The general rule for both the first and second rising of
the bread is that the dough shall be allowed to double its
bulk. When risen just enough, it should be soft and velvety,
but not sticky, to the touch, and very elastic. It should
always be covered during the rising, to keep out the air and
prevent the formation of a hard crust. A simple method of
testing the temperature of the oven is as follows : place a
teaspoonful of flour on a plate in the oven ; if it browns in
five minutes the oven is hot enough for a loaf of bread ; if
in one minute it is right for rolls. No test, however, can be
a substitute for experience. After a short time the heat
246 HANDBOOK 0¥ DOMESTIC SCIENCE
may be lessened that the crust may not burn before the loaf
is thoroughly cooked. The time for baking must be suf-
ficient to allow the heat to penetrate to the interior of the
loaf ; and to insure thorough cooking the loaves should be
small. Slack-baked loaves not only are indigestible because
of the uncooked condition of the starch, but often contain
living bacteria or moulds. The interior of the loaf never
becomes hotter than 212° F., because of the moisture present,
and the temperature of the middle of a slack-baked loaf may
remain far below that.
As soon as the loaves are taken from the oven they should
be removed from the pans, and left until perfectly cool in
such a position that the air can circulate freely around
them.
Experiments. — I. The composition of flour. Mix half
a cup of flour with water to form a stiff dough. Put it into
a piece of cheese cloth and knead it thoroughly under water
till nothing more can be washed out. Test with iodine the
white powder of the washings. The blue color will prove it
to be starch. Examine the tough, elastic substance which
remains in the cloth. This is gluten, the chief proteid in the
flour. Both the starch and gluten may be dried and kept
for further examination.
II. To show the difference between wheat flour and that
from other grains, as a material for breadmaking, mix flour
and water ; corn meal and water ; rye flour and water ; and
compare the doughs formed.
III. The effect of temperature on the growth of yeast.
To a cup of boiling water add 2 tablespoons of molasses,
and 1 of a yeast cake, crumbled into bits, and turn the mix-
ture into a tumbler. Add an equal amount of molasses and
yeast to a tumbler of ice water, and also to a tumbler of
water at a temperature of about 80° P. Set the glasses aside
in a warm place (about 80°) for an hour or two. Notice the
BEEAD 247
time when bubbles, indicating the formation of gas, begin to
appear in each liquid. Compare the amount of gas formed
under the different conditions of temperature.
IV. (For older pupils.) Fill a test-tube with a molasses
and water mixture at a temperature of about 80°, and add a
little yeast. Invert the test-tube in a shallow dish contain-
ing also some molasses and water. Support the test-tube in
some way and let the whole stand for twenty-four hours.
The test-tube will then be found to be nearly emptied of
liquid, and filled with a colorless gas which has forced the
liquid out. The gas may be proved to be carbon dioxide by
its power to extinguish a lighted match, and to turn lime
water milky, the usual tests for this gas.
Recipes
(All measurements are level)
Bread ✪ Bread
Page 118 · 2 recipe records on this page
Presented as published in 1900. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
AI-modernized reading of the original text
The general rule for both the first and second rising of the bread is that the dough shall be allowed to double its bulk. When risen just enough, it should be soft and velvety, but not sticky, to the touch, and very elastic. It should always be covered during the rising, to keep out the air and prevent the formation of a hard crust. A simple method of testing the temperature of the oven is as follows : place a teaspoonful of flour on a plate in the oven ; if it browns in five minutes the oven is hot enough for a loaf of bread ; if in one minute it is right for rolls. No test, however, can be a substitute for experience. After a short time the heat
may be lessened that the crust may not burn before the loaf is thoroughly cooked. The time for baking must be sufficient to allow the heat to penetrate to the interior of the loaf ; and to insure thorough cooking the loaves should be small. Slack-baked loaves not only are indigestible because of the uncooked condition of the starch, but often contain living bacteria or moulds. The interior of the loaf never becomes hotter than 212° F., because of the moisture present, and the temperature of the middle of a slack-baked loaf may remain far below that.
As soon as the loaves are taken from the oven they should be removed from the pans, and left until perfectly cool in such a position that the air can circulate freely around them.
Experiments. — I. The composition of flour. Mix half a cup of flour with water to form a stiff dough. Put it into a piece of cheese cloth and knead it thoroughly under water till nothing more can be washed out. Test with iodine the white powder of the washings. The blue color will prove it to be starch. Examine the tough, elastic substance which remains in the cloth. This is gluten, the chief proteid in the flour. Both the starch and gluten may be dried and kept for further examination.
II. To show the difference between wheat flour and that from other grains, as a material for breadmaking, mix flour and water ; corn meal and water ; rye flour and water ; and compare the doughs formed.
III. The effect of temperature on the growth of yeast. To a cup of boiling water add 2 tablespoons of molasses, and 1 of a yeast cake, crumbled into bits, and turn the mixture into a tumbler. Add an equal amount of molasses and yeast to a tumbler of ice water, and also to a tumbler of water at a temperature of about 80° P. Set the glasses aside in a warm place (about 80°) for an hour or two. Notice the
BREAD 247
time when bubbles, indicating the formation of gas, begin to appear in each liquid. Compare the amount of gas formed under the different conditions of temperature.
IV. (For older pupils.) Fill a test-tube with a molasses and water mixture at a temperature of about 80°, and add a little yeast. Invert the test-tube in a shallow dish containing also some molasses and water. Support the test-tube in some way and let the whole stand for twenty-four hours. The test-tube will then be found to be nearly emptied of liquid, and filled with a colorless gas which has forced the liquid out. The gas may be proved to be carbon dioxide by its power to extinguish a lighted match, and to turn lime water milky, the usual tests for this gas.
Recipes (All measurements are level)
Bread
Records on this page
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