Bread Making Ingredients
Flour
The type of the flour indicates the
amount of mineral nutrients.
∙ Type 405: Plain flour (All-purpose
flour) for cake, bread etc.
∙ Type 1050: Bread flour has a high con-
tent of gluten. As the gluten content
is higher than normal flour, it can be
used for making bread in large sizes.
∙ Whole Wheat flour: Whole grain flour
has no type number and is ground
from whole grains. Whole wheat flour
is heavier and contains more nutrients
than common flour. The bread made
by whole wheat flour is usually small in
size. So many recipes usually combine
the whole wheat flour and bread flour
to achieve the best result.
∙ Corn flour and oatmeal flour: Corn
flour and oatmeal flours are ground
from corn and oatmeal separately.
They are the additive ingredients for
making rough bread, which is used for
enhancing the flavour and texture of
the bread.
Sugar
Sugar is a very important ingredient,
which increases the sweet taste and co-
lour of the bread. Sugar is also conside-
red as nourishment for the yeast. White
sugar is largely used but brown sugar,
powdered sugar or cotton sugar may be
used for special dietary requirements.
Yeast
Yeast must be stored in the refrigerator,
as the fungus in it will be killed at high
temperatures. Before using it check the
production date and storage life of your
yeast.
Refrigerate it as soon as possible af-
ter each use. Usually the main cause of
bread failing to rise is bad yeast. The me-
thod described below will check whether
your yeast is fresh and active.
∙ Pour ½ cup warm water (45-50˚C) into
a measuring cup.
∙ Put 1 tsp. white sugar into the cup and
stir, then sprinkle 2 tsp. of yeast over
the water.
∙ Place the measuring cup in a warm
place for about 10 minutes. Do not stir
the water.
∙ The froth that appears should come up
to 1 cup worth. Otherwise the yeast is
dead or inactive.
Salt
Salt is necessary to improve the flavour
and crust colour of the bread. Salt can
also stop the yeast from working. Never
use too much salt in a recipe.
Eggs
Eggs can improve bread texture and
make the bread more nourishing and lar-
ger in size. The egg must be added and
mixed in evenly.
Grease, butter and vegetable oil
Grease can make bread soft but can re-
duce storage life. Butter should be mel-
ted or chopped into small pieces before
using.
Baking powder
Baking powder is used for rising the ul-
tra-fast bread and cakes, as it does not
need time to rise and instead produces
air. The air will form to soften the texture
of the bread or cakes.
Water and other liquids
Water is an essential ingredient for ma-
king bread. Generally speaking, the wa-
ter temperature should be between 20°C
and 25°C for the best results. The water
may be replaced with fresh milk which
will enhance the breads` flavour and im-
prove crust colour.
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