Bread Machines For Dummies (9 page)
Read Bread Machines For Dummies Online
Authors: Glenna Vance,Tom Lacalamita
In different parts of the world, milk from various animals is used for food. In the United States, however, the dairy cow produces almost all of the milk on the market. Therefore, when we use the term “milk” in
Bread Machines For Dummies
we mean cow's milk. This food is among the most perishable of all foods due to its excellent nutritive composition and its liquid form. Pasteurizing milk solved a multitude of health problems, as raw milk was a carrier of bacteria that caused gastroenteritis, tuberculosis, diphtheria and even typhoid, undulant fever, and scarlet fever. Progress in dairy technology and public health has resulted in milk that can be depended upon to be safe, nutritious, and a pleasing food, even though it may be produced hundreds or thousands of miles away from the point of consumption. Protecting the quality of milk is a responsibility shared by public health officials, the dairy industry and you, the consumer.
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Keep your milk and milk products safe and fresh by following these precautions:
Keep milk and milk products in containers that will protect them from exposure to bright daylight and strong fluorescent light. This will prevent a reduction in riboflavin, ascorbic acid, and vitamin B6 content as well as the development of an off flavor.
Store milk in a refrigerator (40°F or less) as soon as possible after purchasing.
Return milk to the refrigerator immediately after pouring to prevent bacterial growth.
Keep the container closed to prevent undesirable odors and flavors from developing in the milk.
Keep canned evaporated or sweetened condensed milk in a cool, dry place. Once opened, transfer any unused portion to a clean opaque container and refrigerate.
Store dry milk in a cool, dry place and reseal the container after opening. Humidity causes dry milk to lump and may affect the flavor and color. If such changes occur, the milk should not be consumed. When the dry milk has been reconstituted (by mixing with water) it should be stored in an opaque, tightly covered container and refrigerated.
Freezing milk and milk products does not influence their nutritional properties. However, when thawed they may be susceptible to the development of an oxidized flavor and not be entirely satisfactory. Some people will use them for cooking and baking with no noticeable detrimental effect. Our suggestion is to use them with caution. Be sure to taste the thawed product before using it in a bread dough. Any off-taste does not necessarily go away by mixing it with other ingredients and baking it.
Do not use the delayed timer on your bread machine when any milk product is an ingredient in the recipe.
It used to be that scalding milk was necessary to kill bacteria that might affect the yeast activity and to alter a protein in the milk that played havoc with the gluten structure in bread. However, pasteurization has protected us from harmful bacteria and has altered the proteins, so scalding milk is no longer necessary.
In general, adding milk to bread significantly increases its protein and mineral content. You'll love the subtle sweetness and the soft, delicate texture milk adds to bread. The crust will have a rich color and be oh, so very tender. And, there's one more benefit in adding milk to breads: The bread stays fresh longer. Much of these attributes come from lactose, the sugar in dairy products. Yeast does not ferment lactose. Therefore, when milk is used in bread, the lactose will make the bread taste sweet, and the crust will be a golden brown, because of the presence of unfermented sugar. The fat in milk, as well as the lactose, makes the texture of the bread and the crust softer. And to make this even better, you can use whole or reduced-fat milk â with equally good results.
If someone is lactose intolerant, replacing milk with water is the simplest solution. Of course, the texture of the bread will be different without milk. There are other substitutions available, such as soy-based formulas, where the bread texture is very similar to bread made with milk.
There are all kinds of milk, as a quick glance at any grocery-store refrigerator case will tell you. Most milk currently sold, including whole, lowfat, and skim is fortified with vitamin D at a level of 400 International Units (IU) per quart.
Here are the types of milk commonly available:
Whole milk:
In order for whole milk to be legally shipped in interstate commerce, it must be: (a) pasteurized, ultra-pasteurized, or UHT processed; (b) contain a minimum of 3.25% milkfat; and (c) contain 8.25% milk solids not fat.
Lowfat milk:
Some of the fat is removed and the milk is named according to the amount of fat remaining, such as 0.5%, 1.0%, 1.5%, or 2% milk. All must contain at least 8.25% milk solids not fat. Because vitamin A is removed with the milkfat, vitamin A is added to lowfat milk at a level of 2,000 IU per quart.
Skim milk:
As much fat is removed as is technologically possible in nonfat or skim milk. The fat content is therefore less than 0.5%. It must contain at least 8.25% solids not fat and must be fortified with 2,000 IU of vitamin A per quart.
Evaporated milk:
Sweet whole cow's milk is evaporated so that it contains not less than 7.5% by weight of milk fat and 25.5% of total milk solids. About 60% of the water is evaporated from whole milk under vacuum to reduce the volume by half. The resulting concentrate is homogenized, fortified with vitamin D (400 IU per pint), canned, and heat sterilized.
Evaporated skim milk:
Must contain less than 0.5% fat and a minimum of 20% total solids and be fortified with 2,000 units of vitamin A per quart. It is produced like evaporated milk and vitamin D is added.
Sweetened condensed milk:
Processed in the same way as evaporated milk except that sugar is added before the evaporation takes place and the heated mixture is cooled rapidly, with agitation. Sweetened condensed milk cannot be interchanged for evaporated milk in recipes because evaporated milk does not have sugar added.