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

These substances are, fortunately, not needed for the production of good light bread. The purpose of their use is the production of a gas; but air is a gas much more economical and abundant than carbonic-acid gas, and which, when introduced into bread and subjected to heat, has the property of expanding, and in doing, puffing up the bread and making it light. Bread made light with air is vastly superior to that compounded with soda or baking powder, in point of healthfulness, and when well prepared, will equal it in lightness and palatableness. The only difficulty lies in catching and holding the air until it has accomplished the desired results. But a thorough understanding of the necessary conditions and a little practice will soon enable one to attain sufficient skill in this direction to secure most satisfactory results.

Perforated Sheet Iron Pan for Rolls.

General Directions.—All materials used for making aërated bread should be of the very best quality. Poor flour will not produce good bread by this or by any other process. Aërated breads are of two kinds: those baked while in the form of a batter, and such as are made into a dough before baking.

All breads, whether fermented or unfermented, are lighter if baked in some small form, and this is particularly true of unfermented breads made light with air. For this reason, breads made into a dough are best baked in the form of rolls, biscuits, or crackers, and batter breads in small iron cups similar to those in the accompanying illustration. These cups or "gem irons" as they are sometimes called, are to be obtained in various shapes and sizes, but for this purpose the more shallow cups are preferable. For baking the dough breads a perforated sheet of Russia iron or heavy tin, which any tinner can make to fit the oven, is the most serviceable, as it permits the hot air free access to all sides of the bread at once. If such is not obtainable, the upper oven grate, carefully washed and scoured, may be used Perforated pie tins also answer very well for this purpose.

The heat of the oven for baking should be sufficient to form a slight crust over all sides of the bread before the air escapes, but not sufficient to brown it within the first fifteen minutes. To aid in forming the crust on the sides and bottom of batter breads, the iron cups should be heated previous to introducing the batter. The degree of heat required for baking will be about the same as for fermented rolls and biscuit, and the fire should be so arranged as to keep a steady but not greatly increasing heat.

Making Unfermented Bread.

Air is incorporated into batter breads by brisk and continuous agitating and beating; into dough breads by thorough kneading, chopping, or pounding.

Whatever the process by which the air is incorporated, it must be continuous. For this reason it is especially essential in making aërated bread that every thing be in readiness before commencing to put the bread together. All the materials should be measured out, the utensils to be used in readiness, and the oven properly heated. Success is also dependent upon the dexterity with which the materials when ready are put together. Batter bread often proves a failure although the beating is kept up without cessation, because it is done slowly and carelessly, or interspersed with stirring, thus permitting the air to escape between the strokes.