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Bread

Introduction
Bread remains a staple food for numerous people worldwide, representing perhaps as much as 80% of the dietary intake in some societies. its origins can be traced to the gruel obtained from mixing ground grain (notably barley in the earliest times) with water or milk. The blend was then subjected to air-drying or was baked either on hot stones or by being put into hot ashes. Preferences for bread per se shifted from a flat form to loaves, and wheat replaced barley as the main raw material, although rye has long played a major role in bread making in central and northern Europe. Without of course knowing the science involved, the Egyptians were producing leavened bread and soured dough can be traced to 450 BC. In more modern times, the first dough kneading machines were developed late in the eighteenth century, while large-scale commercial production of bakers yeast commenced in the nineteenth century. Breads assumed much more uniformity in quality, size and shape. However, the local variation that is still prevalent in terms of styles of bread, whether loaves or flat breads, is at least the equal of variation in most other products of fermentation. Bread made from flour and water but no leavening agent is flat, for example, tortilla, Nan. Other breads are leavened by gases or by steam, this demanding that the doughs are capable of holding gas.

The key ingredients in the production of bread are grain starch (chiefly wheat or rye), water, salt and a leavening agent. Sometimes sugar, fat and eggs are amongst the additional components, while acids are used in the production of rye breads. Whereas wheat doughs are leavened with yeast, rye dough are not only treated with yeast but also acidified by sourdough starter cultures.

The key steps are (1) preparation of raw materials; (2) dough fermentation and kneading; (3) processing of the dough (fermentation, leavening, dividing, moulding and shaping); (4) baking; (5) final treatments, such as slicing and packaging.

Flour

The major functional component within wheat flour is its protein, gluten. The gluten must have good water absorbing properties, elasticity and extensibility. The cereal starch should be readily gelatinised because the production of maltose is important if the yeast is to be able to raise the bread. Water The ionic composition of the water is important, and the hardness is preferably in the range 75150 ppm. Carbonates and sulphates allow firmer and more resilient gluten.

Salt Typically there is 1.52% salt in most breads. While of primary significance for flavour, sodium chloride also inhibits the hydration of gluten, rendering it shorter. This means that the doughs do not collapse and gas retention is enhanced. If no salt is employed, then there is an increase in dough extension and the dough is moist and runny. Leavening The main leavening agent is yeast. When yeast was not available, sourdoughs were employed. Their active constituents were in part not only endogenous yeasts but also heterofermentative lactic acid bacteria. Bakers yeast is of course Saccharomyces cerevisiae. It is a top fermenting organism, cultured on molasses in aerobic, fed-batch culture so as to maximise yield. Growth is optimal at 2832C and within the pH range 45. The bread mix will comprise 16% yeast depending on the weight of flour and some other factors. Leavening can be achieved by fermentation employing LAB and yeasts or bakers yeast alone. Dough also can be raised by producing CO2 in a chemical reaction or by physical means, evaporating water or forcing air into certain products only . The traditional way of leavening is a spontaneous fermentation of dough with indigenous microorganisms in flour. LAB soon becomes predominant through the selective effect of lactic acid. Heterofermentative LAB also produces carbon dioxide and leavens the dough. This is the sourdough process that can be applied by saving a part of the leavened dough and using it for the next batch (backslopping). Leavened dough absorbs up to three times more heat than does unleavened dough, with the heat penetrating further. In a conventional dough process (with weak gluten flour), the flour, water, salt and yeast are added simultaneously and fermentation is at 2632C for only a few hours or perhaps overnight at 1820C using less yeast (up to 0.3%). In a sponge dough process (with strong gluten flour), a proportion of the flour, water and yeast are mixed first. After the yeast has multiplied, the remaining materials are mixed in.

Formation of dough Dough formation demands good mixing and aeration. The carbon dioxide produced during fermentation increases the size of air bubbles that are introduced, and in turn the oxygen whipped in is utilised by the yeast in its production of membrane materials. The oxygen also has a direct impact on dough structure. Flour must be stored for 24 weeks before it used. The impact is shorter gluten through oxidative events occurring in the storage. Storage must not be prolonged so as to avoid the production of fatty acids that change the rheological properties of the flour and lead to off flavours. Flour is first sieved, which in itself aids the uptake of air. Mixing with water is performed in diverse types of machine, and must be longer for stronger glutens. Wheat bread dough is mixed at 2224C, rye dough at 28C. The water hydrates the flour particles with starch absorbing up to a third of its weight. Baking This is of course the most energy intensive stage in the entire process. Temperatures may ordinarily reach 200250C for perhaps 50 min for wheat bread. Baking results in a firming or stabilisation of the structure and the formation of characteristic aroma substances. More gas bubbles are generated, leading to an increase in volume of typically 40% and of surface area of 10%.

Main Reference Book:

Food, Fermentation and Micro-organisms. 2005


By Charles W. Bamforth . Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

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