Before Baking 7~8 - Zojirushi BBCC-X20 Operating Instructions & Recipes

Characteristics of
Ingredients
Characteristics of Ingredients
• All purpose flour is a blend of refined wheat flour especially suitable for making cake, croissants and pizza.
• Bread flour is a type of wheat flour made from hard wheat that includes all of the gluten from the grain. Since
bread flour has a higher gluten and protein content than all purpose flour, it is well-suited for use in yeast
breads. Gluten gives structure and height to the loaf, thus bread flour rises better than other flours. It produces
a higher loaf and bread that has a coarser texture.
• Cracked wheat* is very coarse in texture. It comes from wheat kernels cut into angular fragments. It gives
whole grain breads a nutty flavor and crunchy texture.
• Gluten is an elastic protein found mainly in wheat flour (all flour contains some gluten). Gluten is an
important element in all yeast breads, as it gives bread its structure or framework. Flours with a high gluten
content make the best bread flours.
• Vital wheat gluten (also called vital gluten or wheat gluten) is the dried gluten protein obtained from high
protein, hard-wheat flour by rising off most of the starch. Adding gluten to bread recipes helps improve the
strength, texture and height of the loaf, it is especially useful in recipes that call for wheat bread flour or low-
gluten flours.
• Whole wheat flour,
ground from the entire wheat kernel, is heavier, and richer in nutrients.
• Seven-grain cereal blend**
millet.
• Active dry yeast feeds on sugar and ferments it, thus causing dough to rise. Active dry yeast (simply dried
granules of yeast) is made of tiny plants that change food (especially gluten and sugar) into bubbles of carbon
dioxide. As these bubbles expand, the bread rises.
The recipes developed for the Home Bakery used "Fleischmann's active dry yeast" or "Fleischmann's rapid
rise yeast".
Active dry yeast should be kept in the freezer or refrigerator.
Please be sure that fresh yeast is used. Using old yeast is not recommended and may adversely affect the
outcome of your bread.
• Butter and Oil
tenderize the texture of yeast breads. French bread gets its unique crust and texture from the
lack of added oils. However, breads that call for oils stay fresh longer. Butter should be measured and cut into
small pieces. The recipes developed for the Home Bakery used unsalted butter; however, regular butter or
margarine can be substituted for unsalted butter.
• Eggs add richness and velvety texture to bread dough. Use large-size eggs in these recipes.
• Homogenized milk & Buttermilk
buttermilk for dry milk, but the loaf may come out shorter and the crust may be darker than dry milk breads.
• Salt is necessary when making yeast breads. It not only adds flavor but controls the growth of yeast, which
helps the bread rise. Too much salt can kill the yeast, but too little lets the dough rise so fast it may fall before
baking is complete. Salt also keeps bread from getting stale too quickly.
• Sugar
is important for the color and flavor of breads, as well as to feed the yeast. Recipes that call for sugar
require granulated sugar. Do not substitute powdered sugar or brown sugar unless indicated.
• Fructose* is a naturally occurring sugar found in fruits, berries, and honey. The taste of fructose is identical to
that of common sugar with the added benefit that it is 1-1/2 times as sweet as sugar.
Fructose is a carbohydrate which must be accounted for in the diet.
*Available at health food stores.
**Available at health food stores or in your local supermarket's hot cereal department.
* Available at health food stores.
** Available at health food store or in your local supermarket's hot cereal department.
BEFORE BAKING
is a blend of cracked wheat, oats, bran, rye, corn meal, flax seeds, and hulled
add texture and flavor. You may substitute homogenized milk or
- 7 -