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