Starch occurs in the pith of many plants, as in that of the sago-palm and the bear-sago of the Cordilleras of the Andes, in bulbs, tubers (such as the potato), in rhizomes, and in roots. The cook has to understand and consider all these forms of starch, as they behave somewhat differently under the same conditions. But for our present purpose the starch of seeds is of the greatest importance. Diastase, a ferment contained in malt, transforms starch into dextrine and maltose. Dilute sulphuric acid does the same, but its influence goes further, and terminates in the formation of dextrose and levulose. When moist or acid starch is heated to between 220° and 300° Bahr., it is trans- formed into British gum or dextrine. Some Vienna and Paris and London bakers glaze their rolls by means of this reaction ; they pass superheated steam into the oven, and this produces a small quantity of dextrine on the surface of every roll, as shiny as the British gum on the backs of postage-stamps. Dextrine is of no use to the baker, for in case he have, un- fortunately, bad flour or unsuitable ferment, his bread will be made dark, and that by the influence of dextrine. This colour of bread is only acquired during the baking ; it is the result of the influence of heat on the dextrine aided by the other ingredients of the dough. Dextrine accumulates in the dough in direct proportion to the dura- tion of the fermentation j to avoid, therefore, its injui'ious efi'ects, fermentation must be limited to the shortest possible period. And this the baker is enabled to do by the addition of some maltose or invert sugar to his sponge as well as his main bulk of dough. The bakers add to every dough made with flour a certain amount of soluble starch in the shape of thin ferment, 374 THE SPIRIT OF COOKERY which is a mixture of boiled comminuted potatoes (in this process termed fruit) with yeast and some flour-paste ; this mixture freshens up the yeast and makes' it ready to sprout. When mixed with the flour for the production of the ‘ sponge,’ the soluble starch is at once converted into sugar, and fermentation begins rapidly. Then the sponge is mixed with the whole amount of flour, and the process is repeated. The final or third main panification takes place in the loaf in the oven, when the temperature of the dough rises to that point which is most favourable to diastatic action ; the sugar is again as quickly destroyed by the yeast, and after a short time all ferments are destroyed by the heat. In this process hardly ever any excess of sugar is formed by the diastase, none is ever in the bread. Now, it is quite clear that the addition to the dough of fermentable sugar, such as maltose or inverted sugar, must efi'ect the same object as that which is attained by the addition of soluble starch, and must accomplish it in a much shorter time.

AI-modernized reading of the original text

Starch occurs in the pith of many plants, as in that of the sago-palm and the bear-sago of the Cordilleras of the Andes, in bulbs, tubers (such as the potato), in rhizomes, and in roots. The cook has to understand and consider all these forms of starch, as they behave somewhat differently under the same conditions. But for our present purpose the starch of seeds is of the greatest importance. Diastase, a ferment contained in malt, transforms starch into dextrine and maltose. Dilute sulphuric acid does the same, but its influence goes further, and terminates in the formation of dextrose and levulose. When moist or acid starch is heated to between 220° and 300° Bahr., it is transformed into British gum or dextrine. Some Vienna and Paris and London bakers glaze their rolls by means of this reaction ; they pass superheated steam into the oven, and this produces a small quantity of dextrine on the surface of every roll, as shiny as the British gum on the backs of postage-stamps. Dextrine is of no use to the baker, for in case he have, unfortunately, bad flour or unsuitable ferment, his bread will be made dark, and that by the influence of dextrine. This colour of bread is only acquired during the baking ; it is the result of the influence of heat on the dextrine aided by the other ingredients of the dough. Dextrine accumulates in the dough in direct proportion to the duration of the fermentation j to avoid, therefore, its injurious effects, fermentation must be limited to the shortest possible period. And this the baker is enabled to do by the addition of some maltose or invert sugar to his sponge as well as his main bulk of dough. The bakers add to every dough made with flour a certain amount of soluble starch in the shape of thin ferment, which is a mixture of boiled comminuted potatoes (in this process termed fruit) with yeast and some flour-paste ; this mixture freshens up the yeast and makes it ready to sprout. When mixed with the flour for the production of the ‘ sponge,’ the soluble starch is at once converted into sugar, and fermentation begins rapidly. Then the sponge is mixed with the whole amount of flour, and the process is repeated. The final or third main panification takes place in the loaf in the oven, when the temperature of the dough rises to that point which is most favourable to diastatic action ; the sugar is again as quickly destroyed by the yeast, and after a short time all ferments are destroyed by the heat. In this process hardly ever any excess of sugar is formed by the diastase, none is ever in the bread. Now, it is quite clear that the addition to the dough of fermentable sugar, such as maltose or inverted sugar, must effect the same object as that which is attained by the addition of soluble starch, and must accomplish it in a much shorter time.

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