The consistency changes, the starch is washed
out and a rubbery, sticky ball is left--the _gluten_, which is the
protein of the wheat. It is this gluten in the flour that stretches
when bread rises and then stiffens when it is baked, making a light,
porous loaf. Wheat is the only one of the cereals that has much
gluten; rye has a little and the others practically none.
Gluten seems to be essential to the making of a light, yeast-raised
loaf. Products raised with baking-powder, for which our standard of
lightness is different--"quick breads" like biscuits and muffins
and cakes--do not require the gluten and can easily be made from
substitute cereals. But for our ordinary loaf of bread, at least some
wheat seems to be almost essential, though with skill in the making,
rye can be made to serve in its place. Patriotic bakers and housewives
all over the country have been trying to produce a wheatless
loaf which is light, palatable, and sufficiently durable to stand
transportation. The durability is a very important consideration;
crumbly corn bread cannot be distributed by bakers nor served to
armies. Corn bread and the other quick breads are chiefly home-made
products.
OUR PRESENT PROBLEM, THEREFORE, IS TO MAKE THE MOST EFFECTIVE
POSSIBLE USE OF OUR WHEAT GLUTEN, TO MAKE IT GO AS FAR AS POSSIBLE IN
OUR BREADS. BOTH BAKERS AND PRIVATE INDIVIDUALS HAVE THEIR SHARE IN
SOLVING THE PROBLEM.
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