The process of aërating bread consists in the forcing of carbonic-acid gas into the dough under pressure. The gas is generated by the action of sulphuric acid upon lime, and while there are several methods of its use, in general, about one cubic foot of gas is applied to fourteen pounds of flour, although not over one half of this quantity remains in the dough. It is claimed for this process that the bread is exceptionally light, dry, and porous, that there is no danger of malfermentation, with production of acidity, and that it sooner hardens when exposed to the air as compared with home-made bread prepared with yeast.

Aerated bread keeps fresh longer than other varieties. It has a peculiar taste which, however, is preferred by some people. It is claimed as a further advantage for its manufacture that the bread requires less kneading by the sometimes dirty hands of the baker. Some twenty or thirty varieties of germs are usually to be found beneath the finger nails of persons who are ordinarily cleanly. If special care is not taken by those who prepare bread it is possible for disease germs to be introduced from beneath the nails into the dough. It has been claimed that various infectious diseases might be transmitted in this manner. The danger, aside from any aesthetic consideration, is, however, grossly exaggerated, as the fermentative processes, together with the prolonged heat used in baking, are fatal to both germs and spores. In aerated bread salt is added as in the other processes, with the result of making the bread firmer and somewhat whiter.

There are many cereals, such, for example, as oatmeal and the coarser whole meals, which are exceedingly wholesome when cooked by some methods, but which cannot be baked into good bread because of the difficulty of making them porous, and their attempted use in this form usually results in dyspepsia, with heartburn and acid fermentation.

It is pointed out by Sir Henry Thompson that when coarse meal is necessarily used for bread-making, it, "being a bad conductor of heat, will have a hard, flinty crust if baked sufficiently to cook the interior; or it will have a soft, dough-like interior if the baking is checked when the crust is properly done." For this reason he advises baking the flour in the form of flat cakes, which can be uniformly heated throughout. Palatable cakes can be made in this manner by a mixture of wheat meal and Scotch oatmeal.

The addition of boiled rice flour in bread-making causes the bread to become more adhesive and to hold more water. Hence bakers sometimes resort to this means to make their bread heavier. By turning the fresh loaf over occasionally as it lies upon the shelf the water is prevented from gravitating to the bottom and making it sodden. While the primary object of bread manufacture is to render the starch more soluble, the gluten is also easier digested after fermentation. Freshly baked bread is much less digestible than dry bread for the reason that, being more moist, it tends to form a tenacious bolus in the mouth which is not readily mingled with the saliva or other digestive secretions. Dry bread, on the other hand, crumbles into smaller particles, which are easily acted upon by the saliva and pancreatic juice. For the same reason, the crust of bread is more digestible than the interior part of the loaf.