Bread Making For Dummies. Wendy Jo Peterson

Чтение книги онлайн.

       All-purpose flour: Many cookbooks use the term flour to mean “all-purpose flour.” All-purpose flour contains 10 percent to 12 percent protein. Many manufacturers label their all-purpose flour with the percentage of protein so the consumer understands what they’re using. You can find all-purpose flour bleached or unbleached; for bread making, choose an unbleached flour.

       Bread flour: Bread flour typically ranges from 12 percent to 14 percent protein, which is an ideal range for forming gluten and creating the matrix (see Chapter 1).

       Cake flour: Cake flour plays a role in certain breads, like Croissants (Chapter 9) and German Pretzels (Chapter 9). Cake flour is lower in protein (about 7 percent to 9 percent) than all-purpose flour and it’s milled finer. These simple differences make a significant impact on texture. Although you can swap out cake flour for all-purpose flour, the outcome won’t result in as tender of a crumb.

       Whole-wheat flour: Whole-wheat flour contains the bran, germ, and endosperm of wheat and is around 14 percent protein. Whole-wheat flour produces a denser, often less airy or spongy bread. When you know how to work the grain, you can produce a great product with whole-wheat flour.

       White whole-wheat flour: A white whole-wheat flour has often been produced from a spring white wheat, so it’s a whole-wheat product and can have a higher protein content (13 percent), but it has a milder flavor.

       Winter red wheat flour: Red refers to the color of the kernel of wheat grown. Winter red wheat flour produces a nuttier, more robust wheat flavor. Many artisan bread makers seek out a hard red wheat flour because of the flavor and higher protein (14 percent).

       Einkorn: Einkorn means “single grain” in German. Einkorn is the most primitive form of the wheat grain that you can find. Because it’s an ancient grain, it produces a denser bread with a nuttier flavor than you may have tasted before. You can purchase einkorn as a berry, and then mill or sprout it to add it to breads, or you can purchase the flour and add it to your bread recipes. Einkorn has a protein content of 22 percent, but it’s low in gluten. Often, in recipes with ancient grains, you find a gluten product, whether in the form of flour or in vital wheat gluten added to the recipe to help form the matrix in bread.

       Emmer: Much like einkorn, emmer is an ancient grain that is high in protein (22 percent) and low in gluten.

       Khorasan: Khorasan is an ancient grain that has not been subjected to modern hybridization. At 15 percent protein, it can make a better bread than other ancient grains. It requires more liquid, though, because it absorbs more than other flours do. The grain produces a dense loaf of bread. Some research studies have highlighted the cholesterol-lowering effects of eating more Khorasan grains.

       Rye flour: Rye is not a wheat at all, but a grass. Rye is a popular grain used throughout Europe and Russia. It has less gluten than wheat, producing a denser loaf of bread. You see rye flour used frequently in this book to provide a subtle flavor and increase the nutrition profile of the bread.

       Semolina flour: Semolina is a durum wheat and hard wheat, which is most commonly seen in pastas. However, when you use semolina in bread making, you get a pale yellow hue in the bread and subtle nutty undertones.

       Spelt flour: Spelt is another fabulous ancient grain, and quite possibly my favorite whole grain to use when making bread. Spelt has a higher gluten content, making it a great substitute for whole-wheat flour in recipes with a range of 13 percent to 14 percent total protein.

       Sprouted-grain flour: Sprouting wheat grains prior to milling or adding to dough improves digestibility. You can purchase sprouted whole-wheat flours, which typically has 13 percent to 14 percent protein content, and use it to make a great bread. You can also sprout your own grains (see the nearby sidebar), and add the sprouted grains to your bread mix.

       Rice flour: You may consider rice flour an odd item on this list, but rice flour is actually an excellent flour to use with sourdough baking — not within the loaf, but in the banneton (a woven or braided basket that helps a loaf hold its shape and creates a desired design on the surface of the dough during its final proofing). Rice flour won’t stick to the bread as it proofs, allowing the bread to easily release from the mold.

      1 In a quart-size glass canning jar, place 1 cup of grains (like emmer, einkorn, or Khorasan).

      2 Pour 12 ounces of filtered water over the grains.

      3 Place a tea towel over the jar and place a rubber band over the tea towel to secure the towel as a lid for the jar.

      4 Place the jar in a dark, cool cupboard and wait 24 hours; then drain and rinse the grains under cold, running water for 3 minutes.

      5 Place the damp grains back in the jar; cover with the tea towel and use the rubber band to secure the tea towel.

      6 Over the next two days, rinse the grains twice daily and return to the cupboard each time.

      7 When you begin to see the grains sprout, transfer the grains to the refrigerator and use in salads, on sandwiches, or in baked goods.