> And, speaking of books, this one was mentioned recently:
> http://www.twobluebooks.com/book.php
> Some of that is available as a *.pdf file, including a section about
> the way that gas bubbles in dough are stabilized. There it is said that lipids
> (fat) can stabilize the bubbles, but quite a lot of lipid must be added to do that
> and it must be polar. Otherwise the bubbles are stabilized by protein, and
> adding small amounts of lipids is detrimental. There are pencil-drawn
> diagrams and plots that make it quite clear. The role of fats was recently
> under discussion at r.f.s., so that's why I mention it.
>
Thanks Dick -- I'm sorry I couldn't find the book. That's the passage to
which I was referring. I must have already packed it. My house is a
mountain of boxes right now -- glad I'll only live amongst the cardboard
for a few more weeks (including the unpacked state that will be my new
home for quite a few days, I'm sure).

Once I get to Corvallis (sometime in early August), and I finally dig it
out, I'll find the appropriate passage. I'll be interested to hear your
thoughts on it once you pick it up. It's a well written book that's
pretty technical in places -- a bit too technical occassionally for this
liberal arts major to follow entirely on the first read, anyway -- but
there's a lot of good information about the chemistry of bread. And
given your background, I don't think you'll have any trouble following
it at all.

And thanks to all the folks who posted suggestions on transporting my
starter across the country. I've already dried my main starter, and the
others should be ready for pulverizing when I get home today. I'll also
keep some doughballs in the truck cooler and give my wife a few for the
plane as well.

Best,

Jeff