July 24, 2013 - 10:59am
white bread being white.
Why is my white bread not white but a lighter shade of brown.
I use strong white flour, sugar, salt, yeast , rapeseed oil and water.
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Why is my white bread not white but a lighter shade of brown.
I use strong white flour, sugar, salt, yeast , rapeseed oil and water.
You mean the crumb color?
Crumb color depends on flour type, and amount of kneading.
Less kneading will result in a more yellow or gray crumb.
If you want a whiter crumb, knead very intensively. In a home stand mixer, this means probably at least 10 minutes at low or medium speed.
Look at txfarmer's examples in these forums for soft white sandwich bread for examples of how white you can get. The oxidation caused by extensive kneading will turn the crumb very white (and also very fine textured). This is why many commercial breads look so white.
This is interesting, I never heard of this. Can you link me? I cannot find a link.
Oxidation resulting from kneading is a very well known phenomenon. Read an excerpt on oxidation from Calvel's book. Hamelman and others talk about this. Autolysis was developed to build strength, retain flavor by reducing need to mix, which increases oxidation. Increases in dough temp also impact oxidation.
txfarmer soft sourdough sandwich bread is here
Actually, this does trigger something in my memory, but my brain is nothing more than a colander now.
Thanks so much for the links. I may have known more could I afford Calvel's book in print.
will also be tan. I just milled some wheat varieties and the color is a beautiful tan with brown specks at 75% extraction after the sieve sifting, It will never be white unless it is bleached. Tan or light brown is good.
Keep in mind that most bakers consider a creamy off-white color more desirable than pure white, the reason being better flavor. All that kneading and oxidation will whiten the color, yes, but it will also rob the loaf of flavor. If you do choose to whiten, be sure there are other ingredients in your recipe to add flavor- butter, milk, etc.