QUICK BREADS: POUR BATTERS
LESSON CIX
LEAVENING WITH STEAM AND AIR. POPOVERS
When flour is to be moistened and baked to make bread or cake, other ingredients are usually added to improve the grain, texture, and flavor.
To understand some of the principles of mixing and lightening baked flour mixtures, try the following:
EXPERIMENT 64: LEAVENING WITH STEAM AND AIR.[Footnote 74: NOTE TO THE TEACHER.—Experiments 64 and 65 can be performed most expeditiously by dividing the class into groups of two and having each group do the two experiments.]—Mix 1/8 cupful of flour and 1/8 cupful of cold water. Beat thoroughly with a Dover egg beater. Note the consistency of the batter. Pour at once into an oiled muffin pan. Bake in a hot oven for at least 20 minutes. Remove from the pan, break it open, and answer the following questions:
What happened during baking to the cold air inclosed in the mixture? With what material did the flour combine during baking? Into what form was a part of the water changed during baking? Explain fully how the mixture was made porous.
EXPERIMENT 65: COMPARISON OF THICK AND THIN QUICK BREADS—Repeat Experiment 64, using 1/2 tablespoonful of cold water instead of 1/8 cupful. After baking, examine and compare with the bread of Experiment 64. Which is the more porous? Explain how the difference in quantity of moisture accounts for the difference in grain. If a mixture is to be leavened with steam and air, what should be the consistency of the mixture?
Some simple flour mixtures are lightened by the method indicated above. In most cases, however, more air is introduced into the mixture by using lightly beaten eggs, or by using ingredients that produce gas, on being moistened and heated.
EXPERIMENT 66: PREPARATION OF FLOUR FOR QUICK BREADS.—Measure 1/4 cupful of pastry flour just as it comes from the can. Sift it, and return it carefully to the measuring cup, using a teaspoon. How much does the flour measure now? What does this experiment teach with regard to sifting flour before measuring? Of what advantage is it to sift flour not only before measuring, but when adding it to the other ingredients of a quick bread?