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

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.