On food and cooking the science and lore of the kitchen ( PDFDrive ) 1014

weakens the gluten network, while a
somewhat alkaline water strengthens it. Hard
water will produce a firmer dough thanks to
the cross-linking effects of calcium and
magnesium. The proportion of water also
influences dough consistency. The standard
proportion for a firm bread dough capable of
good aeration is 65 parts water to 100 parts
all-purpose flour by weight (40% of the
combined weight). Less water will produce a
firmer, less extensible dough and a denser
loaf, while more water produces a soft, less
elastic dough and an open-textured loaf. Wet
doughs that are barely kneadable — for
example the Italiancia-batta — may be 80
parts water or more per 100 flour (45%).
High-proteinfloursabsorbasmuchasathird
more water than all-purpose flours, so water
proportions and corresponding textures also
dependonthenatureoftheflourused.
SaltThoughsometraditionalbreadsaremade


withoutsalt,mostincludeit,andnotjustfora
balancedtaste.At1.5–2%oftheflourweight,
salttightenstheglutennetworkandimproves
the volume of the finished loaf. (The
tighteningisespeciallyevidentintheautolyse
mixing method, below.) Unrefined sea salts
that contain calcium and magnesium
impurities may produce the additional gluten

strengthening that mineral-rich hard water
does. In sourdoughs, salt also helps limit the
protein-digesting activity of the souring
bacteria, which can otherwise damage the
gluten.
YeastThebakercanincorporateyeastinvery
differentformsandproportions.Forasimple
doughtobefullyleavenedandbakedinafew
hours, the standard proportion for cake yeast
is 0.5–4% of the flour weight, or 2.5–20 gm
per pound/500 gm flour; for dried yeast,
approximately half these numbers. If the
dough is to be fermented slowly overnight,