View Single Post
  #7 (permalink)   Report Post  
The Old Bear
 
Posts: n/a
Default Non-fat dry-milk...purpose?

(Anton S.) writes:

>From:
(Anton S.)
>Newsgroups: rec.food.baking
>Subject: Non-fat dry-milk...purpose?
>Date: 9 Nov 2003 22:14:41 -0800
>
>I was also wondering this same question. I've been using a bagel
>recipe that called for dry milk powder. I searched though these
>groups for awhile and found out that the milk powder is supposed to
>create a tighter crumb. . . . Makes sense for bagels since you
>want a dense bagel. . . .


My understanding is that non-fat dry milk is used in place of
skim milk or whole milk to produce a "softer" product. The
ubiquitous commercial "squshy white bread" was originally known
as a milk bread for this reason.

Dry milk handles well, stores easily, is inexpensive, and is
"reconstituted" by the water in the recipe.

But authentic bagels would never be made with any milk or dairy
products because of traditional Jewish dietary laws which forbid
milk to be eaten with meat. It would be too hard to determine
whether one had a dairy bagel or a non-dairy bagel, so bagels
-- like most Jewish baked goods -- are made only with water and
vegetable shortening (if any) and not milk and butter.

If you like making bagels with milk, be all means do so -- they
may be delicious. But just don't consider them authentic.

Cheers,
The Old Bear