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Flour Power: How to Choose the Perfect Flour for Your Pizza

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  Photo by Olga Kudriavtseva on Unsplash     The heart of any good dough is the flour used.  Some flours are 'stronger' than others, but each serve their purpose.  Think of flour (as soon as it is hydrated) as a spectrum between a balloon and a car tire.     Think of lower protein (and W rated) flours as a balloon, and higher protein (and W rated) flours as a car tire.  It will be easier to inflate a balloon than a car tire, but after a while, too much inflation will cause it to 'pop' and deflate, while inflating a car tire, it will require more inflation to fill, and even more so before it overinflates.  The name of the game is matching your fermentation to suit your flour, or vice versa. Below is a list of my favorite flours!  With proper handling, each one can handle more fermentation than mentioned, I just listed what I prefer for each flour =) There are two main proteins in flour, glutenin and gliadin, when they come in contact with water, they form gluten bonds. 

Unleashing the Magic of Preferments: Poolish, Biga, Pâte Fermentée, and Sponge

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  Photo by Margaret Jaszowska on Unsplash In the captivating world of bread baking, mastering the art of preferments is a gateway to creating bread with exceptional flavor, texture, and aroma. These time-tested techniques bring out the best in your dough, elevating your bread baking game to new heights. In this blog post, we'll dive into the uses and benefits of four popular preferments: Poolish (90% hydration and above), Biga (44% to 60% hydration), Pâte FermentĂ©e, and Sponge. Let's explore how these versatile tools can enrich your baking experience! Poolish: Unleashing Flavor with High Hydration Poolish, a type of pre-ferment with high hydration, is a baker's secret for enhancing bread flavors. By using equal parts of water and flour and a tiny amount of yeast, Poolish ferments for several hours or even overnight, developing a complex taste profile. Its wet and bubbly consistency is perfect for rustic artisan bread and baguettes. The high hydration creates an open crumb

How to Make a Sourdough Starter!

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  How to Make a 100% Hydration Sourdough Starter | Beginner's Guide Welcome to the wonderful world of sourdough! Creating your own 100% hydration sourdough starter is an exciting and rewarding journey. Not only will you experience the magic of fermentation, but also enjoy the delight of baking your very own sourdough bread. In this step-by-step guide, we'll show you how to make a 100% hydration sourdough starter using a mix of approximately 2/3 white flour and 1/3 whole wheat flour. We'll also demonstrate how to work with smaller amounts (30g flour mix, 30g water) for those who prefer to start with a smaller batch. Let's get started! Ingredients and Tools: White all-purpose flour: Approximately 20g (2/3 of 30g) Whole wheat flour: Approximately 10g (1/3 of 30g) Filtered water: Approximately 30ml (1/6 cup) 2-Pack of Weck Jars (preferred, any glass jar will do (Link: https://amzn.to/3qa8evG ) Digital scale (optional but recommended for precise measurements) Step 1: Day 1 I