NCOG Bread

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sydneydooley on 12 Mar 2017 at 07:41

The Bread Blog- NCOG Bread

 

 

North Carolina is home to many things. When visiting here you may see cracker barrel's, fields of crops, or Scotty MCcreery. Life is simple when you are in the south. That’s why we made our bread simply southern. When you eat NCOG (North Carolina Original) Bread you get a great taste while consuming only simple ingredients that will bring you back to your southern roots.  

 

Ingredients

  • 4 tablespoons of Water

    • Adding the water to the mix will allow the flour to become less stiff. It is IMPORTANT to add warm water in order to help activate the yeast. Adding 4 tablespoons of water will

  • ½ tablespoon of Coarse Dry Yeast

    • Adding the yeast will help the bread to rise. The enzymes in the yeast and the flour cause large starch molecules to break down into simple sugars. The yeast metabolizes these simple sugars and exudes a liquid that releases carbon dioxide and ethyl alcohol into existing air bubbles in the dough.

  • ½ tablespoon of Brown Sugar

    • Putting brown sugar into out sugar helps retain moisture in bread,  provides “food” for yeast, which converts it to carbon dioxide and alcohol, enhances breads flavor, gives the crust a golden color, and improves crumb texture. Honey or molasses bring out the grain in bread (specialty breads and brown more quickly). You never want to add too much sugar into your bread mix because it will cause it to be to sweet.

 

  • ¼  cup of flour

    • Flour is the main ingredient in making the bread, without it you will not be able to make the bread! The flour also will provide structure for the bread.

  • A Pinch of Salt

    • salt in not necessary in making bread. But adding herbal salt can enhance flavor. Yeast doesn't like salt, and rises faster without it. To make the yeast rise slower, use a bit less yeast or put the bread dough in a cooler place.

  • Oil

    • Putting oil into your bread mix is not necessary, but by adding oil is helps the yeast dough  makes your bread more tender and it will stay fresh for a longer time





Grab a quart sized ziplock bag. Put all of your dry ingredients inside this bag. This includes ¼ cup of flour, ¼ teaspoon of yeast, ½ tablespoon of brown sugar, and a pinch of salt and oil. Zip it up then mix.

 

Measure out 4½ tablespoons of pure water then heat it up to 120-130 degrees fahrenheit (rather it be your microwave or backyard fire pit).

 

Pour the heated water into your ziplock bag, then mix.

Add ½ a tsp of oil after you add the water, then mix again.




 

Let the bag sit for ten minutes. During these ten minutes you may take a nap, and dream of bread.








 

Once you wake up from your nap, add another ¼ cup of flour to the bag. Mix.



 

Take your contents out of the bag, knead for one minute, then bake for 30 minutes at 375 degrees fahrenheit .

Take your delicious bread out of the oven. Let it sit for a couple of minutes to cool off. Be careful, you don't want to burn yourself.



Enjoy!

 

THE SCIENCE:

Cellular respiration and Photosynthesis in Bread:

  • Cellular Respiration is is where the mitochondria takes food,energy we eat and changes it into a different form called ATP. Cellular Respiration can be look at as, Glucose +Oxygen= Carbon Dioxide + Water +ATP.

  • Cellular Respiration happens in the Mitochondria of all organisms including plants.

  • Cellular Respiration is important in making bread because the yeast in bread is using cellular respiration to break down glucose and convert it into carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide is what causes the bread to rise and makes the little air pockets.

  • Plants fall into this (wheat in the bread) because a plant seed is planted in the ground to make wheat. The wheat is then used in flour, which provides structure for the bread. Also, plants perform photosynthesis. Photosynthesis are the reactants of cellular respiration (Glucose and Oxygen) which again, helps the dough rise because Photosynthesis provides glucose and oxygen for cellular respiration to perform.

 

Anaerobic Vs. Aerobic Respiration:

  • Cellular respiration has two parts, anaerobic and aerobic respiration. Anaerobic Respiration is without oxygen and produces 0 ATP. Aerobic Respiration is with oxygen and produces 36 ATP. Humans and yeast both produce anaerobic respiration. There are two types of anaerobic respiration: lactic Acid and Alcohol fermentation. Lactic Acid fermentation occurs in animals cells (humans) when oxygen is absent. This happens when rapid periods of exercise when the body cannot supply enough oxygen to the tissues/muscles. On the other hand, yeast makes alcohol fermentation. Alcoholic fermentation occurs in plant cells and yeast is the absence of oxygen. Bread and wine are examples of alcoholic respiration. Anaerobic respiration is important in bread making because it is responsible for the CO2 process. In order for the bread to be made, it needs to have CO2 and anaerobic respiration. Yeast releases CO2 for the bread to rise.

 

CO2 Cycle:

  • All living things need carbon. The carbon cycle is where plants take in CO2, animals eat the plants to get CO2, animals breathe out CO2, and plants take in CO2. Bread making falls into the carbon cycle by the yeast in the bread, releasing carbon dioxide into the environment. This allows for photosynthesis to take place. This now causes oxygen and to be released for living things to take in. Temperature is related to yeast. The higher temperatures will result in more production of CO2 and the cycle keeps going.

 

Recipe Reflection:

After trial and error, we have made our best recipe yet. Our recipe was somewhat successful, although it could've been terribly worse. After examining our bread when it came out of the oven, it is safe to say that the recipe worked. In the beginning of kneading the bread, the dough seemed to be dry. Although it didn't rise much after kneading (perhaps the salt affected that), it did rise in the oven. When pulling apart the bread there was evidence of air bubbles (which was good). To the sight, the bread looked golden crunchy on the outside (from the brown sugar), and spongy soft in the inside. The bread was smooth to the touch and didn't seemed to be to rough. The only negative I would have to say, was the bread was a little hard and bland to the taste. Overall, the bread recipe was okay but it could be a lot worse and a lot better. I recommend trying out a better recipe that won't make your bread hard.

This recipe was designed and performed by Will Scudder, Sydney Dooley, and Abby Hyman of Apex Friendship High School.