November 12, 2014 - 11:34am
About Yeast and Puff Pastry
Hello experts, I am new here, went thru all literature but could not fine this info. I had two queries:
(a) Can the whole wheat bread/loaf be made without yeast, like if I use baking powder instead?
(b) Cab puff pastry sheets be made at home with pure whole wheat flower, no refined flour/APF?
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What are you wanting to know about the two?
Hello, sorry, i posted the question but where did it go I have no clue..I wanted to know two things.
(a) In baking the bread/loaf, can I use baking powder instead of yeast? Both has the purpose of leavening but the extent and process is different, if someone has yeast allergy, what options one has?
(b) Regards the puff pastry, can I make it with 100% pure whole wheat flour instead of White refined flour . Will the amount of puffiness, crispiness differ, if yes what can be a step to get nearest to the white flour puff? I have not seen any recipe online abut whole wheat puff, some people say it comes out hard. Please help.
(a) There is a genre of breads/pastries called "Quick Breads." (Like muffins, scones, zucchini bread) We usually think of these as sweet, but they can be savory. These breads usually contain eggs and fat and are designed to be chemically leavened (baking powder or baking soda plus an acid). Formulas that are designed to be yeast raised really cannot be easily adapted for the use of chemical leveners. Why? Most depend on fermentation for a large part of the flavor of the bread and time for flavor and further gluten development. Since chemical leveners act relatively quickly and we hope do not add flavor, the formulas simply don't adapt well. If you don't want to use yeast in your baking it is better to start with a quick bread formula and adapt it to meet your particular tastes. It will, however never taste or act like a yeast raised bread. Some formulas might get closer than others, but they will never be the same.
(b) I have made a version of puff pastry (called "blitz puff pastry") with 100% whole wheat. Since I know of bakers who make pastries using whole wheat, I will go out on a limb and say that it is possible to make regular puff pastry, but you are correct, there is very little available in the way of formulas for this. Having done vienoisserie with whole wheat I would say that the fineness of the grind of the bran will be important. Also, for croissants, an egg was added, where it normally would not be, to help the dough become stronger. The blitz puff pastry that I made was light and flaky, but not so much as it would have been with white flour. White wheat has a less aggressive taste than red wheat. I have even made choux paste with whole wheat flour. However, whole wheat flour will not act the same as white flour. The product may be a nice one, but it will be a different one. As with anything, the better your technique, the better the product, but I will emphasize that it will not be the same. You don't give why you want to do this, but you may wish to use a small portion of whole wheat, with the rest being white flour and increase the percentage until the difference is too great for your taste.
Unfortunately, I have not answered your questions in the way that you may have wanted, but I hope this helps.
@proth5... Thanx fr your detailed reply, it helped me to confirm what I was guessing. Dues to health reasons refined flour and yeast is restricted for me so was looking to do some wonders with whole wheat.