Hi,

Just a few quick ones.

Does any one know why -

you have to sieve your flour and salt in recipes?
you have to let dough rest for a certain time before using?
you have to be careful not to over work dough?

Are there straight forward or scientific answers to these?

WebGangsta©
AKA [TWC] flOwenoL
http://thewiganclan.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/ <--- Clan Site under construction
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"WebGangsta©" > wrote in message
...
> Hi,
>
> Just a few quick ones.
>
> Does any one know why -
>
> you have to sieve your flour and salt in recipes?
> you have to let dough rest for a certain time before using?
> you have to be careful not to over work dough?
>
> Are there straight forward or scientific answers to these?
>
> WebGangsta©
> AKA [TWC] flOwenoL
> http://thewiganclan.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/ <--- Clan Site under
construction
> REMOVE CAPITALS IN AD FOR E-MAIL
>
>

Sifting aerates dry ingredients and sieves out lumps. Sifting helps
distribute small amounts of ingredients like salt or baking powder
throughout the flours. Sifting also help achieve a specific density and
helps one get an accurate measurement. For instance, it is common to see a
recipe call for "X cups of sifted flour." I have heard that one reason for
sifting flour was that it removed any insects that might be in the flour.
That said, I weigh my ingredient, I don't have bugs in my flour, and I
seldom sift.

Resting dough allows gluten fibers to relax. If you don't let the dough
rest, it is much harder to work. When you roll it, the dough tends to
spring back to the original shape and thickness. Letting dough rest also
allows time for moisture to redistribute.

Over-working dough generally applies to short doughs like cookies and pie
pastry. You don't want to prolong the working time because the more you
manipulate the dough, the more the gluten develops. Over-working results in
a very dough product. Bread doughs, on the other hand, benefit from
thorough working and it is very difficult to over-work them, especially by
hand.

"WebGangsta©" > wrote:

>Hi,
>
>Just a few quick ones.
>
>Does any one know why -
>
>you have to sieve your flour and salt in recipes?
Used to be that flour was lumpy. Sifting got out the lumps. Also,
and probably the reason it's still suggested, sifting together flour
and salt ensures a complete and uniform mixture of flour and salt.

>you have to let dough rest for a certain time before using?
Depends what kind of dough. If it's yeast dough, you need to give the
yeast time to rise. If it's a quick dough, the resting time is to
allow the gluten in the flour to develop enough so that the dough
won't fall apart when you try to handle it.

>you have to be careful not to over work dough?
The aforementioned gluten (which is what makes the dough hold
together) will get tougher if you work it too much. That makes the
finished product more boardlike.

>Are there straight forward or scientific answers to these?
Yep. It's not just "because". There are books out there on the
chemistry of baking, if you're really interested.

jenn
--
Jenn Ridley

That was EXACTLY what I was looking for thank you!

WebGangsta©
AKA [TWC] flOwenoL
http://thewiganclan.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/ <--- Clan Site under construction
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