A LESSON ON SALT AND FLOUR
Salt makes bread dough strong ... but it can make pie crust tough!a product of flour is gluten Gluten is made of two proteins, salt tightens the molecular bons between these components. adding salt to a yeast dough ncreases dough strengths and preventts weakness and stickiness, but it also increases the mixing time needed to reach macimum dough development.
the tyype of dalt makes a difference in how well it blends, flaky sea salt and kosher salt dissolve better than table salt, because they are more fargile
also salt can be harmful to yeast development by slowing down the activity of the yeast. so again ying and yang...
as for me I like my bread flavorful... so I use table salt.... I put in whatever salt the recipes call for. amd ot usually works... my baking is creative... and sometimesI never know what or how it turns out and we always seem to eat it all gone....
IT IS GOOD TO KNOW THAT SALT MAKES A PIE CRUST TOUGH,,,, WHICH NO PIE LOVER ENJOYS. so my advise on pie dough is make one that is easy and almost always tender.
PIE CRUST
(THE DRY INGRESIENTS WILL KEEP IN REFRIGERATOR BEFORE ADDING WET INGREDIENTS. THIS IS ENOUGH DOUGH FOR 4-6 CRUSTS)
5CUPS FLOUR
2 CUPS SHORTENING
mix well until it looks like crumbs.
1teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons salt
Mix well into the crumb mixture
1 EGG beaten well
2 teaspoons VINEGAR add wet ingredients gently stir. if it is still too dry add water 1 teaspoon at a time. LET IT REST 10 MIN.
ROLL OUR BALLS SHAPE DOUGH INTO PIE SHELL SIZE PIE CRUSTS.
ROLL OVER ROLLING PIN AND PLACE INTO PANS. AND away you go!!
NOW ABOUT FLOURS;
wHOLE WHAET FLOUR ..contains germ and bran
per dup whole wheat flour will have fewer gluten forming proteins than other flours,because it contains other parts of the kernal. WHOLE WHEAT makes heavier bread. it is ofter combined with high protein white flour for a lighter loaf.
WHITE FLOUR
DURAMalso called semolina is moderate high in protein it is used mostly in pasta
CAKE FLOUR is low in protein and finely ground and is bleached with chloring gas which makes it slightly acidic
ALL PURPOSE FLOUR
The protein content of all purpose flour and be like unto cake flour or up to or equal to bread flour. western flour is usually processed with hard winter wheat. which is usually what I have on hand to make bread... and it seems to work ok. eastern all purpose flour is uaually made up with a soft winter wheat.. so low in protein.
BREAD FLOUR
a high protein flour (14 g. per cup) is ideal for yeast doughs.. it is uaually bromated or other oxidizers.to make the bread lighter.
BLEACHED AND UNBLEACHER FLOUR
FRESH MILLED FLOUR MAKES A STICKY DOUGH and poor quality baked goods. As the flour is exposed to air, oxygen, it combines with yellowish pigments and bleaches them. oxygen also oxidizes sulfur compounds that interfere with a doughs elasticity. Potassium bromide improves dough quality. This product is called bromated flour.
So now you know a little bit about a lot of stuff. Use what you can to make a delicous product and enjoy baking ... it is worth it!
