Baking bread today is almost lost in the sense in which it was before, in Russian villages. Then in each hut they put leaven, and on its basis fragrant rolls were baked with an amazing crust. Today we use special bacteria that allow you to quickly get lush items. However, this modification has led to some changes in the baking business.
Wheat flour dough with the addition of thermophilic yeast rises very quickly. Accelerated and its baking in the oven. This leads to the fact that the spores remain unscathed and begin rapid growth under suitable conditions. Potato bread disease is a common occurrence, so you need to be vigilant and prevent infected rolls from getting onto your table.
How to recognize
Potato disease is caused by the development of spore-bearing bacteria in bread. Hay stick, widespread in nature, is located on the surface of the grain. When grinding the latter, spores fall into the flour. Therefore, the grain must undergo special training before entering production.
Disputes are well preserved during baking and continue to develop if the product falls into favorable conditions. In this case, they form bacterial cells that decompose the crumb. At the first stage, you can feel a slight odor. When breaking the rolls, separate stretching threads appear.
The next stage is a mild infection. The smell is stronger now, and more and more threads. With a severe illness, the crumb becomes sticky, it is now impossible not to pay attention to the changes. Then it darkens and gets an unpleasant odor.
Harm to human health
In fact, eating bread with a soft and sticky crumb, stretching in all directions, is unlikely to be desirable. It has a very unpleasant odor, as well as a bitter taste. However, today it is important to find out whether such a product is harmful or potentially dangerous to humans. For this, we need to turn to the conclusions of Rospotrebnadzor, which are made on the basis of laboratory studies.
According to official data, potato sticks are not pathogenic to humans. That is, the use of bread crumb before the development of symptoms of spoilage (this includes an unpleasant odor, discoloration and consistency) is considered safe and acceptable. It is enough to examine and smell the product to decide whether it is suitable for human consumption.
However, after the spores have sprouted and began to actively transform the nutrient medium, it is no longer possible to eat bread. Now, crumbly products of the exchange of potato sticks stand out in the crumb. However, the color, smell and appearance of the bread already warn that it should be immediately discarded. Poisonous protein breakdown products make it hazardous to health.
However, this point of view is now considered somewhat outdated. According to the latest research, we can say that we underestimate the "contribution" of potato sticks to the development of various human pathologies. If the immunity is strong, then the body will not notice such a nuisance. However, in weakened people, hay bacillus can provoke the development of pathologies such as endocarditis, meningitis, foodborne toxic infections, arthritis, gall bladder diseases and much more. Therefore, it makes sense at the slightest suspicion that the bread is infected, immediately get rid of it. Or refuse the purchased products.
Do it yourself
Indeed, one of the most effective ways will be home production. Potato bread disease develops during storage, in violation of technological conditions. If the product is baked at home, then the likelihood of this is much lower. It is best to use rye sourdough, that is, refuse yeast. The acidic environment, which will be created naturally, will not allow the fungus to develop, which means that the potato disease does not threaten bread.
The second point: homemade products can be shaped small. Then they will bake well. Potato bread disease develops under the following conditions:
- High air temperature.
- Lack of proper ventilation.
- Humidity.
- Contaminated flour or contact of the finished product with fungal spores.
At home, it is much easier to take into account all these points and prepare bread for your family.
Sourdough cooking
To make the product tasty and healthy, you need to make a good dough. This requires leaven. Potato sticks will not develop in an acidic environment, which means that it is very good to take rye flour, about 100 g is enough. Add a similar amount of water and leave for a day in a warm place. In the morning you need to feed the sourdough, that is, just add flour and water. On the third day we do this procedure for the last time. In the morning, you can put one half on bread baking, and the second - put in the refrigerator.
Quality control
Potato bread disease is the first problem of any production. Since it is baked in workshops with high air temperature and humidity, the conditions here are ideal for the development of spores. Therefore, if flour made from grain contaminated during harvesting enters production, then the fungus intensively populates all the equipment. A potato stick tolerates heat well and can survive for an hour even at a temperature of 120 degrees, so it is impossible to be safe if you just wash the dishes and tables well. To solve this problem, flour undergoes strict control. Each purchased batch is first carefully examined, and then already put into production. Surely the reader will be interested in learning more about how bread is baked, so let's now look at this process in more detail.
Methods for the determination of microbiological contamination
There are a lot of them, so we will focus only on those that are widely used in the modern world. Prevention of a potato disease of bread is the most important task of each producer, because it is fraught with serious consequences for people who use such products.
So, today it is customary to subdivide all diagnostic methods into technological, bacteriological, physical and biochemical. Most often in the production of bread baking is controlled by the first way to identify the pathogen - through a trial laboratory bookmark. It takes 24 hours, but is the most revealing. A small batch of dough is started, standard rolls are baked. After two hours, they are wrapped in paper and left in a warm, damp place. After this time, the bun is cut with a sharp knife. After inspection and laboratory examination of the sample, it is concluded whether the bread got sick or not.
If the flour is infected with potato bacillus, then it can go to the production of bagels, dryers and other small products that are completely baked, depriving the spore of the fungus of the possibility of growth and development.
Flour diagnostics
However, we ran a little ahead. It would be logical to assume that they should diagnose the product for the content of the sticks at the flour mill, because they are responsible for the quality of the delivered products. This is true, each batch of flour obtained is necessarily tested by sampling. It is produced in a similar way, that is, the samples are mixed with water and placed in a moist and warm place, after which laboratory assistants evaluate the result. The flour analysis is confirmed by re-placing the prototypes in a favorable environment for 36 hours.
However, no technologist will take for granted what is reported in the attached documents. It is mandatory that large-scale enterprises carry out their own quality control of raw materials.
Technological subtleties
We have already said that the presence of potato sticks in flour is not a reason to consider it a marriage. It can be used taking into account some features. First of all, you need to consider that the production of bread, bakery and confectionery products are different directions.
The main factors that impede the development of potato sticks in finished products:
- Increased acidity. In rye bread, its development is impossible. However, other methods of acidifying dough are also used in production. These include the addition of acetic, lactic, propionic acids. For the consumer, the taste remains unchanged, and the likelihood of buying an infected roll is greatly reduced.
- Low humidity in the production hall. Today it has become possible through the use of ready-made mixtures for the preparation of dough, as well as modern dishwashers.
- Increased sugar and fat content in the recipe. Potato sticks will never settle in muffins, pastries and other confectionery.
Always good baking
No consumer wants to buy sticky bread affected by spores of the fungus. Therefore, to prevent this phenomenon, a number of methods are used. We have already talked about technological tests. This is a diagnostic and sorting event that allows you to isolate flour unsuitable for making bread.
Biological methods for preventing potato disease include increasing the acidity of the dough. For this, various starter cultures are used, but the use of its propionic variety is most appropriate. It allows you to inhibit the development of potato sticks and mold, and also contributes to the accumulation of vitamin B12. Today, there are dairy and wheat starter cultures, which are also widely used.
Physical (or organizational) measures include lowering the temperature and maximizing ventilation in the bakery. This allows you to quickly cool the product. In parallel, manufacturers reduce the total weight of bread rolls in order to avoid the situation when the crumb remains unbaked. The maximum weight of loaves today is 0.5 kg, and often even less.
If bread infected with a potato stick is detected
It is strictly forbidden to process such a product. At home or at work, it can not be added to cutlets, used for the manufacture of crackers. Such bread should be removed from production as quickly as possible. The question of its use in animal feed should be decided by veterinary services. It is best to immediately burn affected products. The premises in which the bread was stored should be sanitized using bleach, acetic acid and special preparations.
Instead of a conclusion
Now you know how potato sticks behave in bread, how dangerous it is for humans, how to avoid eating an infected product. There are two options: either buy only products from a trusted manufacturer, or cook at home. Modern bread makers make this process easy and enjoyable, as they bake bread almost without human help.