Bread is produced by making a dough from wheat flour and aerating this with carbon-di-oxide produced by yeast fermentation.
After the raw material for bread making is correctly selected, the formula should bebalanced. The raw materials should be weighed accurately. The following steps should be followed in bread making:
1. Flying ferment :
Take part of water as lukewarm, add little sugar and mix. Add dried yeast and let it soak until all the yeast starts floating. Add enough flour to make a thick batter, beat the batter to incorporate some air and leave aside in a warm place for 10 to 20 minutes to allow it to raise. This mixture is known as flying ferment. Yeast activity is best at temperatures between 70-800F.
2. Mixing :
Flour is sifted. Salt and sugar are dissolved in water and strained through cloth. The dough can be mixed by hand as well as by machine. Flour contains gliadin and glutenin which join together and form gluten while coming in contact with water. All the ingredients are added and mixed thoroughly. As the texture of bread is very much dependent on proper development of gluten, the mixing operations should be done carefully.
3. Fermentation :
Fermentation is a process where by yeast organisms feed on sugar and produce carbon-di-oxide and alcohol. Carbon-di-oxide gas raises the dough fabric and alcohol helps in imparting flavour to the bread.
4. Knock - back :
After the dough has fermented for two-third of the total fermentation time, it is knocked-back. The process of knocking back should be carried out correctly by extending the sides of the dough and putting it in the centre so that the whole mass of the dough comes in contact with fresh air and the dough is virtually turned upside down.
By knocking back process, the condition of the fermentation speed remains even throughout the dough and enhance the function of yeast and proper conditioning of gluten.
The dough is again fermented for the remaining one third period during which the dough is filled with gas and the gluten is again pliable and in a fit condition for further processing.
5. Dividing and rounding :
The dough is cut into pieces of desired weight by a dough cutter. Pulling and breaking of the dough should be avoided as it disturbs the trend of gluten strands thereby affecting the final texture of the product. The dough piece is rounded in order to make the condition of the piece uniform. This process is known as rounding or handing up.
6. Intermediate proofing :
Before manipulating the dough further, it should be rested for 10-15 minutes. During this period, the dough is again filled with gas and gluten comes back to its pliable condition making further handling possible without tearing. This resting of the rounded dough piece is known as intermediate proofing.
7. Moulding and panning :
The dough piece, soft and pliable after intermediate proof, is moulded according to the desired shape of the final product. While moulding the dough piece, it should be remembered that the moulding pressure is even throughout the process.
The ratio between the size of the mould and the weight of the dough should be approximately 35cu.cm per 10g of dough.
8. Proofing :
After panning, the bread is kept under suitable conditions of temperature 95 to 980F and relative humidity 80 - 83% to allow it to rise again and acquire volume. This process is known as proofing.
9. Baking :
After the bread acquired its full volume, it is kept for baking. The temperature and humidity of the oven should be well maintained in order to get good results. The temperature of the oven is set according to the quantity of product, its size and its formulation.
Normally bread products are baked between 400-4500F. Further if a formulation contains more than 6 per cent sugar or any small amount of milk solids, the product should be baked at higher temperatures.
10. Cooling :
The bread should be released from the mould immediately after baking, otherwise the moisture trapped between the bread and the sides of the mould will make the product soggy, technically known as sweating. The product should be wrapped only after the whole body comes down to room temperature. It is very much necessary that the blades of the slicing machine be checked for proper cleanliness to avoid fungus formation.
The bread is wrapped in order to protect it fromthe hazards of external contamination and also to prolong its freshness. Wax paper or indented polyethylene wrapping serves the purpose satisfactorily.
Bread Faults
There are a number of factors which may be responsible for creating faults in bread.
However, some of the major factors which adversely influence the quality of bread are as follows:
1. Inferior quality and inadequate quantity of gluten in the flour.
2. Poor diastatic capacity of flour
3. Disproportionate quantities of raw material (i.e. formulation)
4. Inferior quality of some raw materials specially yeast and water
5. Wrong timing and temperature at which the dough is fermented.
6. Wrong methods of manipulation of dough. i.e. knocking back, cutting, rounding up and moulding
7. Improper temperature, timing and humidity conditions during proofing and baking
8. Inadequate cooling of bread before wrapping
9. Improper bread storage conditions
10.Ageneral lack of knowledge of principles of hygiene on the part of the baker.
Bread improvers
In order to improve the quality of flour, certain food items and chemicals are added for bread making. They include milk, malt, fat, sugar, eggs, soya flour and GMS (Glycerol Mono Stearate) an anti- staling agent. These prolong the shelf life of bread.
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