Better bread with science

Some months ago my son asked me to help him develop a science project

We looked over the suggested experiments and I gravitated towards those involving yeast.

We discussed ideas, he discussed them with his high school science teacher, and we settled on cooking multiple loaves of bread using different flours.

I liked the idea because using a bread machine would remove many of the variables.

It's now the second day of the school holidays and we've cooked almost half of the bread required for the report.

I'd assumed that hemp powder wasn't going to work and, although it required additional water, it seems it was too heavy to rise.

I've eaten some of it and it's okay with Vegemite, although very filling.

The big surprise just now was the result using supermarket's brand plain flour.

It's the cheapest flour we'll try and yet the result is comparable to the more expensive baker's flour, which contains higher-protein flour and also bi-carb.

The loaf is almost an extra-large size, despite being a large-size recipe.

In comparison, the Wallaby bakers flour didn't rise as high, but I guess the density is a sign of the protein content because it's definitely chewier and has a thicker crust.

Our final experiment is a blend of spelt and quinoa flours, which tasted great but didn't rise much more than the hemp powder. It was a lot tastier though.