182 Dr. Colquhoun on the Art of Baking Bread, [Sept. 



entire mass formed into a gummy substance. In regard to the 

 albuminous principle in flour, it cannot fail to undergo coagula- 

 tion in the oven, and, in consequence of its total want of retrac- 

 tility when thus altered, will doubtless contribute somewhat to 

 confirm the setting of the bread, and enable it to retain that 

 spongy vesicular texture which had been previously developed 

 by the expansion of the internal elastic vapour. When these 

 several constituents of the flour have discharged their respective 

 functions, and the various processes of kneading, fermenting, 

 and baking, have been duly performed, the formation of the 

 common wheat-loaf is complete. 



Such is the history of the ordinary system pursued by the 

 baker in manufacturing the great proportion of that valuable 

 article, bread, in so far as it may be regarded as one of the 

 necessaries of life. For with respect to those kinds of bread, 

 such as plain water-biscuit (sea-biscuit for example), into the 

 composition of which no elastic fluid enters, their manufacture 

 may be regarded as already described, since it merely implies 

 that nothing relative to the fermentative process shall make part 

 of their preparation. The mode of making them is in fact one 

 of the simplest and least interesting pieces of common cookery 

 that can be conceived, and even if its details had not been 

 included within the account already given of the manufacture 

 of the common wheat-loaf, they would scarcely have merited to 

 be separately mentioned. 



There are, howe;^er, a great many products of the baker's art, 

 perhaps confected with spices or otherwise, which are prepared 

 so as to belong rather to the luxuries of civilized society, than 

 to deserve being classed among the necessaries of life. In all 

 these cases the same essential advantage of infusing into the 

 bread a due supply of an elastic fluid is equally felt ; but from a 

 variety of circumstances it may occur that the fermentative 

 process may be ill adapted to attain that end. The reason of 

 this is, that by the system of fermentation, it is in vain to expect 

 good bread, unless a very considerable preparatory delay can be 

 spared ; and if this delay cannot be conveniently aflbrded, or if 

 the more complex compound of a confected bread contains any 

 ingredient which paralyzes the action of the ferment, the baker 

 has found it necessary to have recourse to some other methods 

 of introducing the elastic fluid. Many of these are sufficiently 

 ingenious, and although none can be so interesting as that 

 which is the means of preparing the great staple of our food, 

 yet there is much useful and curious investigation connected 

 with the examination of a few of these processes ; to which we 

 now proceed. 



{To be continued.) 



