FOOD 213 



product, called acetic acid, appears, rendering the bread 

 sour and unwholesome. 



A few things are indispensable to the making of good 

 bread. A good quality of flour must be used and good 

 yeast (Miss Parloa considers the " compressed yeast " 

 sold in the shops and bakeries the best procurable). The 

 dough should have at first a temperature of 100 F., 

 which should later be reduced to 70. The mass must 

 be kneaded sufficiently to distribute the yeast evenly 

 throughout, and again after it has " risen " to break the 

 bubbles of gas and force it to permeate every part, that 

 the loaf may be rendered light and spongy by innumera- 

 ble fine pores. After the final kneading and shaping into 

 loaves, they should be left to rise to about twice their 

 original size before baking. The oven should be heated 

 to about 400, but for the last half of the baking the 

 temperature should be reduced to 300. In baking, the 

 process of fermentation is checked as soon as the loaf is 

 raised to a temperature of 212. The alcohol is vaporized 

 and driven off, the starch granules burst, and by the 

 transformation of starch into sugar and dextrine the 

 delightful sweetness of good wheat bread is developed. 

 Very large loaves are undesirable, as acetic acid may 

 be formed in their interior after they are placed in the 

 oven. Small loaves are better than large ones, also 

 because they have a larger proportion of crust, which is 

 the sweetest and most wholesome part of the loaf. 



Bread made of whole-wheat flour is especially valuable 

 for children, because it contains more of the elements 

 which are needed for making teeth and bone than does 

 white flour. The same is true of what is called Graham 

 flour, but the coarse bran which such flour contains is to 

 some persons unwholesome. 



