The people in the modern world thinks that it is difficult to make a bread. In some terms, you can say that you are right. But in most of the conditions you are wrong about it. The actual fact about making a bread is mostly depending upon the climatic conditions (i.e. moist climate, hot weather, cold weather, etc) rather that a recipe. If a person knows what kind of ingredients and the quality of ingredients that he or she is using can definitely make a perfect bread.
In this Blog, I’m going to tell you the different kinds of ingredients along-with their functions that what kind of impact the ingredients provide to make a perfect dough.
The different kinds of ingredients which we use to make a perfect bread dough are as follows :
1. Refined Flour (i.e. Maida)
Refined flour which is the essential ingredients to prepare a perfect bread dough. It provides the required texture and structure to bread. Refined flour, which is high in protein, is commonly used in bread making because it produces a stronger, more elastic dough.
2. Wheat Flour
Wheat Flour (i.e. Wholewheat Flour) is used in a wide variety of baked goods. It produces richer and denser products than white flour (i.e. Maida). It provides gluten and starch for the structure of the breads. Because of having function to absorb moisture, components such as starch, proteins, etc. binds up to form a coherent structure in breads. It provides a richer nutty flavor due to the presence of the bran and germ. It provides a characteristic brownish color due to the bran’s characteristic pigments.
3. Sugar
The function of sugar in bread making is to provide food for yeast, which in turn, produces CO2 gas, that raises the dough fabric. It also helps in enhancing the flavor of bread. Sugar is a hygroscopic substance, helps in retention of moisture in breads. It provides golden brown crust color to breads.
4. Salt
Salt (sodium chloride) performs three principal functions in bread dough. The first function is that it is added to bread dough to provide flavor. The second function is that it helps to regulate the fermentation process. The third function is that it strengthens the gluten and helps to prevent the dough from becoming too sticky.
5. Yeast
Yeast which is the only ingredients in this list which is very important to make a perfect dough. It is responsible for the rising of bread dough. It ferments the sugars present in the dough and produces carbon dioxide gas, which gets trapped in the dough, causing it to rise and giving the bread its light and airy texture.
6. Gluten
Gluten is a protein which is found in wheat products. Gluten has the miraculous net that holds bread together. It helps dough rise by trapping gas bubbles during fermentation and gives bread its unique texture. It has a completely different consistency. It makes bread airy and satisfyingly chewy. It’s very hard to imagine enjoying a chewy cake or a bread that crumbles like a cookie without using gluten.
7. Bread Improver
Bread improver rapidly modify the gluten structure in a dough, to produce a matrix so that the minimum amount of gas can be retained and hence assist the expansion or leavening of the dough. It helps to increase the volume at the time of baking. It can improve the gluten network structure which provide the stability at the time of mixing bread dough. At the time of fermentation, it helps to maintain the gluten network structure stable to make the fermentation process successful.
8. Calcium Propionate
Calcium propionate, which is also known as Calcium Powder, a naturally occurring organic salt formed by a reaction between calcium hydroxide and propionic acid. It’s commonly used as a food additive known as E282 to help preserve breads and various baked products.
9. Water
Any kind of water which is fit to drink can be used for bread making. Water binds the ingredients together the insoluble proteins of flour, which form gluten. Too much water can spoil the binding of all ingredients.
10. Milk
Milk helps to improves the nutritional value of bread. It has a beneficial effect on the physical qualities of bread. It has a tightening effect on flour proteins which improves the gas retention power of dough. It improves the flavor and taste of bread. Milk can be used in bread in any form – fresh, condensed, milk powder etc.
11. Oil / Fats
Oil / Fats improves the nutritional value of bread. It is used in bread dough at the rate of 1 to 2%. In small quantities, it has lubricating effect on gluten strands, thus improving their extensibility which enables the bread to acquire good volume. It also helps in retention of moisture. Fat should be added during the last stages of mixing, if it is added in the beginning, it will make an adverse effect on water absorption power of the flour.
12. Eggs
Eggs are added to bread dough for flavor, texture, and richness. It helps to create a tender crumb and contribute to the overall flavor of the bread.
CONCLUSION
Each and every ingredients plays a great role in making the perfect loaf of bread. Water having the properties to mix to combine all the ingredients used in bread. Salt and eggs provide flavour to the bread. Refined flour and wheat flour used as a base to make bread. Without it, we didn’t think to make a bread. Gluten provides elasticity to the dough because of having elastic properties. Bread Improver helps to improve the volume at the time of baking and also helps to improve the gluten network structure at the time of mixing bread dough. Calcium helps to improve the shelf life of the bread. Yeast helps in the fermentation process of bread and sugar work as a food for yeast. Without it, yeast won’t be able to start the fermentation process.
So, the whole point is that if we miss any one ingredients in bread, we won’t be able to make perfect bread. But some ingredients like milk and egg which you can consider as a optional ingredient. If you don’t add these ingredients in your recipe, you can still be able to make a bread. But you don’t get the best quality of bread.
Here are the recipe of bread which you can try.
WholeWheat Bread
| Refined Flour | 500 g |
| Atta | 500 g |
| Vita Flour | 200 g |
| Milk Powder | 8 g |
| Salt | 10 g |
| Calcium | 3 g |
| Bread Improver | 3 g |
| Sugar | 30 g |
| Butter | 25 g |
| Yeast | 30 g |
| Water | 500 g |
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