On Food And Cooking Part 64

Pistachios Pistachios are the seeds of a native of arid western Asia and the Middle East, Pistachios are the seeds of a native of arid western Asia and the Middle East, Pistacia vera, Pistacia vera, a relative of the cashew and the mango. Along with almonds, they have been found at the sites of Middle Eastern settlements dating to 7000 a relative of the cashew and the mango. Along with almonds, they have been found at the sites of Middle Eastern settlements dating to 7000 BCE BCE. A close relative, Pistacia lentiscus, Pistacia lentiscus, provides the aromatic gum called mastic (p. 421). Pistachios first became a prominent nut in America in the 1880s, thanks to their popularity among immigrants in New York City. Iran, Turkey, and California are the major producers today. provides the aromatic gum called mastic (p. 421). Pistachios first became a prominent nut in America in the 1880s, thanks to their popularity among immigrants in New York City. Iran, Turkey, and California are the major producers today.

Pistachios grow in cl.u.s.ters, with a thin, tannin-rich hull around the inner sh.e.l.l and kernel. As the seeds mature, the outer hull turns purple-red and the expanding kernel cracks the inner sh.e.l.l open. Traditionally, the ripe fruits were knocked from the trees and sun-dried, and the hull pigments stained the sh.e.l.l, so the sh.e.l.ls were often dyed to make them a uniform red. Today, most California pistachios are hulled before drying, so the sh.e.l.ls are their natural pale tan color.

Pistachios are remarkable among the nuts for having green cotyledons. The color comes from chlorophyll, which remains vivid when the trees grow in a relatively cool climate, for example at high elevation, and when the nuts are harvested early, several weeks before full maturity. Pistachios thus offer not only flavor and texture but a contrasting color in pates, sausages, and other meat dishes, and in ice creams and sweets. The color is best retained by roasting or otherwise cooking the kernels at low temperatures that minimize chlorophyll damage.

Walnuts Walnuts come from trees in the genus Walnuts come from trees in the genus Juglans, Juglans, of which there are around 15 species native to southwestern Asia, eastern Asia, and the Americas. The most widely cultivated is the Persian or English walnut, of which there are around 15 species native to southwestern Asia, eastern Asia, and the Americas. The most widely cultivated is the Persian or English walnut, Juglans regia, Juglans regia, whose seeds have been enjoyed since ancient times in western Asia and Europe, and among tree nuts are second only to almonds in worldwide consumption. In many European languages, the generic term for nut is also the word for walnut. The United States, France, and Italy are the major producers today. Walnuts have long been pressed for their aromatic oil, were once made into milk in Europe and China, and came to provide the rich, flavorful backbone of sauces in Persia ( whose seeds have been enjoyed since ancient times in western Asia and Europe, and among tree nuts are second only to almonds in worldwide consumption. In many European languages, the generic term for nut is also the word for walnut. The United States, France, and Italy are the major producers today. Walnuts have long been pressed for their aromatic oil, were once made into milk in Europe and China, and came to provide the rich, flavorful backbone of sauces in Persia (fesenjan), Georgia (satsivi), and Mexico (nogado). In some countries, immature "green" walnuts are harvested in early summer and pickled (England), used to flavor sweetened alcohol (Sicilian nocino, nocino, French French vin de noix vin de noix), or preserved in syrup (the Middle East).

Pine nuts. They are borne on the scales of pine cones, and like the coconut, are mainly endosperm tissue rather than cotyledons.

Like its cousins the pecan and hickories, the walnut is the stone of a thin-walled fruit, the edible portion being two lobed, wrinkled cotyledons. Walnuts are exceptionally rich in the omega-3 polyunsaturated linolenic acid, which makes them nutritionally valuable but also especially liable to become rancid; they should be kept in the cold and dark. The aroma of walnuts is created by a complex mixture of molecules derived from the oil (aldehydes, alcohols, and ketones).

Walnut Relatives A North American relative of the Persian walnut, the black walnut ( A North American relative of the Persian walnut, the black walnut (J. nigra) is smaller, with a harder sh.e.l.l and a stronger, distinctive flavor. It was once commonly used to make breads, confections, and ice creams, but it's difficult to extract from the sh.e.l.l in large pieces and has been largely ignored. Most still come from wild trees in Missouri. Another American species, the b.u.t.ternut (J. cinerea), is even less known, but remarkable for its high protein content - near 30% - and esteemed by enthusiasts as among the tastiest nuts. The j.a.panese have an indigenous walnut, J. ailantifolia, J. ailantifolia, one of whose varieties is the distinctively heart-shaped heartnut. one of whose varieties is the distinctively heart-shaped heartnut.

Characteristics of Other Oil-Rich Seeds Flaxseed Flaxseed comes from plants native to Eurasia, species of Flaxseed comes from plants native to Eurasia, species of Linum Linum and especially and especially L. usitatissimum, L. usitatissimum, which have been used for more than 7,000 years as a food and to make linen fiber. The small, tough, reddish-brown seed is about 35% oil and 30% protein, and has a pleasantly nutty flavor and an attractively glossy appearance. Two qualities set it apart from other edible seeds. First, its oil is over half linolenic acid, an "omega-3" fatty acid that the body can convert into the healthful long-chain fatty acids (DHA, EPA) found in seafoods (p. 183). Flax oil (also known as linseed oil, and valued in manufacturing for drying to a tough water-resistant layer) is by far the richest source of omega-3 fatty acids among plant foods. Second, flaxseed is about 30% dietary fiber, a quarter of which is a gum in the seed coat made up of long chains of various sugars. Thanks to the gum, ground flaxseed forms a thick gel when mixed with water, is an effective emulsifier and foam stabilizer, and can improve the volume of baked goods. which have been used for more than 7,000 years as a food and to make linen fiber. The small, tough, reddish-brown seed is about 35% oil and 30% protein, and has a pleasantly nutty flavor and an attractively glossy appearance. Two qualities set it apart from other edible seeds. First, its oil is over half linolenic acid, an "omega-3" fatty acid that the body can convert into the healthful long-chain fatty acids (DHA, EPA) found in seafoods (p. 183). Flax oil (also known as linseed oil, and valued in manufacturing for drying to a tough water-resistant layer) is by far the richest source of omega-3 fatty acids among plant foods. Second, flaxseed is about 30% dietary fiber, a quarter of which is a gum in the seed coat made up of long chains of various sugars. Thanks to the gum, ground flaxseed forms a thick gel when mixed with water, is an effective emulsifier and foam stabilizer, and can improve the volume of baked goods.

Poppy Seeds Poppy seeds come from a west Asian plant, Poppy seeds come from a west Asian plant, Papaver somniferum, Papaver somniferum, that was cultivated by the ancient Sumerians. It's the same plant whose immature seed capsules are cut to collect the latex called opium, a mixture of morphine, heroin, codeine, and other related alkaloid drugs. The seeds are harvested from the capsules after the latex flow has stopped. They may carry traces of opiate alkaloids as well, not enough to have an effect on the body, but enough to cause positive results in drug tests after the consumption of a poppy-flavored cake or pastry. that was cultivated by the ancient Sumerians. It's the same plant whose immature seed capsules are cut to collect the latex called opium, a mixture of morphine, heroin, codeine, and other related alkaloid drugs. The seeds are harvested from the capsules after the latex flow has stopped. They may carry traces of opiate alkaloids as well, not enough to have an effect on the body, but enough to cause positive results in drug tests after the consumption of a poppy-flavored cake or pastry.

Poppy seeds are tiny; it takes 3,300 to make a gram, 90,000 an ounce, 12 million a pound. The seed is 50% oil by weight. Poppy seeds sometimes have a bitter, peppery taste, the result of damage to the seeds, which mixes oil with enzymes and generates free fatty acids. The striking blue color of some poppy seeds is apparently an optical illusion. Microscopic examination demonstrates that the actual pigment layer of the seed is brown. Two layers above it, however, is a layer of cells containing tiny crystals of calcium oxalate: and the crystals act like tiny prisms, refracting light rays in such a way that blue wavelengths are selectively reflected.

Pumpkin Seeds Pumpkin seeds come from the fruits of the New World native Pumpkin seeds come from the fruits of the New World native Cucurbita pepo, Cucurbita pepo, are notable for being deep green with chlorophyll, and for containing no starch, as much as 50% oil, and 35% protein. Pumpkin seeds are eaten widely as a snack and in Mexico are used as a sauce thickener. There are "naked" varieties that lack the usual tough, adherent seed coat and are therefore much easier to work with. are notable for being deep green with chlorophyll, and for containing no starch, as much as 50% oil, and 35% protein. Pumpkin seeds are eaten widely as a snack and in Mexico are used as a sauce thickener. There are "naked" varieties that lack the usual tough, adherent seed coat and are therefore much easier to work with.

Pumpkin seed oil is a prominent salad oil in central Europe. The oil, containing mainly polyunsaturated linoleic and monounsaturated oleic acids, is intriguingly changeable in color. Pumpkin seeds contain both yellow-orange carotenoid pigments, mainly lutein, and chlorophyll. Oil pressed from raw seeds is green; but when the seed meal is wetted and heated to increase the yield, more carotenoids are extracted than chlorophyll. The result is an oil that looks dark brown in the bottle or bowl from the combination of orange and green pigments; but in a thin layer, for example on a piece of bread dipped into the oil, there are fewer pigment molecules to absorb light, the chlorophyll dominates, and the oil becomes emerald green.

Sesame Seeds Sesame seeds are the seeds of Sesame seeds are the seeds of Sesamum indic.u.m, Sesamum indic.u.m, a plant of the central African savanna that is now mostly grown in India, China, Mexico, and the Sudan. Sesame seeds are small, with 250300 per gram and 7,5009,000 per ounce, come in a variety of colors, from golden to brown, violet, and black, and are about 50% oil by weight. They're usually lightly toasted (250300F/120150C for 5 minutes) to develop a nutty flavor, which has some sulfur aromatics in common with roasted coffee (furfurylthiol). Sesame seeds are made into the seasoned Middle Eastern paste called tahini, are added to rice b.a.l.l.s and made into a tofu-like cake with arrowroot in j.a.pan, and made into a sweet paste in China, as well as decorating a variety of baked goods in Europe and the United States. Sesame oil is also extracted from toasted seeds (360400F/180200C for 1030 minutes) and used as a flavoring. The oil is remarkable for its resistance to oxidation and rancidity, which results from high levels of antioxidant phenolic compounds (lignans), some vitamin E, and products of the browning reactions that occur during the more thorough toasting. a plant of the central African savanna that is now mostly grown in India, China, Mexico, and the Sudan. Sesame seeds are small, with 250300 per gram and 7,5009,000 per ounce, come in a variety of colors, from golden to brown, violet, and black, and are about 50% oil by weight. They're usually lightly toasted (250300F/120150C for 5 minutes) to develop a nutty flavor, which has some sulfur aromatics in common with roasted coffee (furfurylthiol). Sesame seeds are made into the seasoned Middle Eastern paste called tahini, are added to rice b.a.l.l.s and made into a tofu-like cake with arrowroot in j.a.pan, and made into a sweet paste in China, as well as decorating a variety of baked goods in Europe and the United States. Sesame oil is also extracted from toasted seeds (360400F/180200C for 1030 minutes) and used as a flavoring. The oil is remarkable for its resistance to oxidation and rancidity, which results from high levels of antioxidant phenolic compounds (lignans), some vitamin E, and products of the browning reactions that occur during the more thorough toasting.

Sunflower Seeds The flower of The flower of Helianthus annuus, Helianthus annuus, the only North American native to become a significant world crop, is a composite of a hundred or more small flowers, each of which produces a small fruit like the "seed" of the strawberry, a single seed contained in a thin hull. The seed is mainly storage cotyledons. The sunflower originated in the American Southwest, was domesticated in Mexico nearly 3,500 years before the arrival of European explorers, and brought to Europe around 1510 as a decorative plant. The first large crops were grown in France and Bavaria in the 18th century to produce vegetable oil. Today, the world's leading producer by far is Russia. Improved Russian oil varieties were grown in North America during World War II, and sunflower is now one of the top annual oil crops worldwide. The eating varieties are larger than the oil types, with decoratively striped hulls that are easily removed. Sunflower seeds are especially rich in phenolic antioxidants and vitamin E. the only North American native to become a significant world crop, is a composite of a hundred or more small flowers, each of which produces a small fruit like the "seed" of the strawberry, a single seed contained in a thin hull. The seed is mainly storage cotyledons. The sunflower originated in the American Southwest, was domesticated in Mexico nearly 3,500 years before the arrival of European explorers, and brought to Europe around 1510 as a decorative plant. The first large crops were grown in France and Bavaria in the 18th century to produce vegetable oil. Today, the world's leading producer by far is Russia. Improved Russian oil varieties were grown in North America during World War II, and sunflower is now one of the top annual oil crops worldwide. The eating varieties are larger than the oil types, with decoratively striped hulls that are easily removed. Sunflower seeds are especially rich in phenolic antioxidants and vitamin E.

Chapter 10.

Cereal Doughs and Batters Bread, Cakes, Pastry, Pasta

The Evolution of Bread Prehistoric TimesGreece and RomeThe Middle AgesEarly Modern TimesThe Decline and Revival of Traditional Breads The Basic Structure of Doughs, Batters, and Their Products GlutenStarchGas BubblesFats: Shortening Shortening Dough and Batter Ingredients: Wheat Flours Kinds of WheatTurning Wheat into FlourMinor Flour ComponentsKinds of Flour Dough and Batter Ingredients: Yeasts and Chemical Leavenings YeastsBaking Powders and Other Chemical Leaveners Breads The Choice of IngredientsPreparing the Dough: Mixing and KneadingFermentation, or RisingBakingCoolingThe Staling Process; Storing and Refres.h.i.+ng BreadBread FlavorMa.s.s-Produced BreadsSpecial Kinds of Loaf Breads: Sourdough, Rye, Sweet, Gluten-FreeOther Breads: Flatbreads, Bagels, Steamed Breads, Quick Breads, Doughnuts Thin Batter Foods: Crepes, Popovers, Griddle Cakes, Cream Puff Pastry Batter FoodsCrepesPopoversGriddle Cakes: Pancakes and CrumpetsGriddle Cakes: Waffles and WafersCream Puff Pastry, Pate a ChouxFrying Batters Thick Batter Foods: Batter Breads and Cakes Batter Breads and m.u.f.finsCakes Pastries Pastry StylesPastry IngredientsCooking PastriesCrumbly Pastries: Short Pastry, Pate BriseeFlaky Pastries: American Pie PastryLaminated Pastries: Puff Pastry, Pate FeuilleteSheet Pastries: Phyllo, StrudelPastry-Bread Hybrids: Croissants, Danish PastriesTender Savory Pastry: Hot-Water Pastry, Pate a Pate Cookies Cookie Ingredients and TexturesMaking and Keeping Cookies Pasta, Noodles, and Dumplings The History of Pasta and NoodlesMaking Pasta and Noodle DoughsCooking Pasta and NoodlesCouscous, Dumplings, Spatzle, GnocchiAsian Wheat Noodles and DumplingsAsian Starch and Rice Noodles Bread is the most everyday and familiar of foods, the st.u.r.dy staff of life on which hundreds of generations have leaned for sustenance. It also represents a truly remarkable discovery, a lively pole on which the young human imagination may well have vaulted forward in insight and inspiration. For our prehistoric ancestors it would have been a startling sign of the natural world's hidden potential for being transformed, and their own ability to shape natural materials to human desires. Bread is nothing like the original grain, loose, hard, chalky, and bland! Simply grinding grains, wetting the particles with water, and dropping the paste on a hot surface, creates a flavorful, puffy ma.s.s, crisp outside and moist within. And raised bread is even more startling. Let the paste sit for a couple of days, and it comes alive and grows, inflated from within, and cooks into a bread with a delicately chambered interior that the human hand could never sculpt. Plain parched grains and dense gruels provide just as much nourishment, but bread introduced a new dimension of pleasure and wonder to the mainstays of human life.

So it was bread that became synonymous with food itself in the lands from western Asia through Europe, and took a prominent place in religious and secular rituals (Pa.s.sover matzoh, Communion bread, wedding cakes). In England, it provided a foundation for naming social relations. "Lord" comes from the Anglo-Saxon hlaford, hlaford, "loaf ward," the master who supplies food; "lady" from "loaf ward," the master who supplies food; "lady" from hlaefdige, hlaefdige, "loafkneader," the person whose retinue produces what her husband distributes; "companion" and "company" from the late Latin "loafkneader," the person whose retinue produces what her husband distributes; "companion" and "company" from the late Latin companio, companio, or "one who shares bread." The staff of life has also been a mainstay for Western thought. or "one who shares bread." The staff of life has also been a mainstay for Western thought.

Food Words: Dough, Bread Dough, BreadDough comes from an Indo-European root that meant "to form, to build," and that also gave us the words comes from an Indo-European root that meant "to form, to build," and that also gave us the words figure, fiction, figure, fiction, and and paradise paradise (a walled garden). This derivation suggests the importance to early peoples of dough's malleability, its clay-like capacity to be shaped by the human hand. (Cooks have long used both clay and dough to make containers for cooking other foods, especially birds, meats, and fish.) (a walled garden). This derivation suggests the importance to early peoples of dough's malleability, its clay-like capacity to be shaped by the human hand. (Cooks have long used both clay and dough to make containers for cooking other foods, especially birds, meats, and fish.)The word bread bread comes from a Germanic root, and originally meant a piece or bit of a loaf, with comes from a Germanic root, and originally meant a piece or bit of a loaf, with loaf loaf meaning the leavened, baked substance itself. Over time, meaning the leavened, baked substance itself. Over time, loaf loaf came to mean the intact baked ma.s.s, and came to mean the intact baked ma.s.s, and bread bread took over took over loaf' loaf' s original meaning. Otherwise we would now ask for a bread of loaf! s original meaning. Otherwise we would now ask for a bread of loaf!

The Evolution of Bread Bread's evolution has been influenced by all the elements that go into its making: the grains, the machines for milling them, the microbes and chemicals that leaven the dough, the ovens that bake the loaves, the people who make the bread and eat it. One consistent theme from ancient times has been the prestige of refined and enriched versions of this basic sustenance. Bread has become a product increasingly defined by the use of high-rising bread wheats, the milling of that wheat into a white flour with little of the grain's bran or germ, leavening with ever purer cultures of mild-flavored yeasts, enrichment with ever greater quant.i.ties of fat and sugar. In the 20th century we managed to take refinement and enrichment to the extreme, and now have industrial breads with little flavor or texture left in them, and cakes that contain more sugar than flour. In the last couple of decades, bread lovers have led a rediscovery of the pleasures of simple, less refined breads freshly baked in old-fas.h.i.+oned brick ovens, and even supermarket breads are getting more flavorful.

Prehistoric Times Two prehistoric discoveries laid the foundation for the transformation of grains into breads and noodles, pastries and cakes. The first was that in addition to being cooked into a porridge, pastes of crushed grain and water could also be turned into an interesting solid by cooking them on hot embers or stones: the result was flatbread. The second was that a paste set aside for a few days would ferment and become inflated with gases: and such a paste made a softer, lighter, more flavorful bread, especially when cooked from all sides at once in an enclosed oven.

Flatbreads were a common feature of late Stone Age life in parts of the world where grains were the chief food in the diet; surviving versions include Middle Eastern lavash, Greek pita, Indian roti and chapati, all made mainly from wheat but also other grains, and the Latin American tortilla and North American johnnycake, both made from maize. Such breads were probably first cooked alongside an open fire, then on a griddle stone, and some of them much later in beehive-shaped ovens, which were open at the top and contained both coals and bread; pieces of dough were slapped onto the inside wall.

Bread wheat, the unique species that can make large, light loaves, had evolved by 8000 BCE BCE (p. 465), but the earliest archaeological evidence for leavened breads comes from Egyptian remains of around 4000 (p. 465), but the earliest archaeological evidence for leavened breads comes from Egyptian remains of around 4000 BCE BCE. The first raised doughs arose spontaneously, since yeast spores are ubiquitous in the air and on grain surfaces, and they readily infect a moist, nutritious grain paste. Bread makers throughout history have harnessed this natural process by leavening new dough with a leftover piece in which yeast was already growing, but they've also valued less sour starters, especially the frothy residue from brewing beer; yeast production had become a specialized profession in Egypt by 300 BCE BCE. Meanwhile grinding equipment progressed from the mortar and pestle to two flat stones and then, around 800 BCE BCE in Mesopotamia, to stones that could rotate continuously. Continuous milling made feasible the eventual use of animal, water, and wind power, and thus the grinding of grains into very fine flours with little human labor. in Mesopotamia, to stones that could rotate continuously. Continuous milling made feasible the eventual use of animal, water, and wind power, and thus the grinding of grains into very fine flours with little human labor.

Greece and Rome Leavened loaves of bread arrived fairly late along the northern rim of the Mediterranean. Bread wheat was not grown in Greece until about 400 BCE BCE, and flat barley breads were probably the norm well after. We do know that the Greeks enjoyed breads and cakes flavored with honey, anise, sesame, and fruits, and that they made both whole-grain and partly refined breads. At least from the Greeks on, whiteness in bread was a mark of purity and distinction. Archestratus, a contemporary of Aristotle and author of the Gastronomia, Gastronomia, a compendious account of ancient Mediterranean eating whose t.i.tle gave us the word "gastronomy," accorded extravagant praise to a barley bread from the island of Lesbos on just these grounds, calling it "bread so white that it outdoes the ethereal snow in purity. If the celestial G.o.ds eat barley bread, no doubt Hermes goes to Eresus to buy it for them." a compendious account of ancient Mediterranean eating whose t.i.tle gave us the word "gastronomy," accorded extravagant praise to a barley bread from the island of Lesbos on just these grounds, calling it "bread so white that it outdoes the ethereal snow in purity. If the celestial G.o.ds eat barley bread, no doubt Hermes goes to Eresus to buy it for them."

By late Roman times, wheat bread was a central feature of life, and huge amounts of durum and bread wheats were imported from northern Africa and other parts of the empire to satisfy the public demand. Pliny offers a touching reminder that enriched breads - early cakes and pastries - were great luxuries in turbulent times: Some people use eggs or milk in kneading the dough, while even b.u.t.ter has been used by peoples enjoying peace, when attention can be devoted to the varieties of bakers' goods.

The Middle Ages During the European Middle Ages, bakers were specialists, producing either common brown or luxurious white bread. It wasn't until the 17th century that improvements in milling and in per capita income led to the wide availability of more or less white bread and the dissolution of the brown guild as a separate body. In northern areas, rye, barley, and oats were more common than wheat and were made into coa.r.s.e, heavy breads. One use of flat bread at this time was the "trencher," a dense, dry, thick slice that served as a plate at medieval meals and then was either eaten or given away to the poor. And pastry was often made to serve as a kind of all-purpose cooking and storage container, a protective and edible wrapping for meat dishes in particular.

Four stages in the evolution of machines for grinding grain. Clockwise from upper left: Clockwise from upper left: The saddlestone and lever mill were limited by their back-and-forth motion. The hourgla.s.s mill, which could be turned continuously in one direction by man or animal, was widely used by Roman times. Flat millstones finally made it possible to harness more elemental forces, and were put to use in water and wind mills. In the modern industrial world, most grain is milled between grooved metal rollers, but some is still stone-ground. The saddlestone and lever mill were limited by their back-and-forth motion. The hourgla.s.s mill, which could be turned continuously in one direction by man or animal, was widely used by Roman times. Flat millstones finally made it possible to harness more elemental forces, and were put to use in water and wind mills. In the modern industrial world, most grain is milled between grooved metal rollers, but some is still stone-ground.

Early Modern Times The late medieval period and Renaissance brought notable progress in the art of enriched breads; both puff pastry and choux pastry date from this time. Domestic recipes for bread begin to appear in cookbooks for the emerging middle cla.s.s, and already look much like modern recipes. English and American cookbooks from the 18th century on contain dozens of recipes for breads, cakes, and cookies. In England around 1800, most bread was still baked in domestic or communal village ovens. But as the Industrial Revolution spread and more of the population moved to crowded city quarters, the bakeries took over an ever increasing share of bread production, and some of them adulterated their flour with whiteners (alum) and fillers (chalk, ground animal bones). The decline of domestic baking was criticized on economic, nutritional, and even moral grounds. The English political journalist William Cobbett wrote in Cottage Economy Cottage Economy (1821), a tract addressed to the working cla.s.s, that it is reasonable to buy bread only in cities where s.p.a.ce and fuel are in short supply. Otherwise, (1821), a tract addressed to the working cla.s.s, that it is reasonable to buy bread only in cities where s.p.a.ce and fuel are in short supply. Otherwise, How wasteful, then, and indeed, how shameful, for a labourer's wife to go to the baker's shop...Give me, for a beautiful sight, a neat and smart woman, heating her oven and setting in her bread! And, if the bustle does make the sign of labour glisten on her brow, where is the man that would not kiss that off, rather than lick the plaster from the cheek of a d.u.c.h.ess?

The scolding of Cobbett and others failed to reverse the trend. Bread making was one of the most time-consuming and laborious of household tasks, a kiss on the sweaty forehead notwithstanding, and more and more of the work was delegated to the baker.

Innovations in Leavening A new method of leavening made its first appearance in the first American cookbook, Amelia Simmons's 1796 A new method of leavening made its first appearance in the first American cookbook, Amelia Simmons's 1796 American Cookery. American Cookery. Four recipes, two for cookies and two for gingerbread, call for the use of "pearlash," a refined version of potash, which was made by soaking the ash produced when plant materials are burned, draining off the liquid, and drying it down to concentrate the substances dissolved in it. Pearlash is mostly alkaline pota.s.sium carbonate, which reacts with acid ingredients in doughs to generate carbon dioxide gas. It was the precursor to baking soda and baking powders, which arrived between 1830 and 1850. These chemical ingredients made it possible to leaven instantly mixtures that living, slow-growing yeasts couldn't very well: such things as fluid cake batters and sweet cookie doughs. Purified commercial yeast cultures for loaf breads, more predictable and less acidic than brewer's yeast, became available from specialist manufacturers around the turn of the 20th century. Four recipes, two for cookies and two for gingerbread, call for the use of "pearlash," a refined version of potash, which was made by soaking the ash produced when plant materials are burned, draining off the liquid, and drying it down to concentrate the substances dissolved in it. Pearlash is mostly alkaline pota.s.sium carbonate, which reacts with acid ingredients in doughs to generate carbon dioxide gas. It was the precursor to baking soda and baking powders, which arrived between 1830 and 1850. These chemical ingredients made it possible to leaven instantly mixtures that living, slow-growing yeasts couldn't very well: such things as fluid cake batters and sweet cookie doughs. Purified commercial yeast cultures for loaf breads, more predictable and less acidic than brewer's yeast, became available from specialist manufacturers around the turn of the 20th century.

Food Words: Flour FlourWhile the words for ground grain in French, Italian, and Spanish, farine farine and and farina, farina, come from the Latin for a kind of grain ( come from the Latin for a kind of grain (far), the English word "flour" arose in medieval times from "flower," meaning the best part of the ground grain: that is, the portion left after screening out the large particles of germ and bran. To a medieval Englishman, "whole wheat flour" would have been a contradiction in terms!

The Decline and Revival Of Traditional Breads Twentieth-Century Industrialization The 20th century brought two broad trends to Europe and North America. One was a decline in the per capita consumption of plain bread. As incomes rose, people could afford to eat more meat and more high-sugar, high-fat cakes and pastries. So we now lean less heavily than did our ancestors on the staff of life. The other trend was the industrialization of bread making. Today very little bread is made in the home, and with the exception of countries with a strong tradition of buying fresh bread every day - especially France, Germany, and Italy - most bread is made in large central factories, not in small local bakeries. Mechanical aids to breadmaking, powered mixers and others, began to appear around 1900, and culminated in the 1960s in largely automated factories that produce bread in a fraction of the usual time. These manufacturing systems replace biological dough development, the gradual, hours-long leavening and gluten strengthening of the dough by yeast, with nearly instantaneous, mechanical and chemical dough development. This production method produces breads with a soft, cake-like interior, an uncrusty crust, and an uncharacteristic flavor. They are formulated to remain soft and edible in plastic bags for a week or more. Industrial breads bear little resemblance to traditional breads. The 20th century brought two broad trends to Europe and North America. One was a decline in the per capita consumption of plain bread. As incomes rose, people could afford to eat more meat and more high-sugar, high-fat cakes and pastries. So we now lean less heavily than did our ancestors on the staff of life. The other trend was the industrialization of bread making. Today very little bread is made in the home, and with the exception of countries with a strong tradition of buying fresh bread every day - especially France, Germany, and Italy - most bread is made in large central factories, not in small local bakeries. Mechanical aids to breadmaking, powered mixers and others, began to appear around 1900, and culminated in the 1960s in largely automated factories that produce bread in a fraction of the usual time. These manufacturing systems replace biological dough development, the gradual, hours-long leavening and gluten strengthening of the dough by yeast, with nearly instantaneous, mechanical and chemical dough development. This production method produces breads with a soft, cake-like interior, an uncrusty crust, and an uncharacteristic flavor. They are formulated to remain soft and edible in plastic bags for a week or more. Industrial breads bear little resemblance to traditional breads.

The Return of Flavor and Texture Europeans and North Americans began to eat significantly more bread in the 1980s than they had the decade before. One reason was the revival of traditional bread making. Small bakeries began to produce bread using less refined grains and grain mixtures, building flavor with long, slow fermentation, and baking small batches in brick ovens that produce a dark, crusty loaf. Another reason was the home cook's rediscovery of the pleasures of baking and eating fresh warm bread. The j.a.panese invention of the bread machine made it possible for busy home cooks to put all the ingredients into a single chamber, close the lid, and fill the house with the forgotten aroma of fresh-baked bread. Europeans and North Americans began to eat significantly more bread in the 1980s than they had the decade before. One reason was the revival of traditional bread making. Small bakeries began to produce bread using less refined grains and grain mixtures, building flavor with long, slow fermentation, and baking small batches in brick ovens that produce a dark, crusty loaf. Another reason was the home cook's rediscovery of the pleasures of baking and eating fresh warm bread. The j.a.panese invention of the bread machine made it possible for busy home cooks to put all the ingredients into a single chamber, close the lid, and fill the house with the forgotten aroma of fresh-baked bread.

Breads baked by home cooks and artisans account for a small fraction of the overall bread production in England and North America. But their revival demonstrates that people still enjoy the flavors and textures of freshly made traditional breads, and this fact has caught the attention of industrial producers. They have recently developed the "par-baking" system, in which manufacturers s.h.i.+p partly baked and frozen loaves to supermarkets, where they're baked again locally and sold while still crusty and flavorful.

Industrial breads were first "optimized" to make bread-like products at minimum cost and with maximum shelf life. Finally taste and texture are entering the calculations, and at least some products are improving.

Chemical Leavening and the First American Cookie RecipeCookiesOne pound sugar boiled slowly in half pint water, sc.u.m well and cool, add two tea spoons pearl ash dissolved in milk, then two and a half pounds flour, rub in 4 ounces b.u.t.ter, and two large spoons of finely powdered coriander seed, wet with above; make rolls half an inch thick and cut to the shape you please; bake fifteen or twenty minutes in a slack oven - good three weeks.- Amelia Simmons, American Cookery, American Cookery, 1796 1796 The Basic Structure of Doughs, Batters, and Their Products Wheat flour is strange and wonderful stuff! Mix pretty much any other powdery ingredient with water and we get a simple, inert paste. But mix some flour with about half its weight in water, and the combination seems to come alive. At first it forms a cohesive ma.s.s that changes its shape reluctantly. With time and kneading, reluctance gives way to liveliness, a bouncy responsiveness to pressure that persists even after the kneader lets go. It's these qualities of cohesiveness and liveliness that set wheat doughs apart from other cereal doughs, and that make possible light, delicate loaves of bread, flaky pastries, and silken pastas.

The various textures of baked goods and pastas are created by the structures of their doughs and batters. Those structures are composed of three basic elements: water, the flour's gluten proteins, and its starch granules. Together, these elements create an integrated, cohesive ma.s.s. That cohesiveness is what gives pasta its close-textured silkenness. It's also what makes bread doughs, pastry doughs, and cake batters divisible into microscopically thin but intact sheets. Breads and cakes are light and tender because the protein-starch ma.s.s is divided up by millions of tiny bubbles; pastries are flaky and tender because the protein-starch ma.s.s is interrupted by hundreds of thin layers of fat.

We call a mixture of flour and water either a dough dough or a or a batter, batter, depending on the relative proportions of the two major ingredients. Generally, doughs contain more flour than water and are stiff enough to be manipulated by hand. All the water is bound to the gluten proteins and to the surfaces of the starch granules, which are embedded in the semisolid gluten-water matrix. Batters, on the other hand, contain more water than flour and are loose enough to pour. Much of the water is free liquid, and both gluten proteins and starch granules are dispersed in it. depending on the relative proportions of the two major ingredients. Generally, doughs contain more flour than water and are stiff enough to be manipulated by hand. All the water is bound to the gluten proteins and to the surfaces of the starch granules, which are embedded in the semisolid gluten-water matrix. Batters, on the other hand, contain more water than flour and are loose enough to pour. Much of the water is free liquid, and both gluten proteins and starch granules are dispersed in it.

The structure of a dough or batter is temporary. When it's cooked, the starch granules absorb water, swell, and create a permanent solid structure from the original, semisolid or liquid one. In the case of breads and cakes, that solid structure is a sponge-like network of starch and protein filled with millions of tiny air pockets. Bakers use the term crumb crumb for this network, which const.i.tutes the bulk of the bread or cake. The outer surface, which usually has a dryer, denser texture, is the for this network, which const.i.tutes the bulk of the bread or cake. The outer surface, which usually has a dryer, denser texture, is the crust. crust.

With this overview in mind, let's look more closely at the structural elements of doughs and batters.

Gluten Chew on a small piece of dough, and it becomes more compact but persists as a gum-like, elastic ma.s.s, the residue that the Chinese named "the muscle of flour" and that we call gluten. gluten. It consists mainly of protein, and includes what may well be the largest protein molecules to be found in the natural world. These remarkable molecules are what give wheat dough its liveliness and make raised breads possible. It consists mainly of protein, and includes what may well be the largest protein molecules to be found in the natural world. These remarkable molecules are what give wheat dough its liveliness and make raised breads possible.

Gluten Proteins Form Long Chains That Stick to Each Other Gluten is a complex mixture of certain wheat proteins that can't dissolve in water, but do form a.s.sociations with water molecules and with each other. When the proteins are dry, they're immobile and inert. When wetted with water, they can change their shape, move relative to each other, and form and break bonds with each other. Gluten is a complex mixture of certain wheat proteins that can't dissolve in water, but do form a.s.sociations with water molecules and with each other. When the proteins are dry, they're immobile and inert. When wetted with water, they can change their shape, move relative to each other, and form and break bonds with each other.

Proteins are long, chain-like molecules built up from smaller molecules called amino acids (p. 805). Most of the gluten proteins, the gliadins and the glutenins, are around a thousand amino acids long. The gliadin chains fold onto themselves in a compact ma.s.s, and bond only weakly with each other and with the glutenin proteins. The glutenins, however, bond with each other in several ways to form an extensive, tightly knit network.

At each end of the glutenin chain are sulfur-containing amino acids that can form strong sulfur-sulfur bonds with the same amino acids at the ends of other glutenin chains. To do this they require the availability of oxidizing agents - oxygen in the air, certain substances produced by yeasts, or "dough improvers" (p. 529) added by the flour manufacturer or baker. The long, coiled middle stretch of the glutenin molecule consists mainly of amino acids that form weaker, temporary bonds (hydrogen and hydrophobic bonds) with similar amino acids. Glutenin chains thus link up with each other end-to-end to form super-chains a few hundred glutenins long, and coiled stretches along their lengths readily form many temporary bonds with similar stretches along neighboring gluten proteins. The result is an extensive interconnected network of coiled proteins, the gluten. gluten.

Gluten Plasticity and Elasticity The gluten of the bread wheats is both plastic and elastic; that is, it will change its shape under pressure, yet it resists the pressure and moves back toward its original shape when the pressure is removed. Thanks to this combination of properties, wheat dough can expand to incorporate the carbon dioxide gas produced by yeast, and yet resists enough that its bubble walls won't thin to the breaking point. The gluten of the bread wheats is both plastic and elastic; that is, it will change its shape under pressure, yet it resists the pressure and moves back toward its original shape when the pressure is removed. Thanks to this combination of properties, wheat dough can expand to incorporate the carbon dioxide gas produced by yeast, and yet resists enough that its bubble walls won't thin to the breaking point.

Gluten plasticity results from the presence of the gliadin proteins among the glutenins; because they're compact, the gliadins act something like ball bearings, allowing portions of the glutenins to slide past each other without bonding. Elasticity results from the kinked and coiled structure of the interconnected gluten proteins. Kneading unfolds and aligns the protein molecules, but there are still loops and kinks along their lengths. Stretching the dough straightens out these loops and kinks, but when the pressure is relieved, the molecules tend to revert to their original kinkiness. In addition, the coiled spring-like structure of individual proteins can extend and store some of the energy of stretching, but when the stretching is stopped, the molecules spring back to their compact coiled form. The visible result of these submicroscopic events: the stretched dough creeps back toward its original shape.

Gluten formation. When flour is mixed with water and made into a dough, glutenin glutenin protein molecules link up end-to-end to form long, composite protein molecules link up end-to-end to form long, composite gluten gluten molecules. Dough is elastic because the gluten molecules are coiled and have many kinks in them. When a ma.s.s of dough is stretched, the kinks are straightened out, the coils extended, and the proteins get longer molecules. Dough is elastic because the gluten molecules are coiled and have many kinks in them. When a ma.s.s of dough is stretched, the kinks are straightened out, the coils extended, and the proteins get longer(bottom). When the stretching tension is released, many of the kinks and coils re-form, the protein ma.s.s shortens, and the dough shrinks back toward its original shape.

Gluten Relaxation Another important characteristic of wheat flour doughs is that their elasticity relaxes with time. An elastic dough that never relaxed could never be formed into the many shapes of raised doughs and pastas! In a well developed dough, the protein molecules have been organized and aligned, and have formed many weak bonds with each other. Because there are so many of them, these bonds hold the proteins firmly in place and resist stretching, so a ball of dough is firm and taut. But because the bonds are weak, the physical tension of the taut ball shape slowly breaks some of them, and the dough structure gradually relaxes into a flatter, more malleable ma.s.s. Another important characteristic of wheat flour doughs is that their elasticity relaxes with time. An elastic dough that never relaxed could never be formed into the many shapes of raised doughs and pastas! In a well developed dough, the protein molecules have been organized and aligned, and have formed many weak bonds with each other. Because there are so many of them, these bonds hold the proteins firmly in place and resist stretching, so a ball of dough is firm and taut. But because the bonds are weak, the physical tension of the taut ball shape slowly breaks some of them, and the dough structure gradually relaxes into a flatter, more malleable ma.s.s.

Controlling Gluten Strength Not all baked goods benefit from a strong, elastic gluten. It's desirable in yeasted breads, bagels, and in puff pastry; but it gives an undesirable toughness to other forms of pastry, to raised cakes, griddle cakes, and cookies. For tender preparations, bakers intentionally limit the development of gluten. There are a number of ingredients and techniques by which the baker controls the gluten strength and consistency of doughs and batters. They include: Not all baked goods benefit from a strong, elastic gluten. It's desirable in yeasted breads, bagels, and in puff pastry; but it gives an undesirable toughness to other forms of pastry, to raised cakes, griddle cakes, and cookies. For tender preparations, bakers intentionally limit the development of gluten. There are a number of ingredients and techniques by which the baker controls the gluten strength and consistency of doughs and batters. They include: The kind of flour used. High-protein bread flours produce a strong gluten, low-protein pastry and cake flours a weak one, durum semolina (for pasta) a strong but plastic one.

The presence in the flour of oxidizing substances - aging and improving agents - which can increase the end-to-end linking of glutenin molecules and thus dough strength (p. 529).

The water content of the dough, which determines how concentrated the gluten proteins are, and how extensively they can bond to each other. Little water gives an incompletely developed gluten and a crumbly texture; a lot of water gives a less concentrated gluten and a softer, moister dough and bread.

Stirring and kneading the flour-water mixture, actions that stretch and organize the gluten proteins into an elastic network.

Salt, which greatly strengthens the gluten network. The electrically positive sodium and negative chlorine ions cl.u.s.ter around the few charged portions of the glutenin proteins, prevent those charged portions from repelling each other, and so allow the proteins to come closer to each other and bond more extensively.

Sugar, which at the concentrations typical of raised sweet breads, 10% or more of the flour weight, limits the development of gluten by diluting the flour proteins.

Fats and oils, which weaken gluten by bonding to the hydrophobic amino acids along the protein chains and so preventing them from bonding to each other.

Acidity in the dough - as from a sourdough culture - which weakens the gluten network by increasing the number of positively charged amino acids along the protein chains, and increasing the repulsive forces between chains.

Food Words: Gluten GlutenThough Chinese cooks discovered the useful properties of gluten long before anyone else (p. 468), it was two Italian scientists who brought it to the attention of Europe. In a posthumously published manual of 1665 on optics, the Jesuit scholar Francesco Maria Grimaldi noted that durum semolina dough for pasta contains a thick, sticky substance that dries to a hard, brittle one. He named this substance gluten, gluten, using the Latin word for "glue." using the Latin word for "glue." Gluten Gluten in turn came from an Indo-European root in turn came from an Indo-European root gel- gel- which gave rise to a number of words meaning to form into a ball, to make a coagulated lump, to be thick or sticky: these include which gave rise to a number of words meaning to form into a ball, to make a coagulated lump, to be thick or sticky: these include cloud, globe, gluteus, clam, cling, cloud, globe, gluteus, clam, cling, and and clay. clay. In 1745, Giambattista Beccari studied gluten more carefully and noted its similarity to substances characteristic of animals: that is, he recognized that it is what we now call a protein. In 1745, Giambattista Beccari studied gluten more carefully and noted its similarity to substances characteristic of animals: that is, he recognized that it is what we now call a protein.

Ingredients That Contribute to the Structure of Doughs, Batters, and Their Products Starch The elastic gluten proteins are essential to the making of raised breads. But proteins account for only about 10% of flour weight, while about 70% is starch. Starch granules serve several functions in doughs and batters. Together with the water they hold on their surfaces, they make up more than half the volume of the dough, inter-penetrate the gluten network and break it up, and so tenderize it. In the case of cakes, starch is the major structural material, the gluten being too dispersed in the large amount of water and sugar to contribute solidity. During the baking of bread and cakes, the starch granules absorb water, swell, and set to form the rigid bulk of the walls that surround the bubbles of carbon dioxide. At the same time their swollen rigidity stops the expansion of the bubbles and so forces the water vapor inside to pop the bubbles and escape, turning the foam of separate bubbles into a continuous spongy network of connected holes. If this didn't happen, then at the end of baking the cooling water vapor would contract and cause the bread or cake to collapse.

Gas Bubbles Gas bubbles are what make leavened doughs and batters light and tender. Breads and cakes are aerated to the point that as much as 80% of their volume is empty s.p.a.ce! Gas bubbles interrupt and therefore weaken the network of gluten and starch granules, dividing it into millions of very thin, delicate sheets that form the bubble walls.

Food Words: Starch StarchAs far back as the Romans, purified starch has been incorporated into paper to give it body and smooth its surface. In the 14th century, Holland and other northern European countries began stiffening their linen cloth with wheat starch. The word starch starch dates from the 15th century, and comes from a German root that means "to stiffen, to make rigid," which is also what starch does to convert bread dough into bread. The German in turn came from an Indo-European root meaning "stiff"; related words are dates from the 15th century, and comes from a German root that means "to stiffen, to make rigid," which is also what starch does to convert bread dough into bread. The German in turn came from an Indo-European root meaning "stiff"; related words are stare, stark, stern, stare, stark, stern, and and starve starve (which results in the rigidity of death). (which results in the rigidity of death).

Bakers use yeasts or chemical leavenings to fill their products with gas bubbles (p. 531). However, these ingredients don't create new bubbles: their carbon dioxide is released into the water phase of the dough or batter, and diffuses into and enlarges whatever tiny bubbles are already there. These primordial bubbles are air bubbles, and are created when the baker first kneads a dough, or creams b.u.t.ter and sugar, or whips eggs. The initial aeration of doughs and batters thus strongly influences the final texture of baked goods. The more bubbles produced during the preparation of a dough or batter, the finer and tenderer the result.

Fats: Shortening Shortening Since the early 19th century, the term shortening shortening has been used to mean fats or oils that "shorten" a dough, or weaken its structure and thus make the final product more tender or flaky. This role is most evident in pie crusts and puff pastry (p. 561), where layers of solid fat separate thin layers of dough from each other so that they cook into separate layers of pastry. It's less evident but also important in cakes and enriched breads, where fat and oil molecules bond to parts of the gluten protein coils and prevent the proteins from forming a strong gluten. To make a rich bread with a strong gluten (e.g. Italian panettone, p. 546), the baker mixes the flour and water alone, kneads the mix to develop the gluten, and only then works in the fat. has been used to mean fats or oils that "shorten" a dough, or weaken its structure and thus make the final product more tender or flaky. This role is most evident in pie crusts and puff pastry (p. 561), where layers of solid fat separate thin layers of dough from each other so that they cook into separate layers of pastry. It's less evident but also important in cakes and enriched breads, where fat and oil molecules bond to parts of the gluten protein coils and prevent the proteins from forming a strong gluten. To make a rich bread with a strong gluten (e.g. Italian panettone, p. 546), the baker mixes the flour and water alone, kneads the mix to develop the gluten, and only then works in the fat.

Fats and related substances also play an important but indirect role in the formation of the cooked structure of breads and cakes, where the addition of small quant.i.ties significantly increases volume and textural lightness (p. 530).

Dough and Batter Ingredients: Wheat Flours Though other grains and seeds can also be used, most familiar baked goods and pastas are made from wheat.

Kinds of Wheat Several kinds of wheat are grown today, each with its own characteristics and uses (see box, p. 527). Most are species of bread wheat, Tritic.u.m aestivum. Tritic.u.m aestivum. Their most important distinguis.h.i.+ng characteristic is the content and quality of gluten proteins, with high protein content and strong gluten often coinciding with a hard, gla.s.sy, translucent grain interior. Their most important distinguis.h.i.+ng characteristic is the content and quality of gluten proteins, with high protein content and strong gluten often coinciding with a hard, gla.s.sy, translucent grain interior. Hard Hard wheat grains const.i.tute about 75% of the American crop. wheat grains const.i.tute about 75% of the American crop. Soft Soft wheats, which make up 20% of the crop, have a lower amount of somewhat weaker gluten proteins. Club wheat is a distinct species, wheats, which make up 20% of the crop, have a lower amount of somewhat weaker gluten proteins. Club wheat is a distinct species, T. compactum, T. compactum, whose proteins form an especially weak gluten. Durum wheat is another distinct species ( whose proteins form an especially weak gluten. Durum wheat is another distinct species (T. turgidum durum, p. 465) used mainly to make pasta (p. 571). p. 465) used mainly to make pasta (p. 571).

A close-up view of bread dough. The dense ma.s.s of gluten and starch is divided and tenderized by gas bubbles. starch granules gluten sheet gas bubbles starch granules gluten sheet gas bubbles Doughs and Batters: Representative CompositionsThe numbers shown indicate the relative weights of ingredients in doughs and batters, with the weight of flour constant at 100. This chart is meant to give only a general idea of the proportions used in common baked foods; individual recipes vary widely.

Major Wheat Types

Protein Content, % by Weight Use

Hard red spring wheat

1316.5 1316.5

Bread flours Bread flours

Hard red winter wheat

1013.5 1013.5

All-purpose flours All-purpose flours

Soft red wheat

911 911

All-purpose, pastry flours All-purpose, pastry flours

Hard white wheat

1012 1012