Weekly Learning - Let's Start With BREAD!
Week 1
Every week I’ll be taking a deep dive into researching a topic that involves food or science relating to the field of culinary. This can vary in degree from scientific approaches, bench top work, conceptual reads, or anything that will ultimately be used as a learning experience. This post marks the beginning of the journey to better my knowledge and acts as a cornerstone to where it all began.
Have you Ever Wondered how to make the perfect loaf of bread???
Bread is a super complex and intricate piece of our everyday meals that we sometimes take for granted. Most bread takes hours if not days to produce just to be devoured over the course of 3 seconds. While eating bread, I would think, WOW! this is delicious! but a few seconds later forget I even took a bite and proceed to shovel the remaining crumbs into my mouth. I feel like most of us can relate to this ritual and don’t think twice about it. For me, it wasn’t until I started researching and experimenting with bread baking that I started to understand and appreciate all the hard work and complexities that are held within its golden exterior.
To break yeast risen bread down, there can be anywhere from 5 steps to make bread, all the way up to and in excess of 12 steps sometimes, but in general these are the basics of making bread.
Scaling Ingredients (Remember to use the best ingredients!)
Mix Ingredients (What ingredients get mix with what can vary depending on bread type.)
Bulk Ferment (This is when most of the magic happens and is crucial to great bread.)
STRETCH and Fold (Essential to building the gluten structure in dough.)
Divide and Shape (This is where the bread takes its form.)
Final Proof (Once shaped, all that’s left is to ferment again to build up CO2 within the dough.)
Score and Bake (Scoring is optional but provides a controlled place for expansion.)
Enjoy! (After allowing the bread to cool, it’s time to enjoy the fruits of your labor.)
The big inspiration for this weeks post is heavily due to the book Apollonia Poilane which covers the store of the Poilane family and their bakery started 1932 as well as classic recipes from its history. Though it’s more of a story driven book, it tells the art of bread baking in such a captivating way that you can almost smell the bread baking while reading.
Break down the Bread
Scaling Ingredients
I feel like this is relatively self explanatory but it’s important to use grams when baking simple due to the fact that it’s more accurate. Bread baking is a very precise process that can be fatally faltered by one small miss measurement. Remember to record everything about what you’re doing so that it can be recreated or problem solved in the future. Everything from weather, humidity level, room temperature, proof times, flour blends, etc. it all matters in the end.
Mix Ingredients
Depending on the type of bread your making this can vary greatly. Quicker one day breads, like focaccia, can be made by mixing the lukewarm water (100-110F) with yeast, allowed to bloom and then combined with dry ingredients. Other longer processed dough’s, like sourdough, can use mixing methods that start with combining water and flour to make a starter. This starter (also known as a poolish) is allowed to ferment over a day or two and then combined with more flour, water, and salt when making the dough. Even a dough for croissants is slightly different in that you add all the dry ingredients, including the yeast, together and then incorporate all the wet ingredients into that.
Though it may seem like a minor step to look past, the method in which ingredients are combined when baking has a huge impact on how a baked good forms.
Use High Quality Ingredients
“When a recipe contains just a few ingredients, it matters more that they are the best.” - Apollonia
Bulk Ferment
When it comes to yeast risen dough, this can be considered one of, if not, the most important step. After mixing all the ingredients you end up with a large mass of dough, most of the active work on the bread is done by now. From here the dough just needs to rest for upwards of 3 hours in a warm (between 76F-86F), draft-free location (inside a oven with just the light on works great for home use), covered with a damp towel.
The temperature you want to use for the fermentation depends on what flavor profile you want in the bread or the type of flours used in the beginning. If a more sour flavor is desired then a lower proof temp is ideal since it will reduce rate of fermentation in the dough allowing for more flavors to be developed. This is done through a combination of yeast and bacteria eating sugar chains within the dough and releasing organic acids, CO2, and liquid as a by product. In addition to adding flavor and volume to the dough, this process begins the formation of the gluten matrix within the dough which provide structure to the dough. Through these processes the dough with bulk ferment (develop in one mass).
Higher ferment temperature as beneficial if you want a less sour dough and a quicker rise, remember to keep a eye on the dough as this rate can vary. Depending on the type of yeast/bacteria strains inside the dough it can rise slightly quicker than intended. As well the type of flour used can alter the rate at which the yeast/bacteria consume sugar. In the case of adding rye to a dough, it will take slightly longer to process due to the grains high durability. Keep this in mind as you may want to proof at a lower temp to allow time for everything to occur naturally as it would if using another flour such as AP or Bread.
STRETCH and Fold
This process takes place during the bulk fermentation and is primarily used to help build the gluten matrix within the dough even more. This process is simple in that you are only pulling the dough from one side and folding it over itself 2-3 times. This process occurs roughly every 30 minutes or when the dough appears to be relaxed. If this step is done too soon, you’ll notice the dough is tough to work with and might start tearing as well. Perform this throughout the whole bulk fermentation process for best results. This step will allow you to see and feel how the dough is fermenting, giving you a opportunity to modify conditions if need be.
Divide and Shape/FInal Proof
These two steps are combined because they are very simple as it involves taking the bulk fermented dough and dividing it into the size wanted for baking. Remember to shape the dough in as little movements as possible to avoid exhaling the CO2 from the dough. Once divided, the dough can be shaped and allowed to rest once more like it was in the bulk fermentation step. This time, the dough will rise for around 30 minutes to 1 hour. The way to test if it’s ready is by lightly pressing on the dough and if the mark doesn’t disappear quickly then the dough is ready to bake. It’s important to not over proof on this step as it can cause the structure of the bread to collapse, resulting in a dense bread. As well, it’s important not to under proof as the dough will not rise properly, resulting in a tough bread.
Score and Bake
The last crucial step to obtaining perfection. Right before putting the bread in the oven it’s typically scored, this is to provide a controlled location for expansion while the bread rises. The baking step varies much like the rest but generally speaking bread is baked around 400F with steam for the first 10 minutes and little to none for the remaining 30 minutes. Easiest done at home in a dutch oven with the lid on for the first part and lid off for the the remaining baking time. This is done so that during the first 10 minutes to allow for the dough to expand unhindered by a hardening exterior. Through the combination of CO2 production from the yeast/bacteria and steam the bread will expand by almost double. As well, while the bread is rising, the moisture around it participates onto the exterior of the dough resulting in the break down of the exterior carbohydrates into sugar. Once the lid is removed then these sugars are allowed to caramelize on the surface of the bread. This along with the molecular changes of starch on the exterior of the dough provide a rigid and crispy outside. Inside the dough, the steam from the moisture aids in the slower expansion in the later stages of baking while also cooking the interior, minimizing dryness.
You’ll know the bread is done if you take the bread out and knock on the bottom, if it sounds hollow (or like a wooden door) then the bread is ready to be taken out. Now it may be very temping to cut the bread and eat it right now but I assure you that waiting a hour to allow it to cool naturally will yield a superior product. This is because the bread is still baking from the interior steam even after it is removed from the oven. Cutting it now can result in a gummy texture that can’t be fixed.
Enjoy!
It’s as simple as that, well I guess it’s not that simple, but the results you achieve will definitely be worth the extensive work put into making the bread. In most cases, if held in a paper bag or in a cloth basket, the bread will last upwards of a week. Enjoy it will butter, jams, as a tartine, or just by itself. Bread is a common staple in many cuisines and can be used as a complimenting item or as a meal all by itself.
Below is a simple recipe I love to use for pizza dough, follow the steps outlined above and you’ll be making delicious custom pizzas for all your friends and family!
Pizza Dough Recipe
470g Water (100F)
13g Sugar
13g Yeast (Dry Active)
400g Bread Flour
250g Whole Wheat Flour
1 tsp Salt
Combine water, sugar, yeast. Allow to bloom.
Sift in dry ingredients, mix for 10 minutes by hand (5 with mixer).
Allow to bulk ferment for 2 hours, fold every 30 minutes.
Cut dough in half and form into balls.
Proof for 20 minutes or until relaxed.
Form into pizza roughs and add toppings.
Bake on pizza stone in oven at 400F for 15 minutes or until golden brown.
Remove from oven and brush crush with olive oil, season as needed.
If you learned something new like me remember to share that knowledge with others cause knowledge in power.