AnimasTestKitchen:GrissiniBreadstick

CarrieKuhns

Abstract
Thisisanexperimenttolookandthinkdeeperthanyounormallywould.Cookingwith
moleculesinsteadofingredientsisthebestwaytocookbecausesciencehasnevermade
anythingtastebetter.Thepurposeofthislabistochallengeanoriginalrecipebychangingitup
andcompetingagainstit.Themethodologybehindthesedatacollectionsandexperimentswill
provetogainunderstandingaboutspecificingredientsandtheirjobincooking.Bycreating
graphs,tables,anddifferentfiguresitwillbeunderstandabletoanew,visuallevel.The
importancesofqualitativeandquantitativedatawillbeexplainedandalsotheusesofcentral
tendencies.Therolesinvolvedincookinghavebeenputintoanewperspectiveinthisscientific
paperandhavebeenproventowork.

Introduction

Knownforitswidecultureintheworld,thebreadstickwasinventedbyabakerin
northernItalyin1679.Grissini,thepencilshaped,crispy,drybreadstick,isfoundcommonly
usedasanappetizerinmostrestaurants,eatenbydippingintovariousdressingsorsauce.

Itscommonknowledgethat
breadcomesinallshapesandsizesfromallovertheworld.
Butwhatdoesallbreadhaveincommon?Ontheprinciplelevel,itinvolvescookingamixtureof
grainsandwater.

Theprocessofmakingbreadcanbebrokendownsimplyinonlyfoursteps.
First,theingredientsaremixedthefourbasiccomponentsusedtomakeabreadareflour,
water,yeast,andsalt.Combiningthesecreatesadough,whichisthenkneadedandthenleftto
rise,beforebeingbaked.Itallsoundsprettyunequivocal,butmolecularlytheresaquitealot
happening.

Theingredientthathasanenormousaffectonthedoughsglutenstructureissalt.
Saltis
anaturalantioxidant
Itcanhelpstrengthenthegluten,makingthedoughmoreelastic.
Ithelps
theloaftoholdontothecarbondioxidegasthatisformedduringfermentation,supporting
volume.Whensaltandyeastcompeteforwater,saltwinsandtheyeastissloweddown.
Becauseofitsmoisturemaintainingproperties,saltcanpreventbreadfromgettingstalebutit
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canalsoabsorbmoisturefromtheairandleaveyouwithsoftcrustsandsoggybread.
Additionallymoreorlesssaltwilladdtotheflavorofthefinalproduct.
SaltwillserveastheindependentvariableinthetwoseparaterecipesIhavecreated.I
expectthatadoubledamountofsaltwillstrengthenthedoughresultinginadenser,crunchier
andsaltierbreadstick.Mymotivationforcompletingthisexperimentistodeterminehowa
doublestrengthenedglutennetworkcomparestotheoriginalrecipe.Inthecaseofgrissini,the
endgoalischewiness,crunchiness,andtaste.InordertofindtheidealproductIhaveadjusted
theamountofsaltrequiredtostrengthentheglutennetwork.

Methods

Thetwobreadstickscharacteristicswillbemeasuredintwodifferentforms.
Quantitativelythegrissiniwillbetestedbytheamountofforceittakestobreakitinhalfusinga
springscaleandtheheightdifferenceoftherisingdough.Qualitativelythebreadstickwillbe
involvedinasingleblindtastetest.AsingleblindtastetestsimplymeansthatI,thetastetest
administrator,willknowthedifferencebetweenthetwobreadsbutthetastetestsubjectswill
not.
Theexperimentaldesignisseparatedintotwoparts.Partonecontainsthecooking
portionoftheexperimentandparttwodescribestheexperimentsperformedtocomparethe
datareceivedfromtestingthetwodifferentfinalproducts.Theindependentvariableinmy
experimentistheamountofsalteachrecipereceives.Thedependentvariablesincludetherest
oftheingredients,theefforttomakethedough,heat,time,andanyenvironmentalforcesthat
mayhavebeeninvolvedwiththecookingofthisgrissini.

Tobegin,therecipeforgrissinicallsforthefollowingingredients:1/2cupofwholewheat
flour3/4cupofwarmwater,1teaspoonofhoney,1package(1tablespoon)ofactivedryyeast,
11/2cupofallpurposeflour,3tablespoonsofgoodextravirginoliveoil,11/2teaspoonsofsalt
inonemixtureand4teaspoonsofsaltintheother,andoilforthebowl.Toensurespecificand
exactresults,itisimperativetofollowtheensuinginstructionsexplicitly.

Itisimportantthattwobatchesofdougharemadeatthesametime.Beginbyproofing
theyeast.Inthebowlofastandmixer,combinethewholewheatflour,water,honeyandyeast.
Stirwithawoodenspoontocombineandletsitfor10minutes.Themixtureshouldbefoamy
andshowsomeliveliness.Addtheremainingingredients.Addtheallpurposeflour,oliveoil,
andsalt.Makesuretolabelwhichdoughreceives1andteaspoonsofsaltand4teaspoons
ofsalt.Mixonlowspeedwiththedoughhookattachmentuntilcombined,andthenonmedium
speedfor5to7minutesuntilthedoughissmoothandshiny.Letrest.Removethedoughfrom
themixerbowlandtransferittoasmallbowl.Drizzleatinyamountofoliveoiloverthedough
androllitarounduntilithasbeencoated.Coverwithateatowelorplasticwrap,andletsit
undisturbedinawarmplacefor40minutesuntildoubledinbulk.

Whenbothdoughsareplacedinthesamesizebowltorise,thefirstsetofdata
recordingbegins.Tocomparetheeffectssalthasonthesameamountofdough,thefirst
experimentwillbemeasuringtheheightofthedougheverytenminutes.Thisismanagedby
stickingaruleruprightinthecenterofthedough,configuringthesaranwraparoundit,and
recordingtheheightbycentimeterseverytenminutes.

Oncethedatahasbeenrecordedandithasbeen40minutessincethedoughshave
beenplacedinthebowls,itistimetopreheattheovenandprepthebakingsheets.Whenthe
doughisready,preheatyourovento425Fandline2or3bakingsheetswithparchmentpaper.

Nextshapethedoughintoarough,flatrectangle.Sliceatwocentimeterwidepiecefrom
thelonglengthoftherectanglewithasharpknife.Rollitintoalong,irregularlyshapedsnake
andplaceitonthebakingsheet.Continuewiththeremainingdough,placingthedoughsnakes
about1/2"apart.Makesurethedifferentdoughsareseparated.Theyshouldbeeasytotell
apartbyappearancebutstillremaincautious.
Afterallofthedoughsnakesareadjustedtolookassimilarinshapeandsizeas
possible,itistimetobakethegrissini.Placethebakingsheetswithgrissiniintotheovenand
bakefor10to15minutes.At5minutes,rotatethepansandchecktheirprogress.Thegrissini
arequitethin,sotheywillburneasily.Makesuretokeepaneyeonthemandtakethemout
whentheyaregoldenbrown.Finallycoolandstorethebreadsticks.Carefullymovethegrissini

toacoolingracktocool.Oncetheyarecool,storetheminanairtightcontainerforupto2to3
days.
After2or3dayshavepassedandthebreadsticksarestiffitistimetocontinueonwith
performingexperimentsandrecordingdata.Thesecondexperimentrequiresaspringscale,
tape,andatable.Thisexperimentwillbegintoprovewhichbreadstickrecipeisthemostdense.
Ialsoexpectthisexperimenttocorrelatetotastetestsubjectsansweringthequestionabout
howchewythebreadsticksare.Inordertogetasspecificmeasurementsaspossibleitis
necessarytousemultiplegrissinibreadsticksforthisparticularexperiment.Startoffby
measuringthebreadstick.Atsixinchesmakeavisiblemarkwithamarkerorpenandproceed
totapetheremainingbreadafterthemarktothetable.Aroughfigureofthisexperimentis
shownbelowasFigure1.Aftertapingthebreadtothetablepeircetheveryendofitwiththe
hookonthespringscale.Pulldownwardonthespringscaleandrecordthemeasurementofthe
numberinnewtonsorgramswhenbreadbreaksapart.Itissmarttodomultipleexperiments
withthespringscalewithbothrecipesinordertoobtainawealthyamountofdata.
Qualitativedatacollectingdiffersgreatlyfromquantitativetestingbecausethehuman
mindcannotbeconsideredacontrolledordependentvariable.FormyqualitativetestIdecided
toperformasingleblindtastetest.FormyexperimentIgathered8differentpeople,fourgirls
andfourguys.Ivisitedeachofthemseparatelygivingthemaplatewithasectionoftheoriginal
recipeandasectionofthemodifiedrecipeofagrissinibreadstick.Iaskedthemtofirstratethe
twobreadsticksfrom110oncolor,1beingveryunappealingand10beingveryappealing.(Not
thatIamfamiliarwiththetwodifferentbreadsticksbynowandcanclearlydiscriminatethemby
theirappearance)ThenIaskedthemtoeatthebreadstickoftheirchoice(everytastetest
subjectpickedthebreadstickwiththecolortheyfoundmostappealingfirst).ThenIcontinuedto
interviewthemontheiropinionsaboutchewiness,texture,saltinessandoveralltastecontinuing
toratethemfrom110.OnceIcollectedthisdataIrepeatedtheprocesswiththesecond
sample.

Figure1

Results

Again,theresultswillbeorganizedintotwoseparatecategories,qualitativeand
quantitative.Allofthedatacollectedduringthisexperimentwasdonesoforsakeoftesting
saltsabilitytostrengthentheglutennetworkinanefforttomodifythechewinessandoverall
tasteofthebread.Theresultsbelowhaveproventoeithercompletelysupportmyclaimor
argueagainstit.OneexampleofthisisTable3andFigure7.Bothdatarepresentationssupport
myclaimthatsaltinterfereswiththedoughsabilitytorisebecauseittightensthebondsinthe
glutenstructure.Thesamecanbesaidforfigure8aswellbecauseittakesmoreforcetobreak
thesaltierrecipethantheoriginal.AnotherexampleisshowninFigure4.Thisalsosupportsmy
causebecausemygoalwastocreateastrongerandbettertexture.However,figure3disputes

myclaimthatmoresaltprovidesachewierbreadstickwhenaccordingtopopularopinionitdid
not.

ItisalsoImportanttopointoutsomeofthedatathrowsoffthecentraltendencies.These
numbersareknownasoutliersandcanbefoundveryobviouslyinFigure2,3and4.Ihave
decidedtoincludethesedatapointsinmycentraltendencycalculationshoweverbecausethey
mayberandomandstrayingfrompopularopinionbuttheyarecompletelyvalidinatastetest
suchasmine.

Intables1and2Ihavecalculatedthecentraltendenciesaccordingtothedifferent
recipes.Theresultsfortheaveragecombinationofthecharacteristicsofgrissinishowthatthe
majorityofpeoplepreferagreateramountofsaltasopposedtotheoriginalrecipe.Inmy
professionalopinionIwouldarguethatthegraphthatbestshowsanaccurateideaofcentral
tendencyisfigure7.Figure7expressesthetastetestersopinionabouttheoveralltaste,butthe
typeofgraphdoesagreatvisualjobofshowingtheaverage,median,minimumandmaximum.

QualitativeData

4TablespoonsofSaltinGrissiniRecipe
Tastetest
subjects

Color

Taste

Chewiness

Texture

Saltiness

10

10

5.5

7.375

5.375

7.75

7.625

Median

5.5

7.5

Min

Max

10

10

Average

Range

Table1

1TeaspoonsofSaltinGrissiniRecipe
Tastetest
subjects

Color

OverallTaste

Chewiness

Texture

Saltiness

10

10

10

7.875

4.75

7.875

5.125

4.125

7.5

8.5

4.5

Min

Max

10

10

Average
Median

Range

Table2

ColorResultingfromAmountofSalt

Figure2

ChewinessResultingfromAmountofSalt

Figure3

TextureResultingfromAmountofSalt

Figure4

SaltinessResultingfromAmountofSalt

Figure5

OverallTasteResultingfromAmountofSalt

10

Figure6

QuantitativeData

ChangeinHeightofDoughOverTime
11/2tspof
salt

Minutes

4tspofsalt

6.3

6.3

10

6.85

6.4

20

7.5

6.6

30

8.25

6.75

40

8.9

6.9

Table3

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Figure7

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Figure8

Discussion

Thisexperimentwascreatedandperformedforthepurposeofgoingdeeperintomolecular
thinking.Thesaltinbreadisagreatexampleofwhatisgoingonchemicallyduringcooking.I
expectedthatthesaltwouldstrengthenthedoughandinsomecasesitdidandinsomeit
didnt.Theresultscameoutmostlyinmyclaimsfavorandwereprovedbeyondmeasuringtools
thatsaltdoesinfacthaveanincredibleroletoplayinthebakingofbread.

ThedataIcollectedinthislabwasveryconcise.Thereisalwaysroomforimprovementbutmy
experimenttoldmeexactlywhatIwantedtohear.Alsothefactthatthecentraltendencieswere
verycompactinanorderlywaymadethisexperimentonlymoresuccessful.Alogical
explanationalsopresenteditselfastowhytheindependentvariablehadameasurableeffecton
thedependentvariable,andthatisthatsaltdoesinfacthaveapropertythatallowsitto
slow
downfermentationandenzymeactivityindough.

Errorsanduncertaintiesundoubtedlyoccurredinthisexperiment.AtfirstIwasfeelingvery
uncomfortablethatthedoughwith4teaspoonsofsaltwasbarelyrising.Idecidedtogothrough
withbakingitanywayanditturnedoutfine.AnothermistakeImadewasaddingtoomucholive
oiltothesamebatchofdough,thiscouldhavealsobeenanexplanationforwhythedough
wasntrisingtomyexpectations.

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Improvementstotheexperimentincludebecomingaperfectionistwithcooking.Itishardtodo
butitwillalwaysreturnthebestandmostexactresults.AnotherchangeIcanmaketofuture
experimentsisthewayIconductthetastetest.Itisamuchmorereliablewaytocollectdata
whenperformingadoubleblindtastetestasopposedtoasingleblindtastetest,alotlessroom
forerror.

Lastly,furtherexperimentationonthissubjecthasmademeunderstandmolecularactivityina
wholenewway.Itisimperativetounderstandwhatishappeningonthemicroscopicleveland
alsounderstandingtheamountofchemistrythatoccursincooking.Hopefullythislabwillhelp
meunderstandthepowerofproportionsasIcontinuetocook,bakeandmakedeliciousfood
fromhereonout.

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