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| Tuesday, April 28, 2009 |
4. Among people who are not highly civilized, bread forms the chief article of food and often almost the entire diet, even at the present time; but as man progresses in civilization he seems to require a greater variety of food, and he accordingly devises means of getting it. Since bread is only one of the many foods he finds at his disposal, it does not assume a place of so much importance in present-day meals as it formerly did.
However, it still makes up a sufficient proportion of the food of every family to warrant such careful and extensive study, as well as such mastery of the processes involved, that the
housewife may present to her family only the best quality of this food.
Although it does not have such extensive use as it had in the past, bread of some description, whether in the form of loaves, biscuits, or rolls, forms a part of each meal in every household.
This fact proves that, with the exception of milk, it is more frequently eaten than any other food. A food so constantly used contributes very largely to the family's health if it is properly made. However, there is possibly nothing in the whole range of domestic life that so disturbs the welfare of the entire family as an inferior quality of this food, which, besides proving detrimental to the digestion, adds materially to the household expense.
5. Of course, in many bakeries, bread of an excellent quality is made in a perfectly hygienic manner, and to be able to procure such bread is a wonderful help to the busy housewife or to the woman who finds it inconvenient to make her own bread.
Still, practically every person enjoys "home-made" bread so much more than what is made commercially that the housewife will do well to make a careful study of this branch of cookery. If it is properly understood, it will not be found difficult; but the woman who takes it up must manifest her interest to master a few essential principles and to follow them explicitly.
After she has obtained the knowledge that she must possess, experience and practice will give her the skill necessary to prevent poor results and a consequent waste of material.
INGREDIENTS FOR BREAD MAKING
INGREDIENTS REQUIRED
6. Possibly the first essential to a correct knowledge of bread making is familiarity with the ingredients required. These are few in number, being merely flour, liquid, which may be either milk or water, sugar, salt, and yeast; but the nature of these, particularly the flour and the yeast, is such as to demand careful consideration. It will be admitted that the more the housewife knows about *bread-making materials and processes the greater will be her success in this work.
Likewise, it is extremely important that this food be made just as wholesome as possible, for next to milk and eggs, bread ranks as a perfect food, containing all the elements necessary for the growth of the body. This does not mean, though, that any of these foods used as the sole article of diet would be ideal, but that each one of them is of such composition that it alone would sustain life for a long period of time. |
posted by neptunus @ 6:38 PM
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