Bread Must Be Made with Poolish, Biga

Apply for our Professional Training Program by May 3! May by Program Training Professional our for Apply Happy Spring from SFBI ... ... SFBI from Spring Happy What’s Rising● San Francisco Baking Institute Newsletter Spring 2006 preferments: are they over-rated? by Thom Leonard, WheatFields Bakery and Café South San Francisco, CA 94080 CA Francisco, San South read made with “straight” dough is getting an 480 Grandview Drive Grandview 480 undeserved bad rap. To be considered “artisanal” it San Francisco Baking Institute Baking Francisco San seems that a bread must be made with poolish, biga, liquid levain, dough levain, rye sour, pate fermente Permit No. 855 No. Permit Bor even some combination of two or more of these. I’ve seen some (deservedly) prize-winning bread formulas San Francisco, CA Francisco, San with as many as three different preferments. PAID U.S. POSTAGE U.S. I won’t argue that a good baker can’t make great bread by PRSRT STD PRSRT utilizing yeast preferments or levain. Indeed, I believe these are essential tools to have in your box. What I will argue is Pugliese Loaf that a skilled baker can bake equally good bread using methode directe—as with preferments—and that an understanding of how to make good breads with straight dough is an equally valuable tool to carry. There are times when it is essential to An understanding of how to make be able to convert a bread you normally make with poolish San Francisco Baking Institute or biga to straight dough. good breads with straight dough is a valuable tool to carry. There are Baking and Pastry Arts School for Professionals & Enthusiasts It is generally accepted that both biga and poolish will yield 480 Grandview Drive South San Francisco, CA 94080 doughs and breads with enhanced flavor, structure, handling times when it is essential to be able phone 650.589.5784 fax 650.589.5729 characteristics, and keeping qualities. to convert a bread you normally visit us online at www.sfbi.com make with poolish or biga to straight “To be interested in the dough. changing seasons is a happier WHAT’S RISING You can achieve remarkably similar results with straight THIS SEASON ... state of mind than to be dough methods, but it takes longer from bowl to bench. Using biga, good bread can be made with less than an hour of hopelessly in love floor time. The best straight dough breads I’ve made require ● preferments: are they over-rated? at least three hours of floor time. But a yeast preferment with Spring.” requires a minimum of four to five hours to mature, and ● 2006 course schedule more often, the yeast quantities used require overnight (or George Santayana longer) ripening. ● recipe of the season (1863 - 1952) continued on page 3 ● baker’s tip and more! What’s Rising is designed and edited by preferments vs. straight dough, 2006 course schedule, Jennifer Donahue Marketing Communications www.jenniferdonahue.com what’s inside: seasonal recipe, baker’s tip, and more ... 1 from michel: about sfbi recipe of the season: prevent oven fire hazards white whole wheat croissant Michel Suas, Founder/President ince 1996, the San ard White Wheat is mostly • Desired Dough Temperature: 74 F. �� grown in California, Kansas, �� • Mixing: Improved Mix with 20 id you know that sometimes a fire can start �� Francisco Baking in your bakery without the telltale signs Idaho and Montana and minute Autolyse. is increasingly milled as a �� • Fermentation: 1 hour at room and warning of flames? Every year I hear �� Institute (SFBI) has Hwhole grain. Because the bran is white, �� about an oven catching on fire in the bakery temperature, then 8-12 hours Dwithout warning! Most often, these types of fires start in the appearance of the flour is a creamy �� under refrigeration. trained hundreds the electric deck oven. Since there are no flames, the fire golden color. The flavor of Hard White • Lamination: 3 single folds - 30 Wheat is not as intense as a whole wheat �� Sof professional and aspiring can burn for a while undetected. minute rest between folds. Michel Suas flour milled from Hard Red Winter �� • Make-up: Traditional croissant or These fires actually start on top of the oven—on the side of, or inside, the wheat; it is sweeter and smoother due savory croissant. bakers from all over the �� hood exhaust pipe. This is caused by an accumulation of flour inside the to the lack of Carotenoid pigments • Proofing: 78 F for 90 minutes. insulation or the pipes. In restaurants, the maintenance of the hood and resulting in less tannin. Some people �� • Baking: Brush with a light coat of world. We have acted as the may wonder—why make a whole wheat cleaning of the shaft have to be monitored constantly to remove the greases. �� egg wash. Bake at 385 F convection �� Fire Marshals do not require these same stringent rules for bakeries. Silos croissant? Croissants are inherently rich �� with 2 seconds of steam for 12 unofficial training site for in butter and why diffuse that with are what they are most concerned about—to prevent potential explosions. �� minutes.** Explosions can start with a spark of electrical contact or motor and a certain whole grain? Using white whole wheat several award-winning flour provides a unique spin on the percentage of flour in the air. Flour exposed to constant heat will ignite with �� *Dough hydration will vary depending on wheat. darker whole wheat croissant. So long Baking USA Teams no flames. �� as fermentation and lamination is carried �� **Baking time, steam duration and oven �� temperature will vary according to equipment. Damages can be quite vast, especially when the fire department is out properly, the buttery, flaky, richness and hosted a variety of �� can be enjoyed with added health �� forced to hose down your equipment. If you have only one oven, the �� international groups—from consequences can be even worse, as it might take days before your oven is benefits of the whole grain. *Roll-in butter is a percentage of the total dough. operating again. countries including Russia, China and Japan—interested Every year I hear about an oven catching “The table is the only place where one is never bored during the first hour.” on fire in the bakery without warning! Most in bringing artisan baking Jean-Anthelme Brillat-Savarin (1755-1826) often, these types of fires start in the electric back to their homelands. deck oven. SFBI is recognized within baker’s tip: preventing wet couche the baking industry as a place A regular vacuuming on the top and side of the oven is necessary at least by Tim Kitzman, Baking & Pastry Instructor where artisan baking is twice a year—the same for the hood and pipes. “Bread Flambé” with a high carbon content is not very popular! hen working with wet enough to release the proofed doughs. respected, appreciated and doughs, bakers will often A 4:1 ratio is sufficient and small enough I would like to say one last word about the FDA classification of Whole encounter difficulty with not to alter the flavor of your bread. celebrated. We are passionate Wheat Bread that I talked about in this newsletter two issues ago. To my the coucheing during surprise, only a handful of bakers were interested in the article. For the first Wproduction. Far too often, the shaped Another option is a bran/whole wheat about sharing our knowledge time, the FDA is going to identify what whole wheat or grain should be before loaves will stick to the couche or lined mixture. This will prevent any sticking the label is applied. I guarantee you—the big boys are whispering in the ears banneton. One way to prevent this is to and add a rustic look to your breads. and enthusiasm with students of the FDA. It is time to get an organization involved to represent the real excessively flour the banneton or couche I have also found that a semolina/bread and clients in an effort to quality bread baker. On page five of this newsletter, we have included some with your bread flour—but let’s not do information from the FDA’s website to give you more perspective on this that! flour mixture, commonly used with important issue. ciabatta, also adapts well to any wet raise the level of the craft. Some bakers prefer using a bread dough. continued on page 10 flour/rice flour mixture for dusting the couche or banneton. A small amount of rice flour added to your bread flour will do wonders to keep your couche dry 2 11 letter from michel, cont. “[Breadbaking is] one of preferments: are they over-rated? those almost hypnotic continued from page 2 businesses, like a dance continued from page 1 from some ancient Call your local bread or baking U.S. Food and Drug Administration– ceremony. It leaves With preferments, the baker introduces a I have produced straight dough breads association, the RBA, Bread Bakers FDA relatively high concentration of organic with very good color and crumb Guilds of America and others to make website: www.fda.gov you filled with one of acids that promote dough maturation structure with as low as 68% hydration, sure the FDA hear your side about what phone: 888.INFO.FDA the world’s sweetest and flavor development. as much as 2% yeast (fresh), and improved the quality standard should be for whole 888.463.6332 mixing. To be fair, I will say that the wheat bread and wheat bread. This is a smells ... there is no Because these preferments are produced resulting bread lacks the complexity window of opportunity that you should Retail Bakers of America—RBA outside of the actual production time of of flavor and keeping quality of either chiropractic treatment, 70% Hydration Straight Dough not miss! website: www.rbanet.com the daily bread (usually while the baker a longer fermented straight dough or Baguette Section phone: 800.638.0924 no Yoga exercise, no sleeps), the time from bowl to bench I urge you not to disregard this call.

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