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#3120 06/15/00 07:06 PM
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Where does sourdough bread come into all of this? Is it soda bread pronounced differently?


#3121 06/15/00 07:22 PM
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Sourdough bread is quite lovely and also quite different.

Soda bread does not have any yeast and relies on the action of the baking soda to make the bread rise. http://www.ibmpcug.co.uk/~owls/sodabred.htm

Sourdough uses a yeast "starter" which is well described in the following website http://joejaworski.com/bread1.htm

The great thing about Sourdough bread is, for me, that it doesn't have any added sugar. When I lived in New York for a while in the early eighties I spent ages trailing round shops in search of bread that was not heavily manufactured. I didn't discover any bread that did not taste sweet. I began to wonder if it was possible to make bread without sugar (I checked with a baker back here, the yeast works quite happily without sugar). I was delighted when I went back to the USA in the early nineties to discover the popularity of sourdough bread. I'm sure it was there all the time, I was just looking in the wrong places!



#3122 06/27/00 03:54 AM
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I am typing this out timorously because I know I am going to put my foot in (the dough?) when it comes to describing the differences between the breads, and my ignorance begins to show. But I feel the list won't be complete (for me) without our Indian breads. So here goes…

Our traditional breads in India are of the unleavened variety. The generic name for bread is called Roti (pronounced roeti). Roti is unleavened - a chapatti is a Roti. If you want to buy the kind of bread/rolls of the West, in India you ask for "Double Roti". I don't why double.

Then there are the kinds of breads that are not cooked in the homes of India but they are ever present in an Indian meal at a hotel. They are :-

Nan - pronounced naan, the dough is stuck to the side of the tandoor (oven) and when it is done it falls of and cooks a bit on the charcoal in the oven. Apart from that what I know about this bread is if not eaten fresh you have bare you teeth and pull like a dog to bite into it.

Kulcha - this is the sibling of a nan. The difference that I know of is a Kulcha has Onion and Corriander stuck on top of it and is shaped round. Where as Naan doesn't and is triangular.

Roomali Roti - This is a bread with a character. I like it cos it is light on the stomach. "Roomal" means handkerchief. And Roomali is "Handkerchief like" . The Roti spread out by twirling the hands on top of the head. Then it is dropped on the bottom of a pot that is placed upside down on the fire. And there it cooks. The roti is so thin that you can see through it. And when served it is folded like one folds a handkerchief.

Paratha - This is made in the homes of India. What makes a Paratha different from the rest is it is stuffed with Potato or white radish or cauliflower. It is thick with the stuffing inside it and a meal in its self. It needs a lot of oil and not exactly up Health Street, and that is the reason why it is so tasty

Puri - (pronounced poorie) Get the most marks for taste and the least marks for health. It is deep fried in oil. And when dough (made from wheat) is put on oil the air inside expands and the Puri swells in to a ball. A Puri also has character - of a different kind.

P.S I made the mistake of spell checking this, Shakespeare the Spell Checker went beserk with all the Indian words.


#3123 06/27/00 07:28 AM
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Thank you for your definitions. I hadn't realised that nan was cooked on the side of the oven - I can see why it is so hard to cook at home.

I used to live near an South Indian vegetarian restaurant that served dosa. Would you count that as bread too. My favourite one was, I think, called paper dosa it was served in a great big fan shape looking like one of those elegantly folded napkins rising high above the plate.

The same restaurant made wonderful puris which were floated on a dish full of something made of yoghurt (like a raita).

The other staple of British Indian restaurants is the poppadom which I suppose is more like a big crisp (chip) than bread. I'm not sure if you would classify it with the breads.


#3124 06/27/00 09:05 AM
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I'd like to add 'bap' to your list. I think it is a Yorkshire word but wouldn't bet on it.

And if you really want to widen the discussion you need to look at all the things they'll offer you in a sandwich shop in Sydney - pitta bread, lavash, focaccia and so on. One of the best things about living in a melting pot of immigration!

What about mantou - Chinese steamed roll made from wheat, with or without filling? IS this a bread or a dumpling?

What makes bread bread? Is it the ingredients or the cooking methods or both?


#3125 06/27/00 09:31 AM
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No. Dosas can't be classified as bread. They have a pride of place in the Indian cuisine all of their own. It would (I think) be more appropriate to call them a kind of pancake. The batter is made out of rice flour and black gram lentils. You spread it out on a skillet and cook it. Later stuffed with potato it becomes Masala Dosa. Paper Dosas we get in India are 2 feet long. They carry on way after plate gets over. You need some appetite to eat one.

Popaddams are called Papads here. They would again not be bread but would come under the wafers, chips or crisps family.





#3126 06/27/00 10:58 AM
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>Dosas can't be classified as bread

Thanks, I've always wondered how they were made.


#3127 06/27/00 11:15 AM
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Avy--
Thank you for that fascinating list!

Bridget--
>>What makes bread bread? Is it the ingredients or the cooking methods or both?<< Good point. I've never considered cornbread to be bread, interestingly. It's too different. Never mind that bread is part of its name!

To all, but esp. Jo--
in one of Mary Stewart's books, she mentions "singin' hinnies". What are these, some kind of scone? The story
takes place in Scotland or England, as I recall.







#3128 06/27/00 11:21 AM
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>I'd like to add 'bap' to your list. I think it is a Yorkshire word but wouldn't bet on it.

Yes it is a popular word in Yorkshire and parts of Lancashire too, I'm not sure how far it travels as a common word. Baps are usually fairly large slightly domed soft rolls with a dusting of flour. In Edinburgh the same kind of thing is called a "morning roll", as far as I see that's because they seem to go so hard if you keep them for long.

Pitta bread and all the other Mediterranean flat breads are common now. Once in the late seventies my friend decided to make kebabs - she described pitta bread to us but we couldn't find it in any of the shops - it shows how much things have changed.

Focaccia I know, especially the garlic and herbed varieties. Ciabatta is another popular Italian bread made with olive oil.

German rye bread and Pumpernickle are readily available now.

Lavash - I've not heard of.

The Chinese steamed rolls tend to be called dumplings.

This makes it hard to find a definition for bread. It's regarded as a staple in the diets of many countries - it is immortalised in the term "daily bread". I think that most of the varieties mentioned use flour (mainly wheat flour) and most(but not all) are baked in some kind of oven. Some have yeast, others don't. Some have fat (biscuit, ciabatta), most don't. Some are cooked in a pan. Is there a definition?



#3129 06/28/00 04:54 AM
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In reply to:

>I'd like to add 'bap' to your list. I think it is a Yorkshire word but wouldn't bet on it.

Yes it is a popular word in Yorkshire and parts of Lancashire too, I'm not sure how far it travels as a common word. Baps are usually fairly large slightly domed soft rolls with a dusting of flour.


I grew up in Bucks in the South East of England and although the things themselves weren't that common, we did call them baps whenever we came across them. As I remember, they were the roll of choice for homemade burgers.

Bingley



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