‘The baker’s oven is generally a brick oven, heated thoroughly2 with coal or wood according to construction; if made for coal, the damper will be on the one side and the furnace on the other, so that the flames play all round the oven; if constructed for wood, it must be heated with a good solid heat, with wood burnt in the interior of the oven, and then well cleaned out with a scuffle. As to the degrees of heat of the oven the laborious3 explanations and number of them may be reduced to three—viz., sharp or “flash,” as named in recipes; the second degree, moderate or “solid,” as used for large or solid articles, as wedding cakes, &c.; then slack or cool.
‘The baker’s old-fashioned method of testing the temperature of his oven is instructive. He throws flour on the floor. If it blackens without taking fire137 the heat is sufficient. It might be supposed that this is too high a temperature, as the object is to cook the bread, not to burn it; but we must remember that the flour which has been prepared for baking is mixed with water, and the evaporation4 of this water will materially lower the temperature of the dough5 itself. Besides this, we must bear in mind that another object is to be attained6. A hard shell or crust has been formed, which will so encase and support the lump of dough as to prevent it from subsiding7 when the further evolution, carbonic gas, shall cease, which will be the case some time before the cooking of the mass is completed. It will happen when the temperature reaches the point at which the yeast8 cells can no longer germinate9, when the temperature is below the boiling point of water.
‘In spite of all this outside temperature, that of the inner part of the loaf is kept down to a little above 212 degrees by the evaporation of the water contained in the bread; the escape of this vapour and the expansion of carbonic acid bubbles by heat increasing the porosity10 of the loaf. The outside being heated considerably11 above the temperature of the inner part, this variation produces the difference between the crust and the crumb12. The action of the high temperature indirectly13 converting some of the starch14 into dextrin will be understood from what is already stated, and also the partial conversion15 of this dextrin into caramel. Thus we have in the crust an excess of dextrin as compared with the crumb, and the addition of a variable quantity of caramel. In lightly baked bread, with the crust of uniform pale yellowish colour,138 the conversion of the dextrin into caramel has barely commenced, and the gummy character of the dextrin coating is well displayed. So much bread, especially the long staves of life common in France, appears as though they had been varnished16, and their crust is partially17 soluble18 in water. This explains the apparent paradox19 that hard crust or dry toast is more easily digested than the soft crumb of bread, the cookery of the crumb not having been carried beyond the mere20 hydration of the gluten and the starch and such degree of dextrin formation as was due to the action of the diastaste of grain during the preliminary period of “rising.”’
A form of oven now much in vogue21 is borrowed from Vienna. It is built of stone or brick; the roof is very low, and the floor slopes upwards22 towards the far end. The effect of this form of construction is to drive the steam rising from the loaves down on to the top of them again, thereby23 giving them the glazed24 surface so much admired in foreign bread. Steam is sometimes driven in with the same object; being lighter25 than that rising from the bread, it drives the latter down. The ovens are heated from below. Loaves remain in for one and a half or two hours.
As in everything connected with baking, during the past few years great improvements have been made in bakers26’ ovens. Science has been brought to bear upon them, and we now have them heated by gas or steam in addition to coal and coke, besides improved alterations27 in many ways.
Nor do modern improvements in baking appliances stop short at ovens. Most bakers doing a good139 business use kneading machines, of which there are many in the market. With one exception—that of the Adair mixer, which has no arms nor beaters, but simply rotates, and by this action the flour and water pass through the rods of iron, which are placed crosswise in the machine, and become perfectly28 and proportionately mixed—they are all, more or less, on the same principle, of revolving29 arms, blades, or knives by which the flour and water are properly mixed, and the position of the dough being perpetually changed, it is effectually kneaded without the objectionable intervention30 of manual labour.
The earliest kneading machine that I can find mentioned is in 1850, when the illustrious philosopher, Arago, presented and recommended to the Institute of France the kneading and baking apparatus31 of M. Rolland, then a humble32 baker of the Twelfth Arrondissement. The kneading machine was described as exceedingly simple, and capable of being worked, when under a full charge, by a young man from 15 to 20 years old, the necessity for horse labour or steam power being thus obviated33; and it was claimed that in less than twenty minutes a sack of flour could be converted into a perfect homogeneous and a?rated dough altogether superior to any dough that could be obtained by manual kneading.
Another attempted improvement in the manufacture of bread was a?rating the dough without using any ferment34, such as yeast, etc., and this has been accomplished35 by means of mixing hydrochloric acid and carbonate of soda36 with the dough, or using bicarbonate of ammonia, or forcing carbonic acid into140 the water with which the flour is mixed. The latter is called the Dauglish system, from its inventor, the late John Dauglish, M.D. (born 1824, died January 14, 1866), and it is now in full working operation.
By this system carbonic acid gas is generated as if for making soda water, and, supposing a sack of flour was to be converted into dough, the following would be the treatment: A lid at the top of the mixer is opened, and the flour passed down into it through a spout37 from the floor above. The lid of the mixer is then fitted tightly on, and the air within it exhausted38 by the pump. The requisite39 quantity of water, about 17 gallons, is drawn40 into the water vessel41, and carbonic acid is forced into it till the pressure amounts to from 15lb. to 25lb. per square inch. The a?rated water is then passed into the mixer, and the mixing arms are set in motion, by which, in about seven minutes, the flour and water are incorporated into a perfectly uniform paste. At the lower end of the mixer a cavity is arranged, gauged42 to hold sufficient dough for a 2lb. loaf, and by a turn of a lever that quantity is dropped into a pan ready for at once depositing in the oven. The whole of the operations can be performed in less than half an hour.
The advantages of this system are absolute purity and cleanliness, but it is simply porous43 dough, and has not got the flavour of fermented44 bread. The plant, too, is very expensive, which renders it impossible for the ordinary baker to adopt it.
Certainly, machinery45 has been applied46 with very great advantage to the manufacture of another kind of bread, on which they that go down upon the sea141 in ships were wont47 to depend—namely, ship’s biscuits. Badly made of bad materials, and ofttimes full of weevils were they, so hard that they had to be soaked in some liquid before they could be eaten, or else broken up and boiled with the pea soup.
Up to the year 1833 the ships of the Royal Navy were supplied with biscuits made at Gosport by gangs of five men, severally named the furner, the mate, the driver, the brakeman, and the idleman. The driver made the dough in a trough with his naked arms. The rough dough was then placed on a wooden platform, to be worked by the brakeman, who kneaded it by riding and jumping on it. Then it was taken to a moulding board, cut into slips, moulded by hand, docked, or pierced full of holes, and pitched into the oven by the joint48 action of the gang. The nine ovens in the Royal Clarence Victualling Yard required the labour of 45 men to keep them in full operation, and the product was about 14cwt. of biscuit per hour, at a cost for labour and utensils49 of 1s. 7d. per cwt. This system was superseded50 by machinery, and biscuits have been for many years past produced with almost incredible rapidity, perfect in kneading, moulding, and baking, and at a cost for labour and utensils of less than a third of the old outlay51.
点击
收听单词发音
收听单词发音 |
1
baker
|
|
| n.面包师 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
2
thoroughly
|
|
| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
3
laborious
|
|
| adj.吃力的，努力的，不流畅 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
4
evaporation
|
|
| n.蒸发，消失 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
5
dough
|
|
| n.生面团；钱，现款 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
6
attained
|
|
| （通常经过努力）实现( attain的过去式和过去分词 )； 达到； 获得； 达到（某年龄、水平、状况） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
7
subsiding
|
|
| v.（土地）下陷（因在地下采矿）( subside的现在分词 )；减弱；下降至较低或正常水平；一下子坐在椅子等上 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
8
yeast
|
|
| n.酵母；酵母片；泡沫；v.发酵；起泡沫 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
9
germinate
|
|
| v.发芽；发生；发展 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
10
porosity
|
|
| n.多孔性，有孔性 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
11
considerably
|
|
| adv.极大地；相当大地；在很大程度上 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
12
crumb
|
|
| n.饼屑，面包屑，小量 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
13
indirectly
|
|
| adv.间接地，不直接了当地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
14
starch
|
|
| n.淀粉；vt.给...上浆 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
15
conversion
|
|
| n.转化，转换，转变 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
16
varnished
|
|
| 浸渍过的，涂漆的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
17
partially
|
|
| adv.部分地，从某些方面讲 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
18
soluble
|
|
| adj.可溶的；可以解决的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
19
paradox
|
|
| n.似乎矛盾却正确的说法；自相矛盾的人(物) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
20
mere
|
|
| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
21
Vogue
|
|
| n.时髦，时尚；adj.流行的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
22
upwards
|
|
| adv.向上，在更高处...以上 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
23
thereby
|
|
| adv.因此，从而 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
24
glazed
|
|
| adj.光滑的，像玻璃的；上过釉的；呆滞无神的v.装玻璃( glaze的过去式)；上釉于，上光；（目光）变得呆滞无神 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
25
lighter
|
|
| n.打火机，点火器；驳船；v.用驳船运送；light的比较级 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
26
bakers
|
|
| n.面包师( baker的名词复数 )；面包店；面包店店主；十三 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
27
alterations
|
|
| n.改动( alteration的名词复数 )；更改；变化；改变 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
28
perfectly
|
|
| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
29
revolving
|
|
| adj.旋转的，轮转式的；循环的v.（使）旋转( revolve的现在分词 )；细想 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
30
intervention
|
|
| n.介入，干涉，干预 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
31
apparatus
|
|
| n.装置，器械；器具，设备 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
32
humble
|
|
| adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
33
obviated
|
|
| v.避免，消除（贫困、不方便等）( obviate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
|
34
ferment
|
|
| vt.使发酵；n./vt.（使）激动，（使）动乱 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
35
accomplished
|
|
| adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
36
soda
|
|
| n.苏打水；汽水 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
37
spout
|
|
| v.喷出，涌出；滔滔不绝地讲；n.喷管；水柱 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
38
exhausted
|
|
| adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
39
requisite
|
|
| adj.需要的，必不可少的；n.必需品 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
40
drawn
|
|
| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
41
vessel
|
|
| n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
42
gauged
|
|
| adj.校准的；标准的；量规的；量计的v.（用仪器）测量( gauge的过去式和过去分词 )；估计；计量；划分 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
43
porous
|
|
| adj.可渗透的，多孔的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
44
fermented
|
|
| v.（使）发酵( ferment的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）激动；骚动；骚扰 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
45
machinery
|
|
| n.(总称)机械，机器；机构 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
46
applied
|
|
| adj.应用的；v.应用，适用 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
47
wont
|
|
| adj.习惯于；v.习惯；n.习惯 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
48
joint
|
|
| adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
49
utensils
|
|
| 器具，用具，器皿( utensil的名词复数 )； 器物 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
50
superseded
|
|
| [医]被代替的，废弃的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
51
outlay
|
|
| n.费用，经费，支出；v.花费 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
| 欢迎访问英文小说网 |