Bread making

What ingredients are needed for successful bread making?

Flour
There are many different types of wheat flour, but they can be divided into two main
groups called strong and weak flours. Wheat grown in Canada produces hard or strong
flour, the wheat grown in Europe and the UK mainly produces soft or weak flour.
The difference between hard and soft flour is the amount of protein that the wheat
contains. Hard wheat contains more protein and therefore produces strong or hard flour.
The more protein the flour contains the stronger the flour will be.

Wheat protein
There are two proteins in wheat flour called gliadin and glutenin. When wheat flour is
mixed with water these proteins combine with the water to make gluten. Gluten makes
the dough stretchy and elastic. The stretchy gluten makes it possible to produce a bread
with a large volume and open texture. The stretchy, elastic properties of gluten allows
the bread dough to ‘hold’ or trap a lot of the carbon dioxide produced by the yeast to
make bread.

Soft or weak flour has much less gluten so less of the carbon dioxide produced by the
yeast is held in the mixture. This results in a much crumblier, less well risen bread
product. This type of flour is better used for cakes and biscuits.

Yeast
The word "yeast" comes from the Sanskrit 'yas' meaning "to seethe or boil".
There are different types of yeast that can be used. The three main types are:
 fresh yeast;
 dried yeast;
 easy blend yeast (sometimes called fast action).

Fresh yeast should be firm and moist in consistency, creamy beige in colour and sweet
smelling.

It should be kept in a covered container or wrapped to stop it drying out and kept in the
refrigerator. It may also be frozen, cut into 25-30g pieces and wrapped separately,
stored in a freezer bag or plastic box, labelled and dated. The yeast should be allowed
to thaw for about 15 minutes before use.

There are a variety of ways of incorporating fresh yeast; these include rubbing into the
flour or mixing the yeast with warm liquid and making a mixture called a sponge. The
yeast is mixed with warm liquid and a small amount of sugar to start the fermentation
process. This mixture, or sponge, is then used with more liquid to mix the dough.

Dried yeast is fresh yeast that has been pressed and dried until the moisture content is
about 8% which makes the yeast dormant. It becomes active again when mixed with a
warm liquid. The advantage of dry yeast is it has a much longer shelf life than fresh
yeast and does not need to be refrigerated.

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'Easy-blend' yeast saves a good deal of time as you do not have to add it to liquid to
‘start it’ before use. It is mixed with the dry flour before adding any liquid at all - it will fail
if you set it to work first with water. The handling of the dough, kneading, rising and
proving are the same as if you were using fresh yeast. With this type of 'fast action'
easy-blend yeast the dough requires only one rising, in the tin, so speeding up the
process.

Ascorbic acid (vitamin C) is used to boost the action of yeast in bread-making, by

providing a slightly acidic environment in which yeast thrive. It also strengthens the
dough, which helps to trap the bubbles created by the yeast, and acts as a preservative.
Some brands of Easy-blend yeast contain a little vitamin C. Otherwise, vitamin C
powder can be added to the flour mix along with the other ingredients.

How does yeast work?

Yeast is a biological raising agent. It is a single celled living organism that requires
certain conditions for growth. The yeast cells split by a process called budding in order
to multiply. During this process the yeast takes food from its surroundings (usually sugar
in food products) and metabolises producing carbon dioxide as a waste product. The
gas produced is used to aerate or rise the dough. The process is controlled by enzymes
and is dependent on appropriate conditions, such as temperature.

Salt is an important ingredient, not only for flavour, but for its action as a regulator of the
growth of the yeast. Salt retards the action of the yeast slowing the process and
preventing the dough from over fermenting or developing a sour taste. Salt also helps
the retention of moisture in the dough, but too much makes the crust very hard.

Liquid, usually water, for mixing the dough should be warm, ideally 37°C. Mixing two
measures of cold water with one of boiling water will give the correct temperature. If the
liquid is cooler the dough will rise but will take longer. If the water is too hot the yeast
may be killed, and the dough will not rise. Approximately 300ml of liquid is needed for
every 500g of flour. Adding a little milk or plain yoghurt as part of the liquid enriches the
bread and makes a softer crust.

What happen in the bread making process?

Mixing – when the water is added to the flour several processes begin.

 Broken starch granules absorb water and enzymes digest their exposed starches
into sugars.

 The yeast cells feed on the sugars producing carbon dioxide and alcohol.

 The gliadin and glutenin proteins absorb some water and begin to form strands of
gluten.

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Kneading – once the ingredients have been mixed the process of dough development
begins. This can be done by hand or by electric mixer. The dough is stretched, folded
over and compressed repeatedly. This strengthens the gluten network. The dough
gradually gets firmer and changes appearance to look smooth. Kneading also aerates
the dough; pockets of air are trapped and squeezed under pressure into smaller more
numerous pockets. The more of these formed during kneading, the finer the texture of
the final bread.

Fermentation or rising – fermentation is the stage during which the dough is set aside
for the yeast cells to produce carbon dioxide. This diffuses into the air pockets to slowly
inflate them and raise the dough. Yeasts produce carbon dioxide most rapidly around
37°C, but they also produce more sour and unpleasant tasting by-products. Lower
temperatures can be used, but the dough will take longer to rise. The dough should
double in size, when tested with a finger the dough will retain the indentation and will
not spring back.

The dough should be gently handled to reconsolidate the gluten, divide the gas pockets,
redistribute the yeast cells and their food supply, and even out the temperature and
moisture (fermentation generates heat, water and alcohol). The dough should feel softer
and easier to work than a newly kneaded dough.

Proving or proofing – the fermented dough is then divided and shaped. The loaves
are then allowed another partial rise or ‘proof’ to prepare them for the rise during baking.

Baking
Oven spring – when the bread first goes in the oven, heat moves into the bottom of the
dough from the baking tin or tray and into the top from the oven ceiling and hot air. Heat
then moves from the surface through the dough. As the dough heats up the gas cells
expand, and the dough rises. The main cause of this ‘oven spring’ is the vaporisation of
alcohol and water into gases that fill the gas cells. Oven spring is usually over after 6-8
minutes of baking.

Foam to sponge – oven spring stops when the crust becomes firm and stiff enough to
resist it and when the interior of the loaf reaches around 68-80°C. The gluten proteins
form strong cross-links with each other, and the starch granules absorb water, swell and
gelatinise The walls of the gas cells can no longer stretch to accommodate the rising
pressure inside, so the pressure builds up and eventually ruptures the walls, turning the
structure of the loaf from a closed network of separate gas cells into an open network or
sponge.

Cooking – continued cooking ensures that the starch is cooked and encourages the
surface browning reactions to take place to improve the colour and flavour.

What went wrong and why?

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 Process What can go wrong?
Weighing  Inaccurate weighing or proportions of ingredients causes
ingredients faults in texture, taste and appearance.
Mixing fresh yeast  Wrong temperature affects the performance of the yeast.
If liquid is too hot some or all the yeast cells are
destroyed. Less or no carbon dioxide is produced
resulting in a heavy, dense product.
If too cold the production of carbon dioxide is slowed.
Forming a dough  Too little liquid makes a stiff dough that does not stretch
enough to give the product good volume and texture.
Too much liquid results in a sticky, unmanageable dough.
 Uneven distribution of the yeast and liquid results in a
lumpy dough that will not rise evenly.
Kneading  Insufficient kneading of the dough means that:
- not enough air is mixed in, this slows the action of
enzymes in producing carbon dioxide;
- the gluten is not developed and does not become very
elastic; it does not stretch and allow the dough to have
good volume and texture.
Rising  If the dough is not covered a skin forms preventing the
(dough left in a dough from rising properly and forms hard pieces in the
warm place until dough.
doubled in volume)  If not risen enough the dough will be heavy with a dense
texture.
 If over-risen the product will have a coarse, open texture
and the crust can break away. The gluten may collapse,
and a sour taste may develop.
 If too hot the yeast cells may be destroyed and prevent
rising.
Knocking back  If dough is not kneaded lightly after rising the finished
(risen dough is product can have an uneven, coarse texture with open
lightly kneaded) holes.
Proving  Dough that is not covered will dry out and form a skin.
(yeast ferments in This prevents the dough evenly expanding.
the dough)  If under-proved the dough will be heavy.
 Over proving the texture will be coarse.
Baking  Oven temperature too high:
- yeast cells are quickly destroyed preventing the dough
rising in the first stage of baking. The product will have
poor volume and a dense texture;
- high heat evaporates the moisture from the surface of
the dough quickly. Skin is formed preventing the
dough rising evenly;
- too much evaporation makes a tough, thick crust;
- high temperature over browns the crust before baking
is completed.

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  Oven temperature too low:
- yeast cells do not produce extra carbon dioxide during
the first stages of baking. The product will have poor
volume and a coarse texture;
- yeast cells are slowly inactivated, some may be alive
at the end of baking. The product will have a sour
taste;
- all moisture is evaporated from the dough giving a dry,
crumbly product.

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