PANIFICATION, or bread-making, consists of the following processes,
in the case of Wheaten Flour. Fifty or sixty per cent. of water is
added to the flour, with the addition of some leavening matter, and
preferably, of yeast from malt and hops. All kinds of leavening
matter have, however, been, and are still used in different parts of
the world: in the East Indies, “toddy,” which is a liquor that flows
from the wounded cocoa-nut tree; and in the West Indies, “dunder,” or
the refuse of the distillation of rum. The dough then undergoes the
well-known process called _kneading_. The yeast produces fermentation,
a process which may be thus described:—The dough reacting upon the
leavening matter introduced, the starch of the flour is transformed
into saccharine matter, the saccharine matter being afterwards changed
into alcohol and carbonic acid. The dough must be well “bound,” and yet
allow the escape of the little bubbles of carbonic acid which accompany
the fermentation, and which, in their passage, cause the numerous
little holes which are seen in light bread.
The yeast must be good and fresh, if the bread is to be digestible and
nice. Stale yeast produces, instead of vinous fermentation, an acetous
fermentation, which flavours the bread and makes it disagreeable. A
poor thin yeast produces an imperfect fermentation, the result being a
heavy, unwholesome loaf.
When the dough is well kneaded, it is left to stand for some time, and
then, as soon as it begins to swell, it is divided into loaves; after
which it is again left to stand, when it once more swells up, and
manifests for the last time the symptoms of fermentation. It is then
put into the oven, where the water contained in the dough is partly
evaporated, and the loaves swell up again, while a yellow crust begins
to form upon the surface. When the bread is sufficiently baked, the
bottom crust is hard and resonant if struck with the finger, while the
crumb is elastic, and rises again after being pressed down with the
finger. The bread is, in all probability, baked sufficiently if, on
opening the door of the oven, you are met by a cloud of steam, which
quickly passes away.
One word as to the unwholesomeness of new bread and hot rolls. When
bread is taken out of the oven, it is full of moisture; the starch is
held together in masses, and the bread, instead of being crusted so as
to expose each grain of starch to the saliva, actually prevents their
digestion by being formed by the teeth into leathery poreless masses,
which lie on the stomach like so many bullets. Bread should always be
at least a day old before it is eaten; and, if properly made, and kept
in a _cool dry_ place, ought to be perfectly soft and palatable at
the end of three or four days. Hot rolls, swimming in melted butter,
and new bread, ought to be carefully shunned by everybody who has the
slightest respect for that much-injured individual—the Stomach.
AËRATED BREAD.—It is not unknown to some of our readers that Dr.
Dauglish, of Malvern, has recently patented a process for making
bread “light,” without the use of leaven. The ordinary process of
bread-making by fermentation is tedious, and much labour of human hands
is requisite in the kneading, in order that the dough may be thoroughly
interpenetrated with the leaven. The new process impregnates the bread,
by the application of machinery, with carbonic acid gas, or fixed air.
Different opinions are expressed about the bread; but it is curious to
note, that, as corn is now reaped by machinery, and dough is baked by
machinery, the whole process of bread-making is probably in course of
undergoing changes which will emancipate both the housewife and the
professional baker from a large amount of labour.
In the production of Aërated Bread, wheaten flour, water, salt, and
carbonic acid gas (generated by proper machinery), are the only
materials employed. We need not inform our readers that carbonic acid
gas is the source of the effervescence, whether in common water coming
from a depth, or in lemonade, or any aërated drink. Its action, in the
new bread, takes the place of fermentation in the old.
In the patent process, the dough is mixed in a great iron ball, inside
which is a system of paddles, perpetually turning, and doing the
kneading part of the business. Into this globe the flour is dropped
till it is full, and then the common atmospheric air is pumped out, and
the pure gas turned on. The gas is followed by the water, which has
been aërated for the purpose, and then begins the churning or kneading
part of the business.
Of course, it is not long before we have the dough, and very “light”
and nice it looks. This is caught in tins, and passed on to the
floor of the oven, which is an endless floor, moving slowly through
the fire. Done to a turn, the loaves emerge at the other end of the
apartment,—and the Aërated Bread is made.
It may be added, that it is a good plan to change one’s baker from time
to time, and so secure a change in the quality of the bread that is
eaten.
MIXED BREADS.—Rye bread is hard of digestion, and requires longer and
slower baking than wheaten bread. It is better when made with leaven of
wheaten flour rather than yeast, and turns out lighter. It should not
be eaten till two days old. It will keep a long time.
A good bread may be made by mixing rye-flour, wheat-flour, and
rice-paste, in equal proportions; also by mixing rye, wheat, and
barley. In Norway, it is said that they only bake their barley bread
once a year, such is its “keeping” quality.
Indian-corn flour mixed with wheat-flour (half with half) makes a nice
bread, but it is not considered very digestible, though it keeps well.
Rice cannot be made into bread, nor can potatoes; but one-third
potato-flour to three-fourths wheaten flour makes a tolerably good loaf.
A very good bread, better than the ordinary sort, and of a delicious
flavour, is said to be produced by adopting the following recipe:—Take
ten parts of wheat-flour, five parts of potato-flour, one part of
rice-paste; knead together, add the yeast, and bake as usual. This is,
of course, cheaper than wheaten bread.
Flour, when freshly ground, is too glutinous to make good bread, and
should therefore not be used immediately, but should be kept dry for a
few weeks, and stirred occasionally until it becomes dry, and crumbles
easily between the fingers.
Flour should be perfectly dry before being used for bread or cakes; if
at all damp, the preparation is sure to be heavy. Before mixing it with
the other ingredients, it is a good plan to place it for an hour or two
before the fire, until it feels warm and dry.
Yeast from home-brewed beer is generally preferred to any other: it is
very bitter, and on that account should be well washed, and put away
until the thick mass settles. If it still continues bitter, the process
should be repeated; and, before being used, all the water floating at
the top must be poured off. German yeast is now very much used, and
should be moistened, and thoroughly mixed with the milk or water with
which the bread is to be made.
The following observations are extracted from a valuable work on
Bread-making, and will be found very useful to our readers:—
The first thing required for making wholesome bread is the utmost
cleanliness; the next is the soundness and sweetness of all the
ingredients used for it; and, in addition to these, there must be
attention and care through the whole process.
An almost certain way of spoiling dough is to leave it half-made, and
to allow it to become cold before it is finished. The other most common
causes of failure are using yeast which is no longer sweet, or which
has been frozen, or has had hot liquid poured over it.
Too small a proportion of yeast, or insufficient time allowed for the
dough to rise, will cause the bread to be heavy.
Heavy bread will also most likely be the result of making the dough
very hard, and letting it become quite cold, particularly in winter.
If either the sponge or the dough be permitted to overwork itself,
that is to say, if the mixing and kneading be neglected when it has
reached the proper point for either, sour bread will probably be the
consequence in warm weather, and bad bread in any. The goodness will
also be endangered by placing it so near the fire as to make any part
of it hot, instead of maintaining the gentle and equal degree of heat
required for its due fermentation.
MILK OR BUTTER.—Milk which is not perfectly sweet will not only injure
the flavour of the bread, but, in sultry weather, will often cause it
to be quite uneatable; yet either of them, if _fresh and good_, will
materially improve its quality.
To keep bread sweet and fresh, as soon as it is cold it should be put
into a clean earthen pan, with a cover to it: this pan should be placed
at a little distance from the ground, to allow a current of air to pass
underneath. Some persons prefer keeping bread on clean wooden shelves
without being covered, that the crust may not soften. Stale bread may
be freshened by warming it through in a gentle oven. Stale pastry,
cakes, &c., may also be improved by this method.
The utensils required for making bread on a moderate scale, are a
kneading-trough or pan, sufficiently large that the dough may be
kneaded freely without throwing the flour over the edges, and also to
allow for its rising; a hair sieve for straining yeast, and one or two
strong spoons.
Yeast must always be good of its kind, and in a fitting state to
produce ready and proper fermentation. Yeast of strong beer or ale
produces more effect than that of milder kinds; and the fresher the
yeast, the smaller the quantity will be required to raise the dough.
As a general rule, the oven for baking bread should be rather quick,
and the heat so regulated as to penetrate the dough without hardening
the outside. The oven door should not be opened after the bread is
put in until the dough is set, or has become firm, as the cool air
admitted, will have an unfavourable effect on it.
Brick ovens are generally considered the best adapted for baking bread:
these should be heated with wood faggots, and then swept and mopped
out, to cleanse them for the reception of the bread. Iron ovens are
more difficult to manage, being apt to burn the surface of the bread
before the middle is baked. To remedy this, a few clean bricks should
be set at the bottom of the oven, close together, to receive the tins
of bread. In many modern stoves the ovens are so much improved that
they bake admirably; and they can always be brought to the required
temperature, when it is higher than is needed, by leaving the door open
for a time.
BREAD, to make good Home-made (Miss Acton’s Recipe).
[Illustration: COTTAGE LOAF.]
[Illustration: TIN BREAD.]
_Ingredients._—1 quartern of flour, 1 large tablespoonful of solid
brewer’s yeast, or nearly 1 oz. of fresh German yeast, 1¼ to 1½ pint
of warm milk-and-water. _Mode._—Put the flour into a large earthenware
bowl or deep pan; then, with a strong metal or wooden spoon, hollow
out the middle; but do not clear it entirely away from the bottom of
the pan, as, in that case, the sponge, or leaven (as it was formerly
termed) would stick to it, which it ought not to do. Next take either
a large tablespoonful of brewer’s yeast which has been rendered solid
by mixing it with plenty of cold water, and letting it afterwards
stand to settle for a day and night; or nearly an ounce of German
yeast; put it into a large basin, and proceed to mix it, so that it
shall be as smooth as cream, with ¾ pint of warm milk-and-water, or
with water only; though even a very little milk will much improve the
bread. Pour the yeast into the hole made in the flour, and stir into
it as much of that which lies round it as will make a thick batter, in
which there must be no lumps. Strew plenty of flour on the top, throw
a thick clean cloth over, and set it where the air is warm; but do not
place it upon the kitchen fender, for it will become too much heated
there. Look at it from time to time: when it has been laid for nearly
an hour, and when the yeast has risen and broken through the flour,
so that bubbles appear in it, you will know that it is ready to be
made up into dough. Then place the pan on a strong chair, or dresser,
or table, of convenient height; pour into the sponge the remainder of
the warm milk-and-water; stir into it as much of the flour as you can
with the spoon; then wipe it out clean with your fingers, and lay it
aside. Next take plenty of the remaining flour, throw it on the top of
the leaven, and begin, with the knuckles of both hands, to knead it
well. When the flour is nearly all kneaded in, begin to draw the edges
of the dough towards the middle, in order to mix the whole thoroughly;
and when it is free from flour and lumps and crumbs, and does not stick
to the hands when touched, it will be done, and may be covered with
the cloth, and left to rise a second time. In ¾ hour look at it, and
should it have swollen very much and begin to crack, it will be light
enough to bake. Turn it then on to a paste-board or very clean dresser,
and with a large sharp knife divide it in two; make it up quickly into
loaves, and despatch it to the oven: make one or two incisions across
the tops of the loaves, as they will rise more easily if this be done.
If baked in tins or pans, rub them with a tiny piece of butter laid on
a piece of clean paper, to prevent the dough from sticking to them.
All bread should be turned upside down, or on its side, as soon as it
is drawn from the oven: if this be neglected, the under part of the
loaves will become wet and blistered from the steam, which cannot then
escape from them. _To make the dough without setting a sponge_, merely
mix the yeast with the greater part of the warm milk-and-water, and wet
up the whole of the flour at once after a little salt has been stirred
in, proceeding exactly, in every other respect, as in the directions
just given. As the dough will _soften_ in the rising, it should be made
quite firm at first, or it will be too lithe by the time it is ready
for the oven. _Time._—To be left to rise an hour the first time, ¾ hour
the second time; to be baked from 1 to 1¼ hour, or baked in one loaf
from 1½ to 2 hours.
BREAD, to make a Peck of good.
_Ingredients._—3 lbs. of potatoes, 6 pints of cold water, ½ pint of
good yeast, a peck of flour, 2 oz. of salt. _Mode._—Peel and boil
the potatoes; beat them to a cream while warm; then add 1 pint of
cold water, strain through a colander, and add to it ½ pint of good
yeast, which should have been put in water over-night to take off its
bitterness. Stir all well together with a wooden spoon, and pour the
mixture into the centre of the flour; mix it to the substance of cream,
cover it over closely, and let it remain near the fire for an hour;
then add the 5 pints of water, milk-warm, with 2 oz. of salt; pour this
in, and mix the whole to a nice light dough. Let it remain for about 2
hours; then make it into 7 loaves, and bake for about 1½ hour in a good
oven. When baked, the bread should weigh nearly 20 lbs. _Time._—About
1½ hour.