Evening capital news. (Boise, Idaho) 1901-1927, 1914-08-21
BY Sherwood p. Snyder
THE ART OF BREAD MAKING

&c
The best dinner is a failure without
good bread.
No other food is so commonly and
universally used as bread. Indeed it Is
the most essential article of diet upon
which the human race depends. No
meal is complete without it, 1t has
been deservedly termed the staff of
life"
| In the making of white bread there
is no reason for adhering to one set of
rules for there are many methods that
can be employed, any of which will
give good and satisfactory results.
However, there arc fundamental prin-
ciples underlying the making of all
yeast breads which must be under
stood and recognized in order to meet
with certain success. The flour, the
yeast and the raising of the dough are
all important factors, and any of these
may be the cause of failures If not
given consideration.
The Individual characteristics of
flour present a subject for study, for
unless they are understood and the
dough handled accordingly they may
/
given recipe insures good bread with
one flour and a certain yeast 1t is no
guarantee that the same recipe, using
the same measurements, and allowing
the dough to raise the same number
of times will give the same results with
another flour. Indeed this is rarely
the case, for there are peculiarities in
all flours that must be understood and
/ the dough hand1ad arcnrIinulxy n
general principles the harder the flour
the softer the dough should be and the
more proofing it will stand. When the
bread is failure 1t is not an evidence
that the fault lies with the flour, for
the flour may be of the highest and
best quality. Too often 1t receives the
credit for being poor when the whole
fault lies with the cook.
In nearly every community the idea
prevails that the flours milled in some
far off, remote country possess su-
perior qualities to those milled at
home. This is most erroneous i'm
preston. There are good flours milled
in nearly every section of the United
States, and on genet al principles the
home flours are to be recommended to
their home community If they are of
wheat flours, ana there are good soft
wheat flours sold Ia nearly every city
and they are both used extensively in
the making of white bread This
proves conclusively that either pos
sesses the necessary qualities for good
bread provided tho dough is properly
mixed and handled. The principal
consideration is the difference in the
a lnenrhincr nj he otcin q
power of the hard and the soft flours.
A general rule Is to mix the bread
dough SITTER when using the soft
wheat flour and allow 1t to raise less.
The explanation for this Is that the
and they will not absorb as much
water. However, this is neither in ia
vor nor against them, for bread of the
highest quality can be produced from
these flours, and after all that is what
counts. Because OF the superior
strength and raising powers of the
hard wheat flours they require more
water and will stand more proofing.
They will make a larger loaf of bread
pound for pound than will the soft
wheat flours but this is not an argu-
ment in their favor considering that
the extra weight is water. In buying
flour 1t is best to select some good
brand, preferably that milled at home,
and make one or more test bakings
from it If necessary in order to become
familiar with 1t, and then use that flour
so long as the quality remains good
Experimenting with different flours
oftens means failures.
Good bread does not depend alone
upon good flour, for the best flour with