Theory: Bread Making Processes

Hello loyal follower(s)

The theory behind  breadmaking processes need to be included in this blog  so that Mr Nut, (or maybe you) can use them as references.
       First some pictures from are  garden:

Water is precious here in the desert, so Mr Nut made metal deflectors for the sprinkler heads to better direct the flow of water.   The vegetation around the sprinkler are beets.  They are growing very well.

The pea pods are blossoming ( They are hard to see, but look carefully at center near top of picture).

There are millions, OK! almost a hundred strawberries starting to ripen. Note the bird netting.









Now for a little theory;

Mixing, kneading, fermentation and Deflation are major contributors to the texture of the bread. Understanding what each of these procedures does will help you get the texture you want—whether very fine-crumbed loaves with the fast rising times of the direct method or rustic coarse-textured rounds made with starters. Time and the temperature have an influence.

Mixing

Mixing not only blends ingredients but also traps air bubbles into the dough, which yeast gases will enlarge, so the texture of the bread begins right here.

Delayed Fermentation:  Chilling and retarding 

Chilling the dough for a significant time, say overnight or longer, will influence the bread in three ways:

Enhances flavor: The cold forces the yeast into dormancy so it is no longer gobbling up all the available sugars. The bacteria then can feed and produce some of their flavorful acids, which add subtle complex flavors and enhance keeping quality. Acids produced at cold temperatures (30° to 40℉) are wonderfully flavorful, and even at cool temperatures are good. However, terrible-tasting short-chained acids are produced if the dough is hot for a long period.

Reduces ovenspring and loaf volume : Chilling for a period as long as overnight reduces ovenspring (oven fermentation) and reduces loaf volume. Alcohol that was  made by the yeast from the beginning changes to a gas in the hot oven and is a contributor to ovenspring. During a lengthy cold period, alcohol simply evaporates from the surface of the dough and some goes to vinegar. Thus, there is a reduced amount of alcohol to contribute to ovenspring. Chilling reduces the carbon dioxide in the bubbles, which contributes to a slight change in texture and possibly slightly reduced ovenspring and loaf volume.

Opens texture slightly : Chilling dough retards the action of yeast and influences texture.  The air-bubble nuclei worked into the dough during mixing and kneading are enlarged by gases from the yeast. Initially these tiny bubbles contain air, which is mostly nitrogen. Immediately the yeast uses up the oxygen so that you have mostly nitrogen in these tiny bubbles. The gases from yeast are essentially carbon dioxide, and they enlarge the same bubbles. The longer the dough rises, the more carbon dioxide there is in the enlarged bubbles.  After a long rise, the bubbles contain a very high percentage of carbon dioxide and a very low percentage of nitrogen. The longer the fermentation, or after multiple deflations, the higher the percentage of carbon dioxide. After a very long fermentation or two or three shorter fermentations, the bubbles contain essentially 100 percent carbon dioxide.

Carbon dioxide dissolves very well in cold water. So, if the dough is chilled, the carbon dioxide in a great number of bubbles will completely dissolve. The dough now has fewer bubbles for the gases from yeast to enlarge. When the dough is warm again, the yeast puts much more gas into these fewer bubbles, creating bigger bubbles and a coarser bread.  It is possible to have the positive effects of overnight chilling—enhanced flavor and slight opening of texture without reduced volume. 

With the Lahey method; letting the dough and yeast ferment for 12 to 18 hours makes kneading unnecessary.  The dough's fermentation, which is a form of molecule-by-molecule stretching, is the key step in dough development. Picture the gases from yeast inflating millions of tiny air bubbles throughout the dough, puffing and stretching the gluten proteins so that they can cross-link to their neighbors and form better and better sheets of gluten.

 Kneading; (optional but can be useful, it will affect the bread texture) 

Kneading helps the dough proteins connect and cross-connect to form stretchy  sheets of gluten. The goal is to align protein strands in the same direction for the creation of strong gluten sheets and to incorporate air. You can knead a dough too much.  The dough turns into a gooey, inelastic mess.  Also when the dough is kneaded at an appropriate speed and then at a much lower speed. The gluten proteins seem suddenly to become disoriented, and a sticky, inelastic dough that looks exactly like an overkneaded dough appears instantly.  Fortunately, you can redevelop the gluten in this unmixed dough by turning the speed back up. You may get away with this once or twice; however, there's a limit to how many times a dough will tolerate being mixed and unmixed.  Temperature is also important. The gluten proteins absorb water better and consequently make more gluten if the dough temperature at the end of kneading is about 75°F.  If the kneading is started with the dough temperature in the low 70s°F, the kneaded dough should end up at about  the ideal temperature. by replacing  one fourth  to one third cup of the recipe’s liquid with crushed ice just before kneading lowers the starting dough about five degrees F. 

  

Deflating: “Punching down”; means turning the dough inside out. Heat builds up in the center of the dough from fermentation. This turning action pulls the cooler outside dough to the center and the warmer dough to the outside. The yeast was dividing and multiplying. Punching helps redistribute the clusters of yeast cells formed during the first fermentation to a new food supply throughout the dough and adds more air to the dough.  This will allow for better yeast action.  

  If the dough tends to be sticky, consider oiling your hands to prevent sticking to the dough.  A pastry scraper is a great help with sticky doughs. If you just can't stand the wet dough, add a little more flour, but keep the dough very soft. The dough should be dry enough to form a slightly sticky but workable ball.

Rounding

In good gluten development, protein strands are aligned and stretched in the same direction.  Rounding the dough pieces aids in aligning gluten and in holding the gas. After punching down, the dough is in an odd shape, and if it has been cut, gases in the dough can easily escape. By tucking the dough into a tight smooth ball you create a covering to hold gases better.  Cover the ball and let it “rest” on the counter for 15 minutes. The relaxed dough is now much easier to shape. Rounding  is well worth the few extra minutes.

Shaping

After the rounded dough has rested, it is easy to shape. Each recipe has shaping suggestions and directions.  Generally there is little need to be real careful with this process. Slashing

Slashing permits dough expansion and allows steam that could be trapped under the crust to escape. Loaves done in a Dutch Oven generally do not need to be slashed.  If you choose to slash, do it just before placing the dough into the oven. 

À bientôt,

Mr Nut