December 9, 2011 - 1:26pm
Adding fats such as oil to dough
Hello Bakers,
Would anyone know what an oil such as ext. vir. OLIVE OIL would do to a ciabatta dough? I make a straight up ciabatta with just flour yeast salt & water and I'm just wondering what the addition of some OO would do to that dough... more holey crumb or the opposite?
Thank you,
Ray
Share
Adding fat to a dough results in an enriched bread. What distinguishes italian bread from french bread is that italian breads are usually enriched where as french breads generally aren't.
I normally add 1-2 tbsp olive oil to my bread dough, even the no knead method I use a lot. Fats will add to the taste and the bread will stay better. You mention Ciabatta. I use the no knead method for this as it should be a wet dough as Ciabatta calls for, and I add olive oil, sugar and 2 tbsp dry powdered milk to the dough. I would post a pic of my Ciabatta but my pics are not on this PC. Yes my Ciabatta is somewhat enriched, but it keeps better, tastes better, is not dry and I freeze this.
Rob
Hi nycbaker,
I don't include olive oil in my own formula for ciabatta, however I do use it as a lubricant during the bulk process for stretch and fold.
To be honest, commercially, I make this dough with a biga, and am convinced that using a pre-ferment of this type is the best way to condition the dough.
As to oil, its function is as follows:
Small amounts will form a coating on the protein chains, thus creating greater extensibility in the dough.
More obvious features are flavour and keeping qualities in the finished bread
In larger quantities oil/fat will weaken dough structure. In very high proportions, it will de-nature protein.
Best wishes
Andy
I take your comment to mean that you use oil in very small amounts for ciabatta; correct? Like 1%? Do you use oil in other "lean" breads for the same reason?
Ciabatta without olive oil? Isn't that heresy?
To clarify,
If you use oil in the stretch and fold process, then there is oil in the formula. Most of that oil finds its way into the dough.
Just checked this, and I keep company with Jeffrey Hamelman by not including olive oil in the formula. A biga is more important to me.
Best wishes
Andy
I've been making Ciabatta for a while using the no knead method. I know the conventional way is with a biga, but what is the difference between Ciabatta dough made with a biga and no knead dough that sits on the counter 12 to 18 hrs? It seems easier and actually the whole recipe of no knead dough is like a "biga". Just curious.
I use the Chad Robertson method of Making Bread, and I only stretch and for the bread about 7 times during the 3 hour preferment. Literally only lifting the bread long and high and then just laying it over itself; I do this once on all four sides. The first hour I do it four times then only twice during each of the next 2 hours. I only add fat to the Whole Wheat Integral loaf and I do it just before the first stretch and fold when I add my salt and malted barley syrup. I do use an 80% hydration with the malted barley syrup figured into the hydration percentage. If you were to use butter for your fat, you should figure 20% of the weight of the butter into you hydration percentage as most butter (with the exception of clarified butter) is 20% water. I hope this helps.
I forgot to mention, if you want add fat or oil, but want longer gluten strand as well, you can add the fat after the first kneading (for those of you that use the need for 5 let it rest for 5 and need another 5) or even the after your preferment. I have done this a few times, and have had very good success kind of gives you the best of both worlds.