Catler KM 8011 - Manual (Page 26)

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BREAD - THE VITAL INGREDIENTS
VITAL INGREDIENTS FOR BREAD-MAKING
Flour is the most important ingredient used
for bread making. It provides food for the
yeast and gives structure to the loaf. When
mixed with liquid, the protein in the fl our
starts to form gluten. Gluten is a network of
elastic strands that interlock to trap the gases
produced by yeast. This process increases as
the dough continues kneading and provides
the structure required to produce the weight
and shape of the baked bread.
White wheat fl our sold as baker’s, bread or
plain fl our may be used. Plain fl our is most
readily available, however, best results are
obtained with fl our at least 11% protein
content. For this reason, the recipes in this
book requiring bread fl our have been made
using fl our with 11% protein content. This is
normally indicated on the packaging. Do not
sift the fl our or use self-raising fl our for bread
making unless indicated in the recipe.
When using a low-protein, plain, stone
ground or wholemeal fl our the quality of the
bread can be improved by adding gluten
fl our.
There are several brands of bread or
bakers fl our available nationally at larger
supermarkets. It is a high protein, white
bread fl our, with 11% protein.
Wholemeal wheat fl our contains the bran,
germ and fl our of the wheat grain. Although
breads baked with this type of fl our will
be higher in fi bre, the loaf may be heavier
in texture. Lighter textured bread can be
achieved by replacing 160g of wholemeal
fl our with white bread fl our.
Rye fl our, popular for bread making, is low
in protein so it is essential to combine rye
fl our with bread fl our to make the bread rise
successfully. Rye fl our is traditionally used
to make the heavy, dense Pumpernickel and
Black Breads.
Gluten fl our is made by extracting the
gluten portion from the wheat grain. Adding
gluten fl our can improve the structure and
quality of bread when using low-protein,
plain, stone ground and whole meal fl our.
Bread mixes contain fl our, sugar, milk, salt,
oil and other ingredients such as bread
improver. Usually only the addition of water
and yeast is required.
Bread improvers are available nationally in
supermarkets and health food stores. The
ingredients in a bread improver are usually
a food acid such as ascorbic acid (Vitamin
C) and other enzymes (amylases) extracted
from wheat fl ours. Adding a bread improver
will help strengthen the dough resulting
in a loaf that is higher in volume, softer in
texture, more stable and has improved shelf
life qualities. A simple bread improver can
be a crushed unfl avoured vitamin C tablet
added to the dry ingredients.
Sugar provides sweetness and fl avour,
browns the crust and produces food for the
yeast. White sugar, brown sugar, honey and
golden syrup are all suitable to use.
When using honey or golden syrup it must
be counted as additional liquid. We have
successfully tested granular ‘Splenda’ brand
low calorie sweetener as a sugar substitute.
BREAD - THE VITAL INGREDIENTS