Table of Contents
Advertisement
To bake tasty bread
Characteristics of Ingredients
Each ingredient has its
own
characteristics
which exerts a great influence
on
the result of bread.
• Basic ingredients •
• Wheat flour. Wheat flour provides the bulk
and structure of bread. It
is
classified
into
two types, strong
flours which
are milled from hard wheat
and weak flours which
are milled
from soft wheat. The
difference
between
the
two types of wheat
is
the
content
of
proteins that form gluten ("gluten" is the
important
constituent
of
bread which provides
its structure and its
stretchy,
chewy texture).
Gas
which is
released during fermentation
of
the
dough
is
trapped within
the
elastic network of
gluten,
thu~
making
the
dough
rise.
Gluten
development
takes
place
during
dough
kneading.
Strong flours
contain a
high
content
of proteins necessary
for the development of
gluten.
Bread flour
is
the major product within this category
.
Most of
the
recipes in
this
book
call
for this
flour.
Weak flours such as cake flour
and
pastry flour, are less
in
protein content and
are suitable
for
products
which have
a
light,
crumbly
texture and do not require
much
gluten development.
AJI purpose flour is use<:! for many purposes, as the name
suggests,
in home baking. It
is slightly
weaker
than
bread flour.ln
our
recipes,
it
is
blended
with
the bread flour and not
used alone.
Self rising flour
is
a white flour to which
baking
powder and sometimes salt have been
added.
Weak flours, all purpose flour and self-rising flour may not be substituted for bread flour
in
the included
recipes.
Whole
wheat
flour is made by grinding the entire wheat ke,rnel, including the bran and germ.
100%
whole wheat bread or breads containing a high percentage of
whole
wheat flour will be lower in height
and heavier in texture than bread baked with a high percentage of bread flour. This is because the
gluten strands are
cut
by the edges of bran flakes and the germ, rich in minerals, inhibits
fermentation.
•Other flours: Flours
other
than wheat flour are not used to provide the bulk and
structure
of bread but to
add the nutritive value and flavor to bread in this book. (See P.15
"Other ingredients.")
•Salt
Salt has the following functions in bread baking.
*It
strengthens gluten structure and makes the dough more
elastic.
*It
inhibits yeast growth.
Therefore, too
much
salt
will
inhibit
fermentation whereas too little will result
in
a weak gluten
structure.
Both will result in a bread with
low
volume and poor texture. In any case, use ordinary table salt.
•Sugars: Sugars or
sweetening agents
have the following purposes in
baking:
*They add sweetness and flavor.
*They create tenderness and fineness of texture.
*They give crust color.
*They
contribute to keeping qualities by retaining moisture.
*They provide
food
for
yeast.
Besides regular granulated sugar, brown
sugar,
honey and molasses are used in this book. A few
recipes omit sugar(s) and include other ingredient(s) which act as sugar, such
as
fruit.
Molasses is used for
dark·breads;
those baked with whole wheat or rye
flour.
There are two
types
of
molasses,
sulfured and unsulfured. The difference is that sulfured molasses
is
a
by-product of sugar
refining while unsulfured molasses is not, and unsulfured has a less bitter taste.
In
the
included
recipes,
the two molasses are used
interchangeably.
When using honey or
molasses,
remember that its liquid content must be
included
in the total additional
liquid.
-13
-
- Quick Links:
- Baking Processes
- How to Use
- Recipes
Hide quick links:
Advertisement
Table of Contents
