Main Ingredients

Preface:

On this page you will find the core or basic ingredients that are required to achieve a baked product. We refer to these ingredients as main ingredients for a reason. In a world with 6 billion people and soaring, there are many more things being added to bread every day. Sometimes they are preservatives, and othertimes nutrients, but in either case, these additives are not essential to the creation of bread. These special ingredients are discussed in further detail on the preservatives page.

Flour

Structure and Support

Baking is almost always based around the usage of wheat flour. The word flour is derived from the powder that is obtained when grain is grinded down. There are other types of flours such as rye flour, atta flour, corn flour. All of these flours are mainly composed of protein and starch. However, there is a reason why wheat flour is the most commonly used flour, it contains high quantities of a protein classified as gluten. Most wheat flours contain about 15% gluten.

Gluten is a special type of protein that is often found in wheat. Gluten is very important during the baking process because once the fermentation process starts, it helps to keep the gases that are released from escaping the dough. The protein also adds to the elastic nature of the bread and helps provide a very "chewy" texture. Another great property of gluten is that when heated, it firms up in structure and therefore contributes to the strong structure of the bread.

The gluten in the flour, once heated will combine to form a web that traps air bubbles. Alongside this, the starch will also begin to settle in and contribute to the structure of the bread. The strength or rating of the support that the gluten provides depends on various factors such as:

• The conditions on how the wheat was grown.
• Special additives used by the miller.
• The actual grinding process.

The variables in these factors can affect the richness of gluten in the flour and the purity of the bread. Flour is easy to recognize because it is often sold in a powder form that has a tannish-white color. A process called bromination is usually done by flour manufacturers to whiten the flour before distributing.

Leavening Agents

Yeast

The term yeast comes from the Old English word "gist", and from the Indo-European root "yes-", which means to bubble or foam. Yeast is a eukaryotic microorganism from the kingdom Fungi. They are unicellular organisms that reproduce through budding. The specific yeast that is used in baking is called Saccharomyces cerevisiae and has been used by humans for baking for thousands of years.

The condition for yeast growth is a warm temperature, food source and moisturized environment. As soon as the yeast comes into contact with the dough, it begins to use the starch in the mixture to expand. This results in the formation of carbon dioxide (CO₂), glucose, and alcohol. The release of CO₂ is what causes the bread to rise. This is where method becomes greatly important. Dough must be properly mixed and kneaded to allow an even distribution of CO₂. The longer that the yeast is given to rise, the better the taste in most scenarios. In most home baking scenarios, dough is allowed two chances to rise to allow the yeast to fully exhaust the food source and ferment.

Baking Soda (NaHCO₃)

Baking Soda (Sodium Bicarbonate) is a leavening agent that is rarely used by itself in baking scenarios. Although sodium bicarbonate has the property to release carbon dioxide when heated, there are serious drawbacks. The following reaction displays this scenario: 2NaHCO₃ = Na₂CO₃(s) + H₂O(g) + CO₂(g)

The main drawback with the usage of baking soda is that it only releases a small amount of CO₂ and produces sodium carbonate. This leads to a bitter taste in the product which can cause some serious digestive problems. When using baking soda, it is important to add an acidic material such as golden syrup, or honey.

Molecular Formula	NaHCO3
Appearance	White crystalline solid.
IUPAC	Sodium hydrogen carbonate

Baking Powder (NaHCO₃ + H⁺)

Baking powder is a mixture of sodium bicarbonate with a weak acid added to it. Unlike baking soda, the acid that is added helps to neutralize the alkaline that is produced and therefore gives a very efficient product. There are several different solid acids that are used in baking powder, but most often bakers use tartaric acid. The type of acid that is used helps to determine the rate of carbon dioxide production, so depending on the desired product different acids are used. This chemical reaction is given according to the following equation: NaHCO₃ + H⁺ = Na⁺ + H₂O + CO₂

When baking powder is added, and the temperature is increased, carbon dioxide is released from the mixure. This creates the rising effect similar to that of yeast. People often prefer to use baking powder over yeast because of the time factor. Yeast can take several hours to fully expand while baking powder takes a much shorter amount of time.

There are three kinds of baking powders.

• Phosphate: A slower reacting single powder
• Tartrate: A form of baking powder that releases a certain amount of gas as soon as it has contact with moisture.
• Double Acting:This form releases gas on contact with moisture and also during baking.

The most commonly seen baking powder is double acting. Companies like Arm & Hammer produce it for home usage. It is a blend of sodium bicarbonate, sodium carbonate, aluminum phosphate, and silica.