the exception of milk, the article best fitted for the nourishment of
the body, and if need be, can supply the place of all other foods. Good
bread does not cloy the appetite as do many other articles of food, and
the simplest bill of fare which includes light, wholesome bread, is far
more satisfying than an elaborate meal without it. Were the tables of
our land supplied with good, nutritious, well-baked bread, there would
be less desire for cake, pastry, and other indigestible particles,
which, under the present system of cookery, are allowed to compensate
for the inferior quality and poor preparation of more wholesome foods.
Bread has been proverbially styled the "staff of life." In nearly all
ancient languages the entomology of the word "bread" signifies all,
indicating; that the bread of earlier periods was in truth what it
should be at the present time,--a staff upon which all the functions of
life might with safety depend.
Notwithstanding the important part bread was designed to play in the
economy of life, it would be hardly possible to mention another aliment
which so universally falls below the standard either through the manner
of its preparation or in the material used.
Bread, to answer the requirements of a good, wholesome article of food,
beside being palatable, must be light, porous, and friable, so that it
can be easily insalivated and digested. It should not contain
ingredients which will in any way be injurious if taken into the system,
but should contain as many as possible of the elements of nutrition.
Wheat, the substance from which bread is most generally made, contains
all the necessary food elements in proper proportions to meet the
requirements of nutrition, and bread should also contain them. The
flour, however, must be made from the whole grain of the wheat, with the
exception of the outer husk.
What is ordinarily termed fine flour has a large part of the most
nutritive properties of the grain left out, and unless this deficiency
is made up by other foods, the use of bread made from such material will
leave the most vital tissues of the body poorly nourished, and tend to
produce innumerable bad results. People who eat bread made from fine
white flour naturally crave the food elements which have been eliminated
from the wheat, and are thus led to an excessive consumption of meat,
and the nerve-starvation and consequent irritability thus induced may
also lead to the use of alcoholic drinks. We believe that one of the
strongest barriers women could erect against the inroads of intemperance
would be to supply the tables of the land with good bread made from
flour of the entire wheat.
The superiority of bread made from the entire wheat or unbolted meal has
been attested by many notable examples in history. In England, under the
administration of William Pitt, there was for several years such a
scarcity of wheat that to make it hold out longer, a law was passed by
Parliament that the army should be supplied with bread made of unbolted
flour. This occasioned much murmuring on the part of the soldiers, but
nevertheless the health of the army improved so greatly as to be a
subject of surprise. The officers and the physicians at last publicly
declared that the soldiers had never before been so robust and healthy.
According to the eminent Prof. Liebig, whole-wheat bread contains 60 per
cent more of the phosphate or bone forming material than does meat, and
200 per cent more gluten than white bread. To the lack of these elements
in a food so generally used as white flour bread, is undoubtedly due the
great prevalence of early decaying teeth, rickets, and other bone
diseases. Indeed, so many are the evils attendant upon a continued use
of fine flour bread that we can in a great measure agree with a writer
of the last century who says, in a quaint essay still to be seen at the
British Museum, that "fine flour, spirituous liquors, and strong
ale-house beer are the foundations of almost all the poverty and all the
evils that affect the labouring part of mankind."
Bread made from the entire wheat is looked upon with far more favor than
formerly, and it is no longer necessary to use the crude products of the
grain for its manufacture, since modern invention has worked such a
revolution in milling processes that it is now possible to obtain a fine
flour containing all the nutritious elements of the grain. The old-time
millstone has been largely superceded by machinery with which the entire
grain may be reduced to fine flour without the loss of any of its
valuable properties. To be sure, the manufacture of fine white flour of
the old sort, is still continued, and doubtless will be continued so
long as color takes precedence over food value. The improved processes
of milling have, however, enabled the millers to utilize a much larger
proportion of the nutritious elements of the grain than formerly, and
still preserve that whiteness is so pleasing to many consumers. Although
it is true that there are brands of white flour which possess a large
percentage of the nutrient properties of the wheat, it is likewise true
that flour which contains _all_ the nutritive elements is _not_ white.
Of flours made from the entire grain there are essentially two different
varieties, that which is termed _unbolted wheat meal_ or _Graham_ flour,
and that called _wheat-berry, whole-wheat_, or _entire-wheat_ flour. The
principal difference between the two consists in the preliminary
treatment of the wheat kernel before reduction, Graham flour containing
more or less of the flinty bran, which is wholly innutritious and to a
sensitive stomach somewhat irritating. In the manufacture of _whole_ or
_entire_-wheat flour, the outer, flinty bran is first removed by special
machinery, and then the entire grain pulverized, by some of approved
method, to different grades of fineness. The absence of the indigestible
bran renders the entire-wheat flour superior in this respect to Graham,
though for many persons the latter is to preferred.
HOW TO SELECT FLOUR.--The first requisite in the making of good
bread is good flour. The quality of a brand of flour will of course
depend much upon the kind of grain from which it is prepared--whether
new or old, perfect, or deteriorated by rust, mold, or exposure, and
also upon the thoroughness with which it has been cleansed from dust,
chaff, and all foreign substances, as well as upon the method by which
it is ground. It is not possible to judge with regard to all these
particulars by the appearance of the flour, but in general, good flour
will be sweet, dry, and free from any sour or musty smell or taste. Take
up a handful, and if it falls from the hand light and elastic, it is
pretty sure to be good. If it will retain the imprint of the fingers
and falls and a compact mass or a damp, clammy, or sticky to the touch,
it is by no means the best. When and knead a little of it between the
fingers; if it works soft and sticky, it is poor. Good flour, when made
into dough, is elastic, and will retain its shape. This elastic property
of good flour is due to the gluten which it contains. The more gluten
and the stronger it is, the better the flour. The gluten of good flour
will swell to several times its original bulk, while that of poor flour
will not.
In buying white flour, do not select that which is pure white with a
bluish tinge, but that which is of a creamy, yellowish-white tint. While
the kinds of flour that contain the entire nutritive properties of the
wheat will necessarily be darker in color, we would caution the reader
not to suppose that because flour is dark in color it is for that reason
good, and rich in nutritive elements. There are many other causes from
which flour may be dark, such as the use of uncleansed or dark varieties
of wheat, and the large admixture of bran and other grains; many
unscrupulous millers and flour dealers make use of this fact to palm off
upon their unsuspecting customers an inferior article. Much of the
so-called Graham flour is nothing more than poor flour mixed with bran,
and is in every way inferior to good white flour. Fine flour or made
from the entire wheat may generally be distinguished from a spurious
article by taking a small portion into the mouth and chewing it. Raw
flour made from the entire grain has a sweet taste, and a rich, nutty
flavor the same as that experienced in chewing a whole grain of wheat,
and produces a goodly quantity of gum or gluten, while a spurious
article tastes flat and insipid like starch, or has a bitter, pungent
taste consequent upon the presence of impurities. This bitter taste is
noticeable in bread made from such flour. A given quantity of poor flour
will not make as much bread as the same quantity of good flour, so that
adulteration may also be detected in this way. Doubtless much of the
prejudice against the use of whole-wheat flour has arisen from the use
of a spurious article.
As it is not always possible to determine accurately without the aid of
chemistry and a microscope whether flour is genuine, the only safe way
is to purchase the product of reliable mills.
It is always best to obtain a small quantity of flour first, and put it
to the test of bread-making; then, if satisfactory, purchase that brand
so long as it proves good. It is true economy to buy a flour known to be
good even though it may cost more than some others. It is not wise to
purchase too large a quantity at once unless one has exceptionally good
facilities for storage, as flour is subject to many deteriorating
influences. It is estimated that a barrel of good flour contains
sufficient bread material to last one person one year; and from this
standard it can be easily estimated in what proportion it is best to
purchase.
TO KEEP FLOUR.--Flour should always be kept in a tight receptacle,
and in a cool, dry, well-ventilated place. It should not be allowed to
remain in close proximity to any substances of strong odor, as it very
readily absorbs odors and gaseous impurities. A damp atmosphere will
cause it to absorb moisture, and as a result the gluten will lose some
of its tenacity and become sticky, and bread made from the flour will be
coarser and inferior in quality. Flour which has absorbed dampness from
any cause should be sifted into a large tray, spread out thin and
exposed to the hot sun, or placed in a warming oven for a few hours.
DELETERIOUS ADULTERATIONS OF FLOUR.--Besides the fraud frequently
practiced of compounding whole-wheat flour from inferior mill products,
white flour is sometimes adulterated--more commonly, however, in
European countries that in this--with such substances as alum, ground
rice, plaster of Paris, and whiting. Alum is doubtless the most commonly
used of all these substances, for the reason that it gives the bread a
whiter color and causes the flour to absorb and retain a larger amount
of water than it would otherwise hold. This enables the user to make,
from an inferior brand of flour, bread which resembles that made from a
better quality. Such adulteration is exceedingly injurious, as are other
mineral substances used for a similar purpose.
The presence of alum in flour or bread may be detected in the following
way: Macerate a half slice of bread in three or four tablespoonfuls of
water; strain off the water, and add to it twenty drops of a strong
solution of logwood, made either from the fresh chips or the extract.
Then add a large teaspoonful of a strong solution of carbonate of
ammonium. If alum is present, the mixture will change from pink to
lavender blue.
The _Journal of Trade_ gives the following simple mode of testing for
this adulterant: "Persons can test the bread they buy for themselves, by
taking a piece of it and soaking it in water. Take this water and mix it
with an equal part of fresh milk, and if the bread contains alum, the
mixture will coagulate. If a better test is required, boil the mixture,
and it will form perfect clot."
Whiting can be detected by dipping the ends of the thumb and forefinger
in sweet oil and rubbing the flour between them. If whiting is present,
the flour will become sticky like putty, and remain white; whereas pure
flour, when so rubbed, becomes darker in color, but not sticky. Plaster
of Paris, chalk, and other alkaline adulterants may be detected by a few
drops of lemon juice: if either be present, effervescence will take
place.
CHEMISTRY OF BREAD-MAKING.--Good flour alone will not insure good
bread. As much depends upon its preparation as upon the selection of
material; for the very best of flour may be transformed into the poorest
of bread through improper or careless preparation. Good bread cannot be
produced at random. It is not the fruit of any luck or chance, but the
practical result of certain fixed laws and principles to which all may
conform.
The first step in the conversion of flour into bread is to incorporate
with it a given amount of fluid, by which each atom of flour is
surrounded with a thin film of moisture, in order to hydrate the starch,
to dissolve the sugar and albumen, and to develop the adhesiveness of
the gluten, thus binding the whole into one coherent mass termed
_dough_, a word from a verb meaning to wet or moisten. If nothing more
be done, and this simple form of dough be baked, the starch granules
will be ruptured by the heat and thus properly prepared for food; but
the moistening will have developed the glue-like property of the gluten
to the extent of firmly cementing the particles of flour together, so
that the mass will be hard and tough, and almost incapable of
mastication. If, however, the dough be thoroughly kneaded, rolled very
thin, made into small cakes, and then quickly baked with sufficient
heat, the result will be a brittle kind of bread termed unleavened
bread, which, although it requires a lengthy process of mastication, is
more wholesome and digestible than soft bread, which is likely to be
swallowed insufficiently insalivated.
The gluten of wheat flour, beside being adhesive, is likewise remarkably
elastic. This is the reason why wheat flour is much more easily made
into light bread than the product of other cereals which contain less or
a different quality of gluten. Now if while the atoms of flour are
supplied with moisture, they are likewise supplied with some form of
gaseous substance, the elastic walls of the gluten cells will become
distended, causing the dough to "rise," or grow in bulk, and at the same
time become light, or porous, in texture.
This making of bread light is usually accomplished by the introduction
of air into the dough, or by carbonic acid gas generated within the
mass, either before or during the baking, by a fermentative or chemical
process.
When air is the agency used, the gluten, by its glue-like properties,
catches and retains the air for a short period; and if heat is applied
before the air, which is lighter than the dough, rises and escapes, it
will expand, and in expanding distend the elastic glutinous mass,
causing it to puff up or rise. If the heat is sufficient to harden the
gluten quickly, so that the air cells throughout the whole mass become
firmly fixed before the air escapes, the result will be a light, porous
bread. If the heat is not sufficient, the air does not properly expand;
or if before a sufficient crust is formed to retain the air and form a
framework of support for the dough, the heat is lessened or withdrawn,
the air will escape, or contract to its former volume, allowing the
distended glutinous cell walls to collapse; in either case the bread
will be heavy.
If carbonic acid gas, generated within the dough by means of
fermentation or by the use of chemical substances, be the means used to
lighten the mass, the gluten by virtue of its tenacity holds the bubbles
of gas as they are generated, and prevents the large and small ones from
uniting, or from rising to the surface, as they seek to do, being
lighter than the dough. Being thus caught where they are generated, and
the proper conditions supplied to expand them, they swell or raise the
dough, which is then termed a loaf. (This word "loaf" is from the
Anglo-Saxon _hlifian_, to raise or lift up.) The structure is rendered
permanent by the application of heat in baking.
BREAD MADE LIGHT BY FERMENTATION.
For general use, the most convenient form of bread is usually considered
to be that made from wheat flour, raised or made light by some method of
fermentation, although in point of nutritive value and healthfulness, it
does not equal light, unfermented, or aërated bread made without the aid
of chemicals.
THE PROCESS OF FERMENTATION.--Fermentation is a process of
decomposition, and hence more or less destructive to the substances
subjected to its influence. When animal and vegetable substances
containing large amounts of nitrogenous elements are in a moist state
and exposed to air, they very soon undergo a change, the result of which
is decomposition or decay. This is occasioned by the action of germs,
which feed upon nitrogenous substances, as do the various species of
fungi. Meat, eggs, milk, and other foods rich in nitrogenous elements
can be preserved but a short time if exposed to the atmosphere. The
carbonaceous elements are different in this respect. When pure starch,
sugar, or fat is exposed to the air in a moistened state, they exhibit
the very little tendency to change or decay. Yet if placed in contact
with decomposing substances containing nitrogen, they soon begin to
change, and are themselves decomposed and destroyed. This communication
of the condition of change from one class of substances to another, is
termed fermentation. If a fermenting substance be added to a watery
solution containing sugar, the sugar will be changed or decomposed, and
two new substances, alcohol and carbonic acid gas, are produced.
The different stages of fermentation are noted scientifically as
alcoholic, acetous, and putrefactive. The first is the name given to the
change which takes place in the saccharine matter of the dough, which
results in the formation of alcohol and carbonic acid gas. This same
change takes place in the saccharine matter of fruits under the proper
with conditions of warmth, air, and moisture, and is utilized in the
production of wines and fermented liquors.
In bread-making, the alcohol and carbonic acid gas produced during the
fermentation, are formed from sugar,--that originally contained in the
flour and the additional quantity formed from starch during the
fermenting process. It is evident, therefore, that bread cannot be
fermented without some loss in natural sweetness and nutritive value,
and bread made after this method should be managed so as to deteriorate
the material as little as possible.
If this fermentation continues long enough, the acetous fermentation is
set up, and _acetic_ acid, the essential element of vinegar, is formed
and the dough becomes sour. If the process of fermentation is very much
prolonged, the putrefactive change is set up, and the gluten is more or
less decomposed.
If the dough be baked during the alcoholic and carbonic-acid stage of
fermentation, the gas will render the loaf light and porous. The alcohol
will be dissipated by the heat during the baking, or evaporated shortly
afterward, provided the baking be thorough. If the fermentation is
allowed to proceed until the acetous fermentation has begun, the loaf,
when baked, will be "sad" and heavy, since there is no longer any gas to
puff it up. If, however, during the first or alcoholic stage of
fermentation, new material be added, the same kind of fermentation will
continue for a certain period longer.
These facts serve to show that great care and attention are necessary to
produce good bread by a fermentative process. If the fermentation has
not been allowed to proceed far enough to generate a sufficient amount
of gas to permeate the whole mass, the result will be a heavy loaf; and
if allowed to proceed too far, acid fermentation begins, the gas
escapes, and we have sour as well as heavy bread. It is not enough,
however, to prevent bread from reaching the acetous or sour stage of
fermentation. Bread may be over-fermented when there is no appreciable
sourness developed. Fermentation may be carried so far as to destroy
much of the richness and sweetness of the loaf, and yet be arrested by
the baking process just before the acetous stage begins, so that it will
be light and porous, but decidedly lacking in flavor and substance.
Over-fermentation also develops in the bread various bitter substances
which obscure the natural sweetness of the bread and give to it an
unpleasant flavor. Many of these substances are more or less harmful in
character, and include many poisons known as ptomaines, a class of
chemical compounds produced by germs whenever fermentation or
decomposition of organic matter takes place. Much skill is required to
determine at what point to arrest the fermentation, in order to save the
sweetness and richness of the bread.
FERMENTATIVE AGENTS.--Fermentation in vegetable matter is always
accompanied by the growth of living organisms. The development of these
minute organisms is the exciting cause of fermentation and putrefaction.
The germs or spores of some of these fermenting agents are always
present in the air. It is well known to housekeepers that if a batter of
flour and water and a little salt be kept in a jar of water at a
temperature of from 100° to 110°, it will ferment in the course of five
or six hours. Scientists assure us that this fermentation is occasioned
by the introduction of the spores of certain species of fungi which are
continually floating in the atmosphere, and the proper conditions of
warmth and moisture being supplied, they at once begin to grow and
multiply. This method of securing fermentation is utilized by housewives
in making what is termed salt-rising bread. The raising of dough by this
process is lengthy and uncertain, and a far more convenient method is to
accelerate the fermentation by the addition of some active ferment. The
ancient method of accomplishing this was by adding to the dough a
leaven, a portion of old dough which had been kept until it had begun to
ferment; but since the investigations of modern chemistry have made
clear the properties of yeast, that has come to be considered the best
agent for setting up the process of alcoholic fermentation in bread. The
use of leaven is still practiced to somewhat in some European countries.
The bread produced with leaven, although light and spongy in texture,
has an unpleasant, sour taste, and is much less wholesome than that
produced with fresh yeast.
Yeast is a collection of living organisms or plants belonging to the
family of fungi, which, like all other plants, require warmth, moisture,
and food, in order to promote growth, and when properly supplied with
these, they begin to grow and multiply rapidly. Fermentation will not
take place at a temperature below 30°, it proceeds slowly at 45°, but
from 70° to 90° it goes on rapidly. Fermentation may be arrested by the
exhaustion of either the fermenting agent or the food supply, or by
exposure to heat at the temperature of boiling water. This latter fact
enables the housewife to arrest the process of fermentation, when the
loaf has become sufficiently light, by baking it in a hot oven. Heat
destroys most of the yeast cells; a few, however, remain in the loaf
unchanged, and it is for this reason that yeast bread is considered less
wholesome for dyspeptics than light unleavened bread. It is apparent,
then, that the more thoroughly fermented bread is baked, the more
wholesome it will be, from the more complete destruction of the yeast
germs which it contains.
YEAST.--Next to good flour, the most important requisite in the
manufacture of fermented bread is good yeast. The best of flour used in
conjunction with poor yeast will not produce good bread. The most
convenient and reliable kind of marketable yeast, when fresh, is the
compressed yeast. The dry though they are always ready for use, the
quality of the bread they produce is generally inferior to that made
with either compressed yeast or good liquid yeast. If this sort of yeast
must be depended upon, the cakes known as "Yeast Foam" are the best of
any with which we are acquainted.