The Fresh Loaf

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dlassiter's picture
dlassiter

what leavening brings to flour, nutrition-wise

So I was reading "Cooked" by Michael Pollan, which is a wonderful book about the natural history of food preparation. He has a long chapter about bread. He begins with a remarkable thought. He quotes a food chemist at UC Davis saying that you could not survive on wheat flour, but you could on bread. There is no elaboration given to this, but it seems that the reason is something like the microbial action of the yeast (and sourdough in particular) renders the flour more digestable. Does anyone have any biochemical insight about that? References perhaps? I find that kind of remarkable. I mean, in what way can our bodies not completely digest unleavened flour?

sonofabrioche's picture
sonofabrioche

Deleted

tothpianopeter's picture
tothpianopeter

Miche Pointe-à-Callière

I have decided to try Mr. Hamelman's miche formula from his book Bread. I followed the formula and recommended procedure to the letter. I had to scale down the quantities to the total flour of 700 grams, so I would get a loaf of a little over one kilo, which is enough for me and my wife for about a week. Not having access to high extraction flour, I followed Mr. Hamelman's recommendation, and substituted it with a 60/40 mix of whole wheat flour and bread flour.

This is truly an excellent bread with great deep flavor and a soft and moist crumb. I was quite satisfied with the bake, except for two things. My scoring didn't open up much, and when slicing the baked loaf, the crumb felt a little bit sticky, even little pieces stuck to the knife. I let the dough cool after the bake for 18 hours before slicing it, so it was definitely cool enough. 

Regarding the latter problem, the bread was definitely not underbaked, as I baked the loaf for an entire hour at 440 F for the first 15 minutes, then at 420 for 45 minutes. These are the exact times and temperatures in the formula for a loaf twice as large as mine. So, it must have baked fully. The color of the crust also suggests that it was well baked. I am wondering whether or not this particular bread is supposed to have a crumb that's a bit sticky, given the high hydration. I would love to hear from members who have experience with this bread. Otherwise, I suspect slightly overproofing, which would also explain the scoring problem. I followed the exact timeline for the bulk and the final proof, and my kitchen temperature was spot on at 75 degrees, so I am not sure how I could be overproofing. I highly doubt that I have a more active starter than the starter they use at the King Arthur Bakery, for which the formula was created! In any case, I would appreciate any insights!

 

Slideslinger's picture
Slideslinger

Fruit Nut Levain

I've decided to pursue the Ken Forkish Walnut Levain recipe a bit further. This weekends bake consisted of a combo of Giusto's La Parisienne Flour (https://nybakers.com), KA Organic Whole Wheat Flour, and my own rye based levain. I substituted the active dry yeast with Fleischmann's Fresh Active Yeast. I roasted 150 grams of walnuts for the inclusion, and added 150 grams of a dried cherry/blueberry/cranberry mix that I soaked in water for 2 hours before draining. I should note that the La Parisienne flour made a HUGE difference in my preparation. I noticed an almost immediate extensibility and my total rise time from initial mix was just shy of 3 hours. I refrigerated the bannetons overnight and baked the loaves this morning. Delicious!!!

 

mwilson's picture
mwilson

The Rogue Dove

It has been a considerable blot of time since my regularly featured Italian enriched doughs were frequently demonstrated. I am out of practice, and in need to validate my reputation, even if to myself but not only that but to exceed where I recognised the faults. Now armed with a new bit of kit, the Hanna “Bread and Dough” pH meter, I wanted to go deeper where such tracking was once a novel endeavour, the time had come to up my game as it were.

Most of the Grande lievitata I have produced to date have always suffered from a lack of exceptional fermentation control. The end product didn’t quite reach the excellence I craved. Flavour and softness – a sign of mastery, was just a little lacking. Still, in technical terms I have enough knowledge to know how and where in my processing can I tweak things to bring about those much desired improvements.

A story from several years ago… The best Panettone I ever tasted was crafted by the masterful hand of one “Rocco” of Wimbledon, London. I was given his contact by chef Theo Randall (Intercontinental, Park Lane, London) where I proudly presented him (Rocco) with the Pandoro I made. His commanding presence was not shy just like most Italians as he swiftly instructed his colleague to slice open the Pandoro. From one half of it he put his nose to the cross section and inhaled deeply, examining the aromas carefully. “You used cocoa butter?” he asked, to which I confirmed. He took a slice and ate a piece. He was not blown away, not much reaction really came forth, quite frankly. My memory fades in the intermediary of events but I’ll never forget his considerate but very truthful remarks. He said as far as “The Pandoro” goes I’d give yours a 3 out of ten but for a home baker to make this I’d give it an 8 out of ten. He offered me some of his Panettone to try and it was a revelation to say the least! The flavour was abundant and so expressive, and the softness was like dream of decadent delights. Amazing! After our talk and a potential job offer to work for him, I left his shop with my tail between my legs and a loaf of Durum bread under my arm. Although as I am my own strongest critic, Rocco made it clear what deep down I already knew. I knew then I could do better.

Now where was I…

So, between work I have been maintaining and feeding my Lievito Madre starter with great frequency and measuring the pH persistently. The data I have recorded, see: Impromptu LM pH data (Temp) | The Fresh Loaf

From feed cycle 15a I attempted my third run at an enriched dough. The primo impasto of the first didn’t rise at all in allotted 12 hours, the second rose well but was way too acidic and the third, again it rose well and was still too acidic but not quite as bad as last time. I decided to see it through anyhow.

The formula I had been working on was The Colomba di Pasqua formulated by “Panettone god” Iginio Massari.

 

 OriginalIntendedActual
 Massari Colomba1x1Kg 
    
LM7005050
sugar10007272
water10007272
yolks7005050
flour (W300-330)2700194194
butter11007979
    
flour (W360)7005070
sugar7005050
honey3002218
yolks5003649
butter1550111111
salt503.63.5
orange paste10070
water5003620
orange cubes3000215110
    
Total14600.01047.6948.5
    
total flour3882.76278.59298.48
egg31%31%33%
sugar + honey52%52%47%
butter68%68%64%

Some deviations from the intended but still very faithful to the original recipe. I used stronger flour than specified but cut it with some weaker flour also.

LM maintenance, W410.
Primo impasto, 80/20 split of W410 + W210.
Secondo impasto, W410.

All Tipo 00 (0.55% max. ash) as specified.

However, because things were not where they needed to be in terms of the chemical properties, namely the pH the dough handled not quite as it should. The dough was a little slack and a wanting of that vibrantly elasticity consequently led to the slightly dodgy shaping.

The oven spring was almightily substantial rising more than double its fully leavened height.

And finally, the inversion as required was a fraught with difficulty. Within seconds of removing this from the oven I could see it sinking like a deflating balloon as I tried to figure out how to skewer it in the most optimal support giving way. It had pretty much flattened in those few seconds as I tried to single handily flip this thing upside down, it was so very tricky… Like trying to upturn a bag filled with water.

In the end, it looks the part, but it was a “wrong 'un” from the start.

Don’t expect a glorious crumb shot. Just an erroneous one…

The journey continues…

 

Michael

Gadjowheaty's picture
Gadjowheaty

Reasonably priced hand mill for small amounts at a time?

Hello,

Some may know I'm looking to follow Gerard Rubaud's process as closely as I can.  Integral to that process is to freshly hand-mill his blend of whole grains to accompany bread flour for the developmental stages of his chefs/levains.  

In the article Marie-Claire wrote on stage 1, she points to a hand-mill from Lehman's which at the time she indicates was around $50.  Referring the to sku for that mill, 30347120, you are now redirected to a mill with a plastic body (instead of what I believe was the original, cast iron or aluminum), costing more than 4X the original at $219.

Granting that the article was written several years back, I just can't see paying that much for this mill.  At this point, I'd rather save and commit to a Mockmill.  

Does anyone have any thoughts on a more reasonably priced hand mill, that would get this job done adequately, that at the same time isn't quite so expensive (hopefully, with an all-metal body, though perhaps today that's asking too much)?

 

Thanks,

 

Paul

parsleythief's picture
parsleythief

Tired Starter: Refresh or Restart?

I have a starter that I've been regularly baking with for around 6 years. Unfortunately, when the pandemic hit I had a very difficult time finding flour! As a result, my starter went beyond the normal one week in the fridge breaks (Maybe a few months passed without a feeding-whoops!). Since then, I have not been able to get it to bounce back to its old strength. 

Before the pandemic I was feeding it around every 12 hours when I was baking, and then it would go in the fridge for 4-7 days until I was baking again. I would see some sluggishness at the first feeding, but normally by feeding 2 it would be thriving. 

I've tried feeding at 12 hour intervals for around a month, and it is not producing like it used to. 

 

So, my question is: Is it worth nursing this starter back to its old self, or should I start afresh? And what steps can I take to re-nourish my old starter? I am sort of attached to it, and starting all over again is sort of sad...

 

Any advice would be welcome!

bezerkben's picture
bezerkben

Proofing issue?

Hey guys!

 

I’m having a really hard time with this and could use some help. I am currently making burger buns around 100 grams with multiple doughs (all have 1% instant active yeast). I’m constantly getting large air pockets at the top of SOME of the buns, I would say about 20-30%. I mix the dough till fully developed,  let rise for 2-3 hours then cold ferment the dough overnight till the next morning where I shape proof and bake. I don’t feel or see any large air pockets when shaping. I have tried warm and ambient temp proofs but all still have air pockets. 

please advise!  

thank you very much!!!! 

DanAyo's picture
DanAyo

Low Calorie Sugar Substitutes for Bread Baking

Made Del’s Hawaiian Sweet Bread today using Monk Fruit No Calorie Sweetener for baked goods. I decided to give the Monk Fruit a try since it worked so well with the Bran Muffins and Banana Bread. It was a complete flop! I think the bran muffins baked up so sweet and well because baking soda and baking powder was used instead of commercial yeast or sourdough. The Hawaiian Bread used commercial yeast.

I ran a comparative test to prove the theory. The procedure is outlined HERE. Both glasses were identical with the exception of 1 teaspoon sugar in one and 1 teaspoon Monk Fruit in the other. 

NOTE - SAF Gold (osmotolerant yeast) was used for the test. 

Now I KNOW why I got bricks.

Bottom Line -
For those bakers that are calorie conscious, No Calorie Sweeteners are outstanding for muffins, Banana Breads, or anyother baked goods that rely on baking soda and baking powder, but awful for commercially yeasted breads.

 

Kistida's picture
Kistida

Butter toasted oat and honey loaf, Cozonac and cakes

I did more cooking than baking these last 3 weeks. But I did manage to squeeze in some bakes. My husband said he likes oat and honey breads too (this is after telling me he liked the swirly soft loaves and crusty ones, flat ones..) So, I set out to make him something to taste test, so far I've made these loaves with and without discards; 5 loaves later, it's safe to say he likes this bread! I love the hint and smell of honey in this bread. Also, they keep me full! Baked at 160-180°C 45-50 minutes (I use a glass loaf pan).

   

In between these loaves, I managed to make a lightly sweetened Cozonac (also baked at 160-180°C 45-50 minutes) and steam-baked sponge cakes.

 
Adapted from: https://www.shelovesbiscotti.com/romanian-easter-christmas-bread-cozonac/ For the Cozonac filling: Over medium heat whisk together milk, sugar and walnuts. Stir continuously until the mixture thickens slightly. Add the *rest of the ingredients and continue stirring until it thickens to a sticky paste. 

*adjust espresso or cocoa powder to taste. 

 

Orange sponge on the left used a 2-egg recipe, was mixed a little bit too carelessly (white spots here in there due to unmixed egg whites) while the coffee one on the right, 3-egg recipe, rose beautifully as I was gently folding the mixtures. Both were steam baked in 6" round pans. 3-egg version is loftier (also gives more cake!) So happy these were soft and spongy! Baked at 160°C in a water bath for 50-60 minutes.

    
Steamed rice cakes for next week, when I find some ingredients in Ottawa. :) Happy weekend everyone.    

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