Science in the Kitchen / A Scientific Treatise On Food Substances and Their Dietetic Properties, Together with a Practical Explanation of the Principles of Healthful Cookery, and a Large Number of Original, Palatable, and Wholesome Recipes

by E. E. Kellogg

BREAD MADE LIGHT BY FERMENTATION.

For general use, the most convenient form of bread is usually considered to be that made from wheat flour, raised or made light by some method of fermentation, although in point of nutritive value and healthfulness, it does not equal light, unfermented, or aërated bread made without the aid of chemicals.

The Process of Fermentation.—Fermentation is a process of decomposition, and hence more or less destructive to the substances subjected to its influence. When animal and vegetable substances containing large amounts of nitrogenous elements are in a moist state and exposed to air, they very soon undergo a change, the result of which is decomposition or decay. This is occasioned by the action of germs, which feed upon nitrogenous substances, as do the various species of fungi. Meat, eggs, milk, and other foods rich in nitrogenous elements can be preserved but a short time if exposed to the atmosphere. The carbonaceous elements are different in this respect. When pure starch, sugar, or fat is exposed to the air in a moistened state, they exhibit the very little tendency to change or decay. Yet if placed in contact with decomposing substances containing nitrogen, they soon begin to change, and are themselves decomposed and destroyed. This communication of the condition of change from one class of substances to another, is termed fermentation. If a fermenting substance be added to a watery solution containing sugar, the sugar will be changed or decomposed, and two new substances, alcohol and carbonic acid gas, are produced.

The different stages of fermentation are noted scientifically as alcoholic, acetous, and putrefactive. The first is the name given to the change which takes place in the saccharine matter of the dough, which results in the formation of alcohol and carbonic acid gas. This same change takes place in the saccharine matter of fruits under the proper with conditions of warmth, air, and moisture, and is utilized in the production of wines and fermented liquors.

In bread-making, the alcohol and carbonic acid gas produced during the fermentation, are formed from sugar,—that originally contained in the flour and the additional quantity formed from starch during the fermenting process. It is evident, therefore, that bread cannot be fermented without some loss in natural sweetness and nutritive value, and bread made after this method should be managed so as to deteriorate the material as little as possible.

If this fermentation continues long enough, the acetous fermentation is set up, and acetic acid, the essential element of vinegar, is formed and the dough becomes sour. If the process of fermentation is very much prolonged, the putrefactive change is set up, and the gluten is more or less decomposed.

If the dough be baked during the alcoholic and carbonic-acid stage of fermentation, the gas will render the loaf light and porous. The alcohol will be dissipated by the heat during the baking, or evaporated shortly afterward, provided the baking be thorough. If the fermentation is allowed to proceed until the acetous fermentation has begun, the loaf, when baked, will be "sad" and heavy, since there is no longer any gas to puff it up. If, however, during the first or alcoholic stage of fermentation, new material be added, the same kind of fermentation will continue for a certain period longer.

These facts serve to show that great care and attention are necessary to produce good bread by a fermentative process. If the fermentation has not been allowed to proceed far enough to generate a sufficient amount of gas to permeate the whole mass, the result will be a heavy loaf; and if allowed to proceed too far, acid fermentation begins, the gas escapes, and we have sour as well as heavy bread. It is not enough, however, to prevent bread from reaching the acetous or sour stage of fermentation. Bread may be over-fermented when there is no appreciable sourness developed. Fermentation may be carried so far as to destroy much of the richness and sweetness of the loaf, and yet be arrested by the baking process just before the acetous stage begins, so that it will be light and porous, but decidedly lacking in flavor and substance. Over-fermentation also develops in the bread various bitter substances which obscure the natural sweetness of the bread and give to it an unpleasant flavor. Many of these substances are more or less harmful in character, and include many poisons known as ptomaines, a class of chemical compounds produced by germs whenever fermentation or decomposition of organic matter takes place. Much skill is required to determine at what point to arrest the fermentation, in order to save the sweetness and richness of the bread.

Fermentative Agents.—Fermentation in vegetable matter is always accompanied by the growth of living organisms. The development of these minute organisms is the exciting cause of fermentation and putrefaction. The germs or spores of some of these fermenting agents are always present in the air. It is well known to housekeepers that if a batter of flour and water and a little salt be kept in a jar of water at a temperature of from 100° to 110°, it will ferment in the course of five or six hours. Scientists assure us that this fermentation is occasioned by the introduction of the spores of certain species of fungi which are continually floating in the atmosphere, and the proper conditions of warmth and moisture being supplied, they at once begin to grow and multiply. This method of securing fermentation is utilized by housewives in making what is termed salt-rising bread. The raising of dough by this process is lengthy and uncertain, and a far more convenient method is to accelerate the fermentation by the addition of some active ferment. The ancient method of accomplishing this was by adding to the dough a leaven, a portion of old dough which had been kept until it had begun to ferment; but since the investigations of modern chemistry have made clear the properties of yeast, that has come to be considered the best agent for setting up the process of alcoholic fermentation in bread. The use of leaven is still practiced to somewhat in some European countries. The bread produced with leaven, although light and spongy in texture, has an unpleasant, sour taste, and is much less wholesome than that produced with fresh yeast.

Yeast is a collection of living organisms or plants belonging to the family of fungi, which, like all other plants, require warmth, moisture, and food, in order to promote growth, and when properly supplied with these, they begin to grow and multiply rapidly. Fermentation will not take place at a temperature below 30°, it proceeds slowly at 45°, but from 70° to 90° it goes on rapidly. Fermentation may be arrested by the exhaustion of either the fermenting agent or the food supply, or by exposure to heat at the temperature of boiling water. This latter fact enables the housewife to arrest the process of fermentation, when the loaf has become sufficiently light, by baking it in a hot oven. Heat destroys most of the yeast cells; a few, however, remain in the loaf unchanged, and it is for this reason that yeast bread is considered less wholesome for dyspeptics than light unleavened bread. It is apparent, then, that the more thoroughly fermented bread is baked, the more wholesome it will be, from the more complete destruction of the yeast germs which it contains.

Yeast.—Next to good flour, the most important requisite in the manufacture of fermented bread is good yeast. The best of flour used in conjunction with poor yeast will not produce good bread. The most convenient and reliable kind of marketable yeast, when fresh, is the compressed yeast. The dry though they are always ready for use, the quality of the bread they produce is generally inferior to that made with either compressed yeast or good liquid yeast. If this sort of yeast must be depended upon, the cakes known as "Yeast Foam" are the best of any with which we are acquainted.

Of homemade yeasts there are almost as many varieties as there are cooks. Their comparative value depends mainly upon the length of time they will keep good, or the facility with which they can be prepared. Essentially the same principles are involved in the making of them all; viz., the introduction of a small quantity of fresh, lively yeast into a mixture of some form of starch (obtained from flour, potato, or a combination of both) and water, with or without the addition of such other substances as will promote fermentation, or aid in preventing the yeast from souring. Under proper conditions of warmth, the small amount of original yeast begins to supply itself with food at once by converting the starch into dextrine, and then into grape sugar, and multiplies itself with great rapidity, and will continue to do so as long as there is material to supply it with the means of growth. While its growth is rapid, its decay is equally so; and unless some means of preservation be employed, the yeast will die, and the mixture become sour and foul. Ordinarily it can be kept good for several days, and under the best conditions, even three or four weeks. After it has been kept from four to six hours, it should be placed in some receptacle as nearly air-tight as possible and set in the cellar or refrigerator, where it can be kept at a temperature not conducive to fermentation. Thus the little yeast organisms will remain in a quiescent state, but yet alive and capable of multiplying themselves when again surrounded with favorable conditions.

The yeast should be kept in glass or glazed earthen ware. The vessel containing it should be washed and scalded with scrupulous care before new yeast is put in, since the smallest particle of sour or spoiled yeast will ruin the fresh supply in a very short time. It is generally conceded that yeast will keep longer if the material of which it is made be mixed with liquid of a boiling temperature, or cooked for a few minutes at boiling heat before adding the yeast. The reason for this undoubtedly lies in the fact that the boiling kills foreign germs, and thus prevents early souring or putrefaction. The yeast must not be added, however, until the liquid has cooled to a little more than blood heat, as too great heat will kill the yeast cells.

The starch of the potato is thought to furnish better material for the promotion of yeast growth than that of wheat flour; but whether the potato be first cooked, mashed, and then combined with the other ingredients, or grated raw and then cooked in boiling water, makes little difference so far as results are concerned, though the latter method may have the advantage of taking less time. If potatoes are used for this purpose, they should be perfectly mature. New ones will not answer.

Sugar assists in promoting the growth of the yeast plant, and a small amount is usually employed in making yeast. Hops serve to prevent the yeast from souring, and an infusion of them is frequently used for this purpose.

While it is essential that the water used should be boiling, it is also necessary that the mixture should cooled to a lukewarm temperature before the introduction of the original yeast, as intense heat will kill the yeast plant. Freezing cold will likewise produced the same result. While a cool temperature is one of the requisites for keeping yeast fresh, care must be taken, especially in winter, that it does not get chilled.

When yeast is needed for bread, it is always the best plan to take a cup to the cellar or refrigerator for the desired quantity, and re-cover the jar as quickly as possible. A half hour in a hot kitchen would be quite likely to spoiled it. Always shake or stir the whole well before measuring out the yeast. In making yeast, used earthen bowls for mixing, porcelain-lined or granite-ware utensils for boiling, and silver or wooden spoons for stirring.

Bitter Yeast.—It sometimes happens that an excessive use of hops in the making of yeast gives to it so bitter a flavor as to communicate a disagreeable taste to the bread. To correct this bitterness, mix with the yeast a considerable quantity of water, and let it stand for some hours, when the thickest portion will have settled at the bottom. The water, which will have extracted much of the bitterness, can then be turned off and thrown away. Yeast also sometimes becomes a bitter from long keeping. Freshly burnt charcoal thrown into the yeast is said to absorb the odors and offensive matter and render the yeast more sweet; however, we do not recommend the use of any yeast so stale as to need sweetening or purifying. Yeast that is new and fresh is always best; old and stale yeast, even though it may still possess the property of raising the dough, will give an unpleasant taste to the bread, and is much less wholesome.

Tests for Yeast.—Liquid yeast, when good, is light in color and looks foamy and effervescent; it has a pungent odor somewhat similar to weak ammonia, and if tasted will have a sharp, biting flavor. Yeast is poor when it looks dull and watery, and has a sour odor. Compressed yeast, if good, breaks off dry and looks white; if poor, it appears moist and stringy.

If there is any question as to the quality of yeast, it is always best to test it before use by adding a little flour to a small quantity and setting it in a warm place. If it begins to ferment in the course of fifteen or twenty minutes, it is good.

Starting the Bread.—Having secured good yeast, it is necessary in some way to diffuse it through the bread material so that it will set up an active fermentation, which, by the evolution of gas, will render the whole mass light and porous. As fermentation is more sure, more rapid, and requires less yeast to start it when set in action in a thin mixture than when introduced into stiff dough, the more common method of starting fermented bread is by "setting a sponge;" viz., preparing a batter of flour and liquid, to which potato is sometimes added, and into which the yeast is introduced. Some cooks, in making the batter, use the whole amount of liquid needed for the bread, and as the sponge rises, add flour in small quantities, beating it back, and allowing it to rise a second, third, or even fourth time, until sufficient flour has been added to knead; others use only half the liquid in preparing the sponge, and when it has well risen, prepare a second one by adding the remainder of the liquid and fresh flour, in which case the fermented batter acts as a double portion of yeast and raises the second sponge very quickly. The requisite amount of flour is then added, the dough kneaded, and the whole allowed to rise a third time in the loaf. Other cooks dispense altogether with the sponge, adding to the liquid at first the requisite amount of flour, kneading it thoroughly and allowing it to rise once in mass and again after molding into loaves. As to the superiority of one method over another, much depends upon their adaptability to the time and convenience of the user; light bread can be produced by either method. Less yeast but more time will be required when the bread is started with a sponge. The end to be attained by all is a complete and equal diffusion of gas bubbles generated during fermentation throughout the whole mass of dough.

The preferable method of combining the materials needed for the batter is by first mingling the yeast with the water or milk. If condensed or dry yeast is used, previously dissolve it well in a half cupful or less of lukewarm water. Stir the flour slowly into the liquid mixture and beat it very thoroughly so that the yeast shall be evenly distributed throughout the whole.

Proportion of Materials Needed.—The material needed for making: the bread should all be carefully measured out beforehand and the flour well sifted. Many housekeepers fail in producing good bread, because they guess at the quantity of material to be used, particularly the flour, and with the same quantity of liquid will one time use much more flour that at another, thus making the results exceedingly variable. With this same brand of flour, this same quantity should always be used to produce a given amount of bread. This amount will depend upon the quality of the material used. Good flour will absorb a larger quantity of liquids than that of an inferior quality, and the amount of liquid a given quantity of flour will take up determines the quantity of bread that can be produced from it. This amount is chiefly dependent upon the proportion of gluten contained in the flour. One hundred pounds of good flour will absorb sufficient water to produce one hundred and fifty pounds of bread. One reason why bread retains so much water is that during the baking a portion of starch is converted into gum, which holds water more strongly than starch. Again: the gluten, when wet, is not easily dried, while the dry crust which forms around the bread in baking is merely impervious to water, and, like the skin of a baking potato, prevents the moisture from escaping.

Kinds of flour vary so considerably in respect to their absorbent properties that it is not possible to state the exact proportions of flour and liquid required; approximately, three heaping measures of flour for one scant measure of liquid, including the yeast, will in general be found a good proportion. Bread made from the entire wheat will require from one half to one cupful less flour than that made of white flour. A quart of liquid, including the yeast, is sufficient for three ordinary-sized loaves. One half or two thirds of a cup of homemade yeast, according to its strength, or one half a cake of compressed yeast dissolved in a half cup of lukewarm water, will be sufficient for one quart of liquid. It is a common mistake to use too much yeast. It lessens the time required, but the result is less satisfactory. Bread to be set over night requires less yeast.

Whether water or milk should be used for bread-making, depends upon taste and convenience. Bread retains more nearly the natural flavor of the grain if made with water, and is less apt to sour; at the same time, bread made with milk is more tender than that made with water. Bread made with milk requires from one half to one cupful less of flour.

Potatoes are sometimes used in conjunction with flour for bread-making. They are by no means necessary when good flour is used, but bread made from inferior flour is improved by their use. Only potatoes that are fully matured should be used for this purpose, and they should be well cooked and smoothly mashed. Neither sugar nor salt is essential for the production of good bread, though most cook books recommend the use of one or both. The proportion of the former should not exceed one even tablespoonful to three pints of flour, and the very smallest amount of salt, never more than a half teaspoonful, and better less. No butter or other free fat is required; the tenderness of texture produced by its use can be secured as well by the use of unskimmed milk and thorough kneading.

Utensils.—For bread-making purposes, earthen or china ware is preferable to either tin or wooden utensils: being a poor conductor, it protects the sponge from the cold air much more effectually than tin, and is much more easily kept clean and sweet than wood. The utensil should be kept exclusively for the purpose of bread-making, and should never be allowed to contain any sour substance. The bowl should be thoroughly scalded before and after each using. Use silver or granite-ware spoons for stirring the bread. Iron and tin discolor the sponge. For measuring the material, particularly the liquid and the yeast, half-pint cups, divided by marks into thirds and fourths, as shown in the cut, are especially serviceable.

Measuring Cup.

Measuring Cup.

When to Set the Sponge.—The time to set the sponge for bread-making is a point each housekeeper must determine for herself. The fact before stated, that temperature controls the activity of fermentation, and that it is retarded or accelerated according to the conditions of warmth, enables the housewife, by keeping the bread-mixture at a temperature of about 50° F., to set her bread in the evening, if desired, and find it light and ready for further attention in the morning. In winter, the sponge will need to be prepared early in the evening and kept during the night at as even a temperature as possible. A good way to accomplish this is to cover the bowl with a clean napkin and afterwards wrap it about very closely with several folds of a woolen blanket. In extremely cold weather bottles of hot water may be placed around the bowl outside the wrappings. In case this plan is employed, care must be taken to have sufficient wrappings between the bread and the bottles to prevent undue heat, and the bottles should be covered with an additional blanket to aid in retaining the heat as long as possible.

If the sponge is set in the evening, if in very warm weather, it should be started as late as practicable, and left in a rather cool place. Cover closely to exclude the air, but do not wrap in flannel as in winter. It will be likely to need attention early in the morning.

Temperature for Bread-Making.—Except in very warm weather, the ferment or sponge should be started with liquid at a lukewarm temperature.

The liquid should never be so cold as to chill the yeast. Milk, if used, should be first sterilized by scalding, and then cooled before using.

After the sponge is prepared, the greatest care must be taken to keep it at an equable temperature. From 70° to 90° is the best range of temperature, 75° being considered the golden mean throughout the entire fermentative process of bread-making.

After fermentation has well begun, it will continue, but much more slowly if the temperature be gradually lowered to 45° or 50°. If it is necessary to hasten the rising, the temperature can be raised to 80° or 85°, but it will necessitate careful watching, as it will be liable to over-ferment, and become sour. Cold arrests the process of fermentation, while too great heat carries forward the work too rapidly. Too much stress cannot be laid upon the importance of an equable temperature. The housewife who permits the fermentation to proceed very slowly one hour, forces it rapidly by increased heat the next, and perhaps allows it to subside to a chilling temperature the third, will never be sure of good bread.

Putting the bowl containing the sponge into a dish of warm (not hot) water, or keeping it in the warming oven, or on the back of the range, are all methods which may bring about good results, provided the same degree of heat can be maintained continuously; but if the fire is one which must be increased or diminished to suit the exigencies of household details, nothing but the closest and most careful attention will keep the sponge at uniform temperature. The better way is to cover the bowl with a napkin, and in cold weather wrap closely in several thicknesses of flannel, and place on a stand behind the stove, or in some place not exposed to draughts. A bread-raiser purposely arranged for keeping the bread at proper temperature is a great convenience. Two small and rather thick earthen ware crocks of the same size, serve very well for this purpose. Scald both with hot water, and while still warm, put the sponge in one, invert the other for a cover, and leave in a warm room. All flour used in the bread should be warm when added.

Lightness of the Bread.—The time required for bread in its different stages to grow light will vary according to the quantity and strength of the yeast used and the amount of warmth supplied. A thin batter is light enough when in appearance it resembles throughout a mass of sea foam. It will not greatly increase in bulk, but will be in the state of constant activity, sending up little bubbles of gas and emitting a sharp, pungent odor like fresh yeast.

When the thicker batter or second sponge is sufficiently light, it will have risen to nearly double its original bulk and become cracked over the top like "crazed" china. It should never be allowed to rise to the point of sinking or caving in, and should be kneaded as soon as ready. If for any reason it is not possible to knead the bread at once when it has arrived at this stage, do not allow it to stand, but take a knife or spoon and gently beat it back a little. This dissipates some of the gas and reduces the volume somewhat. Let it rise again, which it will do in a short time, if it has not been allowed to become too light. If dough that has been kneaded and allowed to rise in mass, becomes sufficiently light at some inopportune moment for shaping into loaves, it may be kept from becoming too light and souring, by taking a knife and cutting it away from the sides of the bowl and gradually working it over toward the center. Re-cover and put in a warm place. It will soon assume its former bulk. This "cutting down" may be repeated several times if necessary, provided the bread has not been allowed to become too light at any time, and some cook's recommend it as a uniform practice. We do not, however, except in case of necessity; since, though it may possibly make the bread more light, the long-continued fermentation destroys more than is necessary of the food elements of the flour, and develops an unnecessary amount of the products of fermentation. Lightness is not the only requisite for bread, and should be secured with as little deterioration of the flour as possible.

An important point in the preparation of bread is to decide when it is sufficiently light after having been molded and placed in pans. The length of time cannot be given, because it will vary with the temperature, the quality of the flour, and the quantity added during the kneading. At a temperature of 75°, an hour or an hour and a half is about the average length of time needed. A loaf should nearly double its size after being placed in a pan, before baking; when perfectly risen, the bread feels light when lifted and weighed upon the hand. It is better to begin the baking before it has perfectly risen them to wait until it has become so light as to commence to fall, since if the fermentation proceeds too far, the sweetness of the grain will be destroyed, and the bread will be tasteless and innutritious, even if it does not reach the acetous stage.

The exercise of a little judgment and careful attention to detail will soon enable a person successfully to determine the proper degree of lightness of bread in its various stages. Bread which passes the extreme point of fermentation, or in common phrase gets "too light," will have a strong acid odor, and will pull away from the bowl in a stringy mass, having a watery appearance very different from the fine, spongy texture of properly risen dough. The acidity of such dough may be neutralized by the addition of an alkali, and housewives who through carelessness and inattention have allowed their bread to become "sour," often resort to saleratus or soda to neutralize the acid. The result of such treatment is unwholesome bread, wholly unfit for food. It is better economy to throw away bread material which needs to be sweetened with soda than to run the risk of injury to health by using it.

Kneading the Dough.—As fresh flour is added during the bread-making, it is necessary to mix it in thoroughly. As long as the batter is thin, this can be done by thoroughly beating the mixture with the addition of material; but when it is a thick dough, some other method must be adopted to bring about the desired result. The usual way is by mixing the dough to a proper consistency, and working it with the hands. This is termed kneading. Much of the excellence of bread depends upon the thoroughness of this kneading, since if the yeast is not intimately and equally mixed with every particle of flour, the bread will not be uniform; some portions will be heavy and compact, while others will be full of large, open cavities, from the excessive liberation of gas.

The length of time required for kneading depends upon the perfection with which the yeast cells have been previously diffused throughout the sponge, and upon the quality of the flour used in preparing the bread, much less time being required for kneading dough made from good flour. Some consider an hour none too long to knead bread. Such a lengthy process may be advantageous, since one of the objects of kneading is to render the glutinous parts of the flour so elastic that the dough may be capable of expanding to several times its bulk without cracking or breaking, but excellent results can be obtained from good flour with less labor. Bread has been kneaded all that is necessary when it will work clean of the board, and when, after a smart blow with the fist in the center of the mass, it will spring back to its original shape like an India rubber ball. Its elasticity is the surest test of its goodness; and when dough has been thus perfectly kneaded, it can be molded into any shape, rolled, twisted, or braided with ease. Chopping, cutting, stretching, and pulling—the dough are other methods for accomplishing the same end.

If a large mass is to be kneaded, it is better to divide it into several portions and knead each separately. It is less laborious and more likely to result in an equal diffusion of the yeast. Bread is often spoiled by the addition of too much flour during kneading. Dough should always be kneaded as soft as it can be handled, and only sufficient flour added to prevent its sticking to the board. Stiff bread is close in texture, and after a day or two becomes dry and hard.

How to Manipulate the Dough in Kneading.—Sprinkle the board well with flour, and scrape the dough from the bowl with a knife. Dust the hands with flour, and then draw the dough with a rolling motion from the farthest side toward you, using the finger tips for the purpose, but pressing firmly down upon the mass with the palm of the hands. Reach forward again with the finger tips, and again press the ball of the hands upon the dough. Continue this process of manipulation until the mass is very much elongated; then turn at right angles and repeat the process, taking care that the finger tips do not break through the light film which will form upon the outside of soft dough when well managed. Keep the dough constantly in motion until it is smooth, elastic, and fine-grained. The hands and the board may need a light dusting of flour at frequent intervals. If the dough sticks, lift it quickly, and clean the board, that it may be kept smooth. The dough will not stick if kept in constant motion. Do not rub off little wads of dough either from the hands or the board and keep kneading them into the loaf; they will seriously injure the uniform texture of the bread.

How Many Times Shall Bread be Kneaded?—As the objects to be attained in kneading dough are to render the gluten more elastic and thoroughly to diffuse the yeast, it will be seen that there has been sufficient kneading when all the flour necessary for the bread has been added. Furthermore, it must be apparent that continued manipulation of the dough at this stage will dissipate and press out the little vesicles of gas held in place by the elastic gluten, and thus lose in part what so much pains has been taken to secure. At whatever stage the requisite amount of flour be added, the dough should then be thoroughly kneaded once for all. If allowed to rise in bulk, when light it should be shaped into loaves with the greatest care, handled lightly, and worked as little as possible, and if at all diminished, allowed to rise again before baking.

Dryness of the Surface.—Bread in all stages should be covered over the top, since it rises much more evenly, and does not have a stiff, dried surface, as when placed in a warm place exposed to air. It sometimes happens that this precaution is forgotten or not sufficiently attended to, and a dry crust forms and over the dough, which, if kneaded into the loaves, leaves hard, dry spots in the bread. In case of such a mishap, take the dry crust off, dissolve it in a little warm water, add flour enough to mold, make it into a small loaf, and raise it separately.

Size of Loaves.—The lightness of the bread after baking depends upon the perfection with which the little air-cells, formed during the fermenting process, have become fixed by the heat during the baking. The heat expands the carbonic acid gas contained within the open spaces in the dough, and at the same time checks further development of gas by destroying the yeast plant. The sooner, then, that the cells can be made permanent after the arrest of fermentation, the more light and porous the bread will be. Although this fixing of the cells is largely dependent upon the degree of heat maintained, it likewise in a measure depends upon the size of the loaf, as the heat will penetrate and fix the cells of a small loaf throughout much sooner than, those of a large one. Therefore, bake in small loaves, and have a separate pan for each, as that admits of an equal degree of heat to all sides. This aids in a more rapid fixing of the air-cells and likewise gives more crust, which is the sweetest and most digestible part of the bread.

Sheet-iron pans, about eight inches in length, four in width, and five in depth, are the most satisfactory. After the dough is molded, divide it into loaves which will fill such pans to the depth of two inches. Let them rise until double their first volume, and then put them in the oven. In baking, the loaves will rise still higher, and if about five inches high when done, will have expanded to about the right proportions.

Bread Pan.

Proper Temperature of the Oven.—The objects to be attained in the baking of bread are to break up the starch and gluten cells of the Sour so as to make them easily digestible, to destroy the yeast plant, and render permanent the cells formed by the action of the carbonic acid gas. To accomplish well these ends, the loaf must be surrounded by a temperature ranging from 400° to 600°. The oven should be one in which the heat is equal in all parts, and which can be kept at a steady, uniform heat. Old-fashioned brick ovens were superior in this respect to most modern ranges. The fire for baking bread should be of sufficient strength to keep the oven heated for at least an hour. If the oven has tendency to become too hot upon the bottom, a thin, open grate, broiler, or toasting rack, should be placed underneath the tins to allow a circulation of air and avoid danger of burning. If the heat be insufficient, fermentation will not cease until the bread has become sour; the cells will be imperfectly fixed or entirely collapsed; too little of the moisture will have evaporated, and the result will be a soft, wet, and pasty or sour loaf. If the heat be too great, the bread will be baked before it has perfectly risen, or a thick, burned crust will be produced, forming a non-conducting covering to the loaf, which will prevent the heat from permeating the interior, and thus the loaf will have an overdone exterior, but will be raw and doughy within. If, however, the temperature of the oven be just right, the loaf will continue for a little time to enlarge, owing to the expansion of the carbonic acid gas, the conversion of the water into steam, and the vaporizing of the alcohol, which rises in a gaseous form and is driven off by the heat; a nicely browned crust will be formed over the surface, the result of the rapid evaporation of water from the surface and consequent consolidation of the dough of this portion of the loaf, and a chemical change caused by the action of the heat upon the starch by which is converted into dextrine, finally assuming a brown color due to the production of a substance known to the chemist as assama.

Bread is often spoiled in the baking. The dough may be made of the best of flour and yeast, mixed and kneaded in the most perfect manner, and may have risen to the proper degree of lightness' before going to the oven, yet if the oven is either too hot or not hot enough, the bread will be of an inferior quality.

Without an oven thermometer, there is no accurate means of determining the temperature of the oven; but housekeepers resort to various means to form a judgment about it. The baker's old-fashioned method is to throw a handful of flour on the oven bottom. If it blackens without igniting, the heat is deemed sufficient. Since the object for which the heat is desired is to cook the flour, not to burn it, it might be supposed that this would indicate too high a temperature; but the flour within the loaf to be baked is combined with a certain amount of moisture, the evaporation of which lowers the temperature of the bread considerably below that of the surrounding heated atmosphere. The temperature of the inner portion of the loaf cannot exceed 212° so long as it continues moist. Bread might be perfectly cooked at this temperature by steam, but it would lack that most digestible portion of the loaf, the crust.

A common way of ascertaining if the heat of the oven is sufficient, is to hold the bare arm inside it for a few seconds. If the arm cannot be held within while thirty is counted, it is too hot to begin with. The following test is more accurate: For rolls, the oven should be hot enough to brown a teaspoonful of flour in one minute, and for loaves in five minutes.

The temperature should be high enough to arrest the fermentation, which it will do at a point considerably below the boiling point of water, and at the same time to form a shell or crust, which will so support the dough as to prevent it from sinking or collapsing when the evolution of carbonic acid gas shall cease; but it should not be hot enough to brown the crust within ten or fifteen minutes. The heat should increase for the first fifteen minutes, remain steady for the next fifteen minutes, and may then gradually decrease during the remainder of the baking. If by any mischance the oven be so hot as to brown the crust too soon, cover the loaf with a clean paper for a few minutes. Be careful that no draught reaches the bread while baking; open the oven door very seldom, and not at all for the first ten minutes. If it is necessary to turn the loaf, try to do so without bringing it to the air. From three fourths of an hour to an hour is usually a sufficient length of time to bake an ordinary sized loaf. Be careful not to remove the bread from the oven until perfectly done. It is better to allow it to bake ten minutes too long than not long enough. The crust of bread, when done, should be equally browned all over.

The common test for well-baked bread is to tap it on the bottom with the finger; if it is light and well done, it will sound hollow; heavy bread will have a dull sound. A thoroughly baked loaf will not burn the hand when lifted upon it from the pan.

Care of Bread after Baking.—When done, remove the loaves from the tins, and tilt them upon edge so that the air may circulate freely on all sides of them to prevent "sweating." Do not, however, lay them on a pine shelf or table to absorb the odor of the wood. A large tin dripping pan turned over upon the table does very well to tilt them on. If they are turned often, so that they will not soften on one side, but a fine wire bread cooler is the best thing. If this is not obtainable, a fair substitute can be easily improvised by tacking window-screen wire to a light frame of sufficient size to hold the requisite number of loaves. If the bread is left exposed to the air until cold, the crust will be crisp; if a soft crust is desired, it can be secured by brushing the top of the loaf while hot, with tepid water, and covering with several thicknesses of a clean bread cloth.

If by accident any portion of the crust is burnt, grate it away as soon as cold; this is preferable to cutting or clipping it off.

Best Method of Keeping Bread.—When the bread is quite cold, put it away in a bread box, which should be of tin, or of wood lined with tin, convenient in form and supplied with a well-fitting cover. Never use an unlined wooden box of any kind, as it cannot easily be kept fresh and free from musty odors, which bread so readily absorbs.

Stone and earthen ware are not open to this objection, but they are likely to collect moisture, and hence are not equal to a tin receptacle. Do not keep bread in the cellar or any other damp place, nor in a close closet, where there are other foods from which it can absorb odors. The bread box should be kept well covered, and free from crumbs and stale bits. It should be carefully washed in boiling soapsuds, scalded, and dried, every two or three days. If cloths are used to wrap or cover the bread, they too should be washed and scalded every week, and oftener if at any time the loaf about which they are wrapped becomes moldy or musty.

Test of Good Fermented Bread.—A loaf of good bread, well risen and perfectly baked, may be taken in the hands, and, with the thumb on the top crust and fingers upon the bottom of the loaf, pressed to less than half its thickness, and when the pressure is removed, it will immediately expand like a sponge, to its former proportions.

Good yeast bread, while it should be firm and preserve a certain amount of moisture, will, when cold, crumble easily when rubbed between the fingers. If, instead, it forms a close, soggy mass, it may be regarded as indigestible. This is one reason why hot, new yeast bread and biscuit are so indigestible. In demonstration of this, take a small lump of new bread, gently roll it into a ball, and put into a glass of water, adding a similar quantity of stale bread of the same kind also. The latter will crumble away very soon, while the former will retain its form for hours, reminding one of its condition in the stomach, "as hard as a bullet," for a long time resisting the action of the gastric juice, although, meanwhile, the yeast germs which have not been killed in the oven are converting the mass into a lump of yeast, by which the whole contents of the stomach are soured. A soluble article like salt or sugar in fine powdered form is much more easily and quickly dissolved than the same article in solid lumps, and so it is with food. The apparent dryness of stale bread is not caused by its loss of moisture; for if carefully weighed, stale bread will be found to contain almost exactly the same proportion of water as new bread that has become cold. The moisture has only passed into a state of concealment, as may be demonstrated by subjecting a stale loaf inclosed in a tightly-sealed receptacle to a temperature equal to boiling heat in an oven for half an hour, when it will again have the appearance of new bread.

Hot bread eaten with butter is still more unwholesome, for the reason that the melted grease fills up the pores of the bread, and further interferes with the action of the digestive fluids.

Whole-Wheat and Graham Breads.—The same general principles are involved in the making of bread with whole-wheat and Graham flours as in the production of bread from white flour. Good material and good care are absolutely essential.

Whole-wheat flour ferments more readily and rises more quickly than does white flour, hence bread made with it needs more careful management, as it is more liable to sour. The novice in bread-making should not undertake the preparation of bread with whole-wheat flour, until she has thoroughly mastered all the details of the art by practical experience, and can produce a perfect loaf from white flour.

Breads from whole-wheat and Graham flours require less yeast and less flour than bread prepared from white flour. A slower process of fermentation is also advantageous.

Such breads will be lighter if at least one third white flour be employed in their manufacture. When the bread is made with a sponge, this white flour may be utilised for the purpose. Thus the length of time the whole-wheat flour will be undergoing fermentation will be somewhat lessened, and its liability to become sour diminished. This plan is a preferable one for beginners in bread-making.

Graham and whole-wheat flour breads must be kneaded longer than white-flour bread, and require a hotter oven at first and a longer time for baking. Much Graham and whole-wheat bread is served insufficiently baked, probably owing to the fact that, being dark in color, the crust appears brown very soon, thus deluding the cook into supposing that the loaf is well baked. For thorough baking, from one to one and a half hours are needed, according to the size of the loaf and the heat of the oven.

Toast.—Toasting, if properly done, renders bread more digestible, the starch being converted into dextrine by the toasting process; but by the ordinary method of preparing toast, that of simply browning each side, only the surfaces of the slices are really toasted, while the action of the heat upon the interior of the slice, it is rendered exactly in the condition of new bread, and consequently quite as indigestible. If butter is added while the toast is hot, we have all the dyspepsia-producing elements of new bread and butter combined. Although considered to be the dish par excellence for invalids, nothing could be more unwholesome than such toast. To properly toast the bread, the drying and browning should extend throughout the entire thickness of the slice. Bread may be thus toasted before an open fire, but the process would be such a lengthy and troublesome one, it is far better to secure the same results by browning the bread in a moderate oven.

Such toast is sometimes called zwieback (twice baked), and when prepared from good whole-wheat bread, is one of the most nourishing and digestible of foods. Directions for its preparation and use will be found in the chapter on "Breakfast Dishes."

Steamed Bread.—Steaming stale bread is as open to objection as the surface toasting of bread, if steamed so as to be yielding and adhesive. It is not, perhaps, as unwholesome as new bread, but bread is best eaten in a condition dry and hard enough to require chewing, that its starch may be so changed by the action of the saliva as to be easily digested.