On food and cooking the science and lore of the kitchen ( PDFDrive ) 1012

during mixing and react with the soda to
inflateaninitialsetofgasbubbles.Creamof
tartar, for example, releases two-thirds of its
leavening potential during two minutes of
mixing.Iftheacidisnotverysoluble,thenit
willremainincrystalformforacharacteristic
length of time, or until cooking raises the
temperaturehighenoughtodissolveit—and
then it reacts with the soda to produce a
delayed burst of gas. There are several
different acids used in baking powders, each
withadifferentpatternofgasproduction(see
box,p.533).
Mostsupermarketbakingpowdersare
“double-acting”;thatis,theyinflateaninitial
setofgasbubblesuponmixingthepowder
intothebatter,andthenasecondsetduring
thebakingprocess.Bakingpowdersfor
restaurantandmanufacturingproduction
containslow-releaseacidssothatleavening
powerdoesn’tdissipatewhilethebattersits
beforebeingcooked.


Chemicalleaveningscanhaveadverse
effectsonbothflavorandcolor.Some
leaveningacidshaveadistinctlyastringent
taste(sulfates,pyrophosphates).Whenacid
andbaseareproperlymatched,neitherisleft
behindinexcess.Butwhentoomuchsodais
added,orwhenthebatterispoorlymixedand

notallthepowderdissolves,abitter,soapy,or
“chemical”flavorresults.Colorsarealso
affectedinevenslightlyalkalineconditions:
browningreactionsareenhanced,chocolate
turnsreddish,andblueberriesturngreen.
Breads

Therearefourbasicstepsinthemakingof
yeastbread.Wemixtogethertheflour,water,
yeast,andsalt;wekneadthemixtureto
developtheglutennetwork;wegivetheyeast
timetoproducecarbondioxideandfillthe
doughwithgascells;andwebakethedough
tosetitsstructureandgenerateflavor.In