What is bread?

Bread is the most common baked product, available all over the world, in some form or the other. Some are leavened, others are unleavened. Each country has its own recipe and special variants of bread. Bread is also available in many forms: leaved breads come as rolls, buns, loaves, etc., while unleavened breads would include pita, phulkas, chapatti, puris, etc.

Leavened breads, which are most common, use four main ingredients: flour, salt, sugar, water and yeast. To make bread, ensure that you scale and weigh the ingredients properly. Once that is done, you can start preparing the dough for bread. Mixed dough for yielding aerated loaf of bread should be fermented for the proper length of time during which time yeast cells act on the sugars and produce carbon dioxide and alcohol. Once fermented, the dough will rise in volume because of gas retention. This risen dough is punched to release the gases and covered under a wet muslin cloth. The dough will rise once again and needs to be punched again to remove the gases. It is then rolled into desired shapes and baked.

Bread dough can be shaped into various sizes and designs. They can be shaped into plaits, a chessboard (using white and brown bread dough alternatingly), rolls, sticks, croissants, loaves etc. They can also be flavoured with various ingredients like garlic, herbs, potato, cheese etc.

Bakers often use various additives, collectively known as Bread Improvers. These improvers enable the baker to produce loaves with better keeping properties, finer texture, softer crumbs, added bloom or enhanced flavour. Bread additives include mineral additives, enriching agents or yeast foods like malt sugar, Demerara sugar, etc.

When bread is a little old, it can be dried in the oven or toasted on an open flame and then ground into bread crumbs. Alternatively, bread can be cubed and deep-fried to make croutons, which can be stored for a longer time.

Staleness in bread is the dryness and crumbliness felt by the palate. The flavour gets insipid as the bread gets stale. Staling happens because of changes in the starch. Thus, staling is a shift of moisture within the loaf rather than its loss. Thus, bread makers use anti-staling agents like lecithin, soya flour, GMS etc. to improve texture and increase volume.

Here is a quick note on the various types of bread:• White Bread: This is made using refined flour or a combination of whole wheat flour and refined flour. It is the most commonly used bread, and also sold as sandwich bread.

• Brown Bread: Brown bread is generally made with 100 per cent whole wheat flour. Caramel is usually added to give the brown colouring.

• Multigrain Bread: It may be termed as Six Grain or Seven Grain bread depending on the ingredients. This bread is made using refined flour or a combination of whole wheat flour and refined flour, with grains like sunflower seeds, flaxseeds, safflower seeds, rye, etc., added to increase the fibre content. It is more nutritious than white bread.

• Rye Bread: It is a part of Russian, Scandinavian and German cuisine, and is made with highly nutritious rye grain. It is darker in colour, rougher in texture and stronger in flavour than wheat bread. Rye bread is disc-shaped, with a hole in the centre for easier storing, and can be preserved for longer periods of time.

• ita Bread: It is unleavened bread, which is not fermented much. It forms a pocket when cut into halves and these pockets can be stuffed with vegetables, cutlets, falafel, etc. Pita can be grilled or served just like that along with hummus (chickpea dip).

• Irish Soda Bread: It is a quick bread made with a particular variety of soft wheat grown in Ireland along with baking soda and buttermilk.

• Roti/ Chapati/ Phulka: These are unleavened breads of Indian origin. They are commonly made in disc shapes with whole wheat flour dough, and served with gravies, subzis, etc.

• Tortillas: Tortilla is a staple diet in Mexican cuisine. It is made using maize flour and is thin and disc-shaped (similar to Indian breads like roti). Tortillas can be stuffed or deep-fried and then served along with dips.

• Focaccia: Quite popular in Italy, it is seasoned with olives, sun-dried tomatoes, garlic and herbs. It can be topped with cheese or stuffed with vegetables and then baked. Focaccia dough is similar to pizza dough.

• Calzone: An Italian delicacy, this bread is moon-shaped and is commonly stuffed with vegetables.

• Steamed Bread: Unlike usual baked breads, this Chinese delicacy is made by steaming or deep-frying wheat flour based dough or rice flour dough. It can also be stuffed with vegetables.

• Baguette: Baguette is a popular boat-shaped French bread, which has a rough exterior and soft interior. There are several slits on the baguette, which give it its unique texture, and many a times it is sprinkled with poppy seeds, sesame seeds etc.

• Grissini: Commonly called as Bread Sticks, Grissini are pieces of dough rolled up into thin sticks, and then sometimes topped with sesame seeds, cheese, mixed herbs, poppy seeds etc.

• Ciabatta: A long, broad and flat Italian white bread, which looks a little compressed or collapsed in the middle.

How to select bread

• Always buy fresh bread; you can check the freshness using the crust texture and aroma of the bread.

• Never buy without checking the manufacturing date, expiry date and packaging.

Culinary Uses of bread in Indian Cooking

Bread is hands down the most baked product in the world. It is essentially a mixture of flour, water, yeast, salt and sugar. There are so many types of breads available in the world which use different flours, different leavening agents and different ways of making as well. Out of all the breads the most famous and common one is white bread which is either sold as a loaf or as slices.

1. Sliced bread loaves are most commonly used to make sandwiches. Not only these, but even other types of breads like Panini bread and French bread are used to make different types of sandwiches. These sandwiches can have fillings like vegetables, cheese, jam, proteins etc. They can also be made in various styles: toasted or grilled, open toasts, hot dog rolls, submarines, etc. The most common sandwich in Indian cuisine is a simple Vegetable Sandwich.

2. Bread is a good accompaniment for soups. These breads are usually in the form of bread rolls, Grissini sticks (bread sticks)

3. Bread buns are used as a base for burgers. Burgers are an American food item where different patties are put between the buns with different dressings and lettuce, and then eaten as a whole. Burger buns are usually sprinkled with poppy seeds or sesame seeds. Another similar type of bread is Bagel which is a little harder with a hole in the center.

For complete uses of Bread read this article.

How to store bread

• It is better to consume bread fresh. However, if you wish to store it for longer, cover in plastic film, place in a bread box and store under refrigerated conditions. Try and use as soon as possible.

• Alternatively, grind into bread crumbs or cube and deep-fry to make bread croutons, which can be stored in an airtight container for few days.

• Bread that is kept in warm or moist conditions is prone to mould. So avoid such environments.

Is bread healthy?

White bread is made of maida which is processed and is thus high in carbohydrates and hence a good source of energy. However, being high on glycemic index scale, it is not advised for people with obesity and diabetes. Further, white bread is devoid of other essential nutrients as they are lost in the processing of maida. Switching from white bread to whole wheat bread, multigrain bread or almond bread is a wise choice.