February 26, 2010 - 8:53pm
old bread STALE BREAD
so i know we all make some of this
and i have read of a technique whereby you can incorporate this back into a new batch of bread
what are the results like? i read about it in hamelman's BREAD and it was in a pumpernickle concept but am curious to adapt it if purely for the waste not want not aspect.
have any of you done anything with this idea?
HOW DO YOU PREPARE THE OLD BREAD?
in the hamelman thing it's old bread that you soak with warm water and then squeeze out most of it and then use that water for the final dough preparation
please discuss, or refer me to another thread with this info i searched 'old bread' and was not happy with the results
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I may be wrong but I recall reading about using the crumbs of dried or stale bread in pumpernickel and the crumbs were called altus.
It is called Altus. You soak the crumbs in water and then squeeze as much water out as possible, I think it is normal to disregard the Altus as changing hydration or increasing need for salt and so forth since the crumbs are already "balanced". I read a good post about it a while ago by Mini O, I don't do it often myself, I'm sure there are people in here who could tell you more.
you mean this thread, right?
http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/13369/altus-amp-formula
also all of the contexts of using old bread is in rye recipes. would it make any difference if you were making say sourdough? my line of thinking is it doesn't matter, but i am aware that rye is a different chemistry than wheat.
Yes that's the thread I was thinking of.
I would imagine it would be fine with crumbs from a wheat loaf, but I haven't tried so I'm not sure. Perhaps try adding a small amount of crumbs to a recipe you are already happy with and see how it changes the result, then if it goes well try adding a little more next time.
I think part of the reasoning behind using an altus with rye is to add complexity and flavour, for example you mentioned pumpernickel which I understand is baked very slowly to allow maillard reactions to take place producing the dark colour and flavour.
So I think that if you add some altus into the pumpernickel dough as well you are accentuating that slow baking process even more. Also a good way to use up left over rye :P
yea i am thinking this technique arose from broke bakers looking around the kitchen for ways to cut losses, or utilize essentially worthless material into somthing with value. we always have a couple little pieces of bread that don't get eaten and i put them away in the freezer with the intention of assembling bread pudding until i read of this technique. so what i have done is cube this bread and leave it out on a baking sheet overnight. now it is sitting in a plastic bag awaiting use. i guess i will post more once i use it.
In the U.S. we throw away too much because we have so much. In days gone by common people used what they had to the max and Altes Brot (old bread) was one of those ways. It could be thought of as a different form of Pate Frementee (pre dough). When I have leftovers, avoiding seeded breads and crust, I add them to my sour dough breads and it slighty changes the flavor profile, maybe not better just different. I've tried adding a small amount to my chef (mother starter), of 75% water and it kicked up the sour some what. I love to read bread books, read the forums and try new things. Being retired it keeps me and my brain active.
Jim