April 14, 2007 - 5:22pm
should milk be scalded before using in bread dough?
Many recipes for loaf bread that use milk advise that the milk must first be scalded (brought just to the boil). (Then, of course, you have to wait for the milk to cool.) I remember reading an explanation that something in the milk can inhibit yeast growth and the heat somehow corrects this.
Tell me, gurus, is it really necessary to scald the milk? If yes, why? If no, why not (can it just be a holdover from earlier times that has been mindlessly perpetuated)?
PS - I love long, involved scientific explanations, so please feel free to elaborate
Thanks in advance...