Sugar brews and the chorleywood bread process

The use of sugar brews in a mechanical development process for the production of English‐type bread was examined. In the absence of ascorbic acid as dough improver, the great improvement given to bread volume and softness by a strong brew with high yeast content was somewhat diminished when the yeast content was decreased to a normal level, and marginally further diminished when its starting sugar content was also reduced. These reductions overcame some disadvantages of the original brew and the brew effect was still appreciable, the bread being quite good provided that the flour had received normal bleaching and oxidising treatment at the mill. With untreated flour, other process modifications were necessary for the production of acceptable brew bread without a chemical improver. Even a strong brew only partly replaced flour treatment and oxidising improver simultaneously. With normally treated flour, the strongest brew had a favourable effect on the work input requirement at dough mixing and reduced the need for intermediate proof. The former advantage was lost when the strength of the brew was decreased, and the latter was diminished when the yeast content of the dough was decreased.