Farine (A great webiste, with teachings of Didier Rosada)

These are some more teaching from Didier Rosada by Farine:

http://www.farine-mc.com/2009/04/sfbi-whole-grains-workshop-day-2.html

She did go to baking classes at SFBI and learned from Didier Rosada.

These posting were all in Farine’s website:  http://www.farine-mc.com/

Didier Rosada teachings at SFBI by Farine.


If you want to make artisan bread, you want your bread flour to be:
Made of 100% hard (red or white) winter wheat (or at the very least of 80% hard winter wheat + 20% hard spring wheat) for the dough to be able to withstand longer fermentation times
Unbleached for sure
Enriched (for better nutritional value)
Unbromated (watch out as the addition of calcium bromate to flour is still allowed in some States as well as in some countries while it is forbidden in the European Union)
Organic if possible (although organic flours are still relatively new and may be a bit more inconsistent)
With a protein content of 10.5 to 12%
With an ash content of .48 to .56
With a falling number 0f 250 to 300
These are only guidelines and a baking test will be needed for each new flour.

Flour : Enzymatic Activity

Proteins are organic substances made of carbon, oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen and minerals. Wheat proteins are diverse and complex. 80% of them are insoluble in water and, when hydrated, link together in chains to form the gluten. In other words, water-insoluble proteins are what provides elasticity to the dough.

Gluten is mostly protein and protein can absorb up to 250% of its weight in water but it does it much slower than starch. That's why it is essential not to switch to second speed too fast when mixing. Since starch - which fills the space between the gluten structure - gets hydrated first, the fact that dough is formed doesn't mean that the gluten has been fully developed.

For the purpose of artisan baking, a flour made from low-protein hard wheat is best because of its high tolerance to long fermentation while industrial bakers - who make mostly pan breads and want to develop the gluten to the maximum in order to get a tight crumb - favor protein-rich hard spring wheat. Hard winter wheat spends more time in the ground which boosts the quality of the protein by making it very resistant to protease, an enzyme whose role is to break down protein.

Water-insoluble proteins form the gluten network, giving the dough its elasticity, extensibility and tenacity.

Didier Rosada,  highlights the role of enzymes and the need for simple sugars, and stressing the relationship between fermentation activity and crust color. When there isn't enough residual sugar, the crust remains pale. So when using a lot of preferment in a formula, knowing that much of the simple sugar will be consumed prior to the fermentation of the final dough, the baker will be well advised to add a minute amount (0.5% to 1%) of diastatic malt.

This is only true for yeasted breads as some sourdough bacteria are equiped with their own enzymatic system, which means that they are able to degrade their own starch into simple sugars and that the bread will have a beautiful crust without the help of malt.

Alcohol participate in the formation of esters which contribute to the complexity of the flavor. The longer the fermentation, the more esters, which explains why slow bread tastes better. However not all fermentations are created equal and Didier gave us an example which I found so compelling I thought I would share it with you all.
Let's take some dough which we ferment at room temperature for 30 minutes, divide, shape and put 24 hours in the cooler before baking (26-hour process). Now let's take the same dough which we ferment three hours at room temperature before dividing, shaping, proofing for one hour and baking (5-hour process). Which one do you think will yield better flavor?
I was astonished to learn that the second one will give a better bread. The reason lies in the mass effect. Dough which is fermented in bulk will cool down much more slowly which means that a lot of activity has time to take place. Conversely, when you cool the dough after shaping, not much happens in the retarder. So, yes, more time is good but it depends on how it is being used.
Also regarding the crust, when fermentation is done during proofing, you get a reddish color and a lot of blisters (due to the formation of microscopic chimneys through which bubbles of gas escape during baking). Blisters are considered undesirable in France where consumers treat them as the mark of a poorly made bread. By contrast, American consumers generally find them quite attractive. A matter of taste?

I also talked with Didier about the difference between bread baking in the US and in France and he said that the main thing to remember when baking with French flour using a US formula is that you have to use 4 to 5 % less water. That is because French flour is lower in protein. French wheat has been engineered for longer fermentation times while in the US, wheat is engineered for speed.

I find all the things Farine posted are interesting.

Norma