August 10, 2014 - 4:01pm
Guess the bread based on ingredients list
Given a list of ingredients and their quantities, is it possible to guess the type of bread the recipe is for? Assume that no steps are given, just the ingredients list. Is there a comprehensive list of bread types along with their ingredients list + bakers' percentage?
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Just a list of ingredients tells us something, however, a properly laid out formula in baker's percents (that includes relevant pre ferments - which make a big difference, soakers, roll in ingredients, etc.) tells us a lot.
Most experienced bakers could tell the general nature of the bread/product being made from that properly laid out set of ingredients. Once they recognize the general type of product, they may not know a particular baker's exact technique, but they will know pretty much how to proceed in terms of technique.
But no, to my knowledge there is no comprehensive list. Books that contain the backbone products expressed in baker's percents are a great way to learn the general guidelines. That is why great baking teachers will emphasize the basics - lean breads, enriched breads, laminated doughs (again, etc.). Once the basics are understood, it is easy to extrapolate.
It really is a matter of understanding properly laid out formulas and just getting experience with the basic product types.
Once more, I'll emphasize the incredible value of properly learning baker's math (and plug the www.bbga.org website as a resource). Accept no substitutes, it is a valuable tool.
Hope this helps.
I would think you could. Based on hydration, fat, flour type and the other ingredients you could have an idea of the type of bread. The biggest would be hydration and fat content. At the very least you could name the different types of bread that could be made.
Yes, I think it is also possible. However, I'm new to baking and don't fully understand baking science. Aside from hydration and fat, I was also thinking that sugar & leveners might also provide hints. How many main types of breads are there? And what are their BPs?
to get a list of ingredients and then see what various people do with it. Got one?
I'm game.
I'm actually a web developer. I wanted to make a tool to help me and my current baking-science obsession. Wouldn't mind sharing the tool with everyone. I don't have a particular recipe in mind. However, wouldn't it be great if one could enter a list of ingredients and their amounts -- then a tool would try to identify what type of bread it is, identify potential problems (e.g. "with that much sugar, you need more yeast or use an osmotolerant yeast"), and output a formula based that conforms to www.bbga.org/bread/formula_formatting?
Just thinking ...
This sounds quite a lot like a baker's version of a program I use for brewing beer, called "beersmith"
you choose a style you are aiming for, and input ingrediants, the program spits out a buch of data, such as the color, Origional gravity, final gravity, etc which is adjusted in real-time as you input data. And then tells you if you are within the typical style guidelines for whatever you chose.
This would be a very helpful tool.
Surely something like this already exist?
it's a Tartine ,,,,or is it a Forkish?......:-)
a crossant or even a cracker.