# 2 The Staff of Life

When hungry, what do you think of? Some want a thick steak. Others want a crusty loaf of French bread. I don't know about you. But I'd vote for bread. It is food that people never tire of.

Bread is a baked product made of dough. In our day, yeast is what makes it rise. The yeast ferments. It forms gas bubbles. These bubbles are trapped in the dough. These bubbles raise the bread. They give it lightness.

We know about early breads. Records show they were flat, heavy slabs. The breads were made of wild seeds, nuts, or acorns. Native Americans on the Pacific slopes still pound acorns into a form of flour. Then they make bread. Even yeast would not make such a heavy bread light.

Besides yeast, what makes bread rise? First, a flour with protein in it. Wheat or eye are often used. Start by grinding the seeds. This makes a coarse flour. Next, add water. How much water? About 60 to 65 percent of the flour's weight. Water added to flour forms gluten. Gluten must be there for the dough to rise. It forms a network throughout the dough. The dough is now elastic. It can expand. It can now hold the bubbles formed by yeast. These bubbles are carbon dioxide.

Good, smooth, light bread is rather recent. Two techniques made it possible. First, it used to be that wheat was ground between 2 stones. The stones would wear away. So the flour would have grit in it. A Swiss inventor crushed wheat between steel rollers. This got rid of grit. Second, Charles Fleischmann made yeast easy to use. He formed it into cakes. This was in 1915.

Fresh bread and butter. You can't beat it.

# 2 生命之糧

餓的時候，你會想到什麼？有人想要一塊厚牛排。其他人則想要一條酥脆的法國麵包。我不知道你怎麼想。但我會投票給麵包。這是人們永遠不會厭倦的食物。

麵包是由麵團製成的烘焙產品。在我們這個時代，酵母是讓它發酵的關鍵。酵母會發酵。它形成氣泡。這些氣泡被困在麵團中。這些氣泡讓麵包發起來。它們讓麵包變得輕盈。

我們了解早期的麵包。記錄顯示它們是扁平、厚重的塊狀物。這些麵包由野生種子、堅果或橡實製成。太平洋沿岸的美洲原住民仍然將橡實搗成某種形式的麵粉。然後他們製作麵包。即使是酵母也無法讓如此沉重的麵包變得輕盈。

除了酵母，還有什麼讓麵包發酵？首先，需要含有蛋白質的麵粉。小麥或黑麥常被使用。從研磨種子開始。這製成粗麵粉。接著，加水。加多少水？大約是麵粉重量的60%到65%。水加入麵粉中形成麩質。麩質必須存在，麵團才能發酵。它在整個麵團中形成網絡。麵團現在具有彈性。它可以擴展。它現在可以容納酵母形成的氣泡。這些氣泡是二氧化碳。

良好、光滑、輕盈的麵包是相當近代的產物。兩項技術使之成為可能。首先，過去小麥是在兩塊石頭之間研磨的。石頭會磨損。所以麵粉中會有砂礫。一位瑞士發明家用鋼輥壓碎小麥。這去除了砂礫。其次，查爾斯·弗萊希曼讓酵母易於使用。他將其製成塊狀。這是在1915年。

新鮮的麵包和奶油。無可匹敵。