diff --git a/book/baking/baking.tex b/book/baking/baking.tex index b6f4fad..41575b9 100644 --- a/book/baking/baking.tex +++ b/book/baking/baking.tex @@ -97,7 +97,12 @@ many times and ended up having a semi baked dough.} Once your dough has finished baking, it is ready to eat. Your dough has turned into a bread. At this point, your bread is sterile as the temperature was too hot for -for the microorganisms to survive. +for the microorganisms to survive. \footnote{I wonder though +if a starter culture could be grown again from a slice of bread. +Under heat stress the microorganisms beging sporulating. Maybe +some of the spores survive the baking process and could be reactivated +later? If this worked, you could use any store bought sourdough +bread as a source for a new starter.} \section{The role of steam} @@ -113,7 +118,7 @@ the whole dough upwards. \end{figure} Normally, under high heat a crust would form. Just like -if you were to bake vegetables in your home oven. At some point +if you were to bake vegetables in your home oven, at some point they become darker and crisper. This is the same thing that happens with your dough. You want to delay this process as long as possible until your dough no longer expands. diff --git a/book/non-wheat-sourdough/non-wheat-sourdough.tex b/book/non-wheat-sourdough/non-wheat-sourdough.tex index 952f805..22db851 100644 --- a/book/non-wheat-sourdough/non-wheat-sourdough.tex +++ b/book/non-wheat-sourdough/non-wheat-sourdough.tex @@ -45,14 +45,14 @@ The following recipe will make you 2 loaves: \item 20 g of salt (2 percent) \end{itemize} -The sourdough starter can be in an active or inactive state. It could have -stayed at room temperature for a week with no feedings and it would -have been okay. It can come right out of the fridge and still it would -be no problem. The dough is very forgiving. +The sourdough starter can be in an active or inactive state. If it has been +at room temperature for a week with no feedings then it will be okay, or +if it has come right out of the fridge then still it will be no problem. +The dough is very forgiving. If you follow the suggested dough from the recipe you are making a relatively -wet rye dough. It's so wet that it can only be made using a loaf pan. In case -you want to make freestanding rye bread, consider reducing the hydration +wet rye dough. It's so wet that it can only be made using a loaf pan. If +you want to make a freestanding rye bread, consider reducing the hydration to around 60 percent. \begin{figure}[!htb] @@ -93,11 +93,11 @@ final flavor profile by much. I recommend waiting until the dough has roughly increased by 50 percent in size. If you are daring, you can taste the dough to get an idea of the acidity profile. The dough will likely -taste very sour. However, a lot of the acidity will evaporate +taste very sour. However, a lot of the acid will evaporate during the baking process. So the final loaf will not be as sour as the dough you are tasting. -Once you are happy with the acidification level, proceed to dividing +Once you are happy with the acidity level, proceed to dividing and shaping your dough. Shaping might not be possible if you opt for the wetter dough. If you made a drier dough, use as much flour as needed to dry the dough a little bit and form a dough ball. @@ -139,7 +139,7 @@ of using a loaf pan is to make sure that the center part of your dough is properly cooked. For this reason, it is best to use a thermometer and measure the internal temperature. The bread is ready once the internal temperature reaches 92°C (197°F). I recommend -removing the bread from the loaf pan once you reach the desired +removing the bread from the loaf pan once it reaches the desired temperature. Then you can continue baking the loaf without the pan and steam. This way you achieve a great crust all around your loaf. You can bake as long as you like until you have achieved diff --git a/book/storing-bread/storing-bread.tex b/book/storing-bread/storing-bread.tex index a5322c6..1c26451 100644 --- a/book/storing-bread/storing-bread.tex +++ b/book/storing-bread/storing-bread.tex @@ -1,6 +1,6 @@ In this chapter you will learn about different methods of storing your bread. This way -your bread can best be enjoyed at a later +your bread can be best enjoyed at a later time. \begin{figure}[!htb] @@ -109,4 +109,4 @@ that you like. This option is great for very long-term storage. Personally I like having a few slices of bread frozen as an emergency -backup when I had no time to bake. +backup when I have had no time to bake. diff --git a/book/tables/table-baking-process-stages.tex b/book/tables/table-baking-process-stages.tex index b350d7f..f6e7071 100644 --- a/book/tables/table-baking-process-stages.tex +++ b/book/tables/table-baking-process-stages.tex @@ -3,14 +3,14 @@ \begin{document} \begin{tabular}{|l|l|l|} \hline -\textbf{°C °F} & \textbf{Stage} & \textbf{Description} \\ \hline -60 - 140 & Sterilisation & \begin{tabular}[c]{@{}l@{}}The temperature is too hot for your\\ microorganisms and they die\end{tabular} \\ \hline -75 - 167 & Gel building & \begin{tabular}[c]{@{}l@{}}A gel builds on the surface persisting\\ your dough's structure. It is still\\ extensible and can spring in the\\ oven\end{tabular} \\ \hline -100 - 212 & Water evaporates & \begin{tabular}[c]{@{}l@{}}Water begins to evaporate and\\ inflates your dough's alveoli\end{tabular} \\ \hline -118 - 244 & Acetic acid evaporates & \begin{tabular}[c]{@{}l@{}}The vinegary tasting acid starts\\ to evaporate. The sourness decreases\end{tabular} \\ \hline -122 - 252 & Lactic acid evaporates & \begin{tabular}[c]{@{}l@{}}The dairy tasting lactic acid begins\\ to evaporate. Sourness further decreases\end{tabular} \\ \hline -140 - 284 & Maillard reaction & \begin{tabular}[c]{@{}l@{}}The maillard reaction starts to deform\\ starches and proteins. The dough starts\\ browning\end{tabular} \\ \hline -170 - 338 & Caramelization & \begin{tabular}[c]{@{}l@{}}Remaining sugars begin to caramelise\\ giving your bread a distinct flavor\end{tabular} \\ \hline +\textbf{°C °F} & \textbf{Stage} & \textbf{Description} \\ \hline +60 - 140 & Sterilization & \begin{tabular}[c]{@{}l@{}}The temperature is too hot for your\\ microorganisms and they die\end{tabular} \\ \hline +75 - 167 & Gel building & \begin{tabular}[c]{@{}l@{}}A gel builds on the surface persisting\\ your dough's structure. It is still\\ extensible and can spring in the\\ oven\end{tabular} \\ \hline +100 - 212 & Water evaporation & \begin{tabular}[c]{@{}l@{}}Water begins to evaporate and\\ inflates your dough's alveoli\end{tabular} \\ \hline +118 - 244 & Acetic acid evaporation & \begin{tabular}[c]{@{}l@{}}The vinegary tasting acid starts\\ to evaporate. The sourness decreases\end{tabular} \\ \hline +122 - 252 & Lactic acid evaporation & \begin{tabular}[c]{@{}l@{}}The dairy tasting lactic acid begins\\ to evaporate. Sourness further decreases\end{tabular} \\ \hline +140 - 284 & Maillard reaction & \begin{tabular}[c]{@{}l@{}}The maillard reaction starts to deform\\ starches and proteins. The dough starts\\ browning\end{tabular} \\ \hline +170 - 338 & Caramelization & \begin{tabular}[c]{@{}l@{}}Remaining sugars begin to caramelise\\ giving your bread a distinct flavor\end{tabular} \\ \hline \end{tabular} \end{document} diff --git a/book/troubleshooting/crumb-structures/crumb-structures.tex b/book/troubleshooting/crumb-structures/crumb-structures.tex index 028226a..fd951d1 100644 --- a/book/troubleshooting/crumb-structures/crumb-structures.tex +++ b/book/troubleshooting/crumb-structures/crumb-structures.tex @@ -1,9 +1,9 @@ \section{Debugging your crumb structure} \label{section:debugging-crumb-structure} -The crumb structure of your bread provides insights on how well +The crumb structure of your bread provides insights into how well your fermentation process has gone. You can also spot common flaws -of improper technique. This chapter will provide you with information +arising from improper technique. This chapter will provide you with information that you can use to debug your baking process. \begin{figure} @@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ when you take a bite. Some people are chasers of a very open crumb, meaning you have large pockets of air (alveoli). It's subjective whether that's the style of bread that you like; -however, to achieve it you need to ferment your bread dough perfectly on point. +however, to achieve it you need to ferment your bread dough perfectly. It takes a lot of skill both in terms of mastering fermentation and technique to achieve a crumb structure like that. @@ -45,7 +45,7 @@ one loaf at a time. Normally, if you have to pre-shape your dough, you will automatically degas your dough a little bit during the rounding process. If you skip this step and directly shape your dough, you will achieve a more open crumb. A good rule of thumb is to not touch your dough for at least 1-2 hours before shaping, -to achieve an as open crumb as possible. +to achieve as open a crumb as possible. \begin{figure} \includegraphics[width=\textwidth]{honeycomb} @@ -61,15 +61,15 @@ process, you would end up with many non-uniform bread doughs. This technique is also used when making ciabattas. They are typically not shaped. You only cut the bulk dough into smaller pieces, trying to work the dough as little as possible. With pre-shaping you will converge your dough's alveoli into more of a honeycomb structure, -as large pockets of air will slightly converge. Similarly to the open crumb structure, +as large pockets of air will slightly merge. Similarly to the open crumb structure, you also have to nail the fermentation process perfectly to achieve this crumb. -A too long fermentation will result in gas leaking out of your dough while baking. +Too long a fermentation will result in gas leaking out of your dough while baking. The honeycombs won't be able to retain the gas. If you ferment for too short a time, there is not enough gas to inflate the structures. To me this is the perfect style of crumb. As someone who appreciates jam, no jam will fall through a slice of this bread compared to an open crumb. -\subsection{Over-fermented} +\subsection{Overfermented} \label{sec:overfermented-dough} \begin{figure} @@ -78,13 +78,13 @@ of this bread compared to an open crumb. \label{fig:fermented-too-long} \end{figure} -When fermenting your dough for too long of a time, the protease enzyme starts to -break down the gluten of your flour. Furthermore, the bacteria consumes the gluten +When fermenting your dough for too long, the protease enzyme starts to +break down the gluten of your flour. Furthermore, the bacteria consume the gluten in a process called {\it proteolysis} \cite{raffaella+di+cagno}. Bakers also refer to this process as {\it gluten rot}. -The gluten that normally is normally trapping the \ch{CO2} created -by the fermentation process of your microorganisms can no longer stay inside of -the dough. It disperses outward resulting in smaller alveoli in your crumb. +The gluten that normally traps the \ch{CO2} created +by the fermentation process of your microorganisms can no longer keep the +gas inside of the dough. The gas disperses outward resulting in smaller alveoli in your crumb. The bread itself tends to be very flat in the oven. Bakers often refer to this style of bread as a {\it pancake}. The oven spring can be compared to bread doughs made out of low-gluten flour like einkorn. @@ -92,7 +92,7 @@ to bread doughs made out of low-gluten flour like einkorn. Your bread will feature a lot of acidity, a really strong distinctive tang. From a taste perspective, it might be a little bit too sour. From my own tests with family and friends (n=15-20), I can say that this style of bread is typically -not as appreciated. However, I personally really like the hearty strong taste. +appreciated less. However, I personally really like the hearty strong taste. It is excellent in combination with something sweet or a soup. From a consistency perspective, it is no longer as fluffy as it could be. The crumb might also taste a little bit gummy. That's because it has been broken down a lot @@ -102,10 +102,10 @@ You can compare it with a blue cheese that is almost lactose free. When trying to work with the dough, you will notice that suddenly the dough feels very sticky. You can no longer properly shape and work the dough. When trying to -remove the dough from a banneton, the dough flattens out very much. Furthermore, +remove the dough from a banneton, the dough flattens out a lot. Furthermore, in many cases your dough might stick to the banneton. When beginning with baking I would use a lot of rice flour in my banneton to dry out the surface of the dough a lot. -This way the dough wouldn't stick, despite being over fermented. However as it +This way the dough wouldn't stick, despite being overfermented. However as it turns out the stickiness issue has been my lack of understanding the fermentation process. Now I never use rice flour, except when trying to apply decorative scorings. Properly managing fermentation results in a dough that is not sticky. @@ -118,7 +118,7 @@ bread. If it's a bit too sour, you can just bake your dough for a longer period of time to boil away some of the acidity during the baking process. You can also use your dough to set up a new starter and try again tomorrow. Lastly, if you are hungry, you can simply pour some of your dough directly into a heated pan with a bit of -oil. You will be making delicious sourdough flatbreads. +oil. It will make delicious sourdough flatbreads. To fix issues related to over-fermentation, you need to stop the fermentation process earlier. What I like to do is to extract a small fermentation sample from my dough. @@ -126,7 +126,7 @@ Depending on the volume increase of this sample, I can mostly judge when my ferm is finished. Try to start with a 25 percent volume increase of your main dough or sample. Depending on how much gluten your flour has, you can ferment for a longer period of time. With a strong flour featuring a 14-15 percent protein, you should be able to safely -ferment until a 100 percent size increase. This however also happens on your +ferment until a 100 percent size increase. This however also depends on your sourdough starter's composition of yeast and bacteria. The more bacterial fermentation, the faster your dough structure breaks down. Frequent feedings of your sourdough starter will improve the yeast activity. Furthermore, a stiff sourdough starter @@ -136,7 +136,7 @@ in less acidity in your final bread. If you are a chaser of a very strong tangy flavor profile, then a stronger flour with more gluten will help. -\subsection{Under-fermented} +\subsection{Underfermented} \begin{figure} \includegraphics[width=\textwidth]{fermented-too-short-underbaked} @@ -146,15 +146,16 @@ flavor profile, then a stronger flour with more gluten will help. \end{figure} This defect is also commonly referred to as {\it underproofed}. However underproofed -is not a good term as it only refers to having a too short a period of time in the final -proofing stage of the bread-making process. If you were to directly bake your bread -after a successful bulk fermentation stage, you would not achieve this defect. +is not a good term as it only refers to having a short final +proofing stage of the bread-making process. +If you were to bake your bread after a perfectly-timed bulk fermentation stage, +the result will not be underproofed even if you skipped the proofing stage entirely. Proofing will make your dough a bit more extensible and allows your sourdough -to inflate the dough a bit more. When faced with an underfermented bread, you -already did something wrong during the bulk fermentation stage, or maybe also -even before that with your sourdough starter. +to inflate the dough a bit more. When faced with an underfermented bread, something +went wrong earlier during the bulk fermentation stage, or maybe even +before with your sourdough starter. -A typical under-fermented dough has very large pockets of air and is partially +A typical underfermented dough has very large pockets of air and is partially wet and gummy in some areas of the dough. The large pockets can be compared to making a non-leavened wheat or corn tortilla. As you bake the dough in your pan, the water slowly starts to evaporate. The gas is trapped in the structure of the dough @@ -163,7 +164,7 @@ But when you observe this process in a larger dough, you will create several super alveoli. The water evaporates, and the first alveoli form. Then at some point, the starch starts to gelatinize and becomes solid. This happens first inside of the pockets as the interior heats up faster compared to the rest of the dough. Once all the starch -has gelatinized, the alveoli holds its shape and no longer expands. During this +has gelatinized, the alveoli holds their shape and no longer expand. During this process other parts of the bread dough are pushed outwards. That's why an underfermented dough sometimes even features an ear during the baking process. This is also commonly referred to as a {\it fool's crumb}. You are excited about an ear which @@ -181,27 +182,27 @@ of time. In a properly fermented dough, the alveoli help with the heat transfer throughout the dough. From within the many tiny fermentation-induced pockets, the starch gelatinizes. With -an under-fermented dough, this heat transfer does not properly work. Because of that +an underfermented dough, this heat transfer does not properly work. Because of that you sometimes have areas which look like raw dough. Bakers refer to this as a very gummy structure sometimes. Baking your dough for a longer period of time would also properly gelatinize the starch in these areas. However, then other parts of your bread might be baked too long. To fix issues related to under-fermentation, you simply have to ferment your dough -for a longer period of time. Now there is an upper limit to fermentation time -as your flour breaks down the moment it is in contact with water. That's why it +for a longer period of time. Now, there is an upper limit to fermentation time +as your flour starts to break down the moment it is in contact with water. That's why it might be a good idea to simply speed up your fermentation process. As a rough figure, I try to aim for a bulk fermentation time of around 8-12 hours typically. To achieve that you can try to make your sourdough starter more active. This can be done by feeding your starter daily over several days. Use the same ratio as you would do for your main bread dough. Assuming you use 20 percent starter calculated on the flour, use a 1:5:5 ratio to feed your starter. That would be 10 grams of existing starter, -50 grams of flour, 50 grams of water for instance. To boost your yeast even more, you can -consider making a stiff sourdough starter. The stiff sourdough starter will -boost your yeast activity. The bacteria produces mostly acid. The more acidity +50 grams of flour, 50 grams of water for instance. +To boost your yeast activity even more, you can consider making a stiff sourdough +starter. The bacteria produces mostly acid. The more acidity is piled up, the less active your yeast is. The stiff sourdough starter -enables you to start your dough's fermentation with yeast dominated activity. - +enables you to start your dough's fermentation with stronger yeast activity +and less bacterial activity. \subsection{Not enough dough strength} @@ -211,7 +212,7 @@ enables you to start your dough's fermentation with yeast dominated activity. \label{flat-bread} \end{figure} -When a dough flattens out quite a lot during the baking process, chances are +When a dough flattens out quite a lot during the baking process, the chances are that you did not create enough dough strength. This means your gluten matrix hasn't been developed properly. Your dough is too extensible and flattens out mostly rather than springing upwards in the oven. This can also happen if you @@ -236,15 +237,15 @@ The last option to fix a dough with too little dough strength is to shape your d \end{figure} This is a common mistake that has happened to me a lot. When you bake your dough -at too hot of a temperature, you block your dough's expansion. The starch gelatinizes +at too high a temperature, you constrain your dough's expansion. The starch gelatinizes and becomes more and more solid. At around 140°C (284°F) the Maillard reaction starts to completely thicken your bread dough's crust. This is similar to baking your bread dough without steam. As the internal dough's temperature heats up, more and more water evaporates, gas expands and the dough is being pushed upwards. Once the dough reaches the crust, it can no longer expand. The alveoli merge into larger structures close to the surface of the dough. By baking too hot, -you are not achieving the ear which adds extra flavor. Furthermore, your crumb -is not as fluffy as it could be by restricting its expansion capabilities. +you are not achieving the ear which adds extra flavor. Furthermore, by restricting +your it's expansion, the crumb will not be as fluffy as it could be. If you have an extensible dough with high hydration, baking too cold will result in the dough flattening out quite a lot. The gelatinization of the starch is @@ -265,7 +266,7 @@ turn the fan off, consider using a Dutch oven. \label{no-steam} \end{figure} -Similarly to baking too hot, when baking without enough steam, your dough's crust +Similar to baking too hot, when baking without enough steam, your dough's crust forms too quickly. It's hard to spot the difference between the two mistakes. I typically first ask about the temperature and then about the steaming technique to determine what might be wrong with the baking process. Too little steam can @@ -291,11 +292,11 @@ of the oven. Now there can also be too much steam. For this I tested using a Dutch oven paired with large ice cubes to provide additional steam. The temperature of my dough's surface would directly -jump close to 100°C. The steam contains more energy and can thus through convection -heat up the surface of your dough faster. I tested this by using an apple inside of -a Dutch oven. Then I would use a barbecue thermometer with a probe directly at the surface. -I would then change the steaming methods to plot how quickly the temperature -close to the surface of the dough changes. I tried to use an ice cube inside of a preheated +jump close to 100°C. The steam contains more energy and thus through convection +can heat up the surface of your dough faster. I tested this by putting an apple inside +a Dutch oven and measuring its surface temperature using a barbecue thermometer. +I then changed the steaming methods to plot how quickly the temperature +close to the surface changes. I tested an ice cube inside of a preheated Dutch oven, a preheated Dutch oven, a preheated Dutch oven with spritzes of water on the apple's surface, a non-preheated Dutch oven where I would only preheat the bottom part. The experiment then showed that the ice-cube method would heat up @@ -317,6 +318,7 @@ I would achieve less oven spring. \end{figure} Generally though, achieving too much steam is relatively challenging. I could only -commit this mistake when using a Dutch oven as the steaming method paired with relatively +make this mistake when using a Dutch oven as the steaming method paired with relatively large ice cubes. After talking with other bakers using the same Dutch oven, it seems -that ice cubes (around 80g) were 4 times as heavy as the ones other bakers would use (20g). +that my ice cubes (around 80g) were 4 times as heavy as the ones other bakers +would use (20g). \ No newline at end of file diff --git a/book/troubleshooting/misc.tex b/book/troubleshooting/misc.tex index aac1716..61c2d20 100644 --- a/book/troubleshooting/misc.tex +++ b/book/troubleshooting/misc.tex @@ -96,7 +96,7 @@ to have less bacterial fermentation, resulting in a stronger gluten network toward the end of the fermentation \cite{stiff+starter}. Please also refer to the section ~\ref{sec:overfermented-dough} where -I explained more about over-fermented doughs. You can also +I explained more about overfermented doughs. You can also refer to section ~\ref{section:stiff-starter} with more details on making a stiff sourdough starter. @@ -291,7 +291,7 @@ of baking, your dough is going to increase in size and inflate again. If your dough however flattens out completely, it's a sign that you have fermented your dough for too long. Please refer to ~\ref{sec:overfermented-dough} -where I explain about over-fermented doughs. Your bacteria +where I explain about overfermented doughs. Your bacteria has consumed most of your gluten network. That's why your dough fully collapses and stays flat during the bake. The \ch{CO2} and evaporating water will diffuse out of the dough. @@ -315,7 +315,7 @@ Similarly to a dough flattening out after removing it from the banneton, a flattened dough after shaping is also a possible sign of over-fermentation. When you try to shape the dough, can you easily tear pieces from the dough? -If yes, you have definitely over-fermented your dough. If not, it might just +If yes, you have definitely overfermented your dough. If not, it might just be a sign that you have not created enough dough strength for your dough. A ciabatta, for instance, is a dough that tends to flatten out a bit after shaping. diff --git a/book/wheat-sourdough/wheat-sourdough.tex b/book/wheat-sourdough/wheat-sourdough.tex index 4f7efe2..ebf2e94 100644 --- a/book/wheat-sourdough/wheat-sourdough.tex +++ b/book/wheat-sourdough/wheat-sourdough.tex @@ -1188,7 +1188,7 @@ your environment. \begin{figure}[!htb] \includegraphics{figures/fig-shaping-process.pdf} - \caption{A schematic visualization of the shaping process including checks for an over-fermented dough.} + \caption{A schematic visualization of the shaping process including checks for an overfermented dough.} \label{fig:shaping-decision-tree} \end{figure}