Bread Dough Specific Heat Capacity & Enthalpy
Enthalpy is the internal energy of a products pressure in volume. This can be exemplified by the pressure that is put on the dough (humidity and heat) and the volume (how much it fills the pan and expands). A simple equations for enthalpy looks like H=U+pV. H being the final product, where U is internal energy, p is pressure, and V is volume. Internal energy is the work inside the structure. In this case it is the sugar and yeast combining together and creating heat, or “work” from the baking dough. Pressure is the force applied to a space in which force is distributed. In this case it is the humidity applied to the dough (that is creating energy from the combination of sugar and yeast) as it expands in the pan. Volume is the three-dimensional space that is occupied by matter (solid, liquid, gas or plasma). In this case, the volume is the space of the pan that the dough needs to fill. With all these in combination a certain temperature must be met in order for the bread to be ready to put in the oven. If even one of these is off, the bread will come out under baked, over cooked. The right temperature to proof said bread is 70° to 115°F. These temperatures may seem greatly different, but depending on the bread, temperatures will vary. For instance, a flaky croissant will proof differently than a round sourdough.
