Bread Making For Dummies. Wendy Jo Peterson

      Before you place another loaf of bread in the refrigerator, hear me out. The quickest way to stale bread is through the refrigerator. The breads you bake at home won’t have preservatives, so the bread will turn stale more quickly. Most freshly baked breads only last one to five days at room temperature; the higher the fat content, the longer the shelf life.

      

Don’t slice bread before it has cooled completely. Yes, you may be tempted to slice bread fresh from the oven, but that can result in a gummy bread. Some loaves, like a rye sourdough bread, actually need up to two days to form a crust! But for most breads, one to three hours of cooling is best before slicing.

      When the bread is cooled, place it in a brown paper bag or wrap it in a tea towel. A bread with a softer crust should be stored in an airtight, sealed container. (Every recipe this book provides instructions for storing.)

      

If you know you won’t be able to enjoy the bread before it becomes stale, wrap the bread tightly in plastic wrap or bee’s wax paper and place it in a freezer-friendly resealable bag. You can store it in the freezer this way for up to a month. You can even freeze sliced bread for quicker toast in the morning — just grab a slice and place it in your toaster. The heat from your toaster will be ample to defrost and toast your bread. You may need to toast it twice to get the perfect crust. If you’re reheating a frozen loaf of bread, spritz or rub the surface with water and then bake at 350 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes.

Chapter 4

      Uncovering the Secrets of Sourdough

      IN THIS CHAPTER

      

Growing your very own sourdough starter

      

Taking good care of your starter

      

Making your dough

      Sourdough bread baking has recently grown in popularity in the United States — partly due to a pandemic creating a shortage of yeast and partly due to interest in the health benefits of fermented bread. This chapter helps you grow your own starter and walks you through the steps of making your first great loaf of sourdough bread.

      

If your dear Aunt May gave you a starter with different directions than the ones I offer here, don’t fret! There are many different approaches to growing, feeding, and baking sourdough. The techniques I share in this book are ones that have worked for me (and my friends, family, and clients all around the globe), but my way isn’t the only way!

      

THE SCIENCE OF FERMENTED BREADS

      Sourdough starters are living, breathing globs of vinegar-smelling goo. In that gooey mix are thriving bacteria and yeasts that create some of the most delicious breads you’ve ever tasted. But, are there really healthy benefits to sourdough? Many people believe the answer to be a resounding “Yes!”

      I’m an avid sourdough baker, and my love of sourdough may make me look more positively at the science. But my background in nutrition also keeps my beliefs in check. The science supports many health claims around sourdough, but not all that you read on the Internet is true. (I know, shocker!) In this section, I take a closer look at some of the science-supported claims.

      Digestibility, the process of sourdough, and the longer fermentation done in the dough allows for the bacteria Lactobacillus to do its work on breaking down the gluten and sugars in the bread. With that said, some studies show that white bread is white bread, and it will still affect your blood sugar the same, sourdough or not. The bacteria are killed in baking, so sourdough bread doesn’t contribute to improved gut flora (the bacteria in the intestines). But the bacteria do their work before the bread is baked, breaking apart chemical compounds during the long and slow fermenting process, leading to a bread that is easier to digest and exposing beneficial vitamins, minerals, and compounds that improve the overall bread quality.

      But white bread — sourdough included — is still void of fiber and lacking essential vitamins and minerals found in whole grains. The greatest benefits seen in sourdough are when the bread is made from whole grains, such as rye, whole wheat, or spelt. Compounds inside the breads are broken down with beneficial compounds becoming more readily available.

If your curiosity is getting the best of you, head over to the website of the National Library of Medicine (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov). Here, you can search for “sourdough” and read all about the current research being done on the subject.

Growing a Starter

      To grow your own fermented goo, you need the following:

       Two 16-ounce glass jars (like Mason jars)

       Unbleached all-purpose flour

       Water

       A scale that measures in grams

       A rubber band

When you’ve gathered all these items, you’re ready to begin growing a starter. (Figure 4-1 summarizes the process.)

      Day 1

      Let the journey begin! To begin, follow these steps:

      1 Place a clean glass jar on the scale and tare the scale to 0.

      2 Place 50 grams of flour into the glass jar.

      3 Tare the scale to 0 again and add 50 grams of water.

      4 Using a spoon, give the mixture a stir.

      5 Screw the lid loosely onto the jar. If you tighten the lid too tightly it will hinder the release of gas from the jar. As the bacteria and yeast grow, they’ll eat and release carbon dioxide, so be sure to keep the lid loosely fitted.

      6 Place the jar in a dark, cool spot (like a pantry or cupboard), and let it rest for 24 hours.

      Day 2

      On the second day, follow these steps:

      1 Place the second clean glass jar on the scale and tare the scale to 0.

      2 Transfer from the first jar 50 grams of the starter.

      3 Discard the remaining starter.Don’t use or save the discarded starter. Throw it in the trash or compost it.

      4 Tare the scale to 0 and add 50 grams of flour.

      5 Tare the scale to 0 again and add 50 grams of water.This is a 1:1:1 ratio (starter:flour:water).

      6 Using a spoon, give the mixture a stir.

      7 Screw the lid loosely onto the jar.

      8 Place the jar in a dark, cool spot (like a pantry or cupboard), and let it rest for 24 hours.

      FIGURE 4-1: A sourdough starter flow chart.

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