Ingredients - Slow Dough: Real Bread: Bakers' secrets for making amazing long-rise loaves at home - Chris Young

Slow Dough: Real Bread: Bakers' secrets for making amazing long-rise loaves at home - Chris Young (2016)

Ingredients

As a domestic baker, you might be used to simply grabbing a bag labelled “bread flour” or “strong white flour”, and sachets of fast-action dried yeast. As your baking develops, you might want to think and learn more about what you’re baking with, so here are some points to set you off on that path. There are many ingredients that can be used when making Real Bread but here are some notes on the main ones.

Organic ingredients

Organic and biodynamic farming both have less reliance on herbicides, fungicides, pesticides and petrochemical fertilizers than so-called “conventional” farming. Some organic and biodynamic farmers use none of these substances. This results in a lower negative (and in some cases, an actual positive) impact on the health of the soil and surrounding water systems, and means lower levels of potentially toxic residues in the food chain. It’s also possible that the populations of yeasts and lactic acid bacteria that you need for your sourdough starter will be more abundant in flour milled from grain that hasn’t been doused in fungicide. Look for research published by academic, governmental and organic food organizations for other possible and proven benefits of organic food production.

Artificial additives

A loaf made using artificial additives, as defined by food regulations, is not what the Campaign calls Real Bread. If you find a recipe elsewhere that instructs you to throw any into your dough, I’d suggest that you find another recipe. After all, could supposed quick or easy fixes peddled by baking “ingredients” companies hold you back from increasing your skills as a baker even further?

FLOUR

This is the main ingredient of Real Bread and the most important building block of your loaf. Most of the recipes in this book are made with wheat flour.

Gluten

A large percentage of the protein in wheat flour is gluten, though gluten isn’t a single substance, it is formed by the combinations of two groups of proteins: glutenin and gliadin.

Glutenin is elastic (i.e. tends to spring back to its original shape) and gives strength.

Gliadin is plastic (i.e. extensible) and sticky.

If you looked under a powerful microscope, you’d see that gluten is made up of coiled-up strands that look like mini springs. As the gluten develops, the strands begin to uncoil and start to form links to other strands close by, joining together to form what looks like a net. As this microscopic mesh develops, forming more and more links, it becomes like bubble gum, able to trap gas. This stretchy network of gluten strands is the main building material of the walls of the holes we see in wheat bread.

Strength

Many of these recipes specify strong flour. This means wheat flour with a relatively high percentage of the proteins that combine to form gluten. The characteristic lower height and large, uneven crumb structure cells in certain continental-style breads are achieved in part by using flours with lower and/or weaker protein, which is less elastic and so stretches out, and in places the walls between cells (the holes or bubbles) will break down to form larger ones.

If you want to move your baking up a gear, it’s worth trying to find millers or flour suppliers willing to give you advice on the appropriate flour to use to achieve particular results, or suitable for the characteristics of the type of bread you are trying to make.

Extraction rate

This is the term used for the proportion or percentage of the de-husked and cleaned wheat grain (also known as the wheat berry) that makes it into the flour sack and is expressed as a percentage. Wholemeal/wholewheat flour should be 100% extraction (though see the note below on stone-ground vs. roller-milled flour); British-milled white bread flour will be around 75%, and brown flour will fall somewhere in between, usually 80-85%.

Continental millers use different systems of classification, based on how much ash is left when the flour is incinerated under controlled conditions. The higher the number, the more ash, indicating higher fibre. Just to make things more confusing, each country’s systems differ from each other.

Stone me!

Most of our bread flour is milled using high-speed, fluted steel rollers. Modern roller milling is ruthlessly efficient at stripping away the nutrient-rich germ and fibrous outer layers of cereal grains, separating them into many different fractions and leaving behind a white powder that’s not much more than starch and gluten. Millers in the UK are required by law to add certain minerals and vitamins (namely calcium, iron and vitamins B1 and B3) to all white bread flour, however it has been produced. Similar additions are required in other countries.

The “wholemeal/wholewheat” flour produced by roller mills is in fact an attempt at reconstructing 100% extraction flour by recombining the bran and wheatgerm with the white flour. Though in the UK wholemeal flour has to contain all of the fractions in their original proportions by law, we have been told a number of times by people in the milling industry who do not want to be named that this is not always the case. For example, a roller-miller might exclude the nutrient-rich and flavoursome germ.

By contrast, stone milling grinds all parts of the grain together, and the process of achieving different extraction rates is reversed: wholemeal/wholewheat flour is the natural end product, which has to be sieved to remove bran to produce whiter flours. Even when sieved, stoneground flour will still contain some fine particles of the fibrous and most nutritious parts - the germ and bran.

Artificial additives

When purchasing flour, always check the ingredients list to make sure that the mill has not added any “improvers” or other non-mandatory artificial additives.

Local loaves

Is there an independent mill in your area? By using their flour you will forge a personal link in the chain from seed to sandwich, help to support local employment and the local economy, and minimize the energy used in transporting the flour. If it is a traditional wind- or water-powered mill, the energy used in milling will be non-polluting and you will be supporting local heritage. Better still is if the grain has been grown as locally as possible, too.

THE WHEAT FAMILY

Rather than being just one type of grain, wheat is a whole family (the genus Triticum) of species and sub species. While varieties of common or bread wheat (Triticum aestivum) account for over 90% of world wheat production, other cultivated wheats include:

✵ Durum wheat (T. durum or T. turgidum durum) is commonly used for pasta, but also for some types of bread.

✵ Einkorn (T. monococcum) was one of the first domesticated cereals.

✵ Emmer (T. dicoccum), sometimes called farro (e.g. in Tuscany), was another of the first domesticated cereals, though probably later than einkorn.

✵ Kamut is a trademarked brand name for one variety of khorasan - see below.

✵ Khorasan (T. turanicum or T. turgidum subsp. turanicum) is a high-protein wheat, originally thought to have been bred in ancient Egypt.

✵ Spelt (T. spelta or T. aestivum var. spelta) is apparently becoming ever-more popular, particularly for bread making.

None of the above are gluten free, and so they are not suitable for people with coeliac disease. That said, there are differences between the make-up of their gluten and that of bread wheat. Some people with a professionally diagnosed allergy or an intolerance (neither of which is the same as coeliac disease, which is an auto-immune condition) to bread wheat report that they have fewer, or no, problems digesting products made from other members of the wheat family. There are also suggestions that the older wheats above may have higher levels of certain micronutrients (vitamins and minerals) than modern bread wheats. The same may go for older varieties (or cultivars) of T. aestivum, sometimes known as heritage wheats.

Flour classification

Different countries have their own systems for classifying flour, and types from one country are not always directly comparable with those from another. For example, taking two flours classified by extraction rate (i.e. the percentage of the whole grain it contains after sifting) or ash content (the residue left after controlled incineration), one might have been made from soft wheats, whose lower gluten content is good for cakes and pastries, and the other from hard wheats with higher gluten content more suitable for bread making or even pasta.

Here are the types of wheat flour used in this book:

Bread or strong (British): made from hard wheats, often grown in the USA or Canada. Typically 12- 14% protein and an extraction rate of around 75% (white), 80-85% (brown) and 100% (wholemeal). Roughly comparable to US bread flour.

Plain (British): made from soft wheats, often grown in Britain, with less gluten. Typically 8-11% protein and 50-70% extraction. Roughly comparable to US all-purpose flour.

T55 (French): made from hard and soft wheats, often grown in France, with an intermediate gluten content. Typically 10-12% protein and 75-78% extraction.

T65 (French): made from hard and soft wheats, often grown in France, also with an intermediate gluten content. Typically 10-11.5% protein and 80% extraction, so slightly darker than T55.

Tipo 00 (Italian): very white; if intended for bread making, it is usually made from common wheat (grano tenero), often grown in Italy. Typically 7-9% protein and around 50% extraction. Tipo 00 made with durum wheat (grano duro) is more suitable for pasta.

Tipo 1 (Italian): made from soft wheats, often grown in Italy. Typically 10% protein and around 80% extraction, so into brown flour territory.

And this is all before you take into account how it’s been milled or how coarsely …

For more information, the Internet is your friend. There are stacks of articles, forum posts and blogs with suggestions for substituting one flour for another, so happy browsing - and experimenting.

Other flours

There are many other flours that can be used to make Real Bread, though they won’t give the same results as wheat flour, because in general, they lack the necessary gluten. Here are those used in this book.

Chestnut

Not to be confused with the bitter horse chestnut (Aesculus hippocastanum), sweet chestnuts (Castanea sativa) can be milled to produce flour. Unsurprisingly, its flavour is nutty and slightly sweet, but being gluten free, it needs combining with wheat or other flours if you want to use it to make a risen loaf.

Buckwheat

Despite the name, it isn’t a type of wheat. Buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum) is in fact related to sorrel and rhubarb. As it’s not a cereal but is often used like one, it is known as a pseudocereal. While its nutritional profile is very good - high levels of protein, micronutrients and bioflavonoids - as a gluten-free flour it’s more suited to flatbreads, pancakes and noodles than risen loaves. For bread, it really benefits from being mixed with wheat flour.

Oats

In his dictionary, Dr. Samuel Johnson noted oats (Avena sativa) as being “a grain, which in England is generally given to horses, but in Scotland supports the people”. A tad harsh on both Scots and oats, especially as the latter are nutritious and delicious.

The gumminess you see in porridge/oatmeal is generated by beta-glucans in the oats which can also be used to help create structure in bread, though oat flour is better suited to flatbreads unless mixed with wheat or other flours. Beta-glucans are a form of soluble fibre that has been shown to reduce blood cholesterol levels.

On the coeliac disease front, oats contain the protein avenin, which can trigger the coeliac response in some sufferers. In addition, oat cultivation and processing can be contaminated with wheat and other gluten-containing cereals unless certified otherwise.

Rye

Cultivated from the Neolithic era in Turkey, and in Europe since the Bronze Age, rye (Secale cereale) is a relative of wheat in the biological tribe Triticeae. While it has protein levels similar to those of wheat and contains secalin, a gliadin-like protein that makes it unsuitable for people with coeliac disease, it is low in glutenin and therefore has a lower gluten-forming potential than wheat flour. Much of the structure in 100% rye bread comes from its starch and substances called pentosan gums.

A loaf made with 100% rye flour, low hydration and baker’s yeast tends to be a sad, pasty affair: you really need to go for a longer-fermented, high-hydration sourdough to bring this grain alive!

Rye flour is either referred to as wholegrain (or dark, i.e. 100% extraction), or, if it has been sifted (and perhaps bleached in some countries), as light. With exceptions such as Germany, there isn’t always the same consistency of classification as with wheat flour.

A hybrid of wheat and rye is called triticale, which is in limited cultivation as a commercial crop.

YEAST

Yeasts are microscopic, single-celled fungi. Yeast cells occur naturally and are all around us in the air and on other living things, like cereal grains.

NB: When making a sourdough starter, it’s the latter that’s important, so ignore any assertion that you need to leave your mixture of flour and water uncovered, or take it outside, in order to “catch” yeast from the air.

Like people, yeast cells use carbohydrates for energy to live. In bread making, yeasts produce enzymes that break the starch in the flour into simpler sugars upon which they can feed - you don’t need to add any extra! Two key by-products of this process are carbon dioxide and alcohol, both of which are involved to a greater or lesser extent in bread making, brewing and winemaking.

Commercial yeast

When bakers (and brewers, for that matter) talk about yeast, they’re usually referring to one species, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, which takes its name from ancient Greek and Latin words related to sugar, fungus and beer.

The process of cultivating and purifying S. cerevisiae commercially was first developed in the mid-19th century. Later on, scientists bred different strains of this species for specific characteristics, including fast production of large volumes of carbon dioxide (for bread making), production of alcohol (for drinks production) and particular flavour profiles (for brewing and winemaking though, interestingly, not for bread making).

Dried yeast

Dried active yeast should be just the same as fresh yeast, just with more water removed. Instant (also known as fast acting, easy blend or easy bake) yeast is used in smaller amounts and, as the name suggests, generates carbon dioxide more quickly.

A word of warning: most brands of both dried active and instant yeast we’ve found in the UK contain one or more artificial additives. It is for this reason that I have chosen to specify fresh yeast throughout this book for the non-sourdough recipes. Given the processes that might be used by some “conventional” yeast producers, you might also wish to choose yeast produced by a certified organic producer.

Yeast Conversions

If you find an additive-free brand of dried active yeast, or simply can’t get hold of fresh, then calculate the amount you need by dividing a recipe’s fresh yeast weight in half. If you find an additive-free brand of instant yeast (good luck!), then dividing the fresh yeast recipe weight by three is about right. Note that these calculations don’t hold exactly true if baking in quantity so, as ever, have an experiment to see what happens.

Barmy army

While continental European bakers largely continued their traditions of sourdough bread making, British bakers long saw any hint of sourness as a fault. Instead, they turned to brewers for the copious amounts of yeast-rich foam, known as barm, produced during beer making. Even though a commercial yeast process had been developed in Austria-Hungary in the late 1840s, British bakers continued with barm for much longer - references to “pints of yeast” in bakers’ manuals can be found into the 20th century. While this book doesn’t have a barm bread recipe, it does have one using trub, the yeast at the bottom of a brewing vessel (see page 46).

Sourdough starter

Sourdough is in this section because it contains yeast. Anyone who tells you different is a) wrong and b) potentially breaking the law if they’re marketing sourdough loaves as “yeast free”.

SALT

As a Tuscan baker may tell you, salt isn’t an essential ingredient in bread making, but frankly a loaf made without it will be a bit bland to most people’s taste.

Salt also:

✵ Strengthens the gluten network, helping the structure of your loaf.

✵ Aids the browning process - bread with very low levels of salt may appear paler than loaves made otherwise identically, while high levels may cause loaves to have a reddish, “foxy” bloom to the crust.

✵ Acts as a natural preservative, delaying the onset of mould growth.

✵ Slows fermentation, though using salt as the “brakes” in home baking is never necessary: lower temperature and lower levels of yeast will help you keep your dough under control.

You might want to choose salt produced by a small, independently owned business that provides more work per kilo for local people than an industrial producer does. You might also find certain brands have processing methods (e.g. sun-drying of sea water) that use less energy and generate lower negative environmental impacts.

Salt and health

Current government guidelines in the UK are that adults shouldn’t consume more than 6g of salt a day. They also say that bread should have no more than 1% salt as a percentage of the baked loaf weight.

This guideline applies to professional bakers but you might want to consider them when baking at home. In the end, how much salt you use is up to you but you can read more about the related health issues at actiononsalt.org.uk and worldactiononsalt.com.

FATS AND OILS

Fats and oils are only used in this book when they are necessary to help create the particular taste and texture of an enriched dough. Please consider sticking to the type of fat specified as they were chosen for good reason. Ultimately, though, if you have a religious, cultural or ethical reason for not eating animal fat, it’s up to you if you want to make a substitution.

Fats and oils added in appropriate amounts can also be used to do a number of things in a loaf. These include creating a softer crust and crumb, making your bread moister, increasing how stretchy your dough is (and so allowing greater volume) and slowing the effects of staling. Using too much or too little will defeat the object, though, and at least some of these effects can be achieved in other ways, not least by adding a bit more water instead. Give it a go and see what you think.

SUGARS

Refined sugar, honey and syrups are also only used in this book when they are necessary to help create the particular taste and texture of an enriched dough.

For any recipe you see elsewhere that includes one form or other of sugar, ask why. If it is a good reason, in terms of flavour or texture, then go ahead. If it is a savoury loaf, then do you really need that extra sugar in your diet? Remember, yeast doesn’t need sugar to feed on, as flour provides more than enough energy to keep it going.

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