In Search of the Perfect Loaf: A Home Baker's Odyssey

by Fromartz, Samuel

  In Berlin, Heinz and Mucke Weichardt were extremely generous in opening their busy bakery to me. Karl Steffelbauer proved an invaluable guide to making rye breads. Berlin-based researcher and journalist Molly Hannon was also helpful in tracking down resources on German bread making.

  Other bakers offered valuable advice and expertise. I’d like to acknowledge Thom Leonard, who answered many questions and offered resources on Turkey Red wheat; Jeffrey Hamelman, who was unfailingly helpful; Randy George, who was always available for a quick chat on baking with local wheat; and Richard Miscovich, who patiently answered my questions. Dave Miller, Martin Philip, and Harry Peemoeller also offered advice; so did many bakers on the Bread Bakers Guild of America e-mail list.

  Wheat breeders and milling experts also offered their time. Andrew Ross, an associate professor at Oregon State University, advised me on many issues of bread baking and cereal science, generously referring me to scientific papers and even reviewing portions of this manuscript. Stephen Jones, a professor at Washington State University, also spent time with me and provided references to various studies. Richard Little and Devin Rose, at the University of Nebraska, were helpful in exploring questions regarding wheat breeding and milling, respectively. At Heartland Mill, Mark Nightengale was especially generous in explaining all facets of his business. Tod Bramble at King Arthur Flour was also helpful about milling, as was Glenn Roberts at Anson Mills.

  Professor Michael Gänzle at the University of Alberta was especially patient, answering all my questions regarding sourdough microbiology and sharing numerous articles with me. Professor Marco Gobbetti and his colleague Raffaella Di Cagno at the University of Bari were equally generous about questions regarding sourdough and celiac disease. Ariane Lotti of the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition in Washington took time out of her busy schedule to serve as interpreter in an interview with Professor Gobbetti. Dr. Hetty van den Broeck at Plant Research International, Wageningen, the Netherlands, also discussed her research and shared articles with me.

  Charles C. Mann offered invaluable advice one night at the Monterey Bay Aquarium, informing my research on Neolithic farmers.

  And of course, the farmers who grow the grain were helpful on many fronts. I’d like to thank Mary-Howell and Klaas Martens, Heinz Thomet, Karlan Koehn, and Eli Rogosa.

  This book would not have been possible without the thoughtful comments of my editor, Kathryn Court, who helped me hone my ideas and approach. Her assistant Lindsey Schwoeri ably marshaled the manuscript to completion. Copyeditors and proofreaders don’t always get their due, but I’d like to thank Michael Burke, Jayne Lathrop, and Diane Turso, who combed through the entire manuscript, raised crucial questions, and did a superb job. Any remaining errors are, of course, my own. The rest of the Viking team—production editor Kate Griggs, interior designer Francesca Belanger, and jacket designer Nick Misani—were also a pleasure to work with. My longtime agent, Denise Shannon, has always managed to pull decent ideas out of me, often to my surprise. Thanks as well to Elissa Altman, who upon reading one of my blog posts on bread making told me during a break at a conference, “You have a book there.”

  My friends and colleagues at the Food & Environment Reporting Network—Tom Laskawy, Susan West, Paula Crossfield, and Naomi Starkman—were especially understanding of my book deadline, and I thank them for their flexibility. I’d also like to thank the many talented journalists I’ve worked with at FERN, who raised the bar for my own efforts.

  Finally, a big thanks to the bread eaters, including my most trenchant critics: my daughter, Nina, and her friends; and my wife, Ellen, who patiently prodded me on, even as I worried that this project had under- or overfermented. Slicing off another piece of rye, she assured me it had not.

  Glossary

  Alveoli—The holes created in the crumb of the bread. The aim in many artisan breads is to create an uneven and random structure marked by nearly translucent strands of gluten.

  Amylase—Enzymes that convert starch into smaller chains of sugar that can be easily digested by yeast. In the form of malted barley or fungal amylase, these enzymes are also added to flour to help with fermentation. Amylase is also present in saliva in the form of ptyalin—an evolutionary adaptation to the digestion of starch.

  Autolyse—After flour, water, and an optional pre-ferment are gently combined in the initial period of mixing, the dough is left to rest, or literally, to “self-digest.” After the rest period, the remaining ingredients are added and mixing can resume. The technique improves the extensibility of dough and was developed by the renowned French bread authority Raymond Calvel. Some bakers also include salt during the autolyse, though this can result in tighter gluten.

  Backferment—An organic sourdough fermentation culture produced by the German company Sekowa, that is made with chickpea flour, honey, and organic wheat. The fermentation culture, sold as dried granules, favors the production of lactic acids in dough fermentation.

  Barley (Hordeum vulgare)—One of the “founder” crops in the Fertile Crescent, used primarily for beer making and animal feed. Its origins date back to the foundations of agriculture, though it is barely consumed in bread these days.

  Bolting—The process of removing a portion of bran from stone milled flour, with either a fine mesh screen or fabric.

  Bread wheat (Triticum aestivum)—A hexaploid, with six sets of chromosomes, which has no wild analog. It arose when cultivated emmer wheat interbred with wild goat grass (Aegilops squarrosa) around the southwestern shores of the Caspian Sea.

  Celiac disease—An autoimmune disease brought on by the ingestion of gluten. It affects about 1 percent of all people. Discrete parts of gluten proteins trigger an immune reaction, causing the body to attack itself.

  Couche—The French word for a linen cloth that supports loaves such as baguettes during their final rise.

  Crumb—The interior of a loaf of bread.

  Diastatic malt—Malt with active amylase enzymes that promote more vigorous fermentation and darker crust color. In nondiastatic malt, these enzymes are deactivated.

  Einkorn wheat (Triticum monococcum)—A founder crop in the Fertile Crescent. Domesticated einkorn appears to have originated with a wild species that grows in southeast Turkey on Karaca Dag mountain, but wild relatives grow over a large swath of western Asia. Einkorn is a diploid with two sets of chromosomes, the simplest genetic structure in wheat.

  Elasticity—Refers to the ability of dough to spring back once it is stretched out. This quality reflects the presence of glutenin proteins.

  Emmer wheat (Triticum dicoccum)—Another foundation wheat species which originated in the Fertile Crescent. Wild relatives are found in Israel, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, and southeast Turkey. By the fifth century B.C., emmer was being grown in central Europe alongside einkorn. It has four sets of chromosomes, making it a tetraploid wheat. It is an ancient relative of durum (Triticum durum), or pasta wheat.

  Epitope—A precise sequence of amino acids—the building blocks of proteins—that trigger an immune reaction in the human body. Many epitopes have been located in gluten proteins that trigger celiac disease.

  Exopolysaccharides—A type of nondigestible fiber that can be created by sourdough microbiota during grain fermentation. These fibers are considered a “prebiotic” because they feed microorganisms dwelling in the gut.

  Extensibility—Refers to the ability of dough to stretch without breaking. The more stretchy the dough is, the more extensible, reflecting the presence of gliadin proteins.

  Extraction rate—The percentage of the wheat kernel that remains after elements such as the germ or bran are removed (or extracted). White flour generally has an extraction rate of about 72 percent, meaning that 28 percent of the wheat kernel is removed for another use. Whole wheat flour has an extraction rate of 100 percent.

  First rise—The first fermentation, after the dough is mixed but before the loaf is shaped. Also known as “bulk fermentation.”

  Free-threshing
wheat—A genetic mutation in wheat that causes the naked grain to fall free of its hull when the grain is threshed. It is a sign of domestication, because wild wheats are hulled. But not all cultivated wheat is free-threshing. Einkorn and spelt are hulled wheats and must be pounded to release the grain, adding an additional step after threshing.

  Gluten—The proteins that create the viscoelastic properties of bread, allowing dough to stretch out and maintain its shape. Gluten is made up of gliadin and glutenin proteins and accounts for about 80 percent of wheat’s protein.

  Grigne—The French term for the open cut in a loaf that appears after the dough is slashed and baked.

  Hard red spring wheat—Wheat that is sown in the spring for harvest in the summer of the same year. It is generally sown in the northern plains.

  Hard red winter wheat—Wheat that is sown in the fall and harvested the following summer. It is suited for the southern plains states. It has a moderate level of protein and is favored in artisan breads. The bran is also tinted reddish brown, as opposed to the creamy-colored bran of white wheat.

  Hybrid wheat—Two distinct varieties of wheat that have been crossbred to create a new variety. Wheat is self-pollinating, which means that interbreeding occurs only infrequently in nature. In modern hybrid wheat, varieties are mated and then their progeny are interbred for several generations, before a new variety is released. Bread wheat itself is a hybrid, the result of a natural crossing of emmer wheat and goat grass. Hybrid breeding techniques are also distinct from genetic modification, which involves inserting genes of another species. Currently, no genetically modified wheat has been approved for sale.

  Hydration—The percentage of water in dough in relation to flour, measured by weight. A hydration rate of 70 percent, for example, means 700 grams of water for each kilo of flour.

  Kamut—A trademarked variety of Khorasan wheat (Triticum turgidum subspecies turanicum), Kamut is a tetraploid wheat (like emmer and durum wheat) whose kernels are about twice as large as hard red wheat. An American airman sent Khorasan wheat, which originated in Egypt, to his family in Montana after World War II. The wheat variety languished until the 1980s, when it was introduced to the natural foods marketplace.

  Lactic acid bacteria—Populations of bacteria that live in sourdough cultures, helping dough to ferment and creating a range of both lactic and acetic acids that strongly influence the flavor, texture, and keeping quality of bread.

  Lame—A long-handled tool designed to hold a double-edged razor blade used to score, or slash, loaves.

  Landrace wheat—A diverse population of wheat selected and cultivated by farmers, adapted to a local climate and bioregion. Most landrace wheats have become relics as modern wheat varieties, bred by specialized crop breeders, have become dominant.

  Maillard reaction—The reaction that occurs when a mix of protein, starch, and water is heated above 250˚F (120˚C). It contributes to the browning of the bread crust and creates its unique flavor.

  Oxidation—Oxidation strengthens gluten bonds in dough and bleaches out white flour’s cream-colored pigments. Oxidation can be achieved by aging freshly milled flour for at least two weeks, or more quickly by adding chemical oxidizing agents such as potassium bromate, potassium iodate, benzoyl peroxide, calcium peroxide, or ascorbic acid (vitamin C). Potassium bromate is a known carcinogen that is banned in Europe, Canada, and Japan and must be labeled in the United States. Azodicarbonamide, a bleaching and oxidizing agent, is generally recognized as safe in the United States, though it is banned in Europe because of evidence that it can induce asthma.

  Peel—A long-handled flat wooden spatula used to load or remove bread from the oven.

  Pentosan—A gumlike sugar that can absorb ten times its weight in water. These gums are especially prevalent in rye, which is why rye dough requires far more water than wheat. Pentosan forms viscous gels that are responsible with starch for the crumb formation in rye bread.

  Phytic acid—An acid found in the innermost layer of bran that blocks the body from absorbing beneficial minerals, such as iron, calcium, magnesium, and zinc. Phytic acid is neutralized by sourdough.

  Pre-ferment—A portion of dough that is fermented and then added as an ingredient to the final mixture of dough. It is made with flour, water, and yeast, or with sourdough. A poolish is a type of pre-ferment made with yeast.

  Proofing—The final rise of dough, after it is shaped. Also known as the “second rise.”

  Protein level—An imperfect measurement of a dough’s gluten strength. High-protein spring wheats yield strong gluten, whereas low-protein cake flour has very weak gluten-forming qualities and makes light, crumbly cakes. That said, high protein does not always mean strong gluten. Ancient wheats such as einkorn are high in protein but don’t have the qualities to create a strong gluten matrix.

  Retarding—Slowing the fermentation of dough by refrigeration, either during the initial bulk rise or during the proofing stage.

  Rye (Secale cereale)—Although rye dates back to the beginning of agriculture, it may have arisen as a weed amid other cultivated cereals. It is now primarily grown in eastern, northern, and central Europe. Rye is low in glutenin, which is why rye breads rely on a network of pentosans and starch to form their crumb. In white rye, the bran has been removed; whole rye (sometimes labeled “medium rye”) consists of the entire kernel; dark rye is made up of the remaining kernel after white rye has been removed. But these labels are not always consistent and medium rye may not always be “whole rye” flour. To avoid these issues, I generally buy “whole rye,” which is the equivalent of whole wheat flour, for it contains 100 percent of the grain.

  Saccharomyces cerevisiae—A prevalent species of yeast that converts sugar into ethanol alcohol and carbon dioxide used as a fermentation agent in alcoholic beverages and bread since prehistoric times. Although wild varieties of this species exist, many specific varieties have been domesticated and cultured for wine, beer, and bread making.

  Sourdough—A culture of wild yeast and lactic acid bacteria that ferments cereal grains. Also known as “sourdough starter,” “natural leaven,” and levain.

  Spelt (Triticum aestivum subspecies spelta)—An ancient hulled subspecies of bread wheat favored in ancient Rome. It can have higher protein levels than bread wheat, but this is not true of all spelt varieties. Some varieties of spelt have also been interbred with modern bread wheats to improve baking qualities, as spelt often lacks elasticity.

  Wheat kernel—The kernel is composed of the germ, endosperm, and bran. Wheat germ makes up 2 to 3 percent of the seed, containing lipids (oils), sugars, vitamins, amino acids, and minerals. The endosperm consists largely of starch (70 to 73 percent) and protein (10 to 14 percent). The endosperm includes the aleurone layer, which is rich in minerals, vitamin B, and other essential nutrients and which is removed in milling white flour. The bran or protective coating of the wheat seed accounts for 13 to 17 percent of the grain and is composed of protein, minerals, and fiber.

  White wheat—A variety of hard wheat that has a recessive gene that changes the pigment of the bran from reddish brown to a creamy color, altering the flavor of whole grain bread so that it is less assertive. White flour milled from white wheat (in which the germ and bran are removed) is even lighter in color than white flour milled from hard red wheat. Most of the white wheat grown in the United States is exported to Asia, where it is used in the production of noodles.

  Notes

  Introduction

  one fifth of humanity’s calories International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) and International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA), “Wheat: Global Alliance for Improving Food Security and the Livelihoods of the Resource Poor in the Developing World,” August 30, 2011.

  The ancient Romans The latin fornix means arch, referring both to the arch of the oven ceiling and the vaulted arcades around the Colosseum in Rome where prostitutes plied their trade. The word may also reflect the association of the ov
en as life giving. Jeffrey Hamelman, Bread: A Baker’s Book of Techniques and Recipes (Wiley, 2004), p. 21.

  Chapter 1: Boulangerie Delmontel’s Baguette

  The poorest slept Steven Laurence Kaplan, The Bakers of Paris and the Bread Question, 1700–1775 (Duke University Press, 1996), p. 71.

  By 1987, a cultural critic Steven Laurence Kaplan, Good Bread Is Back: A Contemporary History of French Bread, the Way It Is Made, and the People Who Make It (Duke University Press, 2006), pp. 98 and 340.

  “There was no danger” James MacGuire, “The Baguette,” The Art of Eating 73/74 (2006).

  Home bakers experienced Mark Bittman, “The Secret of Great Bread: Let Time Do the Work,” The New York Times, November 8, 2006. For more variations on the recipe, see Jim Lahey, My Bread: The Revolutionary No-Work, No-Knead Method (W. W. Norton & Company, 2009).

  Before the 1920s Jim Chevallier, About the Baguette: Exploring the Origin of a French National Icon, self-published e-book available on Amazon.com.