Aside from corn leaf blight Jochen C. Reif et al., “Wheat Genetic Diversity Trends During Domestication and Breeding,” Theoretical and Applied Genetics 110.5 (2005): 859–64.
pool of genetic resources National Research Council, Genetic Vulnerability of Major Crops (National Academies Press, 1972).
semidwarf wheat varieties Susan Dworkin, The Viking in the Wheat Field (Walker and Co., 2009). See chap. 2. For yield figures, see Rodomiro Ortiz et al., “Climate Change: Can Wheat Beat the Heat?,” Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment 126.1 (2008): 46–58.
less suited to dry land areas Smale et al., “Dimensions of Diversity.”
“a narrowing of genetic diversity” M. L. Warburton et al., “Bringing Wild Relatives Back into the Family: Recovering Genetic Diversity in CIMMYT Improved Wheat Germplasm,” Euphytica 149.3 (2006): 289–301.
“replaced the landraces” Ibid.
97 percent of all spring wheat Smale et al., Dimensions of Diversity.
By 1993, the National Academy National Research Council, Managing Global Genetic Resources: Agricultural Crop Issues and Policies (National Academies Press, 1993).
In developing countries such as India Ortiz et al., “Climate Change.”
conventional breeding techniques The specific technique they use is marker-assisted breeding, which uses molecular genetics to identify plants with specific traits bred conventionally. This is distinct from genetic engineering techniques used to create a genetically modified organism.
more diversity than before the Green Revolution See Warburton et al., “Bringing Wild Relatives Back into the Family,” and Smale et al., “Dimensions of Diversity.” Also see Jorge Dubcovsky and Jan Dvorak, “Genome Plasticity a Key Factor in the Success of Polyploid Wheat Under Domestication,” Science 316.5833 (2007): 1862–66; Maarten van Ginkel and Francis Ogbonnaya, “Novel Genetic Diversity from Synthetic Wheats in Breeding Cultivars for Changing Production Conditions,” Field Crops Research 104.1 (2007): 86–94.
more than 168,000 different CIMMYT, “Genetic Resources at CIMMYT,” private communication from CIMMYT press officer, 2013.
The practice by farmers Perhaps the most eloquent defense of in situ breeding has been made by Gary Paul Nabhan, Where Our Food Comes From: Retracing Nikolay Vavilov’s Quest to End Famine (Island Press, 2008).
“More and more land” Hakan Özkan et al., “Geographic Distribution and Domestication of Wild Emmer Wheat (Triticum dicoccoides),” Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution 58.1 (2011): 11–53.
In 2013, wheat researchers Kansas State University, “Resistance Gene Found Against Ug99 Wheat Stem Rust Pathogen,” June 27, 2013, www.k-state.edu/media/newsreleases/jun13/sr3562713.html. See also Sambasivam Periyannan et al., “The Gene Sr33, an Ortholog of Barley Mla Genes, Encodes Resistance to Wheat Stem Rust Race Ug99,” Science 341.6147 (2013): 786–88.
these grasses have been ignored In a CIMMYT paper spelling out the need for robust wheat collections, the state of landrace and wild wheat cultivars was described as “poor.” The paper stated that these collections should be given priority. See CIMMYT, “Global Strategy for the Ex Situ Conservation with Enhanced Access to Wheat, Rye and Triticale Genetic Resources,” September 2007.
recently been defined Anna Sapone et al., “Spectrum of Gluten-Related Disorders: Consensus on New Nomenclature and Classification,” BMC Medicine 10.1 (2012): 13.
Norwegian researchers in 2005 Øyvind Molberg et al., “Mapping of Gluten T-cell Epitopes in the Bread Wheat Ancestors: Implications for Celiac Disease,” Gastroenterology 128.2 (2005): 393–401.
“This suggests that modern wheat breeding” Hetty C. van den Broeck et al., “Presence of Celiac Disease Epitopes in Modern and Old Hexaploid Wheat Varieties: Wheat Breeding May Have Contributed to Increased Prevalence of Celiac Disease,” Theoretical and Applied Genetics 121.8 (2010): 1527–39.
gliadin proteins transferred Molberg et al., “Mapping of Gluten T-cell Epitopes in the Bread Wheat Ancestors.”
While some studies have found that einkorn On einkorn toxicity to celiac patients, see Carmen Gianfrani et al., “Immunogenicity of Monococcum Wheat in Celiac Patients,” The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 96.6 (2012): 1339–45. For a wider discussion, see the editorial by Eric V. Marietta and Joseph A. Murray, “Testing the Safety of Alternative Wheat Species and Cultivars for Consumption by Celiac Patients,” The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 96.6 (2012): 1247–48.
These modified grains Javier Gil-Humanes et al., “Effective Shutdown in the Expression of Celiac Disease–Related Wheat Gliadin T-cell Epitopes by RNA Interference,” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 107.39: 17023–28.
It is not even clear how much whole grain The definition of whole grains remains a “guidance statement” from the FDA, without impact if a manufacturer chooses to ignore it. It was written in February 2006. The statement says: “Cereal grains that consist of the intact, ground, cracked or flaked caryopsis, whose principal anatomical components—the starchy endosperm, germ and bran—are present in the same relative proportions as they exist in the intact caryopsis—should be considered a whole grain food.”
Chapter 6: A Rye Journey to Berlin
freshly ground whole grains were the richest nutritionally Andres F. Doblado-Maldonado et al., “Key Issues and Challenges in Whole Wheat Flour Milling and Storage,” Journal of Cereal Science 56.2 (2012): 119–26.
known as altrus: Ginsberg and Berg, Inside the Jewish Bakery, p. 59.
Peter Reinhart Peter Reinhart, Peter Reinhart’s Whole Grain Baking: New Techniques, Extraordinary Flavor (Ten Speed Press, 2007), pp. 39–45. For greater detail on the biochemistry, see Gobbetti and Gänzle, eds., Handbook on Sourdough Biotechnology, chap. 8, “Sourdough: A Tool to Improve Bread Structure.” The “starch attack” incidentally is less of an issue in wheat, because amylase is largely deactivated by heat before wheat starch gelatinizes. But it still can occur, especially if the flour has an excess of amylase during fermentation.
Cereal scientists suggest Milling the bran to a finer consistency frees up enzymes, ferulic acid, glutathione, and phytates, all of which impede gluten bonds. See Doblado-Maldonado, et al., “Key Issues and Challenges in Whole Wheat Flour Milling and Storage.” See also Martijn W. J. Noort et al., “The Effect of Particle Size of Wheat Bran Fractions on Bread Quality—Evidence for Fibre-Protein Interactions,” Journal of Cereal Science 52.1 (2010): 59–64.
the benefits of whole grain fiber Joanne L. Slavin et al., “Plausible Mechanisms for the Protectiveness of Whole Grains,” The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 70.3 (1999): 459s–63s.
Coarsely ground grains magnify Kenneth W. Heaton et al., “Particle Size of Wheat, Maize, and Oat Test Meals: Effects on Plasma Glucose and Insulin Responses and on the Rate of Starch Digestion in Vitro,” The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 47.4 (1988): 675–82. See also David S. Ludwig et al., “Dietary Fiber, Weight Gain, and Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors in Young Adults,” JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association 282.16 (1999): 1539–46.
white sourdough bread raises Anita Mofidi Najjar et al., “The Acute Impact of Ingestion of Breads of Varying Composition on Blood Glucose, Insulin and Incretins Following First and Second Meals,” British Journal of Nutrition 101.3 (2009): 391.
These fibers are known as “prebiotics” Interview with Michael Gänzle on exopolysaccharides. For the benefits of prebiotics, see Leo Stevenson et al., “Wheat Bran: Its Composition and Benefits to Health, a European Perspective,” International Journal of Food Sciences and Nutrition 63.8 (2012): 1001–13.
short-chain fatty acids Slavin et al., “Plausible Mechanisms for the Protectiveness of Whole Grains.”
One study published in the spring of 2013 Jens Walter et al., “Holobiont Nutrition: Considering the Role of the Gastrointestinal Microbiota in the Health Benefits of Whole Grains,” Gut Microbes 4.4 (2013): 340–46. A 2012 study in Europe of more than 470,000 people over eleven
years did find an association between fiber consumption and lower cancer risk. See Neil Murphy et al., “Dietary Fibre Intake and Risks of Cancers of the Colon and Rectum in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC),” PloS one 7.6 (2012): e39361. A large U.S. study did not find a correlation between fiber intake and lower cancer risk but it did find one with whole grains. See Arthur Schatzkin et al., “Dietary Fiber and Whole-Grain Consumption in Relation to Colorectal Cancer in the NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study,” The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 85.5 (2007): 1353–60.
showed no adverse reaction: See Raffaella Di Cagno et al., “Proteolysis by Sourdough Lactic Acid Bacteria: Effects on Wheat Flour Protein Fractions and Gliadin Peptides Involved in Human Cereal Intolerance,” Applied and Environmental Microbiology 68.2 (2002): 623–33. See also Raffaella Di Cagno et al., “Sourdough Bread Made from Wheat and Nontoxic Flours and Started with Selected Lactobacilli Is Tolerated in Celiac Sprue Patients,” Applied and Environmental Microbiology 70.2 (2004): 1088–96.
fast fermentations common in industrial breads Carlo G. Rizzello et al., “Highly Efficient Gluten Degradation by Lactobacilli and Fungal Proteases During Food Processing: New Perspectives for Celiac Disease,” Applied and Environmental Microbiology 73.14 (2007): 4499–507.
sourdough fermentation can maintain Gobbetti and Gänzler, Handbook on Sourdough Biotechnology, chap. 9, “Nutritional Aspects of Cereal Fermentation with Lactic Acid Bacteria and Yeast.”
Certain strains of lactic acid Vittorio Capozzi et al., “Biotechnological Production of vitamin B2–Enriched Bread and Pasta,” Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry 59.14 (2011): 8013–20.
sourdough breaks down phytic acid Stevenson et al., “Wheat Bran.”
Mineral deficiencies Modern wheat breeding may have also exacerbated mineral deficiency in wheat. See F. J. Zhao et al., “Variation in Mineral Micronutrient Concentrations in Grain of Wheat Lines of Diverse Origin,” Journal of Cereal Science 49.2 (2009): 290–95. See also David F. Garvin, Ross M. Welch, and John W. Finley, “Historical Shifts in the Seed Mineral Micronutrient Concentration of US Hard Red Winter Wheat Germplasm,” Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture 86.13 (2006): 2213–20.
A few nutrients Doblado-Maldonado et al., “Key Issues and Challenges in Whole Wheat Flour Milling and Storage.”
Chapter 7: Local Bread in Cucugnan and Cobb Neck
village of Cucugnan Cucugnan is pronounced Coo-coo-nyon.
“I remember when” Interview with Stephen Jones, March 29, 2011.
Heather Darby, another agronomist Interview with Heather Darby, April 12, 2012.
Epilogue
I had studied Kiko Denzer’s classic book Kiko Denzer, Build Your Own Earth Oven: A Low-Cost Wood-Fired Mud Oven, Simple Sourdough Bread, Perfect Loaves (Hand Print Press, 2007).
Bibliographic Note
When I began baking bread, there were not nearly as many books available as there are today, but I still return to those that were helpful, including Daniel Leader’s Bread Alone, Nancy Silverton’s Breads from the La Brea Bakery, Joe Ortiz’s The Village Baker, and Carol Field’s The Italian Baker. Since then, there has been an explosion of bread-baking books and resources online—so much so that a beginner might not know where to begin.
If you are new to bread baking, I’d pick up Jim Lahey’s My Bread, which grew out of the extremely popular piece Mark Bittman wrote in The New York Times about Lahey’s no-knead method. I wish I had had this book when I started baking. I would put another no-knead series in the same category—the Bread in Five Minutes a Day books by Jeff Hertzberg and Zoë Francis. My only quibble with Francis and Hertzberg is that they relied on copious amounts of yeast in their first book; in their most recent version, they advise that you can cut down the yeast and still get good results. What I most like about the no-knead method is that it will get the most nervous and insecure person baking bread, with a lot of success.
Flatbreads are especially worthy of exploration by the beginning baker, which I didn’t realize for many years after baking with yeast and sourdough. This category of breads is generally underappreciated even though they can be made quickly and with such satisfying results. I’d recommend two books that offer a wide span of recipes: Anissa Helou’s Savory Baking from the Mediterranean (which goes beyond flatbreads) and Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid’s Flatbreads & Flavors (which mixes flatbread recipes with other foods).
Once you’ve mastered these approaches, you might want to develop your skills a bit further. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed Ken Forkish’s Flour Water Salt Yeast, which is a kind of Baking 201 to the 101-level no-knead books. Another good book that straddles the beginner and intermediate levels is Peter Reinhart’s classic, The Bread Baker’s Apprentice, which was one of the first books that explored a baguette similar to the one I encountered in Paris.
As your interest and knowledge grow, you’ll soon be moving on to sourdough loaves. Although her method for culturing a sourdough starter is more complicated than it needs to be, Nancy Silverton’s recipes in Breads from the La Brea Bakery stand the test of time (her chocolate cherry bread is memorable). I’d also include Maggie Glezer’s valuable book, Artisan Baking, which uncovered recipes by many of those who created the bread revolution in the United States in the 1990s. If you really want to drill down into sourdough, Chad Robertson offers a thorough, thirty-seven-page recipe in Tartine Bread. Many home bakers, including me, were enthusiastic about this book, and their breads often came out looking like the quintessential Tartine loaf.
The United Kingdom has a number of notable bakers with equally interesting books: I’d include Dan Lepard’s The Art of Handmade Bread, which among other things first gave me the idea of making a starter with beer. It’s also worth following his column in The Guardian newspaper, which is available online. Andrew Whitley’s Bread Matters offers many interesting whole grain and rye recipes and also delves into what has gone wrong with industrialized bread. Finally, I’d include the books of Richard Bertinet, a French baker living in Britain. The DVD included in his book Dough was a key to my early success at kneading very wet and sticky doughs. All three bakers, incidentally, offer baking classes in the United Kingdom, as does Roland Feuillas in the south of France.
As bakers have started exploring whole grain breads, a number of notable books have appeared. Peter Reinhart’s Whole Grain Breads includes a thorough exploration of the way these grains differ—and what you might do to make better loaves with them. While not a bread-baking book, Kim Boyce’s Good to the Grain was a path-breaking book for cakes, pastries, and quick breads made with various whole grain flours. As I write this, Chad Robertson has just released Tartine 3, which focuses on whole grain breads and pastries, including breads made with oatmeal and various grain mashes, hearty and dense ryes, and whole grain cookies and crackers.
If you’re looking for a good bagel or challah, try Stanley Ginsberg and Norman Berg’s Inside the Jewish Bakery, which includes recipes and an illuminating, if brief, history of Jewish baking.
Now that you’ve got a thorough understanding of baking, you will probably want to read a bit more about baking methods and where they came from. Elizabeth David’s English Bread and Yeast Cookery is a classic that reaches back to the earliest days of British milling practices and might offer a good companion to George Eliot’s novel The Mill on the Floss. (David discusses British home bakers who baked breads in overturned ceramic flower pots surrounded by coals—a precursor of the pot method championed by Jim Lahey.) Another all-encompassing baking book is Jeffrey Hamelman’s Bread, which is a valuable resource for baking methods. He has a facile way of explaining concepts and techniques, making this the first book I reach for when I have a question about bread making. It also contains the largest collection of rye recipes I’ve come across in an English-language baking book. He and his team of bakers also teach classes at King Arthur Flour in Norwich, Vermont.
For those interested in baking with wood fir
e, you can make an oven in a day following the instructions in Kiko Denzer’s Build Your Own Earth Oven. For a deeper dive, including brick oven building and baking, Richard Miscovich’s From the Wood-Fired Oven is essential and a good companion to the classic The Bread Builders, by Daniel Wing and Alan Scott.
Beyond books, I’ve relied on many Web sites by talented home bakers the world over. I’ll just mention a couple that would be suitable for all levels of bakers. The first is The Fresh Loaf, where home bakers post their questions, recipes, and results. The group has grown over several years, with bakers from Scandinavia to Italy to Australia to the United States posting pictures and sharing tips. But you need to spend some time on the site to find the truly superlative home bakers, whose explanations are often as good as any baking book. The Wild Yeast blog is another great resource by professionally trained home baker Susan Tenney. Her recipes and photographs are excellent, and she offers links to home bakers around the world with her Yeast Spotting feature (usually weekly). I also have recipes and tips on my blog at ChewsWise.com and also feature pictures of my breads on my Twitter feed @fromartz.
Finally, I would be remiss if I did not mention the resources of the Bread Bakers Guild of America, though it is more focused on professionals than home bakers. The recipes by artisan bakers featured in the monthly newsletter are worth the price of membership and the Bread Bakers Guild e-mail list is a highly valuable source of information and tips. Plus, if you take BBGA classes, you can rub shoulders with professionals and learn as I did.
In Search of the Perfect Loaf: A Home Baker's Odyssey Page 27