Sep 27, 2022
The Secret to Soft Textured Bread
We can make bread with plain flour. However, mixed flour gives more flavor. Spores on the other hand impart flavor and contribute to good health. Despite the small amount, the permanent and stable use of healthy seeds guarantees their beneficial effect. Ancient ancestors knew how to mix these healthy spores into their bread. The only thing we have to stick to at least at first is the proportion of flour – yeast – salt. The others adjust as we wish, but we do a test first.
# The Secret of Bread using Wheat
Let’s start from scratch. The basic cereal, fruit, the flour used for baking is wheat. Wheat flour is considered ideal for baking because of gluten. Protein is found only mostly in wheat seeds. Gluten is responsible for the formation of the matrix to keep the bread from swelling resulting from the fermentation of the sugars and the resulting carbon dioxide.
There are two types of wheat: soft and hard. From soft wheat, flour comes from coarse and semolina.
In the milling process of soft wheat, the “pulling”, as they say in milling parlance, is such that more or less bran is passed through. Depending on the degree of presence of bran in the final product, flour is distinguished by various types. Whole wheat flour as well as flour from other cereals contain less gluten, so we get more heavy bread that doesn’t rise much. This is why recipes usually have a flour mix, in which wheat flour is almost always included, to increase the amount of gluten.
Pay close attention to the dosage and composition in order to produce quality bread.
Water
Water activates the protein in bread. Other liquids, such as milk or various juices, enhance the flavor of the bread. Generally, the liquid should be warm to lukewarm when we add it to the dough because when it cools the dough will puff up more. Be careful, they should never be hot, as the leavening effect will be destroyed and the dough will not rise.
Salt
The myth that salt plays a role in the fermentation that “gives rise” to bread doesn’t hold true. Salt is added to the bread for taste. So if you want to avoid it for health reasons, no problem.
Yeast
Bread with yeast – how to “breathe”: If we want to make bread with yeast, we must first “revive” it. That is, we calculate the flour given to us by the recipe that we are going to make, we take 1/3 of this amount, put it in a bowl, add the yeast in, and slowly pour in the hot water to make the dough soft. Leave it for 12 hours in a warm place to “climb up” and then add it to the remaining flour, following the process of the recipe we want to make. In any recipe, when yeast is suggested, we can if desired, substitute it with yeast.
Shake by Hand
In most recipes you will see below, the process is the same. In a bowl, put flour with yeast, dry or fresh (if fresh, then dilute it in warm water), or “make” bread (if you choose to make bread with yeast) and gradually add liquid (water, milk, oil, etc.) .) until the dough is moist but not too runny. The dough will stick to your hands at first, but as you mix it, it will gradually become elastic. When it starts to get more flexible, we can take it out of the bowl and continue to massage it on a table covered with powder to give it more freedom of movement. If it’s too firm, add water, if it hangs in your hands, add flour (always but a little). The dough should be soft and elastic and not stick to your hands.
Knead in The Mixer
This is a convenience that technology has provided us and should not go unnoticed. As much as we like to follow traditional processes, it’s not always easy or feasible. Of course, we can knead the dough in the mixer. Don’t listen that good bread wants hands. We carefully read the manufacturer’s instructions for squeezing and experimenting. Put it on the slowest speed and slowly add the required ingredients. Meanwhile, we stop working to check if the dough is ready.
Waiting (Waiting for the Dough to Rise)
Depending on the recipe, we leave the covered dough in a warm place to rest until it doubles in size. The time for this process varies and has to do with whether we use leaven or yeast. To see if it’s ready, press with two fingers at a point, if it returns, it’s ready. After that, we brew the bread that we put in an oiled sheet or a baking sheet where it will remain until it is baked. Cover again with a clean towel and blanket to fluff our buns before baking.
Addition
We can make many types of bread: eggplant, cheese, bread with nuts, spores, with raisins, with various herbs and spices, whole grains, and much more. All of these breads, however, have some basic ingredients that are common to all species. These are flour, water, salt, and yeast. When we want to make a sandwich, we follow the instructions of the recipe because the ingredients come at a certain point in the process.
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