All bakery products are made from basic ingredients, which have the following

functions:
Flour: Contains gluten, which contributes to the crumb structure and retains gas in
raised bakery products. Starch in flour forms a paste that is set by heat during
baking. Changes to starch contribute to staling of bakery products.
Yeast: Produces gas (carbon dioxide) to raise dough, contributes to dough
conditioning and flavour.
Salt: Helps control yeast fermentation, toughens dough by strengthening gluten,
extends dough development and mixing time.
Sugar: Fermented by yeast, sweetens dough, contributes to development of golden
brown colour of bakery products, tenderises crumb and extends shelf life.
Shortening: Assists gas expansion during fermentation, tenderises crust, extends
shelf life.
Milk: Improves the flavour and texture of products
Egg: Gives strength and flavour to products
Baking powder: Produces carbon dioxide to raise dough
Pre-mixes: Reduce dough preparation time; ensure even mixing of minor
ingredients and help to avoid operator errors.
These are supplemented with a wide range of other ingredients that give special
flavours, colours or textures to products. Bread, buns, pizza bases and doughnuts
are produced from hard wheat flour and fermented using yeast. Biscuits, pastries,
scones, cakes and flan/pie casings are made from soft wheat flour using baking
powder as a raising agent and flat breads are made from the same flour without a
raising agent. Each of these products can be made using different ingredients,
fillings, shapes, colours, flavours and sizes. It is not possible in a manual of this
type to describe each of these in detail and bakers should consult recipe books
and/or texts given in Annex A for details of product variations.
Ingredients
Flours
There are different grades of wheat flour, each described by their extraction rate
(the amount of starchy material extracted from the grain). Common white flours
include straight run flour which contains 76-78% of the original wheat and
patent flour. Cakes and sponges are made using patent flour to give a brighter,
glossier crumb than those made using straight-run flour. Wholemeal and wholewheat flours are used less frequently in Uganda, but the demand for these types of
bread is increasing. They have at least 95% extraction and often 100% extraction
(i.e. the whole of the grain including bran and germ is ground to a meal).
Self-raising flour contains approximately 20g baking powder per kg of

flour.
However,
it
is
not recommended for commercial bakers because over long storage periods
the
baking
powder loses its activity. It is better for a baker to blend in the required amount of
baking
powder to plain flour, as it is needed. Corn flour forms a thick cloudy gel
when
boiled
with
water
and
is
used
to thicken sauces, glazes and custards. Arrowroot
flour is similar to corn
flour, but forms a clear gel and is therefore preferred for glazes. Cassava,
sorghum,
rice
or
maize flours can be used as a partial substitute for wheat flour, but they do
not
contain
gluten and therefore cannot be used above 25-30% of the
weight
of
wheat
flour
in
breadmaking. They can be used in cakes, tortillas and biscuits.
Soya
flour,
in
the
form
of

defatted
soy flour (DSF) is finding new uses in traditional flat breads
and
buns
because
small
inclusion
rates
have
been
shown to improve product quality, accelerate production, reduce
costs and reduce wastage. Other flours
such as millet, bean and pea flours can also be used
in com
posite flours for biscuits, cakes etc
Water
During dough preparation, wheat proteins absorb water and form
gluten.
The
amount
of
added water depends on the water absorbing capacity of the flour (Section 5.4.1).
If
the
water
content
is
too
low,
a
tight dough is produced and the product will have a smaller
volume and a heavy texture. 'Hard' water may also create a tight dough and bakers
need
to
know the type of water in their area so that they can adjust recipes and process
conditions.
Water can be tested for hardness at UIRI, UNBS
or
one
of

the
commercial
analytical
companies
in
Kampala.
It
goes without saying that the water must be safe and clear of
contaminants or micro-organisms.
Yeast
Bakers yeast ferments sugars in the dough to produce carbon dioxide gas
and
alcohol.
It
is
the gas that is important and the alcohol is driven off during baking.
Bakers
use
either
pressed fresh yeast or dried yeast. Pressed yeast should be stored in a
refrigerator
and
is
active
for
a
few
weeks,
whereas dried yeast can be stored for years, losing 2-3% of its
activity per year under proper storage conditions. A test for yeast activity is
described later
in
this manual.