BREADSTUFFS AND BREADMAKING
lthough the grains form most nutritious and palatable dishes when cooked in their unground state, this is not always the most convenient way of making; use of them. Mankind from earliest antiquity has sought to give these wonderful products of nature a more portable and convenient form by converting them into what is termed bread, a word derived from the verb bray, to pound, beat, or grind small, indicative of the ancient manner of preparing the grain for making bread. Probably the earliest form of bread was simply the whole grain moistened and then exposed to heat. Afterward, the grains were roasted and ground, or pounded between stones, and unleavened bread was made by mixing this crude flour with water, and baking in the form of cakes. Among the many ingenious arrangements used by the ancients for baking this bread, was a sort of portable oven in shape something like a pitcher, in the inside of which a fire was made. When the oven was well heated, a paste made of meal and water was applied to the outside. Such bread was baked very quickly and taken off in small, thin sheets like wafers. A flat cake was the common form in which most of the bread of olden times was baked; being too brittle to be cut with a knife, the common mode of dividing it was by breaking and hence the expression "breaking bread" so common in Scripture.
Various substances have been and are employed for making this needful article. Until the last few decades, barley was the grain most universally used. Chestnuts, ground to a flour, are made into bread in regions where these nuts abound. Quite recently, an immense peanut crop in the Southern States was utilized for bread-making purposes. In ancient times, the Thracians made to bread from a flour made from the water coltran, a prickly root of triangular form. In Syria, mulberries were dried and grounded to flour. Rice, moss, palm tree piths, and starch producing roots are used by different nationalities in the preparation of bread. In many parts of Sweden, bread is made from dried fish, using one half fish flour and one half barley flour; and in winter, flour made from the bark of trees is added. Desiccated tomatoes, potatoes, and other vegetables are also mixed with the cereals for bread-making. In India, the lower classes make their bread chiefly from millet. Moss bread is made in Iceland from the reindeer moss, which toward autumn becomes soft, tender, and moist, with a taste like wheat bran. It contains a large quantity of starch, and the Icelanders gather, dry, pulverize it, and thus prepare it for bread-making. The ancient Egyptians often made their bread from equal parts of the whole grain and meal.
The breadstuff's most universally used among civilized nations at the present time are barley, rye, oats, maize, buckwheat, rice, and wheat, of which the last has acquired a decided preference.
If made in the proper manner and from suitable material, bread is, with the exception of milk, the article best fitted for the nourishment of the body, and if need be, can supply the place of all other foods. Good bread does not cloy the appetite as do many other articles of food, and the simplest bill of fare which includes light, wholesome bread, is far more satisfying than an elaborate meal without it. Were the tables of our land supplied with good, nutritious, well-baked bread, there would be less desire for cake, pastry, and other indigestible particles, which, under the present system of cookery, are allowed to compensate for the inferior quality and poor preparation of more wholesome foods.
Bread has been proverbially styled the "staff of life." In nearly all ancient languages the entomology of the word "bread" signifies all, indicating; that the bread of earlier periods was in truth what it should be at the present time,—a staff upon which all the functions of life might with safety depend.
Notwithstanding the important part bread was designed to play in the economy of life, it would be hardly possible to mention another aliment which so universally falls below the standard either through the manner of its preparation or in the material used.
Bread, to answer the requirements of a good, wholesome article of food, beside being palatable, must be light, porous, and friable, so that it can be easily insalivated and digested. It should not contain ingredients which will in any way be injurious if taken into the system, but should contain as many as possible of the elements of nutrition. Wheat, the substance from which bread is most generally made, contains all the necessary food elements in proper proportions to meet the requirements of nutrition, and bread should also contain them. The flour, however, must be made from the whole grain of the wheat, with the exception of the outer husk.
What is ordinarily termed fine flour has a large part of the most nutritive properties of the grain left out, and unless this deficiency is made up by other foods, the use of bread made from such material will leave the most vital tissues of the body poorly nourished, and tend to produce innumerable bad results. People who eat bread made from fine white flour naturally crave the food elements which have been eliminated from the wheat, and are thus led to an excessive consumption of meat, and the nerve-starvation and consequent irritability thus induced may also lead to the use of alcoholic drinks. We believe that one of the strongest barriers women could erect against the inroads of intemperance would be to supply the tables of the land with good bread made from flour of the entire wheat.
The superiority of bread made from the entire wheat or unbolted meal has been attested by many notable examples in history. In England, under the administration of William Pitt, there was for several years such a scarcity of wheat that to make it hold out longer, a law was passed by Parliament that the army should be supplied with bread made of unbolted flour. This occasioned much murmuring on the part of the soldiers, but nevertheless the health of the army improved so greatly as to be a subject of surprise. The officers and the physicians at last publicly declared that the soldiers had never before been so robust and healthy.
According to the eminent Prof. Liebig, whole-wheat bread contains 60 per cent more of the phosphate or bone forming material than does meat, and 200 per cent more gluten than white bread. To the lack of these elements in a food so generally used as white flour bread, is undoubtedly due the great prevalence of early decaying teeth, rickets, and other bone diseases. Indeed, so many are the evils attendant upon a continued use of fine flour bread that we can in a great measure agree with a writer of the last century who says, in a quaint essay still to be seen at the British Museum, that "fine flour, spirituous liquors, and strong ale-house beer are the foundations of almost all the poverty and all the evils that affect the labouring part of mankind."
Bread made from the entire wheat is looked upon with far more favor than formerly, and it is no longer necessary to use the crude products of the grain for its manufacture, since modern invention has worked such a revolution in milling processes that it is now possible to obtain a fine flour containing all the nutritious elements of the grain. The old-time millstone has been largely superceded by machinery with which the entire grain may be reduced to fine flour without the loss of any of its valuable properties. To be sure, the manufacture of fine white flour of the old sort, is still continued, and doubtless will be continued so long as color takes precedence over food value. The improved processes of milling have, however, enabled the millers to utilize a much larger proportion of the nutritious elements of the grain than formerly, and still preserve that whiteness is so pleasing to many consumers. Although it is true that there are brands of white flour which possess a large percentage of the nutrient properties of the wheat, it is likewise true that flour which contains all the nutritive elements is not white.
Of flours made from the entire grain there are essentially two different varieties, that which is termed unbolted wheat meal or Graham flour, and that called wheat-berry, whole-wheat, or entire-wheat flour. The principal difference between the two consists in the preliminary treatment of the wheat kernel before reduction, Graham flour containing more or less of the flinty bran, which is wholly innutritious and to a sensitive stomach somewhat irritating. In the manufacture of whole or entire-wheat flour, the outer, flinty bran is first removed by special machinery, and then the entire grain pulverized, by some of approved method, to different grades of fineness. The absence of the indigestible bran renders the entire-wheat flour superior in this respect to Graham, though for many persons the latter is to preferred.
How to Select Flour.—The first requisite in the making of good bread is good flour. The quality of a brand of flour will of course depend much upon the kind of grain from which it is prepared—whether new or old, perfect, or deteriorated by rust, mold, or exposure, and also upon the thoroughness with which it has been cleansed from dust, chaff, and all foreign substances, as well as upon the method by which it is ground. It is not possible to judge with regard to all these particulars by the appearance of the flour, but in general, good flour will be sweet, dry, and free from any sour or musty smell or taste. Take up a handful, and if it falls from the hand light and elastic, it is pretty sure to be good. If it will retain the imprint of the fingers and falls and a compact mass or a damp, clammy, or sticky to the touch, it is by no means the best. When and knead a little of it between the fingers; if it works soft and sticky, it is poor. Good flour, when made into dough, is elastic, and will retain its shape. This elastic property of good flour is due to the gluten which it contains. The more gluten and the stronger it is, the better the flour. The gluten of good flour will swell to several times its original bulk, while that of poor flour will not.
In buying white flour, do not select that which is pure white with a bluish tinge, but that which is of a creamy, yellowish-white tint. While the kinds of flour that contain the entire nutritive properties of the wheat will necessarily be darker in color, we would caution the reader not to suppose that because flour is dark in color it is for that reason good, and rich in nutritive elements. There are many other causes from which flour may be dark, such as the use of uncleansed or dark varieties of wheat, and the large admixture of bran and other grains; many unscrupulous millers and flour dealers make use of this fact to palm off upon their unsuspecting customers an inferior article. Much of the so-called Graham flour is nothing more than poor flour mixed with bran, and is in every way inferior to good white flour. Fine flour or made from the entire wheat may generally be distinguished from a spurious article by taking a small portion into the mouth and chewing it. Raw flour made from the entire grain has a sweet taste, and a rich, nutty flavor the same as that experienced in chewing a whole grain of wheat, and produces a goodly quantity of gum or gluten, while a spurious article tastes flat and insipid like starch, or has a bitter, pungent taste consequent upon the presence of impurities. This bitter taste is noticeable in bread made from such flour. A given quantity of poor flour will not make as much bread as the same quantity of good flour, so that adulteration may also be detected in this way. Doubtless much of the prejudice against the use of whole-wheat flour has arisen from the use of a spurious article.
As it is not always possible to determine accurately without the aid of chemistry and a microscope whether flour is genuine, the only safe way is to purchase the product of reliable mills.
It is always best to obtain a small quantity of flour first, and put it to the test of bread-making; then, if satisfactory, purchase that brand so long as it proves good. It is true economy to buy a flour known to be good even though it may cost more than some others. It is not wise to purchase too large a quantity at once unless one has exceptionally good facilities for storage, as flour is subject to many deteriorating influences. It is estimated that a barrel of good flour contains sufficient bread material to last one person one year; and from this standard it can be easily estimated in what proportion it is best to purchase.
To Keep Flour.—Flour should always be kept in a tight receptacle, and in a cool, dry, well-ventilated place. It should not be allowed to remain in close proximity to any substances of strong odor, as it very readily absorbs odors and gaseous impurities. A damp atmosphere will cause it to absorb moisture, and as a result the gluten will lose some of its tenacity and become sticky, and bread made from the flour will be coarser and inferior in quality. Flour which has absorbed dampness from any cause should be sifted into a large tray, spread out thin and exposed to the hot sun, or placed in a warming oven for a few hours.
Deleterious Adulterations of Flour.—Besides the fraud frequently practiced of compounding whole-wheat flour from inferior mill products, white flour is sometimes adulterated—more commonly, however, in European countries that in this—with such substances as alum, ground rice, plaster of Paris, and whiting. Alum is doubtless the most commonly used of all these substances, for the reason that it gives the bread a whiter color and causes the flour to absorb and retain a larger amount of water than it would otherwise hold. This enables the user to make, from an inferior brand of flour, bread which resembles that made from a better quality. Such adulteration is exceedingly injurious, as are other mineral substances used for a similar purpose.
The presence of alum in flour or bread may be detected in the following way: Macerate a half slice of bread in three or four tablespoonfuls of water; strain off the water, and add to it twenty drops of a strong solution of logwood, made either from the fresh chips or the extract. Then add a large teaspoonful of a strong solution of carbonate of ammonium. If alum is present, the mixture will change from pink to lavender blue.
The Journal of Trade gives the following simple mode of testing for this adulterant: "Persons can test the bread they buy for themselves, by taking a piece of it and soaking it in water. Take this water and mix it with an equal part of fresh milk, and if the bread contains alum, the mixture will coagulate. If a better test is required, boil the mixture, and it will form perfect clot."
Whiting can be detected by dipping the ends of the thumb and forefinger in sweet oil and rubbing the flour between them. If whiting is present, the flour will become sticky like putty, and remain white; whereas pure flour, when so rubbed, becomes darker in color, but not sticky. Plaster of Paris, chalk, and other alkaline adulterants may be detected by a few drops of lemon juice: if either be present, effervescence will take place.
Chemistry of Bread-Making.—Good flour alone will not insure good bread. As much depends upon its preparation as upon the selection of material; for the very best of flour may be transformed into the poorest of bread through improper or careless preparation. Good bread cannot be produced at random. It is not the fruit of any luck or chance, but the practical result of certain fixed laws and principles to which all may conform.
The first step in the conversion of flour into bread is to incorporate with it a given amount of fluid, by which each atom of flour is surrounded with a thin film of moisture, in order to hydrate the starch, to dissolve the sugar and albumen, and to develop the adhesiveness of the gluten, thus binding the whole into one coherent mass termed dough, a word from a verb meaning to wet or moisten. If nothing more be done, and this simple form of dough be baked, the starch granules will be ruptured by the heat and thus properly prepared for food; but the moistening will have developed the glue-like property of the gluten to the extent of firmly cementing the particles of flour together, so that the mass will be hard and tough, and almost incapable of mastication. If, however, the dough be thoroughly kneaded, rolled very thin, made into small cakes, and then quickly baked with sufficient heat, the result will be a brittle kind of bread termed unleavened bread, which, although it requires a lengthy process of mastication, is more wholesome and digestible than soft bread, which is likely to be swallowed insufficiently insalivated.
The gluten of wheat flour, beside being adhesive, is likewise remarkably elastic. This is the reason why wheat flour is much more easily made into light bread than the product of other cereals which contain less or a different quality of gluten. Now if while the atoms of flour are supplied with moisture, they are likewise supplied with some form of gaseous substance, the elastic walls of the gluten cells will become distended, causing the dough to "rise," or grow in bulk, and at the same time become light, or porous, in texture.
This making of bread light is usually accomplished by the introduction of air into the dough, or by carbonic acid gas generated within the mass, either before or during the baking, by a fermentative or chemical process.
When air is the agency used, the gluten, by its glue-like properties, catches and retains the air for a short period; and if heat is applied before the air, which is lighter than the dough, rises and escapes, it will expand, and in expanding distend the elastic glutinous mass, causing it to puff up or rise. If the heat is sufficient to harden the gluten quickly, so that the air cells throughout the whole mass become firmly fixed before the air escapes, the result will be a light, porous bread. If the heat is not sufficient, the air does not properly expand; or if before a sufficient crust is formed to retain the air and form a framework of support for the dough, the heat is lessened or withdrawn, the air will escape, or contract to its former volume, allowing the distended glutinous cell walls to collapse; in either case the bread will be heavy.
If carbonic acid gas, generated within the dough by means of fermentation or by the use of chemical substances, be the means used to lighten the mass, the gluten by virtue of its tenacity holds the bubbles of gas as they are generated, and prevents the large and small ones from uniting, or from rising to the surface, as they seek to do, being lighter than the dough. Being thus caught where they are generated, and the proper conditions supplied to expand them, they swell or raise the dough, which is then termed a loaf. (This word "loaf" is from the Anglo-Saxon hlifian, to raise or lift up.) The structure is rendered permanent by the application of heat in baking.