An introduction to the Our Daily Bread series including understanding the two techniques used to make the different breads.
Our Daily Brad Introduction
Years before COVID and how its pressures led to a new generation of people taking up sourdough bread baking, I wanted to immerse myself into the world of bread bakery. Unfortunately, it never worked out but, it’s funny how I’m always brought back things I’ve yearned to do but was unable to when I least expect it. Case in point, bread baking. Starting at the end of 2023, till now September of 2024, I’ve made dozens of these loaves tweaking them to what they are now. While it isn’t sourdough, I’ve been working with two specific forms of making dough that are universal and that I’ve begun to apply across the board with my bread baking.
With this series that I’m calling “Our Daily Bread”, I want to explore two simple techniques and the extent that they can be used to achieve breads with wildly varying flavor profiles and textures. In an attempt to make this as accessible as possible, all of the breads are sandwich breads baked in a standard 9x5 in (23x12.75cm) loaf pan and made completely by hand. While the breads do all take some time to make, 90% of it is hands off. In total, we will go through 7 breads that I hope you will find a favorite among.
Lots of mass produced sandwich bread is actually a batter rather than a dough that is baked. The batter holds lots of air like a cake and doesn’t have much gluten formation which is why when you squeeze a slice of bread, the air is easily expelled and it will not return to its original shape. While this is what we’ve all grown up with, it isn’t exactly the best for our bodies also considering the amount of preservatives added. The breads in this series look to challenge what we know and open our horizons to what good sandwich bread can be. With making bread, we also run into the issue of how gluten affects our bodies. I’m not a scientist and don’t claim to be but from my own research I’ve come to understand that barring the type of flour we individually have access to, our bodies can typically break down gluten better if it (the gluten) is given time to “mature”. For example, our body will break down a sourdough loaf better than it will a loaf that was mixed, risen and baked all within a few hours because of the time the sourdough starter has to “mature” before being mixed into the bread dough. Again, I am no scientist and this information is solely how I’ve interpreted what I’ve learned. In no way has what I’ve written to be used as medical advice or scientific proof. However, I’ve used this information as the basis for why the breads in this series all take a much longer time than typical breads and the process also just so happens to make bread baking easier to fit into busy schedules.
Now to the techniques. The first is using a preferment. Preferments are similar to sourdough in that they take a portion of the total flour and water in a bread recipe along with a little yeast and are allowed to ferment for 12 – 18 hours. This techniques gives lots of the elements of a sourdough including some of the flavor and the gluten “maturation”, without the feedings. In addition, using a preferment also helps the bread to retain moisture thus helping it to stale more slowly. In the series we will go through four separate breads each using a preferment but all very different in flavor. The second technique is scalding combined with overnight cold fermentation. The cold fermentation gives some of same benefits of the gluten “maturation” from the preferment including flavor though without the slightly acidic notes of the preferment. The scald takes a portion of the flour and hydrates it with a portion of the liquid that has been heated to boiling before being added to the flour. This process weakens the gluten of the flour some allowing it to better retain moisture while also allowing whole grains and seeds to be added to the dough because of being softened by the heat from the liquid. Using the scald/overnight fermentation method, we’ll go through three more varied breads bringing our grand total to seven.
“Recipe Tips:
1. Though I’ve included volume measurements, using the weights given is how I suggest following these recipes.
2. Though bread fresh from the oven is tempting, cool your breads completely before cutting into them.
3. When making the preferment, during the fermentation the mixture will rise and sometimes but not always fall. If it falls, sometimes it will also thin out in consistency. As long as the mixture maintains viscosity it is useable. If the mixture is as very loose and runs like water, it cannot be used.”
