Psicología del color

when we have a bowl of mature culture— either liquid or stiff—weighing a pound or so, and we need to build it up to several pounds, or dozens of pounds, in order to mix dough several hours later, how do we do that? Let’s make a few assumptions in order to illustrate the technique. Let’s assume we are maintaining a liquid-levain culture at 125 percent hy- dration, and that we have 1 pound of it, and that we need a total of 15 pounds for bread production (and that in order to perpetuate our culture we will return 1 pound to our bowl once the building is done, so in fact we need 16 pounds total).

We know that regardless of how much mature culture is in our bowl—be it 1 pound or 1 ton—the culture is always comprised of 225 units: 100 units of flour and 125 units of water (hence, the culture is 125 percent hydration). We also know that from the 1 pound presently in the bowl, we need to build an- other 15 pounds in order to arrive at 16 total pounds. Can we just give it one feeding and let it ripen at its own rate? In a sense the answer is yes, we can do that. It’s asking a lot, however, for the microorganisms in our bowl to take in all that food and water at one sitting—after all, we humans could survive if we ate breakfast, lunch, and dinner all at once and nothing

else until the next day, but we probably wouldn’t feel too good on that sort of eating regimen—and neither would our culture if we bombarded it with such a hefty meal. Therefore, let’s do our building in two stages: The first build will bring the culture to half the total desired weight (that is, up to 8 pounds), and the second build will bring it the rest of the way (to 16 pounds). Since we are starting with 1 pound of ripe culture in the bowl, we need to add a total of 7 pounds of flour and water for the first feeding. Here’s how: We take what we need—7 pounds—and divide it by the total number of flour/water units in the feeding, that is, 225. The answer tells us what one of those 225 units weighs: 7 ÷ 225 = .031111, which we will just slightly round up, because it is better to make a little too much culture than not enough. We will call the weight of one unit .0312 pound. We now take this factor and multiply it by 100 to find out how much flour to feed, and by 125 to find out how much water to feed:

.0312 [x] 100 = 3.12 lb flour .0312 [x] 125 = 3.9 lb water

These total 7.02 pounds, and along with the 1 pound of mature culture that we mix the flour and water

BULK FERMENTATION AND FOLDING. The formulas in this chapter that are completely naturally leavened, with no addition of baker’s yeast, require a bulk fermentation of 2 to 3 hours. The number of folds required is determined by the length of their bulk fermentation as well as by how much dough strength was developed during the mix. The gentler the mixing, the more folds necessary to develop proper dough strength. Suffice it to say that no dough should ferment at room temperature for more than 1½ hours without being folded. A dough that goes Since flour absorption rates can vary significantly

from season to season, and since soakers lose sometimes more and sometimes less water to evaporation, it isn’t possible to be precisely exact about water quantities in the formulas. It should be noted, however, that looser doughs tend to ferment better, have better volume, and better flavor. For the most part, the doughs in this chapter should have a moderately loose feel to them. The formula’s hydration percentage will serve as a guide initially; your hands and experience will ultimately be the best guide. into, we now have 8.02 pounds after the first build. Stir everything together until smooth, cover, and let it sit for several hours at room temperature until it is ripe (lots of wispy bubbles will form on the surface, and the mixture will have a pleasing sweet and tangy aroma). This could take 6 to 14 hours, depending on the vigor of the original 1 pound of culture. Once ripe, the half-built culture is ready for its second meal.

We now have to take our 8.02 pounds of ripe culture and increase it to 16 pounds. We therefore need a total of 7.98 pounds. That figure is divided by 225 (the number of units of flour and water in the culture), and the answer tells us what one unit will weigh: 7.98 ÷ 225 = .03546. Again we round up, and we’ll call the unit weight .0355 pound. We again mul- tiply this unit factor by 100 to find the weight of the flour in this second build, and then by 125 to deter- mine the weight of the water:

.0355 [x] 100 = 3.55 lb flour .0355 [x] 125 = 4.44 lb water

When we add these into the 8.02 pounds of ripe cul- ture from the first build, we now have:

3.55 lb flour 4.44 lb water 8.02 lb ripe culture 16.01 lb total

We let this second feeding ripen for several hours until we see the same signs of ripeness that we saw in the first build. Once ripe, we remove 1 pound of the culture to our bowl in order to perpetuate it, and use the remaining 15 pounds for bread production. This building principle is the same regardless of what kind of culture is being maintained. The only difference is the number of flour/water units that combine in the culture. If, for example, we maintain a stiff culture of 50 percent hydration, there are 50 units of water for each 100 units of flour, so we divide the required pounds needed for a build by 150 to find out the weight of 1 unit for that particular build. Multiply- ing that unit weight times 100 tells the needed flour weight for the build, and multiplying by 50 gives the weight of the water. One rule doesn’t vary: Always build more culture than you require for the bread production at hand, so that you can save a bit when it’s ripe and perpetuate your precious culture.

and later baked either on the sheet pans or directly on the hearth or baking stone.

FINAL FERMENTATION. Naturally leavened breads that are baked the same day as they are formed normally require 2 to 3 hours of proofing at about 75°F before the bake. It can be difficult at first to determine the perfect degree of proofing in naturally leavened breads. As you feel the outside of the loaf with your fingers, try to sense what is going on inside (just as doctors in former times tried to ascertain what was going on inside a patient by feeling his or her outside). The dough should feel light, somewhat loose, somewhat weak. Take heart: If the mixing, folding, and final shaping were done well, and if the hearth or stone is hot and the steam plentiful, that seemingly weak dough will spring exuberantly in the chamber of the oven.

Breads that are intended to retard overnight have different needs. Since fermentation will continue during refrigeration, the bread can’t be left at room temperature for too long. If the dough is cool and the fermentation sluggish, the bread can receive upwards of 1 hour of floor time before retarding. During warm months, or with especially vigorous cultures, the bread might be better if the loaves are retarded as soon as they are formed. Experience will be the best guide; unless you work in an environment that is consistent in both temperature and humidity throughout the year, expect that there will be seasonal swings in the needs of the bread. The length of time the bread remains in the retarder will in part determine the best temperature. For breads that retard for up to about 8 hours, a retarder temperature of about 50°F should suffice. As the retarding time increases, the temperature of the retarder correspondingly decreases. Breads retarding for 16 hours need a retarder temperature closer to 40°F (home refrigerators should be about 40°F, and if making any of these breads at home, expect to retard them overnight). After 20 to 24 hours of refrigeration, dough begins to become quite acidic, regardless of the temperature of the retarder.

Last, breads that have a portion of baker’s yeast along with the levain require much less time for their final fermentation. At 75° to 78°F, usually 60 to 90 too long without folding will have an excess buildup

of carbon dioxide gas, which can interfere with the yeast’s metabolism; one that is folded too frequently becomes too strong, which results in reduced extensibility and volume. As a general guideline, 1 or 2 folds are appropriate for all the breads in this chapter; again, length of bulk fermentation and degree of dough development during dough mixing determine the correct number of folds (a more complete discussion of folding begins on page 13).

Some of the formulas in this section use baker’s yeast along with the levain. These doughs require less bulk fermentation than the naturally leavened doughs. One hour is sufficient, and 2 hours is a practical maximum duration. The baker’s yeast accelerates the dough’s maturity, and the dough will not support a longer bulk fermentation; in fact, beyond 2 hours, there is the risk of the dough becoming overaged, resulting in bread that lacks color and has a lusterless personality.

DIVIDING AND SHAPING. In days gone by, it was not uncommon to buy loaves of levain bread that weighed in excess of a dozen pounds. What a marvelous sight that must have been! Nowadays, it’s more typical to see bread in the vicinity of a couple of pounds. The breads in this chapter can be appropriately scaled at 1.5 to 2.5 pounds, although larger or slightly smaller weights can also be chosen (the miche formulas on pages 164 and 166 seem to come into their own at weights up to 5 pounds or so). Once divided, the dough pieces are preshaped into rounds and placed, seams up, on a floured work surface. Cover them with plastic to prevent crusting, and leave for 15 to 20 minutes, that is, until they are sufficiently relaxed and can be given their final shaping. Most all the breads in this section are suitable in either round or oval shape. Once shaped, place the loaves, seams up, in floured bannetons, or with seams either up or down between folds of baker’s linen. Cover the shaped loaves with plastic once again. Rolls can be made with many of the breads in this chapter, but it is not recommended that rolls retard overnight before baking. The crust will be extra thick and overly dominate the eating quality. Once shaped, rolls can be placed on sheet pans that have been sprinkled with coarse cornmeal or semolina,

not begin to taste like itself until it has had ample time to cool. In fact, naturally leavened breads in general taste better a few or even several hours after they have cooled. The crumb firms up and the flavors come together. And for days the bread is good to eat. It is true that the lovely contrast between crust and crumb becomes muted as the bread ages, but other parts of its personality begin to develop. Old bread does not necessarily mean stale bread.

LAST NOTES: A small portion of baker’s yeast—up to .2 percent—can be added to a levain dough without any noticeable changes in the bread’s sourdough characteristics. This small amount of yeast will have a slight impact on fermentation and loaf volume. On the other hand, some of the formulas contain yeast in the 1 to 1.25 percent range. When using this amount of yeast, bulk fermentation time can be substantially reduced, a factor that might benefit the baker’s production schedule. Breads made with this amount of baker’s yeast will of course be less acidic than the same dough made with no added yeast. Flavor characteristics can be adjusted by reducing the amount of yeast used, but remember to increase the length of bulk fermentation as the proportion of fresh yeast is reduced, and also to expect a longer final proofing before the bake.

The weight of the mature culture used in the levain build is not included in the final dough total or in the overall formula total yield, since it is presupposed that the baker will remove that portion prior to the final mix.

Any of the breads in this section can be made without commercial yeast, as long as the sourdough culture is healthy and energetic. When changing formulas from yeasted to naturally leavened, a few things must be kept in mind: the length of the bulk fermentation increases, with a 50 percent increase being a good starting rule of thumb (experimentation to fine-tune the breads to your personal taste is recommended); final fermentation takes longer; and bread taste alters slightly, with the finished loaves being more acidic and denser to a greater or lesser degree, depending upon the vigor of the culture. Do note that “more acidic” and “denser” are not criticisms in the least, simply characteristics resulting from the new dough environment.

minutes is sufficient, with more time required as the percentage of yeast decreases.

STEAMING AND BAKING. The proofed loaves are transferred to the loading conveyor, seams down, and slashed with a razor. The oven is then steamed (it’s always best to load bread into a moist oven) and the bread loaded. Once loaded, steam the oven again. About 8 seconds of total steam should suffice. Often, though, if the dough is a little sluggish or a bit underrisen, I steam again once the first 2 steamings have subsided. This keeps the bread moister a little longer so it can expand more before a crust begins to set on its surface. Never give a third steaming to bread that is at all overrisen: Because the surface stays moister longer, the bread will tend to flatten out. Once the bread begins to show color, the benefits of the steam are past, and the oven vents can be opened so the bread can finish the bake in a drying oven. Generally, oven temperatures of about 460°F are appropriate, and there is no need to reduce the temperature unless the bread is taking on too much color. This may be the case if there are any sweeteners in the dough (honey, raisins, and so on). Bake times given for the individual bread formulas are for round loaves weighing 1.5 pounds. Oval loaves tend to bake slightly quicker. When baking large loaves of 3, 5, or more pounds, the oven temperature should be lowered to about 420°F after about 15 minutes. These loaves require a lengthy bake, and in a very hot oven they would burn long before being properly baked.

How to bake bread that has been retarded overnight? Some people feel that breads should never go from the retarder directly into the oven, the theory being they have to come to room temperature before baking. I have found this to be untrue. If the bread is fully risen when it leaves the retarder, allowing it to come to room temperature before baking is a sure way to get flat bread. After all, when we look at things from the perspective of a hot oven of 460°F or more, there is not that much difference between a bread temperature of 40° and 70°F. I would say, therefore, that once again the needs of the bread should dictate our actions. When it’s ready, bake it.

eAtINg. Bad bread should be eaten warm, even hot. The heat helps to mask the defects. Good bread does

Pre-fermenTed flour: 15%

dough Yield

u.s.: about 22 loaves at 1.5 lb each meTric: about 24 loaves at .68 kg each home: 2 large loaves