This last remark gives the one chief difficulty with these flours, viz., the fact that if, by any accident, damp or moisture, in however slight a form, gets near them they are spoilt, as effervescence sets up, and all their value is lost. The last general point to be considered in baking is the oven. On the proper regulation of the heat of this success almost entirely depends. The materials may be of the best, the mixing perfect, but if the baking or “firing,” as it is technically called, is not properly attended to failure is inevitable. The time bread will take to bake will depend on the size of the loaf, the heat of the oven, and the light- ness of the dough. If only a small quantity of salt has been used in the mixing the dough will be light and dry. and will in consequence bake very quickly. If, however, a small quantity or a low quality of yeast has been used. BREAD. 17 with the necessary corollary of plenty of salt to “ steady ” it, as it is technically called, needing prolonged fermenta- tion to develop the necessary gas, the dough, owing to the chemical decomposition thus set up, will be damp and bulky, and will take longer to bake. As soon as the article to be baked attains 212° Fahr. degrees of heat its cooking has begun, and the time it will then take to cook will in great measure depend on the amount of its surface exposed to the heat. A baker’s oven is generally heated up to 500° (a smaller iron oven does not reach this heat), and then, if the loaves are put in separately an inch or so apart, they will cook far more quickly than if crowded together, touching each other, and thi3 is a point that deserves consideration when baking. The quantity of loaves and the space at their disposal must always be carefully taken into account when deciding on the time required to bake them properly, and it is the cook’s inattention to this detail that has frequently brought even tried recipes into discredit. The best way to ensure success on this point is to open the oven door a few minutes before you consider the loaf should be ready, and if it looks baked draw out a loaf and test it by pressing gently on the part that looks softest. If the pressure leaves a perceptible dent when the finger is removed, the bread is still insufficiently cooked; if, on the contrary, the dough springs back sharply on the finger being withdrawn, the loaf, if of an ordinary size, is baked sufficiently. The heat of an oven needs attention ; if too cold, the bread baked in it will have a stewed, dried, and unpleasant taste — quite different from the crisp, fresh, nutty flavour of nicely baked bread. More- over, though a scorching oven is to be deprecated (spoiling as it does both the appearance and the material), a hot oven is to be preferred to a cold one, as the bread cooked in a well heated oven (short of actual burning) is whiter and moister; though if the oven is so hot as to necessitate the bread being taken out before it is perfectly cooked through. 18 BREAD, CAKES, AND BISCUITS.

AI-modernized reading of the original text

This last remark gives the one chief difficulty with these flours, viz., the fact that if, by any accident, damp or moisture, in however slight a form, gets near them they are spoilt, as effervescence sets up, and all their value is lost. The last general point to be considered in baking is the oven. On the proper regulation of the heat of this success almost entirely depends. The materials may be of the best, the mixing perfect, but if the baking or “firing,” as it is technically called, is not properly attended to failure is inevitable. The time bread will take to bake will depend on the size of the loaf, the heat of the oven, and the lightness of the dough. If only a small quantity of salt has been used in the mixing the dough will be light and dry. and will in consequence bake very quickly. If, however, a small quantity or a low quality of yeast has been used. with the necessary corollary of plenty of salt to “ steady ” it, as it is technically called, needing prolonged fermentation to develop the necessary gas, the dough, owing to the chemical decomposition thus set up, will be damp and bulky, and will take longer to bake. As soon as the article to be baked attains 212° Fahr. degrees of heat its cooking has begun, and the time it will then take to cook will in great measure depend on the amount of its surface exposed to the heat. A baker’s oven is generally heated up to 500° (a smaller iron oven does not reach this heat), and then, if the loaves are put in separately an inch or so apart, they will cook far more quickly than if crowded together, touching each other, and this is a point that deserves consideration when baking. The quantity of loaves and the space at their disposal must always be carefully taken into account when deciding on the time required to bake them properly, and it is the cook’s inattention to this detail that has frequently brought even tried recipes into discredit. The best way to ensure success on this point is to open the oven door a few minutes before you consider the loaf should be ready, and if it looks baked draw out a loaf and test it by pressing gently on the part that looks softest. If the pressure leaves a perceptible dent when the finger is removed, the bread is still insufficiently cooked; if, on the contrary, the dough springs back sharply on the finger being withdrawn, the loaf, if of an ordinary size, is baked sufficiently. The heat of an oven needs attention ; if too cold, the bread baked in it will have a stewed, dried, and unpleasant taste — quite different from the crisp, fresh, nutty flavour of nicely baked bread. Moreover, though a scorching oven is to be deprecated (spoiling as it does both the appearance and the material), a hot oven is to be preferred to a cold one, as the bread cooked in a well heated oven (short of actual burning) is whiter and moister; though if the oven is so hot as to necessitate the bread being taken out before it is perfectly cooked through.

Bread, cakes, and biscuits