nn E AD. 



BREAD. 



it continues in * state of active fermentation, now diffused through it* 

 whole extent After the lapse of this time, H is subjected to * second, 

 but much leu laborious kneading ; the object of which it to distribute 

 the ga* engendered within it M equably as possible throughout its 

 til* constitution, to that no part of the dough may form a soddened 

 or ill-raised bread, from the deficiency of this carbonic acid gas on the 

 one hand; or a too nuinulsr or spongy bread, from its excess on the 



After the second kneading the dough U weighed out into the por- 

 tion* requisite to form the kind* of bread desired : three portions of 

 dough are ahaped into loaves, and once more set aside for an hour or 

 two in a warm situation. The continuance of fermentation soon Rene- 

 rates a sufficient quantity of fresh carbonic acid gai within them to ex- 

 pand each mass to about double its former volume. The mnnnoti are now 

 considered fit for the ftre, and are finally baked into loaves, which, when 

 they quit the oven, have attained a siie nearly twice as bulky as that 

 at which they entered it From the nature of the processes to which 

 it has been exposed, a well-baked loaf is composed of an infinite 

 number of cellules, each of which is filled with carbonic acid gas, 

 and seems lined with or composed of a glutinous membrane; it 

 is this which communicates the light elastic porous texture to the 

 i :... i 



It has been already observed, that what U sometimes called the' 

 JMSMvy frrmenlatiom is not of a peculiar kind : it is the mere vinous 

 fermentation ; and Dr. Colquhoun has shown that it depends upon the 

 saccharine ingredient of the flour, though its quantity compared with 

 the other* is so small The fermentation is also probably aided by the 

 conversion of a portion of starch into sugar, as happens in the well- 

 known process of malting. 



The nature of the yeast employed in bread-making is a subject of 

 considerable importance : porter yeast is too bitter, but ale and table- 

 beer yeast answer perfectly well. When these are deficient; in quan- 

 tity, yeast is manufactured by a process similar to that of brewing ; a 

 wort is made of malt, to which hops and brewers' yeast are added ; by 

 this yeast is obtained free from the bitterness which accompanies 

 porter yeast. Carbonate of ammonia is advantageously and exten- 

 sively used as a substitute for yeast in making the finer kinds of 

 bread: it is a substance which is totally volatilised at a moderate 

 temperature, and though extremely pungent to the smell, and pos- 

 sessed of a strong taste, it imparts neither taste nor smell to the bread, 

 on account of its great volatility. 



Salt is used in bread-making, not only for the sake of flavour And 

 colour, but also to stiffen the clammy dough made from new flour. 

 Good flour will bear a greater quantity of salt than bad, and new flour 

 requires more than old, for the reason already stated. 



When flour is converted into bread, it is found on weighing it when 

 taken from the oven that it has increased from 28 to 34 per cent, in 

 weight ; but when it has been kept thirty-six hours, that which had 

 gained twenty-eight will lose about four pounds. There are, however, 

 several circumstances which influence the quantity of bread obtained 

 from a given weight of flour, such as the season in which the wheat 

 was grown and the age of the flour : the better the flour is, and the 

 older, within certain limits, the larger is the quantity of the bread 

 produced. 



When H was found that the panary fermentation is identical in 

 principle with the vinous, and that a little alcohol is produced by it, 

 there arose a notable project, a few years ago, for saving the spirit 

 produced in bread-making. A sum of 20.00W. was spent in establishing 

 bakery at Chelsea, but it was soon found that the projectors had 

 very much misconceived the chemistry of their subject ; while neigh- 

 bouring bikers, by advertising " bread vith iht gin in it," contrived to 

 throw the gin-less bread quite out of popular favour. 



Under ordinary circumstances, no machinery is employed in bread- 

 making in England ; but patented contrivances do occasionally come 

 into notice. Some years ago Mr. Clayton obtained a patent for a 

 rotatory kneading- machine, in the interior of which knives were placed 

 diagonally ; and other mixing and kneading machines have since been 

 invented; but the hand method remains still almost exclusively in 

 force in this country. Our French neighbours understand these things 

 better : they apply more science to the chemistry of eating and drink- 

 ing. The mixing and kneading are generally effected by hand, l.ut 

 they are more carefully attended to than in England. There is, how- 

 ever, a machine bakery patented at Paris by M. Mouchot, of which 

 Dumas gives a description : the lifting of the flour into the troughs, 

 the admisaicn of water, the mixing, the kneading, the baking, all are 

 eOscted by the lid of efficient machinery. 



A machine for baking bread by steam was introduced into France a 



W *""*" "f^-i. am * utM Principally of two concentric cylinders, the 

 imer one of which has numerous perforations. The dough is placed 

 nd the steam is admitted to the space between 

 Half an hour is said to be sufficient for the heat of 



the two cy 



tabake^Ui* bread ; but it would appear that there ought to 



have been introduced 

 ti the oven, it i 

 heat the oven with 

 than on the old 



The public has been rendered justly indignant at the long list of 

 objectionable substances used to adulterate bread ; damaged wheat, 

 beans, peas, potatoes, plaster of Paris, chalk, pipeclay, burnt bones, 

 are all said occasionally to take part in the manufacture of what 

 ought to be wheaten bread. There is a double mischief in all this : 

 it is a robbery in itaelf ; and it leads to the honest as well as the dis- 

 honest being suspected by those whose suspicions are aroused, but who 

 have neither inclination nor skill to analyse their bread. Salt, as was 

 before observed, is really a necessity in bread-making. 



The varieties of bread used only in a small degree are numerous. 

 There are bran bread, French soup bread, grain bread, household 

 bread, Iceland moss bread, leavened bread, potato bread, *c. all of 

 which have peculiarities either in the ingredient* or in the mode of 

 making. 



The most recent and important novelty in bread-making is probably 

 that of Dr. Dauglish, resulting from three patents taken out in 1856, 

 1857, and 1858, and put in operation at the machine bakery of Messrs. 

 Peek and Frean. The " raising " of bread into a ifKmgr is effected, not 

 by fermentation, but by adding carbonic acid gas to the flour under 

 great pressure. The flour U put into a strong thick iron globe ; water 

 saturated with carbonic acid gas is forced into it; kneading-knives 

 rotate among the ingredients for a few minutes ; the mixing, aerating, 

 and kneading go on all at once ; a trap at the lower part of the globe 

 opens, the well-kneaded dough foils out in a thick, solid cylinder, or in 

 a flat ribbon, according to the shape of the orifice ; and this cylinder or 

 ribbon of dough fashions itself into loaves of varied shape, according to 

 the arrangement of simple apparatus beneath. The loaves are placed 

 on trays, the trays ore ranged on a travelling railway, and the railway 

 conveys them swiftly and systematically into the oven, which is con- 

 structed and heated in a peculiar manner. Arrangements are made for 

 the production of bread on a Urge scale at this establishment, and for 

 selling it to retailers. 



Birmingham and one or two other towns have preceded the metro- 

 polis in the system of making bread on a large scale, in a few 

 factories, and supplying retail shopkeepers. There are two joint-stock 

 companies in Birmingham for this purpose, both of which realise fair 

 dividends for the capital invested. 



In Carlisle, besides the manufacture of bread and biscuits in certain 

 large and well-organised establishments, there is a custom of making 

 wholesome second-class bread by an admixture of maize or Indian corn 

 with wheat in some households. The following instructions for this 

 purpose have been given : Take seven pounds of Indian corn flour, and 

 pour upon it. four quarts of boiling water, stirring all the time. Let it 

 stand till the temperature becomes lukewarm, and then mix it with 

 seven pounds of fine wheaten flour, to which a quarter of a pound of 

 salt has been previously added. Make a depression on the surface of 

 this mixture, and pour into it two quarts of yeast, which should ! 

 thickened to the consistence of cream with some of the flour. Let all 

 remain quiet during the night, and on the following morning knead the 

 mass, and allow it to stand for three hours. Then divide the dough 

 into loaves, and bake them in this, in which they should be allowed to 

 stand for half an hour before baking. From these materials about 

 thirty-two pounds of nutritive bread can be obtained. 



Referring to the article YEAST, for an account of the chief modes of 

 obtaining or producing that (hitherto considered) indispensable ingre- 

 dient in bread, we may here mention an item of statistics which shows 

 how large must now be the consumption, in the United Kingdom, of 

 that apparently trifling article. In the three years ending with 1858, 

 the average quantity of dry yeast imported amounted to 77,000 cwt. 

 annually. 



There is at present (1859) a praiseworthy attempt being made to 

 bring about a change in the condition of the journeymen bakers em- 

 ployed in and near the metropolis. It has long been treated as a 

 necessity that bakers should work at night, in order that families might 

 have a supply of newly-baked loaves and rolls by the ordinary breakfast- 

 time ; and the arrangements between the employers and the employed 

 bear immediate relation to this system. It begins now, however, to 

 be disputed whether this necessity exists. The introduction of some 

 of the recently-patented improvements, and a re-partition of the hours 

 of working, would (it is contended by many well-informed persons) 

 enable the working bakers to sleep at night, a regular number of hours, 

 and nut of the pernicious atmosphere of the bakehouse. An inquiry 

 made by Dr. Ouy, a few years ago, revealed a deplorable state of things, 

 in reference to the daily life of the persons thus employed. A con- 

 siderable impression was made on the public mind by these and similar 

 revelations; and under the influence of this impression, the master- 

 bakers of Edinburgh have one by one abandoned the system of night- 

 work, and afforded to their jniirni-ymen the opportunity of obtaining 

 rest at the same reasonable hours as other men. It is stated that the 

 masters do [not incur any commercial loss by the change, while the 

 relations between them and their men are much more cordial and 

 satisfactory than before. A communication to this effect has been 

 transmitted from the master-bakers of Edinburgh to those of London. 

 Glasgow and Belfast have also, to a great extent, adopted the new 

 system ; the inhabitant* of those three cities appear to be satisfied with 

 a bread-supply to managed that twelve hours journeymen's labour )T 

 d.iy, from five o'clock in the morning till five in the c\- 

 suffice; and there seems no good reason why the same plan, if judi- 



