26 BULLETIN 1187, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
BAKING METHODS USED IN OTHER LABORATORIES. 
Some experimenters use the straight-dough method of baking 
bread. The procedure in this method is substantially as follows : 
Formula for each loaf : 
Grams. 
Flour 450 
Sugar 16 
Salt 7 
Yeast (compressed) 10 
Water (distilled), based on percentage of absorption. 
The salt and sugar are dissolved in part of the water and placed 
in the mixer with the flour. After starting the mixer the yeast is 
added with the remainder of the water and mixed for two or three 
minutes, the amount of mixing depending upon the smoothness 
of the dough. The dough is then removed from the mixer and 
placed in the fermentation cabinet at 28 to 30° C. with sufficient 
humidity to prevent crusting. 
The length of tune before the first punch, varies with the type of 
flour used, but is seldom longer than 100 minutes, the second punch 
in 40 to 45 minutes, and the third in 15 minutes, at which time the 
dough is panned and allowed to proof at 36 to 38° C. until ready 
for the oven. 
At the time of panning, 170 grains of dough are cut from each batch 
and placed in expansion jars which are put in the proofing cabinet. 
The dough in the jar is allowed to ferment until its maximum expan- 
sion is reached, readings being taken every 15 minutes until it falls. 
Each loaf is baked from 30 to 35 minutes at 220° C. 
Some laboratories do not run expansion tests, so from 100 to 110 
grams less of flour are used and the other ingredients except pos- 
sibly yeast, are reduced in proportion. 
The points or quality factors for which the baked loaf is judged 
and the method of judging are substantially the same as those de- 
scribed under the sponge method. 
The methods of baking in use at some of the State experiment 
stations are a modification of either the straight dough or sponge 
method. At the University Farm, Minnesota Experiment Station, 
an apparatus known as the expansimeter is used for determining the 
expansibility of the dough. 4 A similar apparatus is used by the 
Kansas State Experiment Station. 5 In commercial bakeries and in 
home halving the processes of bread making vary considerably in 
certain details and in equipment. 6 
A few experimental baking laboratories endeavor to approximate 
the commercial formulas and type of loaf produced. The bread 
produced in the laboratory of the Bureau of Agricultural Economics 
is coarser in texture than the commercial loaf, because the dough is 
allowed to ferment almost to the point of maximum expansion before 
it is put into the oven. This is done because the differences in quality 
existing between samples cm be determined more accurately when 
the maximum expansion capacity of the dough is approached. The 
* Described in Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry, vol. 8, No. 1, p. 53; A Method for the 
Determination of the Strength and Baking Qualities of Wheat Flour, by C H. Bailey. January, 1916. 
5 Described in Kansas State Agricultural College Experiment Station Bulletin 177; Milling Tests of 
Wheat and Baking Tests of Flour, by J. T. Willafd and C O. Swanson. 1911. 
« Full instructions for home baking are given in United States Department of Agriculture, Farmers' 
Bulletin 1136; Baking in the Home, by Hannah L. Wessling. 1920. 
