On food and cooking the science and lore of the kitchen ( PDFDrive ) 1026

time and settle. A kind of settling and
strengthening also takes place among the
starch molecules in bread, but these have
toughening effects that are undesirable, at
least for bread to be eaten fresh. Stale
toughened bread does have its uses (see
box,p.542).
Themajorityofstarchmolecules,the
branchedamylopectinswithinthegranul,also
retrograde.Butthankstotheirirregular
structure,theyformcrystallineregionsand
expelwatermuchmoreslowly,overthe
courseofseveraldays.Thisistheprocess
responsiblefortheundesirablefirmingin
textureafterthebreadhasbecomesliceable.
Forsomereason,boththerateandtheextent
ofstalingarelowerinlighter,lessdense
breads.
Certainemulsifyingagentshavebeen
foundtoretardstalingsubstantiallyandfor
thisreasonhavebeenaddedtomass-produced
breaddoughsforabout50years.True


buttermilk(p.50)andeggyolksarerichin
emusifiersandhavethesameeffect.It’s
thoughtthatthesesubstancescomplexwith
starchorinsomeotherwayinterferewith
watermovement,therebyinhibiting
recrystallization.
ReheatingReversesStalingAslongasmuch

of the water released by the starch granules
remains in the surrounding gluten — that is,
as long as the loaf isn’t too old, or has been
wrapped and refrigerated — staling can be
reversed by heating the bread above the
gelation temperature of wheat starch,
140ºF/60ºC.Oncemorethecrystallineregions
are disrupted, water molecules move in
between the starch molecules, and the
granules and amylose gels become tender
again.Thisiswhytoastingslicedbreadmakes
the interior soft, and why a loaf of bread can
berefreshedbyheatingitintheoven.
Storing Bread: Avoid the Refrigerator