Fermenting the dough in the refrigerator with sourdough. Long-fermented wheat bread with whole grain flour. What is cold fermentation of dough
First of all, of course, I wish everyone a Happy New Year!
I'll brag at the same time. I love old glass Christmas tree decorations from my childhood. Look what kind of things they gave me: Mir satellites, cool, although dim and faded with time.
And now to the challah.
Recipe by Maggie Glaser, I met him at Luda’s, mariana_aga
, for which I thank her very much.
Lately I've been baking this challah 3 times a week. I ferment the dough (unleavened) in the refrigerator. And, let me tell you, the bread comes out not just excellent, it comes out simply delicious, the most tender crumb, the softest, the lightest. The aroma is indescribable. The taste is great, it stores just very, very well.
It is very convenient that there is a fairly large time lag in working with such dough (mine spends in the refrigerator from 7 to 10 hours, depending on when I knead and when I wake up), fermented, it can also be kneaded and stored for up to a day in a refrigerator.
I read and tried different ways Knead the dough for fermentation in the refrigerator and warm it afterwards.
Here is an article by Luda about such dough. Hot water when kneading, fermentation at 0-8C for 8-10 hours until complete yield without kneading, warming the dough to 30C after refrigeration.
I read Reinhard’s “Artisan Breads...” (I haven’t read everything yet, only the introductory part and the first few recipes :)). Quite wet dough, weak kneading (water for kneading 35C, and recommends soaking even instant yeast in warm water, not only active and pressed), 4 folds at room temperature with an interval of 10 minutes. (i.e., during the development of gluten, the dough ferments at room temperature for 40 minutes before refrigeration), fermentation in the refrigerator overnight (up to 4 days), cutting and shaping the dough without heating.
At Sua's. Improved mix (i.e. a kneading in which the kneading time at 2nd speed is reduced in order to reduce the oxidation of the dough and prevent the destruction of carotenoids, kneading until the gluten is incompletely developed. After such kneading, the fermentation time is extended (compared to the dough after intensive kneading until full development gluten, which does not require and does not withstand long fermentation), which leads to a greater accumulation of acid in the dough, the crumb is more beautiful in color, creamy, the aroma, taste, and shelf life of the products are improved. About the preference (with some exceptions) of such gentle kneading of the dough followed by. Hamelman also writes about the development of gluten during fermentation and kneading), dough temperature 22C (that is, it is not hot or warm water when kneading, unless, of course, the flour is ice-cold), fermentation at 6C for 15-20 hours, cutting, rounding, resting and warming the dough for 20 minutes. Final shaping, proofing for 1-1.5 hours, baking.
I will be talking about this specific recipe for my specific refrigerator. I mix 2.7 kg dough. flour, this is about 4.3 kg. test. I didn’t like kneading with hot and warm water; the dough overheated with all the consequences. Warming to 30C after refrigeration led to over-fermentation of the dough. If I left the dough to rise to its maximum without kneading in the refrigerator, the products were smaller in volume than with kneading. And I had to reduce the yeast a little, otherwise the dough would over-ferment.
So, I knead the dough using tap water for literally 4 minutes. until smooth. Let it sit for 30 minutes. During this time, the yeast (I use instant yeast), I think, comes to its senses and the gluten swells. I knead for 6 minutes. at maximum speed until gluten develops to medium level. There is a lot of dough, the consistency is average, it doesn’t turn very well even at maximum speed, you have to constantly push it off the hook with a scraper. If there is less dough, it will take less time. I put it in the refrigerator. After an hour and again after an hour I fold it. I leave it alone until the morning. In the morning I divide it, round it up, and let it sit for 20-30 minutes. Forming, proofing, baking. Something like this.
Recipe(I quote for one 700-gram loaf), I bake four of these in L6 forms and four 350-gram ones in L11 forms.
450 g flour c. With. (lately I’ve been taking Kursk, it’s very good)
1.5 g dry instant yeast SAF golden
6.6 g salt
9.7 g sugar
66 g vegetable oil
216 g of water (or a little more until you get a medium consistency dough).
I wrote about the batch. About molding. Shaped challah. I make a braid from 3 strands. I roll the rounded pieces of dough into oval cakes with a rolling pin, roll them into ropes, and immediately roll them out a little in length so that they are about a third longer than the mold. After a short rest (while I’m rolling out the last one, the first one has already rested), I braid it and put it in a greased mold. Proof for about 1.5 - 2 hours, until it rises a little above the edges of the pan. I grease with a mixture of eggs and a couple of tbsp. l. water with a pinch of salt. I sprinkle with sesame seeds. I bake at 190-195C small ones for 40 minutes, large ones for 50 minutes.
This one is from the small forms, L11
The article format is the maximum allowed by livejournal.
In the Russian-language network space there are very few theoretical materials of a decent level in general on bread baking, and, in particular, on sourdough. This is not surprising, because Russian publishers practically do not deal with this topic; of the translated books, I know only three books by the French baker Richard Bertinet, and one book by Australian authors.
These books contain very little information on the theory of sourdoughs and related bread-making practices. This explains the fact that a lot of materials with outdated content are published on Russian baking forums, often from sources seventy to fifty years ago and with the same outdated terminology, which is not integrated into the terminology of modern world baking. You need to know old Russian baking terminology, but not in order to use it today.
Early spring, Sudak, author - Angelina Gurina:Sometimes some materials of baking forums are retellings by amateur bakers in their own words of some ideas and techniques from foreign books interspersed with their own thoughts and advice; in these situations, either the main idea from the original source is often distorted, or very important details disappear, not to mention the fact that In most cases, the advice of bakers is of a very private nature; they can only be attributed to a specific baking of bread according to a specific recipe.
My daughter and I decided to take a slightly different path, and to the best of our limited strength, to gradually fill this information vacuum, we took steps to make several translations of the most interesting pages of the world's best-selling bakery books, related, among other things, to the theory and practice of sourdough bread baking into Russian, and we plan to publish more than one post on this topic.
The translations are not of a commercial nature, they are intended for personal use, and to emphasize this, we sometimes went quite far from the original text in order to best describe the essence of baking processes in the most detailed way.
This post presents a translation of selected pages, chapter "Fermentation" of the book
Michel Suas, Advanced BREAD AND PASTRY, a professional Approach (Michel Suas, Excellent bread and pastries, a professional approach).
After reading this chapter you will be able to:
Explain what fermentation is and why it is important in baking;
Explain what methods are available to use fermentation and how to control this process to ensure consistent quality of bread products;
Use several slow test techniques;
Explain the relationship between dough fermentation and the taste of the resulting bread.
Fermentation
The baking process is a harmonious combination of the baker's skill and the natural processes that occur during the fermentation of the dough. Fermentation begins when the baker combines the two main dough ingredients: flour and water. By adding salt and yeast, changing time and temperature, the baker provides all the conditions necessary for the dough to ferment.
The process of making dough can be divided into 2 main phases: the “manual” period, when the baker directly works with the dough - kneading it, dividing it, shaping it, and the fermentation period, when the properties of the dough change over time. Both of these phases are very important for the final quality of the bread. Depending on the chosen fermentation method, the final taste and aroma of the bread is formed.
If we choose the right fermentation method and its features, then at the end we will get exactly the bread that we planned to create.
Fermentation is the breakdown of complex molecules of organic dough compounds under the action of yeast and bacteria (mainly lactic acid, irina_co)) and flour enzymes.
Different types of fermentation are used in the production of food products that we are accustomed to consuming in our Everyday life. For example, lactic acid fermentation as a type of fermentation is used in the production of cheeses, butter, yoghurts.
Fermentation using special bacteria that produce acid is used in the production of vinegar, alcoholic fermentation processes are also used in the production of wine, beer, cider, and fermentation is used in the production of many other food products.
In bakery fermentation occurs then, when sugar andcarbohydrates (a group of substances that include sugars, starch, fiber and many other complex compounds present in living microorganisms) contained in flour are converted into alcohol and carbon dioxide under the action of industrial or spontaneous fermentation yeasts and bacteria. This type of fermentation is classified asalcohol fermentation .
Conversion of sugars
Wheat flour contains different types carbohydrates, which are in demand at different stages of fermentation. These carbohydrates can be classified based on the complexity of their structure.
Some simple carbohydrates are included in fermentation without changing their structure. Other carbohydrates, with a more complex structure, must first be broken down into molecular or organic compounds by yeast or enzymes; these enzymes are initially present in the flour and are activated during the process of grinding the grains into flour.
Simple sugars
The main simple carbohydrates (simple sugars) that make up flour include glucose And fructose , which together constitute the order 0,5% flour composition. They are absorbed directly by the yeast when the yeast penetrates the cell membrane of the sugar compound. Simple sugars are broken down by yeast into alcohol and carbon dioxide. This is the result of exposure zymases , a natural enzyme found in yeast cells. Fast absorption simple sugars yeast enzymes causes these sugars to be processed first during the first 30 minutes of fermentation.
Complex sugars
Sucrose
And maltose
, the two main members of the group of complex sugars in flour, account for approximately 1%
flour composition. Due to their more complex structure, during the first 30 minutes of fermentation they are first treated with flour enzymes, after which they acquire the structure of simple sugars, which in turn are included in the fermentation process. Sucrose is converted to glucose and fructose
,maltose is converted to glucose
.
Both of these components (sucrose and maltose) are naturally present in flour and yeast cells, and are subsequently converted into carbon dioxide and alcohol by zymase enzymes.
The most complex sugars are carbohydrates
Among the most complex sugars in structure are starch,
which amounts to 70%
composition of flour. This group of substances such as starches includes
substances amylOse
And amylopectin
.
Amylase is broken down into maltose by enzymes beta-amylase
(this is a flour enzyme). Amylopectin breaks down to dextrins
enzymes alpha-amylase
(this is also a flour enzyme), dextrins in turn are decomposed to maltose by beta-amylase. The resulting maltose decomposes to glucose when exposed to enzyme grains
maltase
. At the very end of the chain of transformations, yeast cells use glucose to produce carbon dioxide
And alcohol
.
Most of the flour starch grains that are involved in the fermentation process are flour starch grains damaged during milling. These damaged particles easily and quickly absorb water during the dough kneading process, which in turn stimulates the activity of flour enzymes. Intact starch particles have the ability to retain water to a lesser extent (water is absorbed only into their surface and does not penetrate into the starch grain).
Note(irina_co)
The activity of alpha and beta amylases (these are flour enzymes that break down sugars and starches in flour, they are also called P-amylases) is called
amylolytic activity
flour in Russian modern baking literature.
Let us present similar material with Russian terminological specifics from domestic modern technological baking sources (I used more than one source, the result was an integral complementary commentary to the text of the book by M. Sua (irina_co)).
Flour contains a small amount of simple sugars (0.7-1.8%) which are immediately suitable for feeding yeast. However, the main nutrition of yeast comes from sugars released during the breakdown of more complex polysaccharides, such as
starch, dextrins.
The more
amylolytic enzymes in flour
(these are the enzymes that break down mono- and polysaccharide compounds of flour), the more sugars suitable for feeding yeast are formed, and the more active yeast fermentation occurs, accompanied by the release of carbon dioxide.
Yeast is able to directly absorb and ferment monosaccharides such as
glucose and fructose
. Disaccharides such as
sucrose and maltose,
have the same chemical composition C12H22O11,
but different structure
They are broken down by yeast enzymes into monosaccharides before fermentation.
At breakdown of sucrose
glucose and fructose are formed, and when maltose is broken down
- only glucose.
When fermenting glucose and fructose
ethyl alcohol and carbon dioxide are released
, which loosens the dough well.
For example, when 100 grams of glucose is fermented, 25 liters of carbon dioxide are released. Thus, the gas-forming ability of flour is directly related to its sugar-forming ability (these are terms adopted in Russia to describe the baking properties of flour).
Lipases , these are also flour enzymes, they break down flour fats, and proteases - Also flour enzymes break down flour proteins.
Beta-amylases attach to the end of polysaccharide chains of starches and “bite off” them small pieces, these pieces - maltose molecules, and alpha-amylases, in turn, “cut” starch molecules into smaller ones dextrins. Smaller d Extrins are much more easily attacked by beta-amylase than larger starch molecules, and as a result, the sugar-forming ability of flour is greatly increased. When a lot of dextrins accumulate in the dough, beta-amylase is no longer able to process them, the properties of the dough change, its excess stickiness and low porosity arise, which leads to a decrease in the future taste properties of the bread. That is why excess activity of alpha and beta amylases is undesirable, that is excess activity of the amylolytic complex of flour is undesirable . In Russia, the value of the amylolytic activity of flour is characterized falling number .
So, the main food for yeast is maltose
in fermenting dough, formed from starches under the action of beta-amylases. If the activity of amylolytic enzymes in flour is normal, then the yeast does not experience hunger, they multiply well and ferment sugars, as a result, a sufficient amount of carbon dioxide is released (
the falling number of such flour is low
).
With insufficient amylolytic activity of flour (that is, with reduced sugar-forming ability of flour)
flour falling number is high,
the yeast experiences starvation, fermentation activity decreases, little carbon dioxide and organic acids are released, and the dough rises poorly. As a result, the bread turns out low, dense, bland and has little flavor.
It is impossible to eliminate the lack of simple carbohydrates in the dough by simply adding sugar to the dough, since yeast ferments this sugar quickly and first. It is important that sugars suitable for feeding yeast are formed during the entire fermentation period of the dough, and this is only possible if the activity of flour enzymes is constant during fermentation.
The value of the amylolytic activity of flour
Alpha and beta amylase enzymes are always naturally present in flour, but their amounts can vary depending on the number of wheat grains that have already sprouted and are included in the flour during milling.
Note
(irina_co).
Increased activity of alpha-amylases is characteristic of flour made from sprouted grains. In good baking flour alpha-amylases are bound by flour proteins and tannins, which sharply limits their activity. Sometimes, when grinding the original grain composition with sprouted grains, the activity of amylases in flour is excessively high, a lot of dextrins and other products of starch destruction are formed, the crust of such bread is almost red in color. For a good color of the crust of bread, it is necessary that the dough contains
2-3% sugars
in terms of dry matter.
As wheat prepares for its new life cycle - germination, the germ of the grain sends enzymes to endosperm (central nutrient tissue of the seed). Flour enzymes convert complex nutrients contained in the endosperm into simpler ones, which the grain germ can already use directly.
Typically, flour does not contain very many alpha- and beta-amylase enzymes,
Thanks to existing grain storage regulations, these regulations require grain harvests to be processed before the wheat (or other) grains can germinate. To compensate for the costs of grain enzymes still working in the already milled flour, and to ensure consistent baking characteristics, mills that process wheat into flour add malt or yeast enzymes (called flour improvers).
Note
(irina_co).
The more damaged the starch grains of flour, the more easily they are attacked by alpha and beta amylases, and the higher the sugar-forming ability of the flour. Starch paste is saccharified especially quickly, which is obtained by brewing flour with very hot water, and which is used as a brew for bread (adding tea leaves to bread allows you to improve the shaping of bread, increase its taste qualities and increase its shelf life).
During the fermentation process of the dough, it is involved minimal amount starches. In practice, the fermentation process can take a very long time, but the dough has its limitations in terms of its ability to retain gases resulting from yeast fermentation. That is why it is important for the baker to control this process throughout the entire period of making the dough.
Changes in dough as a result of the fermentation process
The most obvious change resulting from fermentation is the rising of the dough, which occurs as a result of the production of carbon dioxide. At the very beginning, the gas simply dissolves in free water (not combined with flour formed as a result of biochemical reactions in the dough). As the water becomes saturated with gas, internal pressure is created, which stretches the structure gluten free (squirrel) contained in the test. In accordance with your physical properties, elasticity and extensibility, gluten is able to retain the structure of the dough and carbon dioxide in it, which is necessary for a good volume of the dough.
The second effect that occurs during dough fermentation is the appearance of dough acidity, that is, the appearance of organic acids that determine acid-base balance level
test. The appearance of acidity is a sign of good amylolytic activity of flour, yeast and starter activity, and measuring the acidity of the dough allows you to monitor changes in the properties of the dough during the entire time of its rise.
Another side effect of acidity in the dough is that the bread will have a longer shelf life; the bread will stay fresh longer.
Finally, the last important role of fermentation is to create the flavor of the bread. Some odor nuances arise as a result of the production of alcohol, others as a result of the production of organic volatile acids, and others as a result of additional multiple side reactions accompanying fermentation.
The formation of the smell of bread takes quite a long time, including the first phase of fermentation (rising of the dough) and the second stage of fermentation (this is the time of proofing of the dough), and during this second period the main component of the smell is developed.
For example, some bacteria and some species of "spontaneous yeast" naturally present in flour contribute those odor notes that arise from the side reactions of fermentation. This explains why a fairly long overall rising and proofing phase is required to produce bread with a rich aroma as a result of baking.
Regardless of the changes that occur to the dough during kneading and shaping, fermentation in turn also changes the characteristics of the dough. During the first long fermentation (rising) phase, the gluten of the dough gaining strength , wherein the elasticity of gluten is reduced , and her elasticity increases under the influence of expansion of gas pores.
Note
(irina_co).
Further in the text, the term "fermentation", used throughout the book by M. Sua, can be used when translated as the term " climb"
(the first phase of fermentation, a term characteristic of Russian baking terminology), and also as the term " proofing"
(also a Russian term) - the second part of fermentation that occurs after forming the dough piece.
Since concepts stretchability, elasticity and strength of gluten discussed in detail in this chapter, at the very beginning we must understand very clearly what these terms characterize. Gluten extensibility refers to the dough's ability to lengthen, stretch. Dough that is easy to stretch lengthwise is usually described as having good extensibility. Gluten elasticity refers to the dough's ability to return to its original shape after being stretched. The power of gluten refers to the balance of extensibility, elasticity and another parameter, let's call it gluten viscosity .
Factors that influence the fermentation process
These factors include: the amount of yeast, salt, sugar, temperature, and the level of acid-base balance of the dough. The baker must control all these parameters in order to obtain a predictable, stable result in the form of the final product - bread.
Yeast
The intensity of fermentation directly depends on the amount of yeast used in the dough. In particular, the amount of commercial yeast introduced must be limited in order to control the fermentation process and give the dough enough time to enrich microorganisms and their metabolic products . Depending on the type and variety of bread, the characteristics of the baking process, the proportion of fresh pressed yeast should be 0.5-2% of the total amount of flour for butter dough. For a rich dough, a much larger amount of yeast is needed.
Temperature
Yeast activity increases with increasing temperature and decreases with decreasing temperature. In order to create optimal conditions for the release of gases during fermentation, and to ensure the required level of acidity, the dough must be kneaded at a temperature of at least 24 degrees C. If the temperature is too high, the production of gases will increase, but the final flavor of the bread will not be as strong.
Amount of salt and sugar
Salt slows down fermentation activity. In general, for a normal fermentation process, the amount of salt is 2% of the total flour. A small addition of sugar - 5% enhances the fermentation process by increasing the amount of nutrient medium for yeast. Increasing sugar to 12% will have the opposite effect, slowing down fermentation as a result of changes in yeast performance.
Acid-base balance
Industrial yeast works best if the acid-base balance of the dough corresponds to values from 4 to 6 pH. A lower pH will slow down fermentation and change the character of the dough.
Note
(irina_co).
In a slightly acidic environment at pH 5-6, the saccharification of starches is especially successful (when creating tea leaves). The accumulation of acids in the dough leads to a change in pH, as a result of which the activity of alpha and beta amylases decreases.
The relationship between the fermentation process and further dough processing
Baking determines most of the final properties of bread, including aroma, crumb structure, bread volume, and potential shelf life.
The process of making bread is best described as a sequence of steps that involve on the one hand the processing of the dough - kneading, dividing, shaping, scoring, baking - and on the other hand the separate process of fermentation.
The process of creating bread is characterized by the fact that all its stages are closely interconnected; it is technically impossible to single out any of them. Any changes in the conduct of the test during any step will change the content of subsequent steps as well.
P.S. Continuation of materials on the book by M. Sua will be published next week.
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CRIMEAN LANDSCAPES WINTER AND EARLY SPRING
These wonderful Crimean photo landscapes were taken in 2015, in winter and spring, when, starting in March, the almond trees were already in full bloom.
Their author is Crimean artist and photographer Angelina Gurina
http://lina-gurina.livejournal.com/. She started her LiveJournal blog quite recently, only at the beginning of 2015. Now Angelina is our neighbor in Crimea, my daughter and I are very grateful to her for permission to post her photographs on our blog.
You can also see the artist’s work on VKontakte
The advantages of the technology of long-term fermentation of dough semi-finished products are based on the fact that the longer the flour components swell and the enzymes act, the more the taste and aroma of baked bread develops. It is impossible to simply increase the duration of fermentation, since the semi-finished product under normal conditions reaches the required degree of ripening in a certain time. An increase in the duration of each stage can be achieved by reducing temperature conditions.
Several decades ago, the creators of refrigeration equipment for bakeries assumed that a dough piece containing yeast cells should be cooled as quickly as possible to a temperature below the dew point. To achieve this, the installations used high-performance fans and bulky evaporators. Blowing frosty air over the workpieces led to a noticeable increase in energy consumption and weathering of the semi-finished product. Blast freezing reduced the volumetric yield of products by 10–15% and required appropriate defrosting.
The experience of recent years shows that instead of shock freezing, it is promising to regulate the temperature of the semi-finished product at all stages, from preparing the dough to proofing.
Proofing at low temperatures is considered the most convenient, when the molded pieces are placed in a refrigeration or climate chamber. In this case, it is possible to use different temperature conditions providing, for example:
- slowing down dough fermentation by lowering the ambient temperature to 3−5 °C for a period of 8−12 hours;
- reducing the temperature until the workpieces “freeze”, followed by a gradual rise in temperature;
- changing the normal fermentation temperature to sub-zero temperatures, then heating to 14 ° C for proofing, followed by an increase to normal values at the final stage before baking.
The effect of new technologies for cold dough preparation depends on the characteristics of the bakery enterprise, the range of products produced, logistics conditions, etc. However, practice in all cases has shown that in addition to a significant improvement in product quality, there is also a significant energy saving (up to 45%). In particular, in classic blast freezing installations, the air flow speed is 15-20 m/s, and in new climate control installations it does not exceed 2-3 m/s, which significantly reduces energy costs and drying of workpieces.
As an example, we can consider the technology of cold dough preparation for classic recipe buns from wheat flour. For cold dough making, long kneading at low speeds of the kneading unit is recommended. At the same time, water penetrates better into protein structures, reducing the amount of moisture on the surface of the dough. This also helps maintain the freshness of the product. It is recommended to reduce the amount of yeast to 1.5−2%, and add salt at the final stage of kneading.
The presence of an installation for making flake ice allows you to ensure the desired temperature of the dough. The dough temperature at the end of kneading should be 23−25 °C. Increasing the mixing temperature above 26 °C leads to an increase in enzyme activity. At temperatures below 22 °C, the dough remains unripe and develops too slowly.
At the end of fermentation in bowls or continuous apparatus, after kneading and resting for 10-15 minutes, the semi-finished product is cut up, and the molded blanks are laid out in special plastic trays. A stack of trays is sent to a chamber for 20 minutes to remove warm air and the workpieces are cooled to a temperature of 5 °C. Workpieces can be stored at low positive temperatures for up to 36 hours. At this temperature regime, yeast activity is minimized, which increases the time for the action of enzymes to manifest, ensuring an increase in the aromatic and taste characteristics of the product.
The degree of fermentation and temperature of all dough pieces at the beginning of long-term cold proofing should be the same. For this purpose, buffer cooling chambers or installations are used to remove warm air from stacks of pallets with workpieces. Since a reduced pressure is created in the chamber when air is sucked out, cooling occurs more quickly and efficiently. When comparing the principles of traditional cooling and air extraction, the latter turns out to be more gentle on dough pieces, since a much smaller volume of air is driven.
When cold air is supplied, the central part of the pallets with dough pieces receives cooling later than the semi-finished product at the edges. When warm air is extracted, all workpieces are cooled evenly without weathering the semi-finished product. This also ensures that all workpieces are at the same temperature. After cooling, the dough pieces can be sent to refrigerated chambers for final proofing, cold storage or delivery to retail outlets. When transporting chilled dough pieces for up to 2-3 hours (at a temperature not exceeding 20 ° C), additional cooling or the use of refrigerators is not required.
Technologies Cool down from Wachtel-Stamm, Aroma-Cooler from WP, Smartproof from Miwe use this method of sucking out warm air through specially tuned fans. The temperature inside the workpieces is controlled by thermometers, which guarantees uniform cooling of all workpieces. Such technologies are equally applicable for both large and small batches of semi-finished products.
Technology Patt Swiss company KolbKalte is based on compliance with the principle of ensuring strictly the same temperature on the surface and inside the dough piece. This technology is recommended for stabilizing the structure of unproven dough pieces that are sent to cold storage without a proofing phase. The semi-finished product is cooled very gently. The temperature of the dough pieces gradually decreases from 20 to −5 ° C, which leads to a slow ripening process of the semi-finished product. The relative humidity in the chamber is almost 100%.
Before baking, the products can be stored for 24 hours or more. In the future, they can be delivered to points of sale or baked in batches at the main production facility. This technology ensures natural and intensive development of the taste and aroma properties of the product. Energy consumption in this case is significantly lower than in blast freezing units.
Ensuring that the humidity in the chamber is accurately characterized is of great importance. In systems from different manufacturers, humidification of the air in the chamber is carried out in different ways, but the general principle is - the smaller the drops of water vapor, the better the atmosphere in the chamber. Typically, water vapor consists of moisture particles ranging in size from 100 to 150 microns, which fall at a speed of about 100 cm/s. Modern climate control systems use devices to create water vapor, the droplet size of which is only 1 micron. Such drops descend much more slowly - at a speed of 1 cm/s. In this case, a light fog “hangs” in the climate chamber, which envelops the cooled semi-finished products in storage or slow ripening mode.
The smallest drops of water vapor spread evenly throughout the entire volume of the chamber and constantly over time, which contributes to the optimal course of biochemical and microbiological processes and protects the workpieces from weathering and drying out. A very fine aerosol spray of water can be obtained using special nozzles operating under high pressure. Due to the use of reverse osmosis and ultraviolet irradiation in the water preparation system, a high degree of purity and hygiene of the semi-finished product is achieved, and the absence of calcium deposits in the spray system.
Technology Coolrising from Wachtel is designed for controlled proofing of workpieces during cooling. Dough pieces at a temperature of 20 °C are loaded into a climate chamber and cooled to 3 °C within 6 hours. At this temperature, the blanks can be stored for up to 48 hours. After long-term cold storage, during which fermentation processes occur slowly, the blanks can be immediately served for baking. The advantage of this company’s climate control system is that temperature conditions can be set a week in advance, taking into account the specific production program of the enterprise.
Miwe automatic climate chambers GVA can also be pre-programmed temperature regime to ensure loading of the semi-finished product into the oven at the previously planned moment. If necessary, you can automatically increase the temperature in the chamber and carry out the final proofing phase at 20−30 °C.
The KOMA company (Netherlands) produces fully automatic climatic chambers CDS SunRiser for long-term dough preparation technologies. The microprocessor control of these chambers allows precise control and regulation of the temperature and relative humidity of the air, as well as the degree of air circulation in the chamber. The temperature ranges of this installation make it possible to implement various options for conditioning test semi-finished products to slow down and interrupt fermentation, low-temperature storage, and blast freezing of finished products.
The use of cold in baking technological processes requires deep knowledge, highly qualified personnel and modern equipment. The combination of reduced temperature and duration of individual stages of the technological cycle must be selected and implemented very carefully, and is only possible when using high-quality technology. European mechanical engineers have developed and implemented refrigeration and climate control chambers with control systems that provide programmable cooling and heating over wide temperature ranges.
Experts note that the main advantages of long-term dough preparation using cold are as follows:
- significant improvement in the taste and aroma of baked products;
- improvement of crumb structure and crust color;
- the ability to store proofed dough pieces for many hours without loss of quality;
- convenient delivery of dough pieces to points of sale without special air-conditioned transport at any time of the day;
- reduction (by about 20%) of the required amount of yeast and improvers.
I would like to write about….I wanted to say “hackwork”, but that would not be correct. Regarding how and when we can reduce or, on the contrary, increase the stages of preparing sourdough bread, where we can simplify without harm, and which points should be left unchanged. There are tons of sourdough and sourdough bread recipes online, and some even directly contradict each other, however, all this is real experience that people share and say: look, this is how it works too. However, not every experience is worth adopting.
Why?
Why, when working with dough, do we do it this way and not otherwise? Let me remind you that we “build” sourdough bread dough in stages, and this is always sourdough dough, and then kneading the dough, its subsequent fermentation, cutting, preliminary proofing (when we round the dough pieces and let them rest before molding), shaping, final proofing , making cuts if necessary, and baking with steam. It may seem like a lot of fuss, but we want to bake delicious, beautiful bread and achieve the best results, so I personally try not to skip anything that needs to be done with the dough. All this is called “technology”, “method”, but in essence there is a method that arose for a reason, but based on physical and chemical properties components and their ability to influence each other: flour, water, yeast/sourdough, salt, sugar, oil and other additives.
By understanding the processes occurring with the dough, imagining what is for what and what happens at each stage, if necessary, you can simplify the work with minimal losses. Let's start in order.
1) Sourdough dough.
I usually leave it overnight so that I can start working in the morning, and I try to use it when it is not fully ripe, has swollen, has become fluffy, but is not overripe or too sour (you can read about this method in the article about). What to do if you can’t knead the dough right now? You can put the dough in the refrigerator and calmly proceed to the dough when you have the opportunity. It can stand in the refrigerator for several hours, depending on the temperature and degree of ripeness, this will be enough for you to finish your chores, complete your work, feed and put the children to bed and, finally, do what you love))
2) Autolysis.
I’ve made it a habit to knead with autolysis, this is especially true for whole grain dough, which needs time for the bran germ to swell in addition to the protein and gluten to begin to form. I mix the starter, water and flour in the dough mixer, cover it so that the dough does not dry out, and leave it for 20 minutes. Please note that dough made from white flour without the presence of sourdough can rest for 40 minutes, or even an hour; dough with sourdough needs much less time, because lactic and other acids present in the sourdough promote rapid swelling of the protein. Dough made from white flour, in general, can be kneaded without autolysis, but with whole grain flour it is better not to neglect it. But what to do if you don’t have time to take the test after 20 minutes of autolysis? If you're delayed by 10-15 minutes, that's okay, but if it's longer, take a second and put the dough in the refrigerator. The low temperature will slow down the action of enzymes that lead to the destruction of gluten and you will be able to start kneading when the opportunity arises. But if you assume in advance that you will not be able to approach the dough in the allotted time, add salt when mixing it. It will somewhat slow down the swelling of the protein, but it will also slow down the enzymes. And in the refrigerator! And if you put the dough in the refrigerator, keep in mind that it will ferment slowly until it warms up.
3) Kneading.
I don’t even know what to say here, if you knead with your hands, then you are talking about machine and hand kneading. If you are too lazy to knead, knead by folding, periodically short approaches to the dough, or during active kneading, let the dough rest for about 5 minutes to relax the gluten, this is very good way. And here it is important to remember that it is better to under-mix than to over-mix; maybe the bread will not turn out so fluffy, but it will definitely be tasty. By the way, you can read about overmixing and why it makes the bread tasteless in this article.
4) Adding additives and oil.
You can throw in seeds, raisins and nuts at the beginning of the kneading, but then these additives will make it difficult for the dough to develop gluten because they will tear it apart during kneading. Even bread machines are designed to add all sorts of additives towards the end of kneading, when the dough has already been formed. Same with oil.
5) Fermentation and proofing.
There are a lot of options when it comes to fermentation. Sourdough dough is convenient because it ferments for a long time and, while it ferments, you can do a lot of things and even go for a walk or go to the store with your children. To speed up the process, you can put it in a warmer place and if you have Proofing cabinet Brod&Taylor, this is very easy to do, the temperature is set there and maintained stably until you change it. If you want to increase the fermentation time, the refrigerator will help you, the dough can stand there for a long time, up to 8 hours, and grow slowly. Likewise with the final proofing. If you bake several loaves in turn, while one is baking, you can hide the second one in the refrigerator so as not to overcook and wait until baking.
6) Preliminary proofing.
You can skip this stage, but in order to properly form the workpiece, it’s better to do it. Why is it even needed? You divide the dough into pieces to make two or more loaves, round, and let the dough rest for a while. On the one hand, why not immediately shape and put the dough in? Preliminary proofing will allow for better molding. By rounding the pieces, you already give them the correct shape, and by allowing the gluten to relax while resting, you get the opportunity to form it tighter, while maintaining the internal structure of the dough and the bubbles in it. Bread shaped in this way holds its shape better during proofing and during baking and is more fluffy and rounded. During tension, tense gluten can tear and the dough can resist (try immediately after active kneading, divide the dough and roll it out, it will resist and tighten), but if you let the gluten relax a little, you can do whatever is good with it. Similarly and relatively, if you don’t divide the dough, you bake one loaf of them all.
7) The only thing you can’t cheat with is baking and moistening.
The baking temperature should be high enough. If you initially select a low oven or don’t warm up the oven enough, the dough will float and won’t be very fluffy; if you overcook it, the bread will burn and the crumb will be too dry. It’s the same with steam at the beginning of baking; if there is too much moisture and the moisture is too long (longer than 15 minutes), the cuts will not open and become even with the crust, and the crust will turn out smooth and shiny.
I recently had the opportunity to visit a local bakery that had just recently started baking sourdough bread. Before I tell you how they do it, I will say that their bread is really tasty. So, in order to optimize production, bakers skip the fermentation process before baking, knead the dough, immediately shape it and put it to proof.
On the one hand, how can you wander around after kneading, fold it into an envelope, strengthen the gluten, and dance with a tambourine? And so, production costs. On the one hand, it somehow turns out wrong, but there is a big difference in what professional bakers do by skipping fermentation, and we, amateur beginners, do. They know and understand what they are doing and why and the result is excellent bread, and practice, as we know, is the criterion of truth. But if we start doing whatever we want, we will never learn to bake good bread and work freely with different bread doughs, because without learning the basics, such work will be of no use.
Honestly, I immediately tried to repeat their experience and also skip the fermentation process, but in the end it turned out badly. I didn’t wait for the bread to fit as it should (but at that time it seemed to me that it fit well)), I baked it, it turned out, in general, tasty, but flat, and this “flat” concerns both the taste and appearance of the bread . In addition, the dough behaved slightly differently during shaping; it was too pliable and inelastic.
In the next article, since I had the opportunity to film in a bakery, I will tell you how professional bread production works, what equipment is used in the bakery and compare it with what we can do at home. And, of course, I’ll tell you in more detail how local bakers got the hang of baking sourdough bread without fermenting it after kneading.
To start: Fermentation
(fermentation)
Fermentation is what happens when yeast comes into contact with flour and water. Yeast absorbs sugar from starch. Bubbles that we see during fermentation. come from carbon dioxide, which releases starch. It is carbon dioxide that creates the leaven and gives the dough its unique structure. Yeast is a living, single-celled plant that eats sugar, releasing carbon dioxide and ethyl alcohol as it grows and reproduces. Flour is a carbohydrate - its molecules consist of hundreds of sugar molecules. When yeast, water and flour are mixed, enzymes in the flour break down the carbohydrates into sugar. Yeast eats sugar, grows and multiplies. and the released gas and alcohol are held by proteins formed during the process of kneading flour and water. This causes the dough to rise. Alcohol gives bread its smell and taste. Both alcohol and gas evaporate during baking.
The taste of bread also appears due to the action of bacteria in the atmosphere. These bacteria compete with yeast for sugar. They give bread the taste of acetic and lactic acid.
Plays an important role during fermentation temperature factor. Yeast becomes active between 33 and 130 F. The fermentation process itself also produces heat. When fermentation occurs at very high temperatures (over 90 F), the bread develops an unpleasant taste. Once cooled, the yeast goes dormant and releases more alcohol. This slowed activity gives bacteria the opportunity to feed on sugar, grow and produce acetic acid. Temperatures between 40 and 55 F are ideal for the formation of acetic acid. Temperatures from 55 to 90 are responsible for the formation of lactic acid. Acetic acid gives bread a much more acidic taste than lactic acid. It also strengthens the structure of the dough, but in too large quantities it has the opposite effect. This is why many bakers prefer slower, cold proofing of their dough.
Proofing time- another important factor that decides both the taste and color of bread. If the dough rests too long, the yeast and bacteria will use up all the sugar in the flour and the bread will have a pale crust and uninteresting flavor. For taste and color, the remaining sugar in the dough is simply necessary.
Longer fermentation allows the dough to further release the gluten, adds depth and complexity of flavor with longer coverage, and ultimately increases shelf life of the bread. It also makes it possible to use less yeast, which in turn allows the flavor of the wheat to come through. Shorter than longer fermentation, the less yeast we need.
Too much starter makes the bread too sour and weakens the gluten structure. However, almost all types of bread will benefit from the addition of sourdough, because sourdough allows the maximum potential taste of the bread to be revealed.
When you put your starter in the refrigerator, it takes several hours for it to cool down to 50 F. However, it will never be as cold as your refrigerator, no matter what. fermentation, even slow, produces heat. It is important to know that when you use a kneading tool, such as a stand mixer or hand mixer, the temperature of the dough increases by 1-3 F every minute of kneading. That's why it's so important not to get carried away and kill the dough. You can add starter that has been stored in the refrigerator to compensate for the energy created by the mixer. Therefore, many bakers add a thick leaven (biga, or old dough) to the already kneaded dough. They calculate that this starter has already had 3-5 minutes of kneading and if it is added to the dough at the beginning, the dough may overheat.
Most starters use commercial yeast (as opposed to wild yeast). The exception is the so-called sourdough or levain, i.e. in our opinion, homemade sourdough. There are several types of sourdough: barm, biga, chef, desem, levain, madre bianca, mother, pâte fermentée, poolish, sponge, starter or sourdough starter.