Bread-Bakers v111.n008.2

Isn't it the water in the *butter* that turns into steam and thus 
provides a portion of the leavening (just as happens in puff pastry)?

Allen
SHB
San Francisco

PS: I endorse Leslie Lim Pheng Siang's method of converting a 
straight dough bread recipe to sourdough. One really must calculate 
the amount of flour and water in the starter added and then subtract 
those from the amount added to the final dough.


Reggie wrote:
>                          Biscuits, The chemistry of

>Biscuits rise in the oven to become light and flaky not only from 
>baking powder but also from the tiny flake-shaped pieces of butter 
>or in the dough.  These melt in the oven, leaving pockets of air 
>that fill with steam from the moisture in the dough as it 
>bakes.  Baking powder dough must also be mixed just briefly to avoid 
>developing the gluten in the flour, which toughebns the biscuits.

>Source:
>     "Joy of Cooking"