[Sca-cooks] flatbreads

[Terry Decker]

You will find that chemical leavens start entering the picture in the 18th
Century.  There may have been some earlier (consider the debate over
hartshorn), but the evidence is inconclusive.  Chemical leavens depend on
the reaction between base and acid to create gas which in turn lightens the
dough.  They are best used in situations where a dough or batter is prepared
and immediately cooked.  A number of the early chemical leavens are no
longer in use as they can be poisonous.

The evidence is also inconclusive about why they were adopted, but I think
you will find chemically leavened breads are mostly related to earlier quick
breads which were unleavened or leavened with yeast.

Soft wheat has little to do with whether a chemical leaven is used, as low
gluten should not be equated with no-gluten.

Chemical leavens will lighten doughs other than wheat and works well in
griddle cakes and pan breads.  Considerations which I think were more
important than whether a region used soft or hard wheat.

Bear

>You know, I've been curious about that. Did the whole wide variety of
>baking soda breads, muffins, biscuits etc. just magically appear when
>someone refined (or whatever) soda? Or was it based on something, and,
>if so, what? Or have we any idea at all? Especially because the chemical
>leavenings seem most popular in areas with soft lower-gluten wheat
>(Ireland, the American South) which never did rise well with yeast. What
>did people do?
>
>Anne