extensive surface of flatbreads.
Flatbreads often puff to an impressive if
temporary volume, and the central cavity of
pita and similar breads is used as a pocket for
filling with other foods. Puffing occurs when
the two bread surfaces have set in the heat and
become tougher than the inner layer, where
steam accumulates and eventually tears the
tender interior, forcing the two surfaces apart.
When puffing is undesirable — in crackers,
for example, which would become too fragile
— the sheeted dough is “docked,” or pricked
in a regular pattern with a pointed utensil — a
fork, or a special stamp — to form dense
gluten nodes that resist puffing.
Pretzels Pretzels are unusual for their woven
shape, dark brown crust, and unusual flavor.
Like crackers, they’re made from a stiff yeast
dough of soft wheat flour. In manufacturing,
the formed dough is sprayed for 10–15
seconds with a hot 1% solution of alkaline