7 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 rye 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 flours weight. Water added to flour forms gluten. Gluten must be there for the dough to rise. It forms a net- work 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 gris. Second, Chatles Fleischmann made yeast easy tO use. He formed it into cakes. This was in 1915.

Fresh bread and butter. You can’t beat it. 4