Bread Machines For Dummies (7 page)

Several years ago, when bread machines had been in the United States for approximately two years, Glenna had the opportunity to attend a Celiac Sprue seminar aboard a cruise ship. It was certainly a rare occasion for her as well as for the Celiacs who were attending. Eliminating all forms of wheat, rye, oats, and barley from the diet can be socially debilitating. Not only do Celiacs have to avoid wheat-based bread, but also those cereal proteins that are often hidden in foods one would not even think to ask about. Eating out is difficult; a vacation cruise is almost unheard of.

However, the Celiac support group in Orlando, Florida, made the arrangements with a cruise line to have gluten-free meals and snack foods for the entire trip. Glenna went to learn about the disease and to learn about the ingredients used to make gluten-free breads. Several of the Celiacs knew how to make gluten-free breads in bread machines.

Glenna has worked through Red Star Yeast to develop gluten-free bread recipes for the bread machine, and several are available upon request. We have included some new recipes in this book because we feel strongly that no one should have to go without good bread. Bread machines make it so easy.

For more gluten-free recipes than what we've provided in Chapter 18, contact Red Star Yeast at 1-800-423-5422.

You can keep all-purpose, self-rising, and bread flour for six months to a year if you store them in airtight containers in a cool, dry place to preserve moisture, freshness, and baking quality. Do not store near heat. If you do not keep them in airtight containers, the relative humidity of the air will affect the flour's moisture content. In humid conditions, the flour absorbs moisture; in arid conditions with low humidity or high temperature, the flour loses some of its natural moisture.

Store whole-grain flours in airtight containers in the refrigerator or freezer. Whole grains contain oils that can turn rancid if not refrigerated. You can safely freeze whole-grain flours for a year. Be sure to freeze them in moisture-proof and vapor-proof containers designed for freezer use. We use heavy, self-sealing freezer bags.

Allow flours to come to room temperature before placing them in your bread pan. Because the yeast needs a warm, moist dough to be active, cold flours make the yeast perform sluggishly, and your dough will not rise adequately.

If you're in a hurry and you have cold flour, try microwaving it by using the Automatic Defrost setting. Measure the amount you need, cover it with wax paper, and microwave for a few minutes; then stir the flour and continue to microwave. Repeat this process until the flour has the chill out of it but is not hot. Stirring the flour helps to eliminate hot spots.

Getting the basics on leavening

Choosing which type of yeast to use

Explaining factors that affect yeast activity

Testing your yeast

Using other leavening agents

Even though yeast cells exist all around us, you need a microscope to see them. Yeast is a tiny plant organism with only one cell, about the size of a human red blood cell. It may be hard for you to believe that this microorganism actually causes bread dough to rise, but it's true. Yeast breaks down sugar into carbon dioxide gas. In bread dough, the gases form bubbles, which honeycomb the mass of dough and puff it out until it rises.

Louis Pasteur, the father of modern microbiology, discovered how yeast works and labeled this natural process fermentation; it happens when vintners make wine, when brewers make beer, and when you make bread in your bread machine.

Sometimes people ask if they can use baker's yeast to make wine. We explain that baker's yeast will ferment their fruit, but they may not end up with the flavor they had anticipated. Scientists have discovered that some strains of yeast enhance the flavor of fruits during the fermentation process much better than the active dry yeast normally used to make bread. And we don't recommend using yeast intended for winemaking in your bread machine!

We've heard people say, “Oh, yeast is yeast — it's all pretty much the same.” This just isn't true; the only sameness about it is the basic fermentation action. Scientists have actually “fingerprinted” various yeast strains and categorized them so that vintners will be able to select a particular strain of yeast to produce the desired wine flavor from their fruit. The yeasts used to make bread haven't yet been categorized as minutely as those used for wines, but it's only a matter of time.

Another question we often get is whether one can eat fresh yeast for nutritional purposes. We've heard it said that during the cold winter months, miners in the northern Midwestern states would take approximately an ounce of fresh yeast in their lunch box to prevent them from catching a cold. Today, no dietician or food scientist would recommend eating fresh yeast, as it would cause gastrointestinal distress. But it's true that yeast is very high in the B vitamins. That's why people use brewer's yeast as a nutritional supplement.

Some brewer's yeast is a byproduct of the brewing industry. After five to ten beer fermentations, the yeast loses its vitality and is no longer acceptable for making beer. It's then dried and sold as brewer's yeast, a nutritional food. Over the years, the term has become generic, and baker's yeast is often sold as brewer's yeast. The processing and drying of this yeast is carefully controlled so that it's biochemically uniform and remains inactive; the life enzymes that ferment sugar are dead, but the nutritional value remains. This “brewer's yeast” provides valuable amounts of B complex vitamins and protein when taken as a nutritional supplement. It has a naturally pleasant, toasted, nutty flavor as compared to the bitter aftertaste of the brewer's yeast that is a byproduct of the brewing industry.

Inactive dry yeast is used in animal feed formulations as well. Biochemists and food scientists have also discovered that yeast enhances food flavors. Inactive yeast is used in seasoning many food products, such as cheese- flavored popcorn, canned soups, and even ice creams. If you're into reading labels for ingredient contents, you often see yeast as an ingredient. Unless you're reading the label of a bakery product, the yeast is being used as a flavor enhancer.

Now that we've given you enough yeast information so you will get a blue ribbon for your science fair yeast project, the next few pages provide you with practical, bread-related yeast information.

Yeast is a
leavening
agent.
A leavening agent puts air into a mixture, thereby increasing its volume. In baking, the leavening action may be produced by chemical or biological means.

We like to think of yeast as similar to the seeds we plant in the garden. We plant seeds in warm, moist soil and they sprout and grow. Both yeast and seeds need food and warmth. While seeds flourish on soil and sunlight, yeast thrives on sugar and warmth. Seeds eventually produce more seeds, and yeast cells reproduce to form more yeast cells.

Active dry yeast

Active dry yeast is processed one step further than compressed yeast. It is extruded into noodle form, loaded onto a conveyor belt, and passed through a series of drying chambers where warm air is blown through the yeast. The yeast emerges with moisture content of about 8 percent, as compared to the 70 percent moisture in compressed yeast. Due to the low moisture content, the yeast is in a semi-dormant state. Therefore, it has a longer shelf life with little effect on its baking activity. It's highly stable and known for its consistent performance.

We use active dry yeast in all our recipes except those designed for the one-hour cycle.

Active dry yeast is the most common form of yeast available. It's granular in form because it has been dried at controlled temperatures and then ground. You find it in the baking aisle at your grocer in either 4-ounce jars or strips of 1/4-ounce packages. Each 1/4-ounce package contains approximately 2 1/4 teaspoons of yeast. Because yeast loses potency when exposed to oxygen, moisture, or warmth, both the jars and the packages have been nitrogen flushed and sealed.

Active dry yeast is available in warehouse clubs and restaurant supply houses in large 1- and 2-pound foil-lined packages that are vacuum-sealed. Unopened packages may be kept at room temperature, but be careful not to keep them next to the oven.

After opening a package of yeast, you may keep it in the refrigerator or freeze it. The yeast should be good for about six weeks if kept tightly closed and refrigerated. In the freezer, it will stay active for approximately six months.

Fast-rising yeast

As bakery production became automated, an incentive to develop fast-acting yeast existed. In the early 1980s, yeast companies began offering instant yeast to bakeries. Fast-acting yeast also showed up on the shelves of the local grocery store. As the yeast names (Quick Rise, Rapid Rise, Instant) imply, fast-acting yeast shortens the rising time for dough.

Although bread machine owners aren't necessarily concerned about the length of rising time, you can use fast-acting yeast in your bread machine. If you are substituting a fast-acting yeast for active dry yeast in a bread machine recipe, use less. A general rule is to use 1/2 teaspoon of fast-acting yeast per cup of flour. However, it's best to check the yeast label for the manufacturer's recommendation. If you're in doubt, call the customer-service hot line written on the packaging or check the manufacturer's Web site.

Fast-acting yeast is a must for one-hour cycles; use 1 teaspoon per cup of flour.

Like active dry yeast, fast-rising yeast is sold in grocery stores in 1/4-ounce packages and 4-ounce jars. It's also available in 1-pound vacuum packages. The larger package is marketed for the food industry, but buy it if you can find it. After opening, freeze the yeast in the original bag. These bags are lined with foil and are not porous, so the yeast will stay fresh for at least six months. Still too much yeast for you and your family? How about sharing with a friend?