[Sca-cooks] bread, again

[Terry Decker]

> Betsy Marshall wrote:
>> I make bread with flour, water, salt, and yeast.. how essential is the 
>> oil?
>> Or does it depend on recipie/purpose?
>>
>
>
> Well, if you have a recipe that calls for fat and you leave the fat out, 
> you will get a different result.
>
>
> -- 
> Antonia di Benedetto Calvo

True, but it tends to mark a general bread recipe as being of modern origin 
and for a basic wheat loaf it's usually added in the recipe without 
considering why it's being added.  Fat added to a basic bread promotes a 
softer loaf and a longer shelf life, things critical to commercial bakers, 
but not necessarily to an artisan or home baker.

When one is baking, the type of fat and the quantity of fat are as critical 
using or not using fat.  Knowing what type of bread is being made is 
critical to deciding which fat to use.

Bear