24 BULLETIN 1187, T T . S. DEPARTMENT OF AGEICUI.TURE. 
volume and illustrates the wide variation in volume which may 
occur between a weak and a strong flour. 
The volume of the loaf is determined after it has cooled by use of 
the volume-measuring device shown in Figure 17. The large com- 
partment of this device is of a known cubical content and is greater 
than the maximum cubical content of any loaf to be measured. 
The loaf is placed in the compartment, after which flaxseed is allowed 
to run through a funnel into the compartment until it is heaping full. 
The flaxseed above the rim of the compartment is stroked off in the 
same manner as the excess grain from a test-weight kettle in making 
a weight per bushel test. The flaxseed is then drawn out through 
a valve at the bottom of the box into a funnel supported above a 
flask graduated in units of 10 cubic centimeters. The difference 
between the volume of the flaxseed in the flask and the known volume 
of the flask represents the volume of the loaf, which is read directly 
on the neck of the calibrated flask. 
Some laboratories use mustard, rape, or other small seed instead 
of flaxseed in measuring loaf volume, and others calculate volume 
merely from measurements of the loaf. 
WEIGHT OF LOAF. 
The loaves are weighed after they have cooled to nearly room 
temperature and the weights are expressed in grams. If the baking 
is done under uniform conditions the weight of the loaf is of value 
in calculating the number of unit loaves which can be produced from 
a given quantity of flour. 
COLOR OF CRUMB. 
Color and texture scoring is usually done the day immediately 
following the completion of the duplicate baking, because at that 
time the loaves have sufficiently cooled to withstand cutting in half 
longitudinally without injuring the texture. After the loaves are cut, 
they are lined up and their respective color values determined by 
comparison with the standard loaf, the color value of which is 
determined arbitrarily. The general appearance of the loaf and the 
color shade of the crumb, such as creamy, slightly creamy, creamy- 
gray, and gray, are also noted and recorded. 
The flour selected for making the standard loaf should score very 
near the average in color, as this facilitates a more accurate com- 
parison. In order that more consistent color comparisons with the 
standard loaf may be made from day to day, a clear white color is 
taken as the ideal, regardless of the class of wheat from which the 
flour w^as milled. A very creamy or dull gray colored crumb receives 
a lower color score than the lighter shades of these colors or their 
combinations. 
Because of the variable intensity of the sunlight, it is rather 
difficult to secure consistent results in color scoring from one day to 
another, and for this reason some laboratories prefer to use artificial 
light in color scoring. In this laboratory natural light is used in 
color scoring, which is always done in the same room, with the 
loaves placed in similar positions, and viewed from the same angle 
to minimize the effect of varying light conditions which may occur 
from day to day. It is preferable for the person scoring to use two 
standard loaves of different shades of crumb, one of a creamy shade 
and the other of a creamy-gray shade. 
