英國學生科學讀本 Lesson 95 面粉與面包(3)

Of what use is flour? Every child knows that it is made into bread and puddings and pastry.

面粉有什么用處呢? 孩子們都知道, 面粉可以用來制作面包、布丁與糕點。

To make bread, we must mix the flour with some water, to which yeast or barm has been added, and a little salt.

在制作面包時, 需要在面粉中加入一些水、酵母以及少量鹽分。

When these are all kneadedtogether with the hands, they form a tough and elastic mass of dough.

我們用手和面, 將這些食材均勻混合在一起, 就成為了結(jié)實而很有彈性的生面團。

This dough is left in a warm place for about twenty minutes, to give it time to swell or rise.

然后, 我們將生面團放在溫熱的地方大約二十分鐘, 讓它能夠膨脹或者“發(fā)起來”。

Then it is cut into pieces, each big enough for one loaf, and these loaves are baked for about two hours in a hot oven.

隨后, 將面團切割成塊, 每一塊都是一塊面包的尺寸, 然后將它們放入烤箱中烘烤兩個小時左右。

Have you noticed how porous or spongy good bread is?

你有沒有注意過, 面包烤得好, 就能呈現(xiàn)非常明顯的海綿狀結(jié)構(gòu)?

This is due to the fact that the yeast produces a kind of gas, called carbonic acid gas, inside the dough.

這是因為酵母在面團內(nèi)部生成了一種名叫碳酸氣的氣體。

The heat of the oven drives this gas out of the bread;

烤箱中的熱量將氣體排出面包之外,

and as it makes its way out, it forms little holes and passages or pores in the bread.

于是, 面包中便形成了氣孔或氣道。

Yeast is a very curious substance.

酵母是一種非常有趣的物質(zhì)。

It is really a cluster of plants; but each plant is so small that we cannot see it without the help of a microscope.

實際上, 它是一簇植物群;然而, 每種植物都太過微小, 借助顯微鏡才能看到。

These plants grow very fast in the dough;

這些植物在面團中迅速生長,

and as they grow they produce a great deal of carbonic acid gas, which makes the dough rise.

在這個過程中, 它們會生成很多碳酸氣。面團之所以能夠發(fā)起來, 原因就在于此。

When you eat the bread, what good does it do you ?

吃面包有什么好處呢?

The gluten goes to form your muscles or flesh,

小麥淀粉能夠形成你的肌肉,

the lime hardens your bones, and the starch warms your body and gives you strength for your work.

碳酸鹽可以加固你的骨骼, 而淀粉則帶來了身體所需的熱量與體能。

So bread, you see, is a good food, as it contains nearly everything that you need to nourish your body.

因此, 面包是一種很好的食物, 因為它幾乎包含我們身體所需的各類營養(yǎng)。

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