except fat. In bread production, nonfat dry milk style A should be used, as this milk is designed specifically for achieving  volume,  flavor,  and  crust  characteristics desirable in yeast breads.    Dry milk can be added by mixing or sifting the milk and flour together, or it can be reconstituted with part of the water in the bread recipe and added to the dough. In either event, it is important that there are no lumps of milk powder in the dough. The amount of milk used in the dough can be as high as 6-percent nonfat dry milk based on the weight of the flour. The use of more than 6-percent dry milk in the bread  dough  is  detrimental  to  fermentation.  Milk improves the texture, flavor, and keeping quality of bread. EGGS.— Eggs are not used in making white bread but  are  used  in  making  sweet  doughs,  cakes,  and cookies. In baked products, eggs supply a high protein, mineral, and vitamin content. The yokes add color, the whites help bind other ingredients, and both combine to add flavor and moisture to the bread. Fresh  eggs  should  be  removed  from  the  refrigerator and warmed to room temperature before they are used in  dough.  Frozen  eggs  should  be  completely  defrosted before they are added to the dough and should be well mixed. Dehydrated egg mix may be sifted with the dry ingredients  in  some  baked  products  containing  a  high percentage  of  dry  ingredients;  the  water  needed  to reconstitute eggs should be added to the required liquid. Reconstituted eggs should be used within 1 hour after they are reconstituted or returned to the refrigerator until they are to be used. Do not hold them overnight. Leavening Agents Leavening agents are gases that cause the dough to rise.  The  gases  are  produced  by  chemical  action  or introduced by the mixing process, which forces air into the  dough.  The  common  types  of  leavening  agents  are steam, air, and carbon dioxide gas. These agents are produced by yeast or bating soda or baking powder. AIR.— Air is introduced into the dough by blending (creaming) fat and sugar together, by sifting flour, or by folding  in  beaten  egg  whites  that  already  contain  air. Steam is used to leaven eclairs and cream puffs. YEAST.— Yeast is a microscopic, one-celled plant that, when conditions are favorable, will multiply by budding or by the division of a cell into two cells. In this  process  of  reproduction,  the  yeast  plant  uses available food (sugars) to produce carbon dioxide gas and alcohol. This is known as fermentation. ACTIVE DRY YEAST.— Active dry yeast should be suspended in about seven times its weight of water at 105°F to 110°F for 5 minutes before it is used. The proper temperature of the water is important, as water that is too cold or too hot will harm the yeast. Make sure the temperature of the water does not exceed 110°F. Active dry yeast does not require refrigeration, but should be stored in a dry and reasonably cool place. When properly stored, dry yeast will keep for many months. Yeast foods, known as dough conditioners, have other more important functions than to supply food for yeast. Their major purposes are to condition the water and to assist in the proper fermentation of the dough. Yeast  foods  contain  three  types  of  functional ingredients: 1. 2. 3. In Ammonium salts to supply yeast with a supply of nitrogen for growth Calcium salts to produce the correct amount of hardness in the dough water and to firm the gluten An oxidizing agent to give a firmer, less sticky dough addition, yeast foods contain starch and salt to add  bulk  and  make  weighing  easier.  The  use  of  yeast foods is often determined by the strength of the flour and the  fermentation  period  desired.  Not  all  flours  require yeast  food.  When  the  flour  requires  such  material,  its addition produces bread of larger volume, better grain and texture, and improved loaf appearance. Too much will produce inferior bread with low volume and coarse grain. BAKING   SODA. —  Baking   soda   acts   as   a leavening agent only when there is an acid present. Some  of  these  acids  are  sour  milk  or  buttermilk, molasses, brown sugar, honey, corn syrup, maple syrup, lemon  juice,  and  vinegar.  These  are  used  for  different types of quick bread. Only a limited quantity of the acid ingredients  can  be  used  for  leavening  purposes  due  to the  pronounced  flavor  and  heavy  texture  that  baking soda and molasses or syrup give to the products. It is also difficult to determine beforehand the amount of gas that these mixtures will produce. Thus, it is difficult to obtain standard results. BAKING  POWDER.—  Baking  powder  is  a leavening  agent  that  contains  baking  soda,  a  large amount of starch, and a material that forms an acid when it is mixed with water, thus producing a gas. There are several  types  of  baking  powder.  The  Navy  uses  a 8-3