BEST DETAILS OF BREAD

                                     

Bread an easy word for a child & also to an old man, to say as well as to eat. This soft spongy eatable is enjoyable at any time of the day. Breads are baker’s delight, a whole many varieties from fruit bread, sweet bread, salt bread, whole wheat bread, breads with oats & many cereals are on the move.

The end product as bread is obtained after a long process of bread making. Bread (no time dough) bread (straight dough) Bread (sponge & dough) sweet dough (lean) French bread, are all the various preparation techniques employed for a particular type of bread.

Micro- organisms are useful in two chief ways in bread making:

1.       They may produce gas to leaven, or raise, the dough, giving the bread the desired loose, porous texture and

2.       They may produce desirable flavouring substances and also may function in the conditioning of the dough

Micro- organisms necessary in food fermentation may be added as pure cultures or mixed cultures; or in some instances, no cultures may be added if the desired micro- organisms are known to be present in sufficient numbers in the original raw material. Most of the bacterial cultures employed as starters for dairy products, sausage, and bread are pure or mixed cultures of lactic acid bacteria.

                                     

Leavening: Dough is usually leavened by bread yeasts which ferment the sugars in the dough. Fermentation by the yeast begins as soon as the dough (or sponge) is mixed and continues until the temperature of the oven inactivates the yeast enzymes. The professional baker adds a considerable amount of yeast and has a comparatively short making time. Old home methods involved the use of less yeast and therefore resulted in a longer making time and some opportunity for yeast and bacterial growth.

In sponge method of bread making/ straight dough method, temperature, mixing of ingredients & time for fermentation are the major variation. Leavening can be accompanied by gas forming organisms other than the bread yeasts. Breads can be leavened by dough carried over from a previous making, as for certain special breads and sour dough bread. Salt rising bread is leavened by salt raising yeasts.

 Continuous bread making: Continuous bread making process usually involve growth and fermentation by yeast in part of the ingredients to get a large yield of active- or at least the addition of more yeast than usual- before the final dough is formed. Leavening may take place in the pans just before baking.

Flavour production: yeasts are reported to contribute to the flavour of bread through products released during the fermentation of sugars. Most experts maintain, however, that bacteria growing in the dough can contribute the most of flavour.

The baking process: The structure of the loaf is set during the baking process. Baking besides producing the appearance of the loaf, also contributes desirable flavours. “set” of bread results from this process, in which gluten gives structural support in the dough, but starch supports the structure of baked bread.

Rye bread: Rye bread may be made with or without a starter, or “sour”. The old method of preparing sour depended on the bacteria naturally present in a mixture of rye flour and water.  The starter imparts a desired tangy or sour flavour to the rye bread. The mixture was allowed to ferment for 5to 10hrs; then more flour and water were added and the fermentation will continue for an additional 5 to 6 hrs; then this was repeated several times. Half of the sour thus produced was incorporated in the sponge or dough for the bread, and the rest was carried over to start a new sour.

San francisco dough bread: The leavening of this type of bread results from the action of a particular  organism involved, responsible for the acid development is identified as a bacteria associated in the name of San Francisco.

Contamination of bread:

Historically, the chief types of microbial spoilage of baked bread have been moldiness and ropiness, usually termed “mold and rope”

Mold: Molds are the most common and hence the most important cause of the spoilage of bread and most bakery products. The temperatures attained in the baking procedure usually are high enough to kill all mold spores in and on the loaf so that molds must reach the outer surface or penetrate after baking. They can come from the air during cooling or there- after from handling, or from wrappers and usually initiate growth in the crease of the loaf and between the slices of sliced bread.

Rope: Ropiness of bread is fairly common in home baked bread, especially during hot weather. The area of ropiness is yellow to brown in colour and is soft and sticky to the touch. First the odour is evident, then discoloration, and finally softening of the crumb, with stickiness and stringiness.

Red bread: Red or “bloody” bread is striking in appearance but rare in occurrence. Necessary for the phenomenon is the accidental contamination of the bread with the red organisms and unusually moist conditions to favour their growth.

Chalky bread: Chalky bread, also uncommon, is so named because of white, chalk like spots. The defect has been blamed on the growth of yeast like fungi.