When this expansion
has reached the desired limit, — that is, before the alcoholic
fermentation has changed to the acetic and soured the dough,
or the tough, glutinous walls of the air cells are broken,
making large, unequal holes, — check the fermentation by
baking the dough in a hot oven. The alcohol escapes into
the oven ; the starch is swollen and ruptured, and absorbs
water. Some of the starch is changed to gum and forms
the crust, which by the intense heat assumes a brown color.
In yeast bread the chemical change in some of the starch is
similar to the change which takes place in starch during
digestion, namely, its conversion into sugar. This gives a
sweet, nutty flavor and a light, spongy texture, both different
from those of soda bread. It is, when properly made and
baked, usually considered the most wholesome form of bread.
LESSON XX
THE HEAT FOR BAKING
The heat of the oven for baking is a difficult matter for a
beginner to determine. There are no fixed rules that can
be followed strictly in every case. Testing the heat by a
thermometer is not always practicable. Testing by the
length of time one can bear the hand in the oven will vary
with every hand that tries it. Much depends upon the
construction of the stove, the condition of the fire, and the
nature of the fuel. Learn to judge of the oven in this stove,
but another may be different, and the same rules will not
apply to both.
Experience is the best teacher, and by care in observing
and comparing results, much may be learned. Study care-
fully your own stove, and remember which kinds of fuel
give a quick, flashing fire, and which a steady, long-continued
heat. Observe the amount of fuel needed to produce greater
or less heat in the oven. Learn how to increase the heat
quickly or gradually, or to diminish it as the case may re-
quire ; also how to detect the difference between a fire that
is bright red on top, but all ashes underneath, and one that
is a solid bed of glowing coals. Test the oven by opening
the door quickly, and notice how the heat puffs out into
your face, or see how long you can keep your hand in the
oven.
Compare the heat when there is a quick, blazing fire and
all the draughts are open, with that when there is a large
body of fire and the dampers are closed, and still again with
that when there is but little fire. In this way make your
own standard of a very hot, a hot, and a moderate oven.
The general rules arc as follows :
258
THE HEAT FOR BAKING 259
Rolls, biscuit, breakfast-cakes, puff paste, game, and
small pieces of meat, require a very hot oven, and quick
baking, — half an hour or less. Have a bright fresh fire of
clear glowing coals, all through.
Large pieces of meat and poultry require a very hot oven
at first, but after five or ten minutes check the fire. Have
sufficient body to the fire to last the required time without
replenishing, or if that be impossible, add a little fuel often
that the heat may be kept uniform.
Bread, pastry, and fish require a hot oven ;
Cakes, ginger-bread, and puddings, a moderate oven. ✪ Bread
Page 133 · 1 recipe record on this page
Presented as published in 1915. 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
When this expansion has reached the desired limit, — that is, before the alcoholic fermentation has changed to the acetic and soured the dough, or the tough, glutinous walls of the air cells are broken, making large, unequal holes, — check the fermentation by baking the dough in a hot oven. The alcohol escapes into the oven ; the starch is swollen and ruptured, and absorbs water. Some of the starch is changed to gum and forms the crust, which by the intense heat assumes a brown color.
In yeast bread the chemical change in some of the starch is similar to the change which takes place in starch during digestion, namely, its conversion into sugar. This gives a sweet, nutty flavor and a light, spongy texture, both different from those of soda bread. It is, when properly made and baked, usually considered the most wholesome form of bread.
LESSON XX THE HEAT FOR BAKING
The heat of the oven for baking is a difficult matter for a beginner to determine. There are no fixed rules that can be followed strictly in every case. Testing the heat by a thermometer is not always practicable. Testing by the length of time one can bear the hand in the oven will vary with every hand that tries it. Much depends upon the construction of the stove, the condition of the fire, and the nature of the fuel. Learn to judge of the oven in this stove, but another may be different, and the same rules will not apply to both.
Experience is the best teacher, and by care in observing and comparing results, much may be learned. Study carefully your own stove, and remember which kinds of fuel give a quick, flashing fire, and which a steady, long-continued heat. Observe the amount of fuel needed to produce greater or less heat in the oven. Learn how to increase the heat quickly or gradually, or to diminish it as the case may require ; also how to detect the difference between a fire that is bright red on top, but all ashes underneath, and one that is a solid bed of glowing coals. Test the oven by opening the door quickly, and notice how the heat puffs out into your face, or see how long you can keep your hand in the oven.
Compare the heat when there is a quick, blazing fire and all the draughts are open, with that when there is a large body of fire and the dampers are closed, and still again with that when there is but little fire. In this way make your own standard of a very hot, a hot, and a moderate oven.
The general rules arc as follows :
THE HEAT FOR BAKING 259
Rolls, biscuit, breakfast-cakes, puff paste, game, and small pieces of meat, require a very hot oven, and quick baking, — half an hour or less. Have a bright fresh fire of clear glowing coals, all through.
Large pieces of meat and poultry require a very hot oven at first, but after five or ten minutes check the fire. Have sufficient body to the fire to last the required time without replenishing, or if that be impossible, add a little fuel often that the heat may be kept uniform.
Bread, pastry, and fish require a hot oven ;
Cakes, ginger-bread, and puddings, a moderate oven.
Records on this page
Bread