July 5, 2015 - 7:47pm
Laughing and Loafing
I have come to the conclusion that soaking the flour over night just makes bread much tastier. NOW if I could only remember to record all the amounts and ingredients I put in!
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I have come to the conclusion that soaking the flour over night just makes bread much tastier. NOW if I could only remember to record all the amounts and ingredients I put in!
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Planning ahead is helpful, as it provides for attention to combining ingredients with a product in mind and facilitates efficiency, so the sprouts get sprouting and the nuts get toasted in time to be ready when needed. It also provides a written plan that would then only need updating if/when changes are made, and guidance in case it all turns out well enough that you want to do it again some time.
And I do it (well, at least half the time) and it works (when I do it). Old habits die hard... ;)
Cathy
:) Love long wet times on flour!
I just dont understand why more recipes arent using this technique
unless it is a high percent whole grain bread but it does 3 or 4 things really well. It gets the hard bits wet for a long time which softens them which means less gluten strand cutting making for a higher loaf. The crumb is softer and moister The enzymes at are released when the flour get wet work on the starches to break then down into the sugars that the LAB and Yeast can eat. Extra food means that the LAB and yeast can make more of the taste and aroma by products making for a more flavorful and aromatic bread. Lastly but the residual sugar is potentially higher which means that the dough will brown beautifully. Bread makers have been autolysing flour and water for over a thousand years - and with good reason.
Happy autolysing
You are correct. I am the laziest baker on earth,and I know I would have more consistent results if I was better about arranging my other priorities around my baking. I love the flavor profile you get when the wet flours sit - I frequently use odd combinations of flour such as white, high gluten, whole wheat, rye, besan/chickpea, sooji/semolina.
After this flour soak I add some commercial yeast, flour , salt, sweetener and fat.
I usually don't keep accurate measurements but my family has been on my case about this! Then if the batch comes out good, I would be able to replicate it or produce one loaf.