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Bread Making Ingredients
Flour
The type of the flour indicates the amount of mineral nutrients.
∙ Type 405: Plain flour (All-purpose flour) for cake, bread etc.
∙ Type 1050: Bread flour has a high content of gluten. As the gluten content is higher
than normal flour, it can be used for making bread in large sizes.
∙ Whole Wheat flour: Whole grain flour has no type number and is ground from
whole grains. Whole wheat flour is heavier and contains more nutrients than com-
mon flour. The bread made by whole wheat flour is usually small in size. So many
recipes usually combine the whole wheat flour and bread flour to achieve the best
result.
∙ Corn flour and oatmeal flour: Corn flour and oatmeal flours are ground from corn
and oatmeal separately. They are the additive ingredients for making rough bread,
which is used for enhancing the flavour and texture of the bread.
Sugar
Sugar is a very important ingredient, which increases the sweet taste and colour of
the bread. Sugar is also considered as nourishment for the yeast. White sugar is lar-
gely used but brown sugar, powdered sugar or cotton sugar may be used for special
dietary requirements.
Yeast
Yeast must be stored in the refrigerator, as the fungus in it will be killed at high tem-
peratures. Before using it check the production date and storage life of your yeast.
Refrigerate it as soon as possible after each use. Usually the main cause of bread fai-
ling to rise is bad yeast. The method described below will check whether your yeast
is fresh and active.
∙ Pour ½ cup warm water (45-50˚C) into a measuring cup.
∙ Put 1 tsp. white sugar into the cup and stir, then sprinkle 2 tsp. of yeast over the
water.
∙ Place the measuring cup in a warm place for about 10 minutes. Do not stir the
water.
∙ The froth that appears should come up to 1 cup worth. Otherwise the yeast is dead
or inactive.
Salt
Salt is necessary to improve the flavour and crust colour of the bread. Salt can also
stop the yeast from working. Never use too much salt in a recipe.
Eggs
Eggs can improve bread texture and make the bread more nourishing and larger in
size. The egg must be added and mixed in evenly.
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