Like the cereals, it has considerable protein, and some fat, but is highest in starch. The white bread, unless made with milk, has very little ash. A slice almost one inch thick weighing 1.38 ounces, from a baker’s five-cent loaf, will yield 100 Calories.
The cost of bread.—The table in Chapter XVII states the amount of protein and energy obtained for ten cents from bread as compared with other common foods, and makes the fact clear that bread is essentially one of the cheapest foods, remaining relatively so whatever the general fluctuations in food prices may be.
A pound loaf of bread at the bakery should cost five cents, the cost being slightly less when the bread is made at home, even taking the fuel into account. It is an open question, however, whether bread should be made at home or bought at the bakery, all the circumstances being weighed in the balance by the individual. (See Chapter XVII.) In America, we need to learn to dictate and control the methods in the
public bakeries because bakers’ bread is being used more and more, although it is said that 50 per cent is still made at home. If bread is to be bought, it is necessary for the housekeeper to understand the bread-making process and the standard of good bread that she may criticize intelligently, and force the public bakeries to furnish bread made under ideal conditions. Such bread is supplied in France, where the housekeepers in the city, though noted for their thrift, do not think of bread making at home as a practical or economical procedure. It must be understood that the baker’s oven is fitted to do better work than the small oven of the average kitchen, and if the public through laws and inspection will control the quality of the materials used and the cleanliness of the process, baker’s bread will be a useful “ready-cooked” food.
The ingredients of bread.—The essential ingredients are flour, water, and yeast. The liquid may be milk, or milk and water, the milk changing the flavor slightly and increasing the nutritive value, while the cream in the milk increases the tenderness of the crumb and crust. The non-essentials include salt to develop flavor, sugar sometimes added to hasten fermentation and also for flavor, and a fat to increase tenderness, as, for instance, butter or some cheaper fat. Spices and dried fruits are used in sweet breads, and when eggs are added sweet bread becomes a plain cake having a delicious and characteristic flavor.
The characteristics of good flour.—The average composition of flour is as follows:
| Protein | 11.4 | per cent |
| Fat | 1.0 | per cent |
| Carbohydrate | 75.1 | per cent |
| Fuel value | 1610 | Cal. per pound |
| 100-Calorie portion | 28 | grams (1 ounce) |
The protein occurs in the form of gluten, which has the property of stretching and expanding, and which makes the framework of the loaf of bread, since it retains the air and carbon dioxide, and hardens when baked. The protein of oats and corn lacks this property, and therefore oatmeal and corn meal give a very different type of bread. Rye flour contains gluten, and the rye loaf therefore resembles the wheat loaf. Wheat and flour differ largely on account of the difference in the amount of gluten, and the gluten itself varies in quality with the variety of wheat.
