BREAD

It is generally conceded nowadays that the Egyptians were the first to use leaven in the making of bread, though some historians give the credit to the Chinese. From Egypt, the custom traveled to Greece and, later on, the Greeks communicated the process to the Romans, who spread the invention throughout the northern countries during their campaigns.

The allusions to bread in the works of the classic authors are very numerous. Athenaeus mentions no fewer than sixty-two varieties as known among the ancient Greeks and good descriptions of many of them are given. They employed in the making a great variety of grains--wheat, barley, rye, millet, spelt, rice, etc.--combining them sometimes with other substances such as the flour of dried lotus roots and the root of the cornflag, the last named first boiled so as to give a sweet taste to the bread.

In ancient Rome, public bakeries were numerous, the great majority of them conducted by Greeks, who had the reputation of making the best bread.

Wheat bread is the most popular in this country because wheat flour's higher percentage of gliadin makes bread that is lighter than that of other flour. It is also credited with being a nearly perfect food ration. It is not as rich in food value as dried ripe beans or peas, but on the other hand it is in a form which is more generally acceptable as a leading article of diet and is easily assimilated. Its principal defect is the lack of fat, and that is generally overcome by the custom of eating it with butter or milk. It is also somewhat deficient in protein--hence the desirability of supplementing it with meat, fish, etc. (see article on Food Values).

The exact science of modern bread making is a study of infinite minor chemical possibilities, but its fundamental principles may be outlined in a few words. The flour is mixed with water, a little salt and yeast, and left or set in a warm place to "rise." Later on, it is again kneaded and set to rise a second time. The, as soon as the dough has risen sufficiently, it is shaped into loaves and baked in the oven. The time thus consumed varies in different processes, according to the quantity of yeast used, the temperature maintained, etc. In large modern bakeries, all or nearly all the work is done by machinery.

The raising of the dough is effected by the growth in it of the yeast fungi. The diastase in the dough, produced by the action of the yeast on part of the soluble protein of the flour, converts part of the starch into a kind of sugar, and the yeast cells, feeding on and propagating in this, produce alcoholic fermentation--convert it into alcohol and carbon-dioxide (gas). The alcohol, which passes away by evaporation, is unimportant but the carbon-dioxide, being distributed all through the dough, raises it as it expands in thousands of little pockets or cells in the dough. When the loaves are placed in the oven, the heat kills the yeast cells and stops the fermentation, but at the same time causes the gas already formed to expand still further, thus again raising the bread. Later, the gas forces itself out, but the air cells still remain, held in place by the stiffening in baking of the gliadin in the dough. The heat also changes some of the moisture into steam, which, being retained in the same or other tiny pockets, aids in the raising process--and the result is the light porous loaf of everyday use.

The brown crust of the baked loaf and much of its pleasing odor, are due principally to the caramelizing of the dextrin and other sugars obtained by the conversion of the starch of the outer surface.

The ordinary bread and rolls of everyday use are made from white flour--obtained by grinding the wheat grain after the bran coat and germ have been removed. For the more "fancy" varieties, milk and water, or milk alone, are substituted for the water in mixing the dough, and in some cases, sugar, butter, lard, etc., are added to it to make it sweeter or richer.

New hot bread is generally rated as a bugbear to any except those of abnormally strong digestive powers--but lovers of good things to eat, who in fear of their lives have refrained from enjoying it, should take a stale loaf, wrap a wet towel around it and set it in a brisk oven for a while. The result will be a hot loaf that tastes better than one fresh from the baker--yet won't worry the digestion at all!

For French bread, just dip the loaf in water and set it in the oven without any cloth around it.

Bread should be kept in an air-tight show-case, box or receptacle which must be frequently scalded and aired--and thoroughly dried before using again.

In other countries, under various circumstances, bread has been made from a great variety of grains, vegetables and nuts. Beans, peas, potatoes, etc., produce fair bread if mixed with wheat or rye to prevent sogginess; rice makes bread of pleasing flavor and attractive appearance; the chestnut bread of the Corsican mountaineers is agreeable and healthful and will keep fresh for as long as two weeks, and acorns, mosses and innumerable roots have also served--either alone or mixed with cereals.

Aerated Bread, very popular in London, is made by charging the water used for wetting the dough with carbon-dioxide (gas), then working it up in enclosed iron kneading machines and putting directly into the oven, instead of allowing the gas to form in the dough from the fermentation caused by the working of yeast. The advantage is that bread can be thus made more quickly and cheaply and chemically purer--but, to the American palate, aerated bread has a rather flat taste. An objection in the trade is that owing to its firm crust it does not show its staleness and when taken away by the bakers is sometimes returned again as fresh--to the injury of the grocer, whose customers naturally complain.

Boston Brown Bread is made from rye, cornmeal and graham flour, well sweetened, principally with molasses, cooked by steaming, boiling or baking, and generally served smoking hot. It was originated in New England and is still very popular there. Within recent years it has attained also a considerable sale in other parts of the country, with a growing use in canned form. It is very nutritious but not as easily digested as wheat bread.

Corn Bread has never attained full favor in the North, but in different forms it is an important article of food in the South, where it is consumed as "corn bread," "corn muffins," "Johnny Cake," "Corn Pone," etc.

French Bread, as generally known in this country, is a long narrow loaf--often eighteen inches long and upward--of crisp crust and proportionately little crumb. In France, there are two distinct types of bread. The kind already mentioned, in Paris sometimes reaching a length of three to five feet, is known as "Pain ordinaire" (ordinary bread). The other is "Pain riche" (rich bread)--a finer variety mixed with milk and made in all sorts of shapes (crescents, etc.), generally of small size.

Gluten Bread is made from ordinary flour dough subjected to straining and pressing under a stream of water until most of the starch is worked out, leaving the gluten as the principal component. Properly made, the result is a light elastic loaf especially suitable for diabetic and other patients from whose diet starch (and its product, sugar) should be excluded.

Graham Bread, or Brown Bread, Whole Wheat or Entire Wheat Bread. Graham Bread is generally made from flour which contains all of the "bran coat," or at all events the "aleurone layer" (see Wheat), but its composition varies considerably. As generally eaten nowadays, it is in other respects made in the same way as "white" bread, but the original Graham bread was made without yeast--the few "holes" in it being due probably to some minor fermentation. In flavor it was sweet and fairly palatable, but a good deal heavier than yeast bread. Whole Wheat or Entire Wheat bread is made from flour which consists sometimes of the entire grain ground up; at others, merely a coarse flour containing part of the aleurone layer and grading between "Graham" and "ordinary" flour.

The comparative advantages of "ordinary" or "white," Graham and Whole Wheat breads have been in dispute a long time. Advocates of Graham and Whole Wheat breads claim for them greater nourishing properties--others contend that "white" bread is more easily digested by the average person and that therefore more food value is assimilated by its use, irrespective of the chemical analyses of the loaves. To a disinterested party, the comparative advantages or otherwise seem to be principally a matter of individual taste and digestion. The chemical difference is slight.

Leavened Bread is bread of any kind, raised or "leavened" by yeast or any similar agent.

Honey Bread is ordinary white bread slightly sweetened.

Macaroni Bread has nothing to do with macaroni. It is ordinary white bread made from flour of the prolific variety of hard wheat known as "Durum" or "Macaroni" wheat, now largely grown in the western and southern states. Its advocates claim for it all the advantages of other wheat flour.

Malt Bread is that in which malt extract is added in making, the result being a bread that is sweeter (from the sugars formed by the action of the diastase of the malt) and moister (because of the dextrin formed). There is also an increase in the phosphatic content, etc.

Pumpernickel is a dark German bread of unbolted rye, very heavy and slightly acid, made from fermented dough. Thinly sliced, it is considered a delicacy when made into sandwiches or eaten with the soup course. It is sold generally by delicatessen dealers--made here and also imported, the latter being canned in thin slices.

Rye Bread, as sold in this country, is generally part rye and part wheat flour, sometimes flavored and sprinkled with caraway seeds.

Full rye bread is heavy in character owing both to the general manner of its manufacture and to a peculiarity of the gluten of rye flour, and has an aromatic taste independent of the flavor of the caraway seed, etc., added in baking. It is a very important article of diet in Germany and the principal staple food in Russia.

Salt-rising Bread, is bread leavened by the addition to the sponge of a fermented batter of warm milk, salt and, generally, cornmeal. The name is derived from the salt dissolved in the milk to prevent the growth of bacteria in it while it is exposed to the atmosphere awaiting the action of (generally) "wild" yeast (see Yeast).

Unleavened Bread is made without yeast or any other raising agent. Some "dyspeptic breads" are sold in this form, but the most commonly seen type is the "Matzoth," a large round cracker or biscuit, made only of flour and water, eaten during the Jewish Passover--both plain, in place of leavened bread, and cooked in various ways.

Vienna Bread is an American title for loaves made of the same kind of dough used in France for the pain riche mentioned in the paragraph on French Bread. It is seldom if ever baked in Vienna in the large loaves seen here!