Courtesy of Faithwalk Photography |
Leaven products require a moist, warm
environment to promote yeast growth. This means that the initial
ingredient temperature is vital to making airy and high loaves. Now you may be wondering what
do I mean by ingredient temperature? Ingredient temperature is how I
refer to the temperature of all your combined ingredients. Many
recipes suggest a water temperature between 115 – 120 degrees F.
However, your other ingredients, which will be room temperature (or
colder if they have been refrigerated) will bring down the
temperature of your water. Water at, or above, 140 degrees F does
kill yeast, but any temperature below 115 is too cool for proper
yeast development. To counteract this effect, consider heating your
water to about 5-10 degrees above what your recipe suggests. To break
this down, I'll break down exactly what my process is for checking
ingredient temperature:
Add all ingredients except water, flour
and yeast.
Add hot water one cup at a time,
checking the temperature of the ingredients every cup or so to see
how I need to adjust the temp (after awhile you'll get an idea of how
often you need to test the temperature, but at the beginning the
closer you can monitor it the better). My goal is always to have my
ingredient temperature between 120-125 degrees.
Once all my water is added, then I add
about ½ cup of flour and my yeast on top of it. ('Tis just a
personal quirk, but I just like crown my flour island with the yeast
instead of letting it float helplessly in the water. *winks*)
Wrapping It All Up...
You now have the 3 keys for
making delicious whole wheat bread. After ten plus years of bread
making, these are the three pillars I lean on and
are always what I investigate first whenever trouble arises. Just
remember this: flour and water are the two top ingredients and kneading
is the "glue" that binds and works the flour and water and all other ingredients together to make one gorgeous loaf of bread. It's like
building a house. Start with good ingredients at their prime and use the "science" of kneading to create an art your family and community will enjoy.
Of course, it's always fun to have a
“secret” ingredient or twist that makes the recipe uniquely
yours. I've gathered a few favorites over the years, but you may have the delight of sharing first! What is your favorite ingredient or technique you love to use in your homemade bread?
Acknowledgment:
this series is based on an article I wrote for the March/April 2014
edition of the Molly Green Magazine.
For information on how to subscribe to Molly
Green Magazine, please visit http://mollygreen.com/
Have very much enjoyed your writing. Makes me want to make some bread, haven't had much time lately. Subscribed to Molly Green magazine can't wait to get the first one. Are you writing for other magazines?
ReplyDeleteThanks, Mrs. Perry! I'm very glad you've enjoyed the series! :) Yes, currently I enjoy writing for Incorruptible Beauty
ReplyDelete( http://www.incorruptiblebeautynewsletter.com/ ) and a newsletter for writers called Basket of Stories.