What Does Tapioca Do in Baking Bread?
Tapioca Definition
Tapioca starch, also known as tapioca flour, originates from the cassava root. This starchy tuber resembles a potato in appearance and uses, but cassava roots can grow up to 20 inches long and weigh up to 30 pounds. The harvested roots get washed and ground into a starchy liquid. Washing the liquid several times allows settlement of the cassava starch, which is dried into cakes and ground into tapioca flour.
Uses of Tapioca in Bread
Bakers add tapioca starch to bread to act as a gluten-free alternative to wheat flour. Like wheat flour, tapioca is a starch, but it does not contain gluten, which some people cannot digest. The starches in breads help to bind the wet and dry ingredients together. This allows the finished bread to maintain its structure. Tapioca starch in any bread recipe changes its texture, yielding a chewier loaf.
Actions of Tapioca in Baking Bread
Tapioca in a bread dough gelatinizes during baking. Tapioca gelatinizes at a lower temperature than other starches: only 159 to 179 degrees F. Gelatinization thickens the mixture by binding water molecules in the bread as the tapioca expands. When the bread comes out of the oven and cools, some of the water trapped in the gelatinized tapioca releases to the surface as the tapioca molecules return to their original state. Rather than leaving the loaf of bread, the crust absorbs these water molecules, making it taste chewier than bread made without tapioca.
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