the yeast IS permitted first to
Grow IN an especially LdNOEaDle med
ium before being mixed with the main
dough. Straight dough also requires
a longer time to rise but on the other
hand it gives a larger yield of bread.
Many housewives prefer this method
because the dough "a be mixed over
night and baked in the morning. 1t has
been unpopular with some bakers be
cause the large quantities of ma
terials require extensive kneading- The
improved machinery used in the large
modern bakeries overcomes this OBJ
lection.
To make sponge dough-. the yeast is
allowed to work for a number of hours
IN a stiff batter made of a portion of
the flQura and water After it has raised
sufficiently the other ingredients are
added and II is allowed TO rise again
before being worked out into 1Oaves
for baking. Sometimes the fun amount
of water is used for the sponge
and only the required mount of Hour
Is added to make it into a stiff dough.
At least the sponge is always slack
er" than the straight dough. Bakers
usually set their dough with their
strongest flour. The strong Tour
gives the light elastic quality TO the
sponge and a weaker flour is used to
complete the second mixing. The
housewife usually has but one kim of
flour, and if she is possessed of good
baking judgment she will be able TO
al the amount of moisture to be
used n the proper consistency of the
dough by the feeling of the flour in
developed when moistened
Bakers Bread Is Plain
The good loaf of bakers bread sell
dom contains any other material than
flour salt water, a small quantity of
lard or other shortening and the
yeast which raises it. The homemade
bread, upon the other hand, may
have several other ingredients Many
housewives insist that it is impossible
to obtain good bread without adding
considerable amount of potato. Ere
quently the Tour with which the sponge
is started is scalded with the wa
ter IN which potatoes have been boiled
and the potatoes finely mashed, are
added either to the sponge when it is
started, or less frequently after il
has raised, and is ready for the sec
ond mixing In some homes milk is
always used instead of water for mix
ing dough.
Sour Bread q Menace
To most bakers, both in the home
and the commercial bakery, the great
est misfortune to be Warded off is that
OF sour bread. This is due to the IN
due development of the Tactic or other
acids contained in the dough. A little
acid is not harmful, as is proved
by the nutritive value of Ieavened
bread, but when this acidity is pro-
nounced it becomes most unpleasant
10 the average palate and if far deVel-
oped may become absolutely injurious.
II IS usually believed, especially by the
housewife, that sour bread is caused
by the dough having stood too long
during one of the raising periods.
Modern chemistry has proved that this
acidity may arise from a lack of clean
illness. Old dough left in the baking
utensils from the last using NAV con-
tain the undesirable bacteria which
produces the excess acidity.
Result of Poor Flour
Next to sourness, the most dreaded
imperfection in bread is to have it
heavy n sOggy- This a fault so
common that IN some parts of the
country. the really perfect loaf of
may be caused by cheap flour, poor in
gluten, which will not absorb the
water, or by cheap adulterated yeast
which will not secure the proper de-
gree of pOrOsity. 1t may come from
insufficient kneading, rising or baking.
Heavy bread is the most indigestible
food to be obtained in any civilized
country. When cheWed it rolls up into
solid Jumps which are difficult for the
saliva and gastric juices to penetrate.
Frequently bread is found which
breaks and crumbles when cut under
the knife and to a few people crumbIy
bread is desirable. Most persons pre-
fer the loaf which cuts into clean
smooth slices. The crumbly loaf indi-
Gates either that the dough has lost its
tenacity by being OverwOrked or that
a harsh dry flour was used tho
proper fermentation.
Sticky, Shiny bread is the vexatiOn
VI numerous DEedQ DdkeES. Sucn bread
when three or four days old becomes
light brown in color and peculiar in
taste and OdOr. It is also stringy and
the crumb part of a loaf may be pulled
into strings several inches long. Ex-
periments made at the Wisconsin ex-
pertinent station of the department of
agriculture showed that this is due to
a variety of bacilli known as the DO
tatO bacillus. 1t is sometimes found
in flour and has also been known to
have been developed upon cakes of
compressed yeast which have been kept
too long upon the market. These bacilli
survive the heat of baking.
Early Bread Baking.
The earliest bread was baked by
burying the lOaves in hot ashes or
placing 1t upon heated stones. Ovens
were then evolved which were heated
by a fire within. In most of the older
countries this type of oven is still in
use The ancient Egyptians first
baked upon a peculiar cone shaped
stone made of pottery. 1t was portable
and had openings below which gave
draft to the small fire which was built
inside the base. The bread made in
small cakes was stuck against the
smooth slanting sides and baked first
on one side and then the other. It is
hard to trace the evolution of his
strange little stove to the great elab-
OratelV constructed 0vau of today