Pane di Campagna scuro - primo passo verso l' alta idratazione - Country brown - a first step into high hydration breads

Country Brown

Ciao a tutti ! Dopo le vacanze invernali, eccomi alle prese con un nuovo articolo, questa volta una ricetta di pane, per iniziare l' anno nuovo col piede giusto :)
Come promesso, questa è la ricetta del pane di Campagna scuro del video che ho postato sui social.
Penso sia una ricetta perfetta come inizio per l'alta idratazione perchè oltre ad essere molto gustosa, è di facile esecuzione.
Utilizzando farine integrali si massimizza l' assorbimento dell' acqua, quindi l' impasto risulta essere più facile da manipolare.


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Hello everyone ! After the winter seasonal vacation, I am back with a new article, this time a bread recipe, to start "with the right foot" the new year :)
As I promise, this is the recipe of the Country brown sourdough bread featured in the video I did post on socials.
I guess it' s a perfect recipe to start with high hydration because it' s very tasty but also quite easy.
Using whole grains flours maximize water absorbtion, so the dough resulting, is easier to handle.



Ricetta:


Per il pre-fermento:

200 gr di farina tipo 0 forte
100 gr di acqua
50 gr di pasta madre

Rinfrescare la pasta madre con le proporzioni indicate. Lasciare fermentare a 18 c per circa 17-18h

Per l' impasto:

60 gr di segale integrale
100 gr di farro integrale
700 gr di tipo2
210 gr di pasta madre
22 gr di sale rosa fine
780-800 gr di acqua (dipende dall' assorbimento della farina)

Procedimento:

Impastare brevemente tutto assieme tranne il sale.
lasciare riposare 30-40 minuti poi aggiungere il sale e proseguire ad impastare a bassa velocità per 5 - 8 minuti oppure a mano con s&f fino ad ottenere una consistenza morbida.
Mettere a fermentare a 28c per 4-5 ore dando 3/4 giri di pieghe a seconda della forza dell' impasto.
NB. non esagerare a sviluppare forza in questa fase, durante la formatura avremo l' occasione di aumentarla ulteriormente.

Staglio e pre-forma a tondo.
Dopo un riposo di circa 15 minuti, formare ad ovale abbastanza stretto prestando attenzione a non
rovinare la tensione.
Fermentare per 14-18 h  a 6c

Praticare un taglio centrale e cuocere a 240c per 20 min con vapore, finire la cottura a 220 per 40 minuti.
                                                                               

Country Brown slice

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Recipe:


Stiff sourdough:

200 gr bread flour
100 gr water
50 gr Stiff sourdough

Refresh with the given quantities, and ferment for 17-18h at 18c

Bread:

60 gr whole rye
100 gr whole Farro
700 gr High extraction wheat
210 gr Sourdough
22 gr Pink salt
780-800 gr water (depending on flour absorbption)

Method:

Mix briefly all the ingredients but the salt. Let rest for 30-40 mins then add the salt and mix at slow speed for 5 to 8 mins or with s&f until you get a soft consistency.
Put it ferment at 28c for 4-5h doing 3/4 folding sets depending on dough strenght.
Don't exagerate at this point to build strenght, during the shaping phase we have time to build more.

Cut and round pre-shape
After 15 mins rest, shape batard quite tight paying attention to not break the tension.
Ferment at 6c for 14-18h

Score and cook at 240c for 20 mins with vapor, then 40 mins at 220.

Ready for the oven and baked

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 :)

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 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.