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88-634: Most of the territory of the plateau has been agriculturally developed, yielding grain crops as well as industrial crops . The Kulunda Main Canal , built at the time of the USSR , runs in a roughly southwest/northeast direction across the plateau. The Ob Plateau is located in Altai Krai and Novosibirsk Oblast at the southern edge of the West Siberian Plain . It extends roughly to the north of

176-657: A grain elevator or silo , to be sold later. Grain stores need to be constructed to protect the grain from damage by pests such as seed-eating birds and rodents . When the cereal is ready to be distributed, it is sold to a manufacturing facility that first removes the outer layers of the grain for subsequent milling for flour or other processing steps, to produce foods such as flour, oatmeal , or pearl barley . In developing countries, processing may be traditional, in artisanal workshops, as with tortilla production in Central America. Most cereals can be processed in

264-518: A 14,500-year-old Natufian site in Jordan's northeastern desert. Around 10,000 BC, with the dawn of the Neolithic age and the spread of agriculture, grains became the mainstay of making bread. Yeast spores are ubiquitous, including on the surface of cereal grains , so any dough left to rest leavens naturally. An early leavened bread was baked as early as 6000 BC in southern Mesopotamia, cradle of

352-444: A balanced diet. Many legumes, however, are deficient in the essential amino acid methionine , which grains contain. Thus, a combination of legumes with grains forms a well-balanced diet for vegetarians. Such combinations include dal (lentils) with rice by South Indians and Bengalis , beans with maize tortillas , tofu with rice, and peanut butter with wholegrain wheat bread (as sandwiches) in several other cultures, including

440-453: A certain amount of applied force. Because air pockets within this gluten network result from carbon dioxide production during leavening, bread can be defined as a foam, or a gas-in-solid solution. Acrylamide , like in other starchy foods that have been heated higher than 120 °C (248 °F), has been found in recent years to occur in bread. Acrylamide is neurotoxic , has adverse effects on male reproduction and developmental toxicity and

528-408: A coarser bread crumb. Dough recipes commonly call for 500 grams (about 1.1 pounds) of flour, which yields a single loaf of bread or two baguettes . Calcium propionate is commonly added by commercial bakeries to retard the growth of molds. Flour is grain ground into a powder. Flour provides the primary structure, starch and protein to the final baked bread. The protein content of the flour

616-401: A food trade imbalance and thus food security . Speculation , as well as other compounding production and supply factors leading up to the 2007–2008 financial crises , created rapid inflation of grain prices during the 2007–2008 world food price crisis . Other disruptions, such as climate change or war related changes to supply or transportation can create further food insecurity; for example

704-406: A loose-textured mixture composed of roughly equal amounts of flour and water (by weight); " biga ", a stiff mixture with a higher proportion of flour; and "pâte fermentée", which is a portion of dough reserved from a previous batch. Sourdough is a type of bread produced by a long fermentation of dough using naturally occurring yeasts and lactobacilli . It usually has a mildly sour taste because of

792-408: A role. Among the best-known cereals are maize, rice , wheat, barley, sorghum , millet , oat, rye and triticale . Some other grains are colloquially called cereals, even though they are not grasses; these pseudocereals include buckwheat , quinoa , and amaranth . All cereal crops are cultivated in a similar way. Most are annual , so after sowing they are harvested just once. An exception

880-412: A special taste or texture. At one time, all yeast-leavened breads were sourdoughs. Recently there has been a revival of sourdough bread in artisan bakeries. Traditionally, peasant families throughout Europe baked on a fixed schedule, perhaps once a week. The starter was saved from the previous week's dough. The starter was mixed with the new ingredients, the dough was left to rise, and then a piece of it

968-536: A sugar . In the 20th century, industrial processes developed around chemically altering the grain, to be used for other processes. In particular, maize can be altered to produce food additives, such as corn starch and high-fructose corn syrup . Cereal production has a substantial impact on the environment. Tillage can lead to soil erosion and increased runoff. Irrigation consumes large quantities of water; its extraction from lakes, rivers, or aquifers may have multiple environmental effects , such as lowering

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1056-500: A variety of ways. Rice processing , for instance, can create whole-grain or polished rice, or rice flour. Removal of the germ increases the longevity of grain in storage. Some grains can be malted , a process of activating enzymes in the seed to cause sprouting that turns the complex starches into sugars before drying. These sugars can be extracted for industrial uses and further processing, such as for making industrial alcohol , beer , whisky , or rice wine , or sold directly as

1144-571: Is carcinogenic . A study has found that more than 99 percent of the acrylamide in bread is found in the crust. A study by the University of Hohenheim found that industrially produced bread typically has a high proportion of FODMAP carbohydrates due to a short rising time (often only one hour). The high proportion of FODMAP carbohydrates in such bread then causes flatulence . This is particularly problematic in intestinal diseases such as irritable bowel syndrome . While in traditional bread making

1232-567: Is a staple food prepared from a dough of flour (usually wheat ) and water , usually by baking . Throughout recorded history and around the world, it has been an important part of many cultures' diet. It is one of the oldest human-made foods, having been of significance since the dawn of agriculture , and plays an essential role in both religious rituals and secular culture. Bread may be leavened by naturally occurring microbes (e.g. sourdough), chemicals (e.g. baking soda), industrially produced yeast , or high-pressure aeration, which creates

1320-466: Is a good source of carbohydrates and micronutrients such as magnesium, iron, selenium, and B vitamins. Whole grain bread is a good source of dietary fiber and all breads are a common source of protein in the diet, though not a rich one. Bread crust is formed from surface dough during the cooking process. It is hardened and browned through the Maillard reaction using the sugars and amino acids due to

1408-609: Is leavened by Clostridium perfringens , one of the most common sources of food-borne illness. Aerated bread is leavened by carbon dioxide being forced into dough under pressure. From the mid-19th to mid-20th centuries, bread made this way was somewhat popular in the United Kingdom, made by the Aerated Bread Company and sold in its high-street tearooms . The company was founded in 1862, and ceased independent operations in 1955. The Pressure-Vacuum mixer

1496-404: Is most commonly eaten with the hands, either by itself or as a carrier for other foods. Bread can be spread with butter , dipped into liquids such as gravy , olive oil , or soup ; it can be topped with various sweet and savory spreads, or used to make sandwiches containing meats , cheeses, vegetables, and condiments . Bread is used as an ingredient in other culinary preparations, such as

1584-614: Is no frost. Most cereals are planted in tilled soils , which reduces weeds and breaks up the surface of a field. Most cereals need regular water in the early part of their life cycle. Rice is commonly grown in flooded fields, though some strains are grown on dry land. Other warm climate cereals, such as sorghum, are adapted to arid conditions. Cool-season cereals are grown mainly in temperate zones. These cereals often have both winter varieties for autumn sowing, winter dormancy, and early summer harvesting, and spring varieties planted in spring and harvested in late summer. Winter varieties have

1672-614: Is not required. Rice can be grown as a ratoon crop; and other researchers are exploring perennial cool-season cereals, such as kernza , being developed in the US. Fertilizer and pesticide usage may be reduced in some polycultures , growing several crops in a single field at the same time. Fossil fuel-based nitrogen fertilizer usage can be reduced by intercropping cereals with legumes which fix nitrogen . Greenhouse gas emissions may be cut further by more efficient irrigation or by water harvesting methods like contour trenching that reduce

1760-427: Is often used to make injera . It can be eaten as a warm breakfast cereal like farina with a chocolate or nutty flavor. The table shows the annual production of cereals in 1961, 1980, 2000, 2010, and 2019/2020. (millions of metric tons) Cereals are the most traded commodities by quantity in 2021, with wheat, maize, and rice the main cereals involved. The Americas and Europe are the largest exporters, and Asia

1848-463: Is one of the oldest prepared foods. Evidence from 30,000 years ago in Europe and Australia revealed starch residue on rocks used for pounding plants. It is possible that during this time, starch extract from the roots of plants, such as cattails and ferns , was spread on a flat rock, placed over a fire and cooked into a primitive form of flatbread . The oldest evidence of bread-making has been found in

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1936-510: Is rice, which although usually treated as an annual can survive as a perennial , producing a ratoon crop. Cereals adapted to a temperate climate , such as barley , oats , rye , spelt , triticale , and wheat , are called cool-season cereals. Those preferring a tropical climate , such as millet and sorghum , are called warm-season cereals. Cool-season cereals, especially rye, followed by barley, are hardy; they grow best in fairly cool weather, and stop growing, depending on variety, when

2024-509: Is sometimes grown as a perennial . Winter varieties are hardy enough to be planted in the autumn, becoming dormant in the winter, and harvested in spring or early summer; spring varieties are planted in spring and harvested in late summer. The term cereal is derived from the name of the Roman goddess of grain crops and fertility, Ceres . Cereals were domesticated in the Neolithic , some 8,000 years ago. Wheat and barley were domesticated in

2112-427: Is the best indicator of the quality of the bread dough and the finished bread. While bread can be made from all-purpose wheat flour, a specialty bread flour, containing more protein (12–14%), is recommended for high-quality bread. If one uses a flour with a lower protein content (9–11%) to produce bread, a shorter mixing time is required to develop gluten strength properly. An extended mixing time leads to oxidization of

2200-407: Is the largest importer. The largest exporter of maize is the US, while India is the largest exporter of rice. China is the largest importer of maize and of rice. Many other countries trade cereals, both as exporters and as importers. Cereals are traded as futures on world commodity markets , helping to mitigate the risks of changes in price for example, if harvests fail. Bread Bread

2288-512: Is the main ingredient of bread and pasta . Maize flour has been important in Mesoamerica since ancient times, with foods such as Mexican tortillas and tamales . Rye flour is a constituent of bread in central and northern Europe, while rice flour is common in Asia. A cereal grain consists of starchy endosperm , germ , and bran . Wholemeal flour contains all of these; white flour

2376-418: Is the most important measurement in a bread recipe, as it affects texture and crumb the most. Hard wheat flours absorb about 62% water , while softer wheat flours absorb about 56%. Common table breads made from these doughs result in a finely textured, light bread. Most artisan bread formulas contain anywhere from 60 to 75% water. In yeast breads, the higher water percentages result in more CO 2 bubbles and

2464-498: Is the process of adding gas to a dough before or during baking to produce a lighter, more easily chewed bread. Most bread eaten in the West is leavened. A simple technique for leavening bread is the use of gas-producing chemicals. There are two common methods. The first is to use baking powder or a self-raising flour that includes baking powder. The second is to include an acidic ingredient such as buttermilk and add baking soda ;

2552-402: Is without some or all of the germ or bran. Because cereals have a high starch content, they are often used to make industrial alcohol and alcoholic drinks by fermentation . For instance, beer is produced by brewing and fermenting starch , mainly from cereal grains—most commonly malted barley. Rice wines such as Japanese sake are brewed in Asia; a fermented rice and honey wine

2640-459: The Puccinia spp.) and powdery mildews . Fusarium head blight, caused by Fusarium graminearum , is a significant limitation on a wide variety of cereals. Other pressures include pest insects and wildlife like rodents and deer. In conventional agriculture, some farmers will apply fungicides or pesticides Annual cereals die when they have come to seed, and dry up. Harvesting begins once

2728-473: The "organic" movements of the early 21st century, but there is a tradeoff in yield-per-plant, putting pressure on resource-poor areas as food crops are replaced with cash crops . Cereals are grasses, in the Poaceae family, that produce edible grains . A cereal grain is botanically a caryopsis , a fruit where the seed coat is fused with the pericarp . Grasses have stems that are hollow except at

Ob Plateau - Misplaced Pages Continue

2816-476: The Americas , Australia , and Southern Africa . This is in contrast to parts of South and East Asia, where rice or noodles are the staple. Bread is usually made from a wheat - flour dough that is cultured with yeast, allowed to rise, and baked in an oven . Carbon dioxide and ethanol vapors produced during yeast fermentation result in bread's air pockets. Owing to its high levels of gluten (which give

2904-747: The Fertile Crescent ; rice was domesticated in East Asia, and sorghum and millet were domesticated in West Africa. Maize was domesticated by Indigenous peoples of the Americas in southern Mexico about 9,000 years ago. In the 20th century, cereal productivity was greatly increased by the Green Revolution . This increase in production has accompanied a growing international trade , with some countries producing large portions of

2992-840: The Green Revolution , a technological change funded by development organizations. The strategies developed by the Green Revolution, including mechanized tilling, monoculture , nitrogen fertilizers, and breeding of new strains of seeds. These innovations focused on fending off starvation and increasing yield-per-plant, and were very successful in raising overall yields of cereal grains, but paid less attention to nutritional quality. These modern high-yield cereal crops tend to have low-quality proteins , with essential amino acid deficiencies, are high in carbohydrates , and lack balanced essential fatty acids , vitamins , minerals and other quality factors. So-called ancient grains and heirloom varieties have seen an increase in popularity with

3080-492: The Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022 disrupted Ukrainian and Russian wheat supplies causing a global food price crisis in 2022 that affected countries heavily dependent on wheat flour. Cereals are the world's largest crops by tonnage of grain produced. Three cereals, maize, wheat, and rice, together accounted for 89% of all cereal production worldwide in 2012, and 43% of the global supply of food energy in 2009, while

3168-553: The Sumerian civilization, who may have passed on the knowledge to the Egyptians around 3000 BC. The Egyptians refined the process and started adding yeast to the flour . The Sumerians were already using ash to supplement the dough as it was baked. There were multiple sources of leavening available for early bread. Airborne yeasts could be harnessed by leaving uncooked dough exposed to air for some time before cooking. Pliny

3256-564: The lactic acid produced during anaerobic fermentation by the lactobacilli. Longer fermented sourdoughs can also contain acetic acid , the main non-water component of vinegar. Sourdough breads are made with a sourdough starter. The starter cultivates yeast and lactobacilli in a mixture of flour and water, making use of the microorganisms already present on flour; it does not need any added yeast. A starter may be maintained indefinitely by regular additions of flour and water. Some bakers have starters many generations old, which are said to have

3344-400: The nodes and narrow alternate leaves borne in two ranks. The lower part of each leaf encloses the stem, forming a leaf-sheath. The leaf grows from the base of the blade, an adaptation that protects the growing meristem from grazing animals. The flowers are usually hermaphroditic , with the exception of maize , and mainly anemophilous or wind-pollinated, although insects occasionally play

3432-536: The straight dough process , the sourdough process , the Chorleywood bread process and the sponge and dough process . Professional bread recipes are stated using the baker's percentage notation. The amount of flour is denoted to be 100%, and the other ingredients are expressed as a percentage of that amount by weight. Measurement by weight is more accurate and consistent than measurement by volume, particularly for dry ingredients. The proportion of water to flour

3520-623: The water table and cause salination of aquifers. Fertilizer production contributes to global warming , and its use can lead to pollution and eutrophication of waterways. Arable farming uses large amounts of fossil fuel , releasing greenhouse gases which contribute to global warming. Pesticide usage can cause harm to wildlife, such as to bees . Some of the impacts of growing cereals can be mitigated by changing production practices. Tillage can be reduced by no-till farming , such as by direct drilling of cereal seeds, or by developing and planting perennial crop varieties so that annual tilling

3608-484: The Americas. For feeding animals , the amount of crude protein measured in grains is expressed as grain crude protein concentration. Cereals constitute the world's largest commodities by tonnage, whether measured by production or by international trade. Several major producers of cereals dominate the market. Because of the scale of the trade, some countries have become reliant on imports, thus cereals pricing or availability can have outsized impacts on countries with

Ob Plateau - Misplaced Pages Continue

3696-521: The Elder reported that the Gauls and Iberians used the foam skimmed from beer , called barm , to produce "a lighter kind of bread than other peoples" such as barm cake . Parts of the ancient world that drank wine instead of beer used a paste composed of grape juice and flour that was allowed to begin fermenting, or wheat bran steeped in wine , as a source for yeast . The most common source of leavening

3784-559: The FODMAPs that cause discomfort can be broken down during a rising time of four hours. In the study, whole-grain yeast doughs were examined after different rising times; the highest level of FODMAPs was present after one hour in each case and decreased thereafter. The study thus shows that it is essentially the baking technique and not the type of grain that determines whether a bread is well tolerated or not. A better tolerance of bread made from original cereals can therefore not be explained by

3872-624: The Hittite Sun goddess of Arinna , the Canaanite Lahmu and the Roman Janus . Complex civilizations arose where cereal agriculture created a surplus, allowing for part of the harvest to be appropriated from farmers, allowing power to be concentrated in cities. During the second half of the 20th century, there was a significant increase in the production of high-yield cereal crops worldwide, especially wheat and rice, due to

3960-532: The Ob river. They are about 10 kilometers (6.2 mi) in width and between 40 meters (130 ft) to 100 meters (330 ft) deep, stretching parallel to each other in a roughly northeast to southwest direction. Chernozem soils predominate in the open steppe spaces of the plateau. Some of the main rivers of the plateau are the Aley , Barnaulka , Kulunda , Burla , Karasuk , Bagan and Kasmala among others. Within

4048-485: The advantage of using water when it is plentiful, and permitting a second crop after the early harvest. They flower only in spring as they require vernalization , exposure to cold for a specific period, fixed genetically. Spring crops grow when it is warmer but less rainy, so they may need irrigation. Cereal strains are bred for consistency and resilience to the local environmental conditions. The greatest constraints on yield are plant diseases , especially rusts (mostly

4136-405: The bread is baked in an oven . Many breads are made from a " straight dough ", which means that all of the ingredients are combined in one step, and the dough is baked after the rising time; others are made from a " pre-ferment " in which the leavening agent is combined with some of the flour and water a day or so ahead of baking and allowed to ferment overnight. On the day of baking, the rest of

4224-498: The cereal supply for other countries. Cereals provide food eaten directly as whole grains , usually cooked, or they are ground to flour and made into bread , porridge , and other products. Cereals have a high starch content, enabling them to be fermented into alcoholic drinks such as beer . Cereal farming has a substantial environmental impact , and is often produced in high-intensity monocultures . The environmental harms can be mitigated by sustainable practices which reduce

4312-423: The crumb and the overall texture by stabilizing and strengthening the gluten. Some artisan bakers forego early addition of salt to the dough, whether wholemeal or refined, and wait until after a 20-minute rest to allow the dough to autolyse . Mixtures of salts are sometimes employed, such as employing potassium chloride to reduce the sodium level, and monosodium glutamate to give flavor ( umami ). Leavening

4400-569: The development of gluten in breads by coating and lubricating the individual strands of protein. They also help to hold the structure together. If too much fat is included in a bread dough, the lubrication effect causes the protein structures to divide. A fat content of approximately 3% by weight is the concentration that produces the greatest leavening action. In addition to their effects on leavening, fats also serve to tenderize breads and preserve freshness. Bread improvers and dough conditioners are often used in producing commercial breads to reduce

4488-702: The dough is allowed to autolyse . Water, or some other liquid, is used to form the flour into a paste or dough. The weight or ratio of liquid required varies between recipes, but a ratio of three parts liquid to five parts flour is common for yeast breads. Recipes that use steam as the primary leavening method may have a liquid content in excess of one part liquid to one part flour. Instead of water, recipes may use liquids such as milk or other dairy products (including buttermilk or yogurt ), fruit juice, or eggs. These contribute additional sweeteners, fats, or leavening components, as well as water. Fats, such as butter, vegetable oils, lard, or that contained in eggs, affect

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4576-407: The dough rises for several hours, industrial breads rise for a much shorter time, usually only one hour. However, a sufficiently long rising time is important to break down the indigestible FODMAP carbohydrates. Some flours (for example, spelt , emmer and einkorn ) contain fewer FODMAPs, but the difference between grain types is relatively small (between 1 and 2 percent by weight ). Instead, 90% of

4664-459: The dough sponginess and elasticity), common or bread wheat is the most common grain used for the preparation of bread, which makes the largest single contribution to the world's food supply of any food. Bread is also made from the flour of other wheat species (including spelt , emmer , einkorn and kamut ). Non-wheat cereals including rye , barley , maize (corn), oats , sorghum , millet and rice have been used to make bread, but, with

4752-425: The dough, which gives the finished product a whiter crumb, instead of the cream color preferred by most artisan bakers. Wheat flour, in addition to its starch, contains three water-soluble protein groups ( albumin , globulin , and proteoses ) and two water-insoluble protein groups ( glutenin and gliadin ). When flour is mixed with water, the water-soluble proteins dissolve, leaving the glutenin and gliadin to form

4840-502: The elements (alongside wine ) of the Eucharist , and in other religions including Paganism . In many cultures , bread is a metaphor for basic necessities and living conditions in general. For example, a "bread-winner" is a household's main economic contributor and has little to do with actual bread-provision. This is also seen in the phrase "putting bread on the table". The Roman poet Juvenal satirized superficial politicians and

4928-535: The exception of rye, usually in combination with wheat flour as they have less gluten. Gluten-free breads are made using flours from a variety of ingredients such as almonds, rice, sorghum, corn, legumes such as beans, and tubers such as cassava. Since these foods lack gluten, dough made from them may not hold its shape as the loaves rise, and their crumb may be dense with little aeration. Additives such as xanthan gum , guar gum , hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC), corn starch , or eggs are used to compensate for

5016-611: The foothills of the Altai Mountains along the left bank of the north-flowing Ob River. To the west it descends gradually to the Kulunda Plain . The average height of the Ob Plateau surface is between 250 meters (820 ft) and 260 meters (850 ft), reaching a maximum height of 321 metres (1,053 ft) at an unnamed summit. The plateau is dissected diagonally by wide ravines of glacial origin slanting towards

5104-486: The gas bubbles that fluff up bread. In many countries, commercial bread often contains additives to improve flavor, texture, color, shelf life, nutrition, and ease of production. The Old English word for bread was hlaf ( hlaifs in Gothic : modern English loaf ) which appears to be the oldest Teutonic name. Old High German hleib and modern German Laib derive from this Proto-Germanic word, which

5192-404: The glacial trenches there are a number of salt lakes , such as Gorkoye (Chernokurynskoye) , Gorkoye (Novichikhinsky District) , Gorkoye (Tyumentsevsky District) , Bakhmatovskoye and Gorkoye-Peresheyechnoye . There are forests made up mostly of birch in the ravines, as well as remnants of coniferous taiga in higher areas. Wetlands and lakes are common in the river valleys cutting across

5280-800: The impact on soil and improve biodiversity, such as no-till farming and intercropping . Wheat, barley, rye , and oats were gathered and eaten in the Fertile Crescent during the early Neolithic . Cereal grains 19,000 years old have been found at the Ohalo II site in Israel , with charred remnants of wild wheat and barley. During the same period, farmers in China began to farm rice and millet, using human-made floods and fires as part of their cultivation regimen. The use of soil conditioners , including manure , fish, compost and ashes , appears to have begun early, and developed independently in areas of

5368-510: The ingredients are added, and the process continues as with straight dough. This produces a more flavorful bread with better texture. Many bakers see the starter method as a compromise between the reliable results of baker's yeast and the flavor and complexity of a longer fermentation. It also allows the baker to use only a minimal amount of baker's yeast, which was scarce and expensive when it first became available. Most yeasted pre-ferments fall into one of three categories: " poolish " or "pouliche",

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5456-1000: The intense heat at the bread surface. The crust of most breads is harder, and more complexly and intensely flavored, than the rest. Old wives' tales suggest that eating the bread crust makes a person's hair curlier. Additionally, the crust is rumored to be healthier than the remainder of the bread. Some studies have shown that this is true as the crust has more dietary fiber and antioxidants such as pronyl - lysine . Doughs are usually baked , but in some cuisines breads are steamed (e.g., mantou ), fried (e.g., puri ), or baked on an unoiled frying pan (e.g., tortillas ). It may be leavened or unleavened (e.g. matzo ). Salt , fat and leavening agents such as yeast and baking soda are common ingredients, though bread may contain other ingredients, such as milk , egg , sugar , spice , fruit (such as raisins ), vegetables (such as onion ), nuts (such as walnut ) or seeds (such as poppy ). Methods of processing dough into bread include

5544-552: The lack of gluten. In wheat , phenolic compounds are mainly found in hulls in the form of insoluble bound ferulic acid , where it is relevant to wheat resistance to fungal diseases. Rye bread contains phenolic acids and ferulic acid dehydrodimers . Three natural phenolic glucosides, secoisolariciresinol diglucoside , p-coumaric acid glucoside and ferulic acid glucoside , can be found in commercial breads containing flaxseed . Glutenin and gliadin are functional proteins found in wheat bread that contribute to

5632-509: The need for irrigation, and by breeding new crop varieties. Some cereals such as rice require little preparation before human consumption. For example, to make plain cooked rice , raw milled rice is washed and boiled. Foods such as porridge and muesli may be made largely of whole cereals, especially oats, whereas commercial breakfast cereals such as granola may be highly processed and combined with sugars, oils , and other products. Cereals can be ground to make flour. Wheat flour

5720-486: The original cereal itself, but rather by the fact that traditional, artisanal baking techniques are generally used when baking original cereals, which include a long dough process. The study also showed that a long rising time also breaks down undesirable phytates more effectively, flavors develop better, and the finished bread contains more biologically accessible trace elements . Bread can be served at many temperatures ; once baked, it can subsequently be toasted . It

5808-481: The plant can be allowed to decompose, or collected as straw ; this can be used for animal bedding, mulch, and a growing medium for mushrooms. It is used in crafts such as building with cob or straw-bale construction . If cereals are not completely dry when harvested, such as when the weather is rainy, the stored grain will be spoilt by mould fungi such as Aspergillus and Penicillium . This can be prevented by drying it artificially. It may then be stored in

5896-465: The plants and seeds are dry enough. Harvesting in mechanized agricultural systems is by combine harvester , a machine which drives across the field in a single pass in which it cuts the stalks and then threshes and winnows the grain. In traditional agricultural systems, mostly in the Global South , harvesting may be by hand, using tools such as scythes and grain cradles . Leftover parts of

5984-424: The plateau. Grain crops A cereal is a grass cultivated for its edible grain . Cereals are the world's largest crops, and are therefore staple foods . They include rice , wheat , rye , oats , barley , millet , and maize . Edible grains from other plant families, such as buckwheat and quinoa , are pseudocereals . Most cereals are annuals , producing one crop from each planting, though rice

6072-540: The production of oats and rye has drastically fallen from their 1960s levels. Other cereals not included in the U.N.'s Food and Agriculture Organization statistics include wild rice , which is grown in small amounts in North America, and teff , an ancient grain that is a staple in Ethiopia . Teff is grown in sub-Saharan Africa as a grass primarily for feeding horses. It is high in fiber and protein. Its flour

6160-750: The public as caring only for " panem et circenses " ( bread and circuses ). In Russia in 1917, the Bolsheviks promised "peace, land, and bread." The term " breadbasket " denotes an agriculturally productive region. In parts of Northern , Central , Southern and Eastern Europe bread and salt is offered as a welcome to guests. In India , life's basic necessities are often referred to as "roti, kapra aur makan" (bread, clothes, and house). Words for bread, including "dough" and "bread" itself, are used in English -speaking countries as synonyms for money . A remarkable or revolutionary innovation may be called

6248-463: The reaction of the acid with the soda produces gas. Chemically leavened breads are called quick breads and soda breads . This method is commonly used to make muffins , pancakes , American-style biscuits , and quick breads such as banana bread . Many breads are leavened by yeast . The yeast most commonly used for leavening bread is Saccharomyces cerevisiae , the same species used for brewing alcoholic beverages. This yeast ferments some of

6336-467: The removal of the bran and germ, all that remains is the starchy endosperm. In some developing countries , cereals constitute a majority of daily sustenance. In developed countries , cereal consumption is moderate and varied but still substantial, primarily in the form of refined and processed grains. Some cereals are deficient in the essential amino acid lysine , obliging vegetarian cultures to combine their diet of cereal grains with legumes to obtain

6424-412: The same pattern. Water is mixed with flour, salt and the leavening agent. Other additions (spices, herbs, fats, seeds, fruit, etc.) are not needed to bake bread, but are often used. The mixed dough is then allowed to rise one or more times (a longer rising time results in more flavor, so bakers often "punch down" the dough and let it rise again), loaves are formed, and (after an optional final rising time)

6512-547: The structure of bread. Glutenin forms interconnected gluten networks within bread through interchain disulfide bonds. Gliadin binds weakly to the gluten network established by glutenin via intrachain disulfide bonds. Structurally, bread can be defined as an elastic-plastic foam (same as styrofoam ). The glutenin protein contributes to its elastic nature, as it is able to regain its initial shape after deformation. The gliadin protein contributes to its plastic nature, because it demonstrates non-reversible structural change after

6600-415: The structure of the resulting bread. When relatively dry dough is worked by kneading , or wet dough is allowed to rise for a long time (see no-knead bread ), the glutenin forms strands of long, thin, chainlike molecules, while the shorter gliadin forms bridges between the strands of glutenin. The resulting networks of strands produced by these two proteins are known as gluten . Gluten development improves if

6688-445: The sugars producing carbon dioxide . Commercial bakers often leaven their dough with commercially produced baker's yeast . Baker's yeast has the advantage of producing uniform, quick, and reliable results, because it is obtained from a pure culture . Many artisan bakers produce their own yeast with a growth culture. If kept in the right conditions, it provides leavening for many years. The baker's yeast and sourdough methods follow

6776-404: The temperature goes above around 30 °C or 85 °F. Warm-season cereals, in contrast, require hot weather and cannot tolerate frost. Cool-season cereals can be grown in highlands in the tropics, where they sometimes deliver several crops in a single year. In the tropics, warm-season cereals can be grown at any time of the year. In temperate zones, these cereals can only be grown when there

6864-472: The time needed for rising and to improve texture and volume and to give antistaling effects. The substances used may be oxidising agents to strengthen the dough or reducing agents to develop gluten and reduce mixing time, emulsifiers to strengthen the dough or to provide other properties such as making slicing easier, or enzymes to increase gas production. Salt ( sodium chloride ) is very often added to enhance flavor and restrict yeast activity. It also affects

6952-635: The time taken to produce a loaf. The process, whose high-energy mixing allows for the use of grain with a lower protein content, is now widely used around the world in large factories. As a result, bread can be produced very quickly and at low costs to the manufacturer and the consumer. However, there has been some criticism of the effect on nutritional value. Bread is the staple food of the Middle East , Central Asia , North Africa , Europe , and in European-derived cultures such as those in

7040-435: The use of breadcrumbs to provide crunchy crusts or thicken sauces; toasted cubes of bread, called croutons , are used as a salad topping; seasoned bread is used as stuffing inside roasted turkey; sweet or savoury bread puddings are made with bread and various liquids; egg and milk-soaked bread is fried as French toast ; and bread is used as a binding agent in sausages , meatballs and other ground meat products. Bread

7128-451: The water from the inner surface of the bubbles within the dough. The steam expands and makes the bread rise. This is the main factor in the rising of bread once it has been put in the oven. CO 2 generation, on its own, is too small to account for the rise. Heat kills bacteria or yeast at an early stage, so the CO 2 generation is stopped. Salt-rising bread does not use yeast. Instead, it

7216-601: The world including Mesopotamia , the Nile Valley , and Eastern Asia. Cereals that became modern barley and wheat were domesticated some 8,000 years ago in the Fertile Crescent. Millets and rice were domesticated in East Asia, while sorghum and other millets were domesticated in sub-Saharan West Africa, primarily as feed for livestock. Maize arose from a single domestication in Mesoamerica about 9,000 years ago. In these agricultural regions, religion

7304-508: Was borrowed into some Slavic ( Czech : chléb , Polish : bochen chleba , Russian : khleb ) and Finnic ( Finnish : leipä , Estonian : leib ) languages as well. The Middle and Modern English word bread appears in other Germanic languages , such as West Frisian : brea , Dutch : brood , German : Brot , Swedish : bröd , and Norwegian and Danish : brød ; it may be related to brew or perhaps to break , originally meaning "broken piece", "morsel". Bread

7392-534: Was later developed by the Flour Milling and Baking Research Association for the Chorleywood bread process . It manipulates the gas bubble size and optionally the composition of gases in the dough via the gas applied to the headspace. Bread has a significance beyond mere nutrition in many cultures because of its history and contemporary importance. Bread is also significant in Christianity as one of

7480-674: Was made in China some 9,000 years ago. Cereals and their related byproducts such as hay are routinely fed to farm animals . Common cereals as animal food include maize, barley, wheat, and oats. Moist grains may be treated chemically or made into silage ; mechanically flattened or crimped, and kept in airtight storage until used; or stored dry with a moisture content of less than 14%. Commercially, grains are often combined with other materials and formed into feed pellets. As whole grains , cereals provide carbohydrates , polyunsaturated fats , protein , vitamins , and minerals . When processed by

7568-496: Was often shaped by the divinity associated with the grain and harvests. In the Mesopotamian creation myth, an era of civilization is inaugurated by the grain goddess Ashnan . The Roman goddess Ceres presided over agriculture, grain crops, fertility, and motherhood; the term cereal is derived from Latin cerealis , "of grain", originally meaning "of [the goddess] Ceres". Several gods of antiquity combined agriculture and war:

7656-499: Was saved to be the starter for next week's bread. The rapid expansion of steam produced during baking leavens the bread, which is as simple as it is unpredictable. Steam-leavening is unpredictable since the steam is not produced until the bread is baked. Steam leavening happens regardless of the raising agents (baking soda, yeast, baking powder, sour dough, beaten egg white) included in the mix. The leavening agent either contains air bubbles or generates carbon dioxide. The heat vaporises

7744-408: Was to retain a piece of dough from the previous day to use as a form of sourdough starter , as Pliny also reported. The ancient Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans all considered the degree of refinement in the bakery arts as a sign of civilization. The Chorleywood bread process was developed in 1961; it uses the intense mechanical working of dough to dramatically reduce the fermentation period and

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