On food and cooking the science and lore of the kitchen ( PDFDrive ) 1004

essential to the development of a well-raised
bread. There’s evidence that some fatty
materialscanhelpstabilizethedoughbubble
walls as they expand and prevent premature
ruptureandcollapse.Othersbecomeattached
to starch granules and help soften the bread
structureandslowstaling.Similaringredients
added by the cook or manufacturer can
magnifytheseusefuleffects(p.524).
EnzymesSincetheflour’snormalendowment
ofsugarsisenoughtofeedyeastcellsforonly
a short period of time, flour manufacturers
have long supplemented the ground wheat
withmaltedwheatorbarley:grainsthathave
been allowed to sprout and develop the
enzymes that break down starch to sugars.
Becausemaltfloursgiveadarkcasttoflours
and doughs, and because their activity is
somewhat variable, manufacturers are
increasingly replacing them with enzymes
extracted and purified from microscopic


molds(“fungalamylase”).
TheProteinContentsofCommonWheat
Flours
Thesefiguresareapproximate,andassume
that the flour contains 12% moisture. The
bulk of flour weight, from 70 to 80%, is
starchandotherseedcarbohydrates.Highprotein flours absorb substantially more
water than low-protein flours, and so will

produce stiffer doughs with the same
proportionofwater.
Flour ProteinContent
Wholewheat,graham 11–15
Durumsemolina 13
Bread 12–13
All-purpose(U.S.nationalbrands) 11–12
All-purpose(U.S.regionalbrands,
7.5–
South,PacificNorthwest)
9.5