The Carbon County news. [volume] (Red Lodge, Mont.) 1924-1931, 1926-11-25
Evolved" Sweet Doughs


How fortunate for today's housewife
that we had an evolution in bread
making as we'll as an evolution of
man. Our evolved bread is so simply
done in comparison to the bread made
in an older day.
I can remember that bread making
day was about as bad as wash day.
Busy Grandmother, how she worked.
At night the everlasting" yeast saved
from the week before was brought out
of its hiding place The dough was
put together and mixed, then trundled
to bed, wrapped in blankets so as not
to have a chill over night. At dawn
next day Grandmother would be up to
punch and knead her dough. And
after various punches and pats the
bread would be put in pans, only to
stand about the kitchen an hour or
two. At last it was put into the oven,
and whole evening and most of day
had gone into its manufacture.
What About Grand daughter?
But does grand daughter make
evolved" bread that way? Indeed,
no. With plenty of the soft yeast
which she can get fresh at the grocery
store every day, she mixes her bread
after breakfast and has it out of the
oven long before noon. So easily
done, so quickly done, such delicious
bread with every baking.
Why say many women, I'D just
as soon make bread as cake"
To my mind bread making is one of
our most interesting cookery pro-
cesses, because we're working with a
living plant which is going to grow
and develop. Yeast is very delicate
one-celled plant. 1t is like other plants
and must have certain conditions in
order to grow well.
First of all, yeast must have air.
That is why it is we'll to sift the flour
which you use for bread in order to
aereate it as we'll as to get accurate
measurements, as of course flour
packs in the sack or bin on standing
When the dough is rising it is better
not to grease the outside of the dough
heavily. The grease closes out the
air, and the dough needs breath. II
the dough must stand long, thin
coating of grease will keep it from
drying and forming crust.
The yeast plant must have moisture
and so we use liquid in bread. Some
times it is just water, sometimes milk
Potato water is a good liquid, and it
is thought by many that bread made
out of it does not dry out so quickly
The minerals in the potatoes also en-
courage the growth Of yeast. But
bread made of milk is most nutritious,
the milk supplying food elements
which are lacking in white -four.
Some kind of food must be furn-
ished on which the yeast plant is to
grow. For that reason we usually add
sugar to bread. Sugar will also i'm
prove the color of the crust and the
flavor. The yeast will work, too, on
the starch of the flour, Transforming
some of it to sugar and using it for
food.
Plenty Warm, But Not Too Much
And since the yeast plant is delicate
it needs warmth in order to grow most
luxuriantly. But too much heat will
kill the plant. That is the reason
that the liquid must be only luke
warm. Eighty degrees is the righ
temperature and that is only very
little warmer than room temperature
SO room that is about comfortabl,
for you will be comfortable for you
yeast. If the dough is cold, the yeas
will not be killed, but it will not grow
fast. So if your dough become
chilled, simply give it longer tim
to rise.
Those are the four essentials for tn
yeast plant. When using the fresh
moist yeast the dough may be nike
up stiff at once, and put to rise, with
out starting with a sponge. Rising
as the housewife calls it, is really
fermentation process, for as the yeas
grows it forms two substances, carlo
dioxide gas and alcohol. The ga
bubbles which form in the dough kee
enlarging and stretching the gluten 0
the -four more and more. That is VIII
it is necessary to punch the doug
down when it reaches about double il
original size, so that the big bubble
will be broken up and the gluten c
the flour will not lose it's elasticity.
Won't 1t Taste Yeasty?
When bread is baked, the yeast