Under such circumstances arose what may be termed the
Wholemeal Bread Proposition. Bran contains a consider-
able amount of albuminoid material, the cerealin already
alluded to. On the other hand, bread, however excellent,
does not contain a sufficient amount of the albuminous
matter to make it a complete human food. Based upon
these two facts, some persons, amongst them a number of
ladies in easy circumstances, moved by philanthropic en-
thusiasm, not unlike that which was exhibited in the move-
ment on behalf of the bouillon d’os, started the proposition
that bread should be made more like a perfect food by the
retention of the bran ; the obvious objectionable effects of
the silica and cellulose of bran they proposed to overcome
by grinding it into a very fine dust. Wholemeal bread
became an object of speculation, but when its realization
was attempted the proposition proved a failure. It was a
retrograde movement, and properly met with the un-
qualified condemnation of all scientific men. We leave the
378
THE SPIRIT OF COOKERY
bran to the animals which have hitherto consumed it
(some, like millers’ horses, not without frequent evil effects,
from the magnesium phosphate contained in bran, which
forms calculi in the intestines), for they are qualified to
digest such cellulose as man can under no circumstances
assimilate.
The testing of jlour for quality is effected with the aid of
the eye, nose, and hand. It is the better the whiter it is ;
it must have its peculiar pure smell, free from all strange
odour, and free from even a suspicion of rnouldiness ; when
a handful is strongly pressed, it must assume the shape of
the hollow of the hand like a cast, and, remaining lumped
together, must be capable of being laid flat on the table
without collapsing. Flour may be tested by a quantitative
analysis for the amount of soluble albuminoids which it
contains, or which are found in it by a reaction following
the presence of water. The greater is the amount of soluble
matter, the less is the value of the flour for bread- making.
On the other hand, the more gluten the flour contains the
better.
We now pass to the consideration of the actual process of
bread-making , the most majestic of all food preparations,
and prototype of almost all the many processes for the pro-
duction of pastes, crusts, and cakes, which in their turn
include the greatest achievements of culinary art.
A sack of flour, the wholesale unit of miller and baker,
weighs 280 lb. When made into bread it will yield from
90 to 94 loaves of 4 lb. each, or from 360 to 376 lb. of
bread.
The preparation of the ferment, in the quantity adapted to
the sack of flour, is effected as follows : From 6 to 12 lb. of
ripe, mealy potatoes are boiled and finely mashed, and
mixed with water so as to form a thin paste; with this, at the
temperature of 85° Fahr., from 14 to 2 lb. of wheaten flour
are mixed, and to the compound a quart of brewer’s yeast is
FERMENTATION AND PANIFICATION
379
Page 239
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Under such circumstances arose what may be termed the
Wholemeal Bread Proposition. Bran contains a consider-
able amount of albuminoid material, the cerealin already
alluded to. On the other hand, bread, however excellent,
does not contain a sufficient amount of the albuminous
matter to make it a complete human food. Based upon
these two facts, some persons, amongst them a number of
ladies in easy circumstances, moved by philanthropic en-
thusiasm, not unlike that which was exhibited in the move-
ment on behalf of the bouillon d’os, started the proposition
that bread should be made more like a perfect food by the
retention of the bran ; the obvious objectionable effects of
the silica and cellulose of bran they proposed to overcome
by grinding it into a very fine dust. Wholemeal bread
became an object of speculation, but when its realization
was attempted the proposition proved a failure. It was a
retrograde movement, and properly met with the un-
qualified condemnation of all scientific men. We leave the
378
THE SPIRIT OF COOKERY
bran to the animals which have hitherto consumed it
(some, like millers’ horses, not without frequent evil effects,
from the magnesium phosphate contained in bran, which
forms calculi in the intestines), for they are qualified to
digest such cellulose as man can under no circumstances
assimilate.
The testing of jlour for quality is effected with the aid of
the eye, nose, and hand. It is the better the whiter it is ;
it must have its peculiar pure smell, free from all strange
odour, and free from even a suspicion of rnouldiness ; when
a handful is strongly pressed, it must assume the shape of
the hollow of the hand like a cast, and, remaining lumped
together, must be capable of being laid flat on the table
without collapsing. Flour may be tested by a quantitative
analysis for the amount of soluble albuminoids which it
contains, or which are found in it by a reaction following
the presence of water. The greater is the amount of soluble
matter, the less is the value of the flour for bread- making.
On the other hand, the more gluten the flour contains the
better.
We now pass to the consideration of the actual process of
bread-making , the most majestic of all food preparations,
and prototype of almost all the many processes for the pro-
duction of pastes, crusts, and cakes, which in their turn
include the greatest achievements of culinary art.
A sack of flour, the wholesale unit of miller and baker,
weighs 280 lb. When made into bread it will yield from
90 to 94 loaves of 4 lb. each, or from 360 to 376 lb. of
bread.
The preparation of the ferment, in the quantity adapted to
the sack of flour, is effected as follows : From 6 to 12 lb. of
ripe, mealy potatoes are boiled and finely mashed, and
mixed with water so as to form a thin paste; with this, at the
temperature of 85° Fahr., from 14 to 2 lb. of wheaten flour
are mixed, and to the compound a quart of brewer’s yeast is
FERMENTATION AND PANIFICATION
379