Warm bread for breakfast is an American custom to which much dyspepsia has been attributed. Such breakfast breads, if carefully mixed and thoroughly baked, should not injure persons in good health.

With a gas stove, well baked hot bread can be on the breakfast table in half an hour after the cook enters the kitchen.

Since modern yeast cakes have made the rising of bread over night unnecessary, perhaps fewer raised rolls and muffins are served at the morning meal. The second rising of such breads makes their preparation a long process.

All types of bread are considered together here. They are divided into groups according to the means by which they are made light, or full of air, yeast, soda with acids, and egg or beating.

Yeast Doughs

Yeast, liquid, and flour are the essential ingredients in bread-making, and the proportions may be varied according to conditions.

Sugar, shortening, and salt are used in varying proportions, but even if they were omitted altogether it would be possible to have wholesome, palatable bread.

Few households still depend on home-made yeast. The dry yeast cakes are useful in isolated communities and in emergencies. In cities and large towns the main dependence is the compressed yeast cake. Its general appearance should be something like fresh cheese, firm and solid, not soft and pasty, nor dark colored and moldy. When only part of a yeast cake is used, if it is cut off squarely the remainder may be wrapped smoothly in the tin foil again and kept a little longer.

It seems to be an open question whether it is more desirable to use a small portion of yeast and allow the dough to rise for a longer time, or a larger portion of yeast and thus do the work more quickly. Until the scientists work out this question for us the housekeeper will find it convenient to vary the quantity of yeast according to conditions.

The three important points to consider are the time, temperature, and quantity of yeast; where one must be diminished, the others should be increased.

Fermentation is hindered by the presence of salt, but hastened by a small quantity of sugar.

A large amount of sugar makes the dough so dense that the yeast cannot expand readily. An excess of shortening or an undue quantity of flour has much the same effect.

The liquid may be milk or water, or half of each. The milk supplies small quantities of sugar and fat and nitrogenous matter, and presumably produces a more nourishing loaf than that which is made with water. Skimmed milk can be turned to good account for this purpose.

It is desirable to have the liquid warm that the dough may rise more rapidly, and that the fat, sugar, and salt may readily blend with the other ingredients. When the liquid is cool enough so there is no danger of cooking the yeast (below 100^Q F.), that is added and thoroughly mixed through the liquid, and next sufficient flour is worked in to give the desired consistency.

Bread flour differs from pastry flour by containing a larger proportion of gluten, though both are chiefly starch. The nutritive value of a flour depends largely upon the amount of gluten or nitrogenous matter which it contains. Because of the presence of gluten, wheat furnishes the best flour for yeast doughs. When moistened, the gluten is adhesive and thus retains the gas bubbles formed by the yeast in much the same way that egg whites, when they are beaten, gather in air.

There is such variation in flours that it is impossible to give exact recipes for doughs, but it is easy to learn certain general proportions, and experience must teach the rest. Seven-eighths of a measure of bread flour will make a dough as stiff as a full measure of pastry flour. A simple formula will be helpful in interpreting recipes where the exact quantities of flour or liquid are not stated.

One measure of flour to one of liquid makes a batter.

Two measures of flour to one of liquid gives the usual muffin mixture.

Three measures of flour to one of liquid makes a soft dough, but one that may be kneaded.

Four measures of flour to one of liquid is the usual proportion for doughs to be rolled thin like pastry or cookies.

Batters and muffins can be stirred with a spoon. Doughs are mixed more thoroughly and easily with a knife.

The process of mixing bread shows in the softer stages the batter, and drop batter, or muffin mixture.

A "sponge" is about half-way between those stages. Half the quantity of flour to be used is mixed with the liquid and this is allowed to rise till foamy, when the remainder of the flour is added. The advantage of this division is that a little less flour is required, since the first has time and room to swell before the second is put in. The process is somewhat shortened, because in the first stage there is less resistance for the yeast to overcome, and the whole sponge becomes yeast for the second stage.

Many old recipes for mixing bread give directions for rubbing shortening into the required quantity of flour and then adding the other ingredients and sufficient liquid to make a dough that can be kneaded. This is at best a long and awkward process, and nothing is gained by it in yeast doughs when the liquid should be warm and can be used to melt the fat. Except in raised cakes, little or no fat is required in yeast doughs.

It is customary to knead dough when first mixed just enough to be certain that all ingredients are thoroughly blended. Then it is put back in the bowl (earthenware gives the dough a more even temperature than tin) and covered while it is rising. Sometimes the uncovered dish is placed in a bread raiser, where it will be surrounded by moist warm air, or the surface of the dough is brushed over with melted fat. These precautions aid in preventing the formation of a dry crust caused by the evaporation of the water on the surface during the process of rising. Where the bread raiser is not possible, the bowl containing the dough may be set in a pan of warm water which is changed to keep an even temperature. If the dough must stand over night in a cool kitchen, the bowl is frequently wrapped in a blanket to prevent the escape of heat.

Time is often wasted in kneading dough, though it seems to be agreed that some kneading gives a better texture to the bread.

After the dough has doubled in bulk it must be shaped for baking and should be kneaded enough to bring it into good shape and to redistribute the air bubbles which have run together and formed larger ones. No flour should be added at this stage, for much time is required to work in a little flour at this point. It is better to dip the fingers in melted fat if the dough inclines to stick, or milk may be used instead of the butter. First make smooth, round balls, then by gentle rolling and pressure the finger roll may be made, then continue the rolling till the strips can be twisted, or serve as sticks for soup.

When rolls are to be cut out and folded, it is unnecessary to knead the dough, for the pressure of the rolling pin will equalize the air bubbles. Instead of making the dough for rolls rich with butter or lard, it is wiser to brush over the outside of the rolls with melted fat when they are put in the pan.

The dough must be allowed to again double in bulk and then it is ready to bake.

For fancy breads make a sponge first, and let the mixture rise three times. For bread add all the flour at once, knead slightly, and let rise till double in bulk.

The baking of bread is an important part in its manufacture. In general, yeast doughs having risen before being put in the oven will bear a higher degree of heat at first than other doughs. Large loaves require a more moderate oven than rolls, in order that the heat may penetrate evenly, but they must remain a sufficient time to raise the center of the loaf to a degree of heat that will insure the destruction of the yeast. A moderate temperature often will allow the dough to continue rising and sour in the oven. Even in practical every-day cookery it is essential to remember that yeast must be treated like other forms of plant life. When we want a seed to grow we must provide suitable temperature, the right kind of soil, and sufficient moisture. After the work of the yeast is done, and a puffy mass of dough is the result, the vitality of the yeast must be entirely destroyed by great heat.