February 2, 2009 - 12:55pm
water What's the difference?
We are all concerned about the flour we use but I have a question about water. Water differs from community to community so I'm wondering about what a difference this makes in the end product, say a ciabatta or an Italian peasant? My last loaves of Italian peasant bread was made with Caputo 00 flour and some bottled Tuscan water and I noticed a tremendous difference in the crumb. At first I attributed this to the flour alone but then I began to question the affect that the water might have had. Any thoughts?
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Do you normally use tap water in your doughs? If that's the case, then it might just have been that the chlorine in the tap water inhibited yeast fermentation more than the bottled water did. If not, then does the Tuscan water have a fair amount of minerals in it? Those usually improve the quality of your bread.