How is bread made?
Bread is made by mixing flour, water, salt and yeast into a dough, kneading it, letting it rise, shaping it and baking it. Yeast produces gas that makes the bread light and airy.
When flour is mixed with water, two proteins form gluten, a stretchy network that gives dough its strength. Kneading develops the gluten. Yeast, a tiny living fungus, feeds on sugars in the flour and releases carbon dioxide gas and alcohol. The gas is trapped by the gluten, making the dough rise.
After the first rise, the dough is shaped and left to rise again, called proofing. In the oven, the heat makes the gas expand quickly, causing a final burst of rising called oven spring. The alcohol evaporates, the yeast dies and the outside browns into a flavorful crust.
Different breads
Sourdough uses wild yeast and bacteria from a starter instead of packaged yeast, giving a tangy flavor. Flatbreads, such as tortillas and some pita, use little or no yeast. Quick breads, like banana bread, rise with baking soda or baking powder instead of yeast.
Did You Know?
Archaeologists found charred remains of flatbread in Jordan that are about 14,400 years old, older than the start of farming.