Panettone classico (ricetta per casa - home-baking recipe)

Buonasera a tutti ! Giusto in tempo per le festività natalizie, finalmente riesco a postare la ricetta del Panettone classico fatto in casa :)
Senza troppi preamboli, vi dico subito che questa ricetta è la mia versione ed è stata sviluppata per essere fatta con pochi essenziali strumenti. Basta avere una planetaria basica come Kitchen aid o Kenwood (io ho usato quest' ultima).
Il procedimento è molto più immediato di quelli soliti che girano in rete ma non per questo meno effettivo.. anzi ! Con questo metodo, risparmieremo tempo, avremo una maglia glutinica migliore e non incorreremo nel rischio di surriscaldare il nostro impasto.

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Good evening ! Right in time for Christmas's holidays, finally I am able to post the Panettone classico recipe for home bakers :)
Without speaking too much, I tell you that this recipe is my version and has been developed to perform great with few essential instruments. Just a basic planetary mixer like Kitchen aid or Kenwood (I did use this one) will do the job.
The method is simpler than usual ones you can find in internet, but not for this reason less effective...
With this method, we get a faster mixing, with a better gluten development and with no heating of the dough.
To avoid a very big post, I will write the recipe in italian, with just the method translated, I hope you can understand the simpler things :)




Bene, detto questo ecco la ricetta per due panettoni da 1kg circa - Good, that said here is the recipe for two panettoni of 1kg size.



I giorno (Messa in forza della pasta madre) - pasta madre refreshings

Al mattino, rinfreschiamo la nostra pasta madre con la proporzione 1:1 (pasta madre:farina) al 45% di acqua. (Se acida prevedere un bagnetto). Fermentare 3/4 ore a 26c

Ripetere per altre due volte i rinfreschi, ottenendo alla sera il lievito pronto per andare nell' impasto.


                                                                             ***

In the morning, refresh our pasta madre with the proportion 1:1 (pasta madre:flour) at 45% hydration. (if it's acid do the bagnetto). Ferment it 3 to 4 hours at 26°C

Repeat 2 more times, so you get the sourdough ready in the evening for the first dough.




I giorno (Impasto della sera)


500 gr farina 0 bio forte (organic strong white flour)
140 gr tuorlo (yolks)
140 gr zucchero fine (fine sugar)
150 gr burro a temperatura ambiente (morbido)  -  pliable butter
250 gr acqua (water)
135 gr pasta madre



Mettere nell' ordine in macchina:
Acqua, zucchero, tuorlo, pasta madre e farina. Azionare la planetaria per 3 minuti su velocità 2 con la pala montata. Controllare che non ci siano residui di farina sui bordi, poi aumentare la velocità gradualmente ogni minuto fino ad arrivare alla 5. Lasciare lavorare circa 15 minuti o fino a che l' impasto inizia a staccarsi dai lati della vasca. Tornare sulla velocità 2 e aggiungere tutto il burro.
Quando il burro è stato incorporato, rovesciare su un piano unto con burro e dare due o tre pieghe. Mettere l' impasto in un mastello che lo possa contenere per il suo volume più il doppio (2+1). Porre a fermentare 12h a 28c o fino a triplicare.


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Put in the machine with the order:
Water, sugar, yolks, pasta madre, flour. Turn on for 3 minutes in vel2 with the shovel on. Control that all the flour have been incorporated, then augment speed every minutes until vel5. Leave it work 15 minutes more or less or until the dough starts to hang. Go back to vel2 and put in all the butter. When the butter is incorporated, turn the dough on the working plan (greased with butter) and do 3 to 4 s&f.
Put the dough in a container that can keep it 3 times its mass. (2+1). Leave to ferment 12h at 28°c or until triple in size.



I giorno (burro aromatico) - aromatic butter

Ammorbidire 150 gr di burro e mischiare con 30 gr di miele, scorza grattugiata di 1 arancia e di mezzo limone

Melt 150 gr of butter and mix with 30 gr of honey, 1 orange zest, half lemon zest



II giorno (impasto finale)

I impasto (tenuto per 30 minuti in frigorifero) - I dough kept 30 mins in the fridge
+
150 gr farina (flour)
150 gr tuorlo (yolks)
150 gr zucchero (sugar)
Tutto il burro aromatico (all the aromatic butter)
8 gr di sale (salt)

350 gr uvetta lavata (raisins washed)
300 gr di canditi a piacere (candies fruits)



Mettere nell' ordine in macchina:
Il primo impasto, la farina, il sale. lavorare qualche minuto a velocità 2, poi azionare la velocità 4 e mettere a filo le uova sbattute con lo zucchero. A maglia glutinica quasi formata (15 minuti circa) mettere il burro aromatico e, una volta incorporato, proseguire fino a che l ' impasto si stacca dalla ciotola.
Rovesciare su un piano unto con burro, porre al centro la frutta miscelata e dare un giro di pieghe.
Porre in mastello oliato a riposare per 30 minuti a 28c.
Dare un' altro giro di pieghe e lasciar fermentare fino al raddoppio.
Stagliare, pirlare delicatamente e riporre negli stampi.
Lievitare a 26c fino al raggiungimento dei 4/5 dello stampo. Praticare la Scarpatura ed infornare a 170°c per 50/55 minuti.
Per raffredare, infilzare due ferri alla base e capovolgere i panettoni.
Lasciar riposare almeno 24 ore prima di assaporare :)


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Put in the machine with the order:
The first dough, flour, salt. Work few minutes at vel2, then augment to vel4 and put little by little the yolks whipped with the sugar. When the gluten is almost ready (15 minutes more or less), put in the aromatic butter, and once incorporated, finish the mix until the dough hangs on.
Turn into the working plan (greased with butter), put in the center the fruits and do a turn.
Put into an oiled container, and rest 30 minutes at 28°c.
Give another set of turns and let it double.
Cut the dough and form it gently and put into the molds.
Proof at 26°C until it reaches the 4/5 of the mold. Practice the cuts and bake at 170°c for 50/55 minutes.
To cool it, pass with the irons the base and turn it upside down.
Let it rest at least 24 hours before tasting :)

Pirlatura della pasta madre

Secondo impasto

Scarpatura 

L' interno 

Grazie a tutti per seguirmi, spero che la ricetta vi piaccia e colgo l' occasione per farvi tanti auguri di buone feste e anno nuovo ! Che porti tanti giorni di lievitazioni naturali :)

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Thank you very much for following me, I hope you will like the recipe and I take the chance to say:

Merry christmas and happy new year ! Hoping it will bring many days of natural fermentations  :)

Bisciola della Valtellina - La ricetta (The recipe)

Bisciola della Valtellina

Buona domenica a tutti !

Dopo gli ultimi eventi che mi hanno visto impegnato nell' organizzare corsi e workshop di panificazione, sono riuscito a rimettermi a scrivere...

Approfitto, con questo post, per inaugurare il nuovo formato del blog. Dopo tante richieste, ho deciso finalmente, di scrivere gli articoli in due lingue, (italiano e inglese), dando la possibilità a tutti di poter capire meglio i contenuti.

E quale il miglior modo di iniziare col nuovo formato, se non scrivendo la ricetta originale di uno dei lievitati dolci più iconici delle mie zone?  L' anti-panettone, un dolce antico, quasi sacro, che veniva consumato con un rituale ben preciso a natale, ma che doveva anche essere, durante tutto l' inverno, fonte di energia per i manovali.

Anticamente, la Bisciola, veniva impastata una o due volte l' anno, data la complessità della lavorazione, a mano ed in grandi quantità, dalle vecchie signore, che custodivano gelosamente la ricetta. Ogni famiglia aveva le sue varianti, con più o meno burro, con farina di saraceno o (la maggior parte) di segale, con nocciole o altra frutta secca.

Questa ricetta che ho creato, partendo dalle mie ricerche e provando tutte le migliori "Bisciole" artigianali, è relativamente semplice e quindi adatta a tutti. (La mia ricetta per uso professionale tuttavia è ancora diversa).


...



Happy Sunday !

After the last tasks, which saw me involved in the organization of bread workshops and classes, I finally got the time to write again...
With this post, I want to share the recipe of the most iconic local leavened sweet, the anti-panettone, an ancient sweet, almost sacred, that were consumed with a precise ritual during christmas, but also that it had been an energy source during all the winter, for the workers.

In the old times, Bisciola, was kneaded by hands, one or two times per year, due to it's complexity, from the old ladies who kept secret the recipe. Every family had some variations, with more or less butter, with buckwheat flour or (the most) with rye flour, some used nuts or other dried fruits...

This recipe, which I developed from my researches, and trying all the best artisanal "Bisciola", is relatively simple, and so it is good for everyone, (hovewer, my professional recipe is different).

La pesa degli ingredienti - Scaling the ingredients

La Bisciola della Valtellina:

Ingredienti:

400 gr di farina 0 forte
100 gr di farina di segale integrale
150 gr acqua
100 gr di burro nostrano
100 gr di zucchero di canna fine
25 gr di miele
160 gr di uova intere
100 gr di pasta madre
4 gr di sale fine integrale
scorza d' arancia e limone

100 gr di uvetta
200 gr di noci di montagna
200 gr di fichi secchi chiari





Il procedimento:

Impastare tutti gli ingredienti tranne il burro e la frutta secca.
Ad impasto incordato, aggiungere il burro precedentemente portato a consistenza "pomata".
Una volta che il burro è stato assorbito del tutto, aggiungere delicatamente la frutta secca facendo attenzione a non impastare troppo per non rovinare la maglia glutinica.
rovesciare l' impasto in un mastello imburrato e mettere a lievitare, fino al raddoppio, a 28°c coperto con telo.
Spezzare del peso desiderato (125, 250, 350, 500 gr ecc) ed effettuare la pirlatura.
Disporre in teglie e mettere a lievitare fino quasi al raddoppio. praticare delle incisioni paralelle (2 o 3) per tutta la liunghezza delle palline. infornare  a 170°c in base alla pezzatura: circa 35 minuti 250gr, 45 minuti 500gr ecc...



...


La Bisciola della Valtellina:

Ingredients:

400 gr strong white
100 gr di whole rye
100 gr di artisanal butter
150 gr water
100 gr di brown sugar
25 gr di honey
160 gr di eggs
100 gr di pasta madre
4 gr di fine salt
orange and lemon zests

100 gr di raisins
200 gr di mountain walnuts
200 gr di dried white figs





The process:

Knead all the ingredients but the butter and the dried fruits.
When the dough is formed, add the butter previously heated to reach the cream consistency.
After that all the butter have been absorbed, add the dried fruits carefully, to not break the gluten too much.
Put the dough in a container and put it at 28°C to rise, until it doubles, covered.
cut the dough into desired pieces (125, 250, 350, 500 gr ecc) and shape it with pirlatura.
Put the rounds in a tray and proof them until they doubles. Make 2 or 3 parallel cuts throught all the lenght, cook it at 170°c depending on the weight: 35 mins for 250 gr, 45 mins 500 gr ecc...

Bisciola, impasto - Bisciola, dough

Il prodotto finale - The final product

Different dough folding methods: why and when apply

A proper fermented soft dough, folds allowed develope the strenght to retain gases

Hello everyone ! Have been a while since I wrote the last article on the blog.

I have been very busy preparing and organizing a class, and a two days international workshop with a very special guest baker from Spain, the master and high hydration specialist, Juan Luiz Estevez !

To learn more please check my Instagram or Facebook accounts.

But now it’ s time to accomplish my duty, and as I promised, write more in-depht guide on dough folding.

First of all, what does it means folding a dough ? Basically it’ s a tech applied during the bulk fermentation phase, which consists of fold the dough over itself stretching and releasing it gently.

Why we do that ? Because stretching the relaxed gluten allows the strands to organize in a better way and, for this reason, the gluten web get stronger and less extensible.

Also, proper folding makes fermentation better:

new oxygen being introduced in the dough;

microorganisms get distributed in a more even way;

dough temperature gets more uniform.

So now it’ s time to take a deeper view on the practical side, and check the main different folding methods.

I suggest to use for every method a different container for the dough. All of those containers must be previously oiled up.

Is possible also to do the folds free, on a bench but this involves the use of flour.

Because we don’t want to introduce new flour in the dough, I prefer to use containers and also to rinse the hands with water, this will prevent dough to stick.

The most simple, and most used, folding method is the 4 ways fold a.k.a. letter fold.

It should be performed in a square container and basically consists of fold each opposite side of the dough over it’ s own center and then flip it with the seam side down.

This method is suitable for soft and extensible doughs without too much hydration.

Should be performed in the first hour or two of the bulk fermentation, with regular intervals (45 minutes 1h etc..)

Another important method is the “ciabatta” fold, as I like to call it.

Basically enrolling on itself the dough, up to bottom, with a semi-circular motion, for 3 or 4 times.

This really works good for wet and extensible doughs; it gives a lot of strenght and doesn’ t stress the guten too much.

As the previous method, should be performed in the first two hours of bulk phase.

Last but not least, the “clock” folding method. Is the one I prefer for less extensible doughs, as I feel it performs better. The gentle strech prevents the gluten strands to tear down and brake the structure.

This is better done in a round container and it’ s performed taking small portions of the rounded dough and fold them to the center while turning the container clockwise with the other hand.

Previous rules on timing apply here too.

Hope you will have fun trying those techniques ! Please let me know how it goes or if anything is not clear enough :)

Dough Folding

Hello everyone!
This article that will talk about a well known method every sourdough baker practice: Folding the dough.
Also known as s&f (stretch and fold) I prefer to call this important step just dough folding.

Now, let' s see why this passage is important in baking and even more in sourdough baking.

When we mix a dough, we always want to look for its final temperature, as well as its strenght and level of gluten development (where strenght is the relation between elasticity and extensibility, not absolute strenght).
We all know that those are important parameters to control (have a look to previous articles if you missed something).

Well, folding the dough affects those parameters quite a lot. Let' s see why:

Temperature:


When a dough is mixed, it's then stored in a food grade container, (usually plastic), which have a volume 3 to 4 times bigger than the dough itself. This is called bulk phase.
As the word says, the dough is here stored in big quantity to be able to develope the wanted charactheristics of flavour, strenght and volume.
Because most of the time we store the dough at a different Temperature from the room, doing folds during the bulk stage allows to create a uniform grade of T in the dough.
In a very close relationship with this, folding helps also to distribute gases and bacterias, scattering them through the dough.
This is also very helpfull to the fermentation.


Strenght:


Really important dough feature, it will estabilish how to process the dough in the shaping and proofing phase.
Meanwhile with commercial yeast, is hard to have to augment a dough strenght because the amount of gases produced by yeast during the proofing phase garantee a dough strenghtening; In sourdough baking is much more useful (and even more with high hydration doughs) because less gases are produced during fermentation stage.
Applying a number of fold/s during the bulk stage, at regular intervals, will give strenght to a dough.
Those foldings should be gentler as they are performed towards the end of this phase, to avoid gases loss (that will generate a loss of volume and flavours).
I will give a few but great tips for folding in the "secret" section next on!



Gluten development:


Very related to dough strenght (but not the only cause, gluten development is also a key element. It will state the dough capacity to retain gases and so, to augment volume during the proofing and cooking phase.
While folding our dough, gluten strands are gently stretched, and they create a more regular net to trap the gases.
The more foldings we do, the more regular and tight will be the gluten net, and therefore the crumb structure.

Understanding the flour

A balanced dough on the bench waiting  for scaling 

...

Autumn came, with the first snow and made everything quiter. The forest is getting coated by those beautiful colors, which every year amaze me. So beautiful is nature!

I got a beautiful smelling cup of grey tea with honey, so I can start write this piece.

...

Sometimes we want to replicate a bread recipe, or we want to try a well known one but using a new kind of flour and the result isn' t as expected. Maybe the dough comes out too stiff (in which case is easier to correct) or maybe it comes out almost batter-like. 

Altough can be many the factors that lead to a not-so-good result while execute a bread recipe, a missread of the flour used can be the most recurring (and most of the time a problem for the inexperienced baker).

Without writing down a copy of the many existant technical guides to flour's rheology; I want to share my personal opinion learnt throught the experience.

When a proper balance is estabilished within flour and other ingredients, also the shaped dough will be balanced. 

But, before that, I ll try to resume in a few words the most important flour carachteristics involved into the baking process.

1.Quality of proteins and level in percentage:

Two distinct aspects which are very important. I should say the most interesting of the two is proteins quality; When they are good, we can expect a nice development of the gluten net. 

Even if the proteins are low, but of a good kind, we are able to make a nice bread dough without many problems.

On the other hand, we can expect less water absorbtion.

Assuming we have the same protein quality, the flour which will have a higher percentage, will develope a stronger gluten net and will absporb more water.

2.Elasticity and extensibility of the gluten strands:

It' s strictly related to the proteins quality (another time we can see that the quality is very important).

A flour can produce gluten which is really elastic and not extensible as well as the opposite or a blend of the two characteristics in different rapport.

When we have a good protein quality, we will have a balanced rapport between elasticity and extensibility, making the dough easy to work with.

My opinion is that when we try a new flour, (in a empyric way, without having flour sheets) we have to carefully "read" it. 

The way it mix with water, how much liquid can absorb without a proper mixing, if when stretched we feel stiffness or a lack of resistance...

All of those little things we should feel and be able to understand. 

With this kind of knowledge, we will be able to decide if more water is needed (or maybe less water then the original recipe); If a fold or more are needed, which will be the amount of bulk fermentation time required and so on...

This is just a guideline, there are so many variables that it' s not possible to mention every possible scenery. 

However, I hope that I will give something to you to think about next time you mix a new dough.

Sincerly, 

Matteo

About Bread Flavor

A "Bruschetta".
Even with complex preparations,
some notes of the bread's flavor will be present.

Hello everyone ! I hope everyone is having wonderful bakings :)

Finally, I found some time to write this post. The idea sneaked in my mind since last week but I couldn' t write it down, for a reason or another.
But hey, here we are!

Maybe the most important thing in bread baking, for most people; Flavor, or flavour, taste, is undoubtedly one of the main characteristic we all are conscious of.

To be more clear, think to a person who doesn' t have any bread knowledge.
He, or She, will not notice much of the appearence of the bread, or the differences in texture, but will for sure understand very well the taste. Maybe not all the slight variations or the aftertaste, but the main sensations of sweet, bitter, acidic, I am sure, will be felt.

So, which can be the main flavours in sourdough breads? Just the word sourdough itself can hit your imagination and start wetting your mouth because of the first part: Sour; That is acidity. Acidity force your mouth salivating. And salivating will help to eat that fantastic food we are loving!

Many are the possible levels of acidity in a levain bread. To me the optimal ph of the final product should not be less than 4.0. After that I feel the acidity starts cover other flavors. Of course this is only my humble opinion and there are very good bakers who like more acidic breads.
To be honest, the most important thing for me, is not quantity but the quality of acids in a bread. This is because they will give a very different imprint.

As everyone knows, the main acids produced in sourdough breads are of two kinds:
Lactic acids and Acetic acids. The names alone, tell you which flavor they will produce in breads.
Usually, when producing a certain bread, good bakers tend to choose if the flavor should be lactic or acetic. Therefore they choose or adapt methods that will give the wanted result.

To me one of the most interesting point is that you can have a mix of both, producing some of the most complex flavoured breads (without adding ingredients).
This is the case of some long, retarded maturations in which the two acids will be produced altoghether but in a different percentage.


Which are the other flavors that can charactherize a sourdough bead?
Sweetness and bitterness are always presents.

Much of those tastes balance depends on flour quality, and another part is directly connected with the fermentation method.

Red wheats, in example, have a reddish bran which will give, especially to whole meal flour or high extraction ones, a bitter taste.
Here in Italy we don't have this kind of wheat so it's really uncommon to have bitter flours.

Another consequence of bitterness is when during a fermentation, some byproducts (acids, esters) are produced. They then pass into the final products, and the taste will be affected.
Again, the cooking time/heat will affect the flavour of the bread; Overcooking always lead to a bitter aftertaste or taste depending on the level.

Sweetness, on the counterpart, can be produced by very sweet grains; Such as the grano duro Timillia, Khorasan, some hybrids and so on...
Also I noticed that if a very short fermentation method is used while making the bread, the sweetness will be more noticeable because of less sugars have been processed by microorganisms.

The last, but not less important taste, will be the flavor of the grain itself.
Even if refined flours will end up with little to no grain flavor, the less refined ones will bring the seed charachteristics to your mouth.

In conclusion; I can say being a chef for many years trained my taste sense quite a lot, therefore I always feel when a bread I bake lacks of some particular flavor or have another more persistence or again if an aftertaste is pleasant. The most important thing for me is to try achieve a right balance and complexity of flavor keeping in mind that no one of the main tastes (acetic sourness, sweetness, bitterness, lactic sourness, grain) must be too present or will overwhelm your senses and eclipse other flavours.

Salt, this stranger

Himalayan pink salt

Salt is one of the four ingredients in regular bread baking.
I would say it' s a key ingredient because it gives to doughs different properties.

We will see later which are the most known as well as the unknown ones.
But before of that, we could take a couple minutes to think about Salt.

The mineral which in the medieval times was so precious can be found of many different types: refined, unrefined, fine coarse, gross coarse, crystals or enriched, and so on...

The most common is the white salt either coming from mountain caves/ salted deserts or made by letting evaporate sea water with industrial or artisan methods.

In france (Normandy coast) they extract a grey salt which have less salty taste but great other qualities. The color come from seaweed and other minerals.

Always in France but in the south coast of Camargue, a very special salt is extracted: Le fleur de Sel
It has fine crystals (flowers) which are delicate in taste as well as texture and they dissolve faster in a water solution.

In the Himalayan region, a pink salt is produced. Usually unrefined, is harder but have a gentle taste. It' s a fossil salt and so is very pure.

From hawaii islands comes a black salt which have been naturally enriched by carbon from the vulcanic activity of those isles. Also less refined tend to be heavy in taste but is good for our gut.


However, in bread bakin, we dissolve salt into water and percentages are low (usually from 1,5% to 2,8%) therefore any difference in taste is not really noticed in the final product.
The only exception is iodium enriched salt, which tend to give a bitter note to the breads.
For this reason I can suggest to not use it.


The most obvious aspect of adding salt to the dough is for the taste. Salt gives to breads that well rounded taste which is impossible to obtain without this mineral.
But, there are other improvements that salt can give to a dough; More on the technological aspect:

1.It affects fermentation. Since the dawn of the cook, salt have been used to preserve aliments from bacterias and natural decomposition (which starts with a fermentation). Then it' s not surprising if salt can slow down fer,mentation in doughs too. Of course you need a lot of salt to compromise a fermentation, but it will be slowed down for sure.

2.It affects rheologycal properties of gluten and so of doughs. Salt help to bond proteins with water strenghtening bounds as well as giving rigidity to the gluten's structure.


I always look for unrefined salts for baking since they tend to be more natural as well as they dissolve in water less rapidly. Which kind I would use every time is just a matter of personal preference as well as disponibility at the moment.

About dough hydration part2

First of all, thank you for every message, feedback and like I get every day. It makes me wanting to continue write and share my ideas and why not? secret toughts :D
As I have been enquired to write a follow up of the dough hydration piece; Going more in-depth with hydration effects on the different bread types (Italian breads in particular), here we go!
I decided to write this right now, with a cup of fresh ground coffe in the hand while watching my dogs sleeping on the floor :)
As I wrote in the previous post, here in Italy we have different main dough hydration levels which tend to produce different final products:



Bread type:                                                               Average hydration:

Ciabatta                                                                    <75% - 90%

Pane comune (di grano tenero)                                <60% - 75%

Pane di pasta dura (Ferrarese, Biove)                      <45% - 50%




We saw that most of these products can be done by apply the right tech, with different hydration levels and still obtain a similar level of lightness in the crumb.
Let' s see now the point by another perspective. How water percentage affects a dough for every tech and recipe listed above?

A close up of a Ciabatta crumb 80% hydration

Ciabatta:

Typically starting with an hydration of 75% (back in the years when in Italy were not available strong flours). The minimal manipulation of the dough, and the fermentation level reached in bulk phase, give you that light open crumb which is best appreciated while slicing this bread on the hotizontal plan (so the fillings of the sandwich will fall into the air pockets .. yumm).
When hydration is raised up in this bread, you get more fluffiness and a more polished texture as well as bigger air pockets. However by raising too much the water percentage (let s say above 120% using strong flour) the air pocket size tend to decrease but augment in number, giving you the micro-pockets structure.
On the other hand, when you lower down hydration levels, you will have a more regular air pockets distribution as well as a raw texture.

Pane comune with 68% hydration

Pane comune:

Typically in between 60% and 75% hydration range. It is made with mid-strenght to weak flours (protein level range in between 11% to 9%).
It has a more compact crumb structure compared to ciabatta due to the shaping phase that compress a bit the pockets. The more you high the water percentage, (using a same strenght flour) the more you get big holes but irregular due to a stronger fermentation as well as a difficoult shaping. Texture will be softer as well, and polished like in Ciabatta.
The lower you go with water percentage, the more you get a regular crumb with little air pockets. The texture, in this case, will get raw and less chewy.

Pasta dura, not laminated

Pasta dura:

Typically in the 45% - 50% range (in few cases it reaches 55%) of hydration. It is made with mid-low strenght flours (10%) but can be done also with strong flours (<11%). Is it characterized by a close structure with occasional pockets (many bakers consider air pockets a defect so they push out all the gases from fermentation by laminating the dough several times). There is not much room to change hydration percentage here due to the unique crumb structure that need to have this bread.

About dough hydration

Hello people! today I want to speak about hydration in bread dough.
I think it's time to demystify a bit the importance of water's percentage influence in a dough.
Let' s say that the second most important ingredient in bread making process have a great influence on the final product as well as on the entire production chain.
Right; But, and there is a big but here, it's not the most important element nor the only one which concours in having a light open crumb that most people are looking for in sourdough baking.
I will not discuss here if it' s right or wrong, just let' s assume that an open crumb it is what one aim for.
Water, H2o. Is the life itself. Is the thing that we all need to survive, to stay healthy, to stay clean.
As the ferments are living beings, they also need water to survive. And they need good water to stay healthy and clean.
So, admitting we have a good balanced pure water, let's get back to the amount of it we put in a dough and what it will influence.
I take as example breads that are normally made in Italy.
I can say we have different main doughs with different hydration levels:

Doughs:                                                                           Hydration %


Pizza&Focaccia (tray)                                                    <80% - 100%
Ciabatta                                                                           <75 - 90%
Pane comune (Filone, pagnotte)                                     <60 - 75%
Pasta dura (Ferrarese, Biove ...)                                      <45 - 50%

The goal of each dough is to have the right consistency for the process they need to pass throught.
From minimal manipulation of Pizza and Ciabatta (they are very similar doughs even if in pizza dough is more common to use olive oil than in ciabatta) to the more intensive of pasta dura breads.
However, we can do Ciabatta with 58% hydration, in example, and the structure of bread will be similar to a 78% one because of the same process.
This is proof that hydration is not so important in having open crumb.
Be aware that meanwhile the air pockets can be obtained at lower hydration levels, the texture of the crumb will be different without any doubt.
As while I' m writing this article I am eating a piece of high hydration bread, I can say that texture is softer and smoother than low hydration ones. Flavour also is different because in high hydration breads fermentation is producing more byproducts and faster. Meanwhile in low ones you can feel much more the grain itself.
To me the goal is to have a good texture, with good flavour and lightness. I do appreciate every hydration bread levels as long as they are made with the right fermentation and tech which bring to an open structured crumb.

About seasons and fermentation

Hello everyone!

I got a feeling every time that a season pass by and another one come. All my ferments, starters, kefir grains, pasta madre, change the way they work. Ok, you will say, nothing new! Temps are changing (either lowering down or getting higher depending on season) so fermentation times and quality change right? Well, I usually run every fermentation in a controlled way, so Temps are always under my control as well as time  etc...
But, I did notice that our little friends keep changing their behaviour either becoming more sluggish in autumn-winter or frenzied by the sparkling spring air or again overcharged of acids in the summer.
And this is not under my control. I can keep Temps always at 25°c, keep the same refreshing rates but the result of the fermentation it' s still slightly different accordingly to the season. May sound weird but it' s a fact. Natural ferments are alive and doesn't matter how one try to manipulate a living system, nature always have the last word !

Liquid sourdough

One of the most used and easiest pre-ferment for breads. Basically a rough mix of water and flour in the same quantity (1:1) inoculated by a starter and let ripen over time.
Altough other percentages of water in relation of flour can be used, (sometimes raising water quantity around 200%), the most practical is 100%. Due to the high hydration, the acidity built by fermentation is more on the lactic side.
Here you have a few examples of liquid sourdough build:

Ratio:                                         Baker's math:

1 part water                               100%
1 part flour                                100%
1 part starter                              100%

or

2 parts water                             100%
2 parts flour                              100%
1 part starter                               50%

or

4 parts water                             100%
4 parts flour                              100%
1 part starter                               25%


As you can see the difference is into the starter ratio. We will see later what does it change.



About the flour:

As in the Pasta madre, you can use different flours. Usually the flour for this ferment should be white and with a good protein content (<11%).
However different kinds of flours can be used, from high extractions to whole wheats and of course flours from different kind of cereals.
Mind that higher the ash content, the faster the fermentation will be. Therefore ripen times will change accordingly.
Nowadays it s more and more used to make liquid sourdough from spelt (if baking spelt bread), barley, oat etc...


About time:

When a healty starter is used to build this ferment, it will ripen in 3 hours at 25°c. Time may vary using different flours and ratios as I mentioned before, as higher extractions flours tend to speed up the fermentation and shorten the ripen time; Meanwhile ratios will change ripen time and characteristics of the pre-ferment. Here is how:

The 1:1:1 ratio is the faster build and can be used to bake in 2 to 4 hours (25°c). Is the best way to refresh if you need a young sourdough.
The 2:2:1 takes 4 to 6 hours (25°c). It gives you more activity and therefore more acidity.
The 4:4:1 can take up to 12 h (25°c) and will give you the more complex flavours and acidity.

This recipe can be used as a stand alone pre-ferment as well as a proper culture that can be refreshed and stored.
If using different flours, (i.e. whole wheat, spelt etc..) this difference can be quite remarkable.
In the first case, you will have a pre-ferment which is strong and will rise your breads with ease but will lack specific characteristics of the used flour because the bacterias don't have the time to set a new balance in the new substrate.
In the second case, after a period of refreshings (from 1 month it will be noticeable) you will have a proper specific liquid sourdough, with a strong character which also lead to a more complex flavour and different textures in final products.


Considerations
If you want a mild lactic sour flavour, good keeping quality and very good volume, this sourdough is the one you want to use.

Pasta Madre

Pasta madre
Is the first natural ferment I did create myself. Here in Italy is the most well known sour ferment. Basically it's a stiff sourdough with 45% hydration which have a balance of yeasts and bacterias (lactobacillus) that tend to favor acetic acid production. Altough there are several ways to maintain this culture, we will see how to create it and store in the easiest way:

1 part of active starter
2 parts of water
2 parts of flour

So 1:2:2

Formula in baker' s math is:

100% flour
45% water
50% starter

About flour
Usually the flour for this ferment should be white and with a good protein content (<11%).
However different kinds of flours can be used, from high extractions to whole wheats and of course flours from different kind of cereals.
Mind that higher the ash content, faster the fermentation will be. Therefore ripen times will change accordingly.
Nowadays it s more and more used to make pasta madre from spelt (if baking spelt bread), barley, oat etc...


About time
When a healty starter is used to build this ferment, it will ripen in 3 hours at 25°c. Time may vary using different flours as I mentioned before, as higher extractions flours tend to speed up the fermentation and shorten the ripen time.
This recipe can be used as a stand alone pre-ferment as well as a proper culture that can be refreshed and stored.
In the first case, you will have a pre-ferment which is strong and will rise your breads with ease but will lack a bit of sourness because the bacterias don't have the time to set a new balance in the new substrate.
In the second case, after a period of refreshings (from 1 month it will be noticeable) you will have a proper pasta madre, with a strong acetic sourness which also lead to a more complex flavour and different textures in final products.
I don't think that very old pasta madre (many years old) are very different from a 3 months one. Infact, bacterias and yeasts balance quite quickly with proper refreshing and storage.

About storage
Ok, you have created your own pasta madre, it' s healty and strong. Now, how do you store it?
The most interesting way for home baking as well as little bakery is to keep it in a sealed jar.
Material can be glass or food grade plastic.
Basically I suggest to refresh the pasta madre, ripen it at 25°c for half the time (look for an increase of 50% volume) and then store sealed at 4°c

Considerations
If you want a good acetic sour flavour, very good keeping quality but little less volume, this sourdough is the one you want to use.

A journey into the baker's mind

Should start from ...the starters!
Sorry for the game of words, but it s true. Since usually (but not always, as we will see in the future) sourdough bread baking is based on starter quality and characteristics. You can thing of baking as a ride on a suspended line; Every step you take will move you forward to the end (which is the baked bread) but also every step will be easier or harder depending on the quality of the step before. If it was in balance, then also the next will be easy balanced. Therefore the most important thing is to start with the right step isn' t it?

Starter:
I refer as "Starter" for a balanced culture of bacterias and yeasts which, once inoculated, will start the fermentation process. I do believe that starter is different from sourdough. In which way, we will see next. As I said before, it' s vital that the starter is in perfect conditions. To achieve that, it' s important to keep a high grade of cleaning of the whole area we are going to use and of course of the instruments (hands included).
A starter should be kept in low quantity because we are not going to use it directly for baking and we don't want to waste flour. One of the best way to build a starter for me is this:

1 part white strong flour
1 part water (pure, medium hardness, 25°c)

Mix the ingredients and let rest in a closed jar at 25°c for 2 days (or until some bubbles show off)
Take the half of the mix and add same quantity of flour and water. Let it ferment 1 day.
Repeat this phase until you get a lot of bubbles (activity) in just 3 to 4 hours. Then it s ready to be stored in a fridge at 4°c
Enjoy !

Blog Plan

First of all, nice to meet you.
If you red the first and second posts you have a rough idea of me :)

Why start a blog? I did say a little about this but here i will go more in detail.
I will make some writing on how I maintain and use my main starters.
I will share some "secrets" from the professional side of baking; As well as writing my thoughts and personal experiences.
The basic idea is to give to you, dear reader, a less aproximative idea of how I work.
So you can understand better the points I will touch in the next posts.
I see this blog as a part of the overall output I am working on baking, my idea is to make an articolated publication throught socials (Instagram and facebook), this blog, the book I am writing, and Video classes.
Each one of these thing will interlace with the other compensating the lacks of a certain channel to give You a well rounded, full work system.

Thank you for reading,
Matteo

About me

My name is Matteo.
I have been into cooking since I was very young. As most of the Italian families here, I was introducing to this art from my grandparents.
After years of studying and working (more working than studying) I did open my own restaurant.
In that place was where my real nature showed off and where I learnt that baking was my real love.
This because I wanted to bake my own bread to give a more personal touch to my place and to give that added value.
Since then, I started more and more to be involved into the process of fermentation and in a particular way of natural fermentation.
I did start to study a lot and dig into every resource I could find to stop my lust of knowledge; And when it seemed there were not much more info available on baking itself I started to study biochemistry related to natural fermentations.
At that point I did switch my focus entirely on baking and did start to change my kitchen into a kind of lab where I could research and bake without much contaminations.
This place, is where I do develope my own techs and point of views as well as hosting workshops for beginners and advanced with international guest bakers.

Hello dear bakers!

Hello dear bakers!

Finally the day arrived. After been cruising around the social medias for a while (Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/matteo.festo and
Instagram: ca_mia_breadlab), it was only  a matter of time that I would have create a blog.
I was feeling the need to have a space in which I could go more in depth into the subjects of my posts on Instagram.
Also, I wanted more space to show off a bit of myself and give a more personal cut on my work.

So if you are already curious about knowing more of myself, please go check my Bio !

Last but not least, please forgive my english, I am not mother language and I am writing this directly as it comes out of my mind. I know I will make mistakes :P