I posted a bunch of these images and ideas on another cooking forum, but haven't gotten a lot of feedback. Basically the idea that I've been exploring in the kitchen isn't new--how can you control simple sugar creation from complex carbohydrates (in this case flour) using temperature and PH. However I haven't found much literature talking about the specifics of using temperature and PH in baking. Reinhart talks a bit about it in the BBA, but that is in regards to retarding the dough for long periods of time to let either alpha amylayse or beta amylayse do their thing.
I've been thinking about the problem with a slightly different twist. As a home brewer, it is vital when making your wort (unfermented beer) to steep your grains in a certain amount of water, at a certain temperature and PH, for a specific amount of time. The reason for this is while the enzymes that convert complex sugars to simpler ones pretty much work all the time, they work much much better at specific temperatures.
For example, grains that mashed (i.e., steeped in water) at 140-149F encourage beta amylase to convert starches into sugars that are easily digestible to yeast, while temperatures above 150F favor alpha amylase which creates less fermentable.
I suspect that the deeper color, slightly sweeter/nuttier taste that retarded dough usually has is due to enzymes breaking down the starch, but at a much slower pace than is optimal.
So, I've been pondering two questions:
1. Will you get an a good tasting increase in less complex sugars if you 'mash' a flour paste as higher temperatures
2. Will gluten suffer at higher temperatures, since enzymes that break down protein structures are also more active at higher temperatures
With that in mind, i started a couple of experiments. The first (which I'm not gonna go into much here, but it was a resounding success) was creating 'flour' from specialty grains used in beer making. It's easy, fun, and adds a fantastic flavor. The picture of the loaf I've been working with had two tablespoons of Black Patent flour added to it which is why it's so dark.
But the second experiment was taking a paste of white flour and water, and raising that to mashing temperatures (~140 F) for an hour and a half and observed the carbohydrate to sugar conversion. Because the temperatures you find making commercial flour destroys many of the enzymes needed for this to occur, I added a small amount of crushed pale malt to a flour/water paste I made.
Here is some of the pale malt I used to supply more enzymes to the flour:
The pale malt, flour and water:
Crushed malt separated into hull and flour (I only used the fine flour on the right):
I only added the sifted flour on the right, and not the hulls on the left. It was about two tablespoons of flour in total, added to 200g of flour and 325g of water.
Then, the paste was heated to 140 F and left to sit at them temperature for 90 minutes. I saved some of the original in a small bowl at room temperature for taste and consistency comparison.
It would probably be better to use a double boiler for gentler heat, but I was able to get the paste to 140 without any scorching or excessive gelatinization (which was my main fear). After 90 minutes, I had both me and my wife taste both (and I hadn't told her what I was doing).
The difference between the two was eye opening. The higher temp radically changed the flavor of the paste compared to the sample I kept at room temp. It was much, much sweeter, had much less of the bland gritty taste of the original, and was the same consistency as the original.
At that point, I added 300g more flour, two tablespoons of the black patent flour I just created, 10g of salt, 5g of yeast, and a tablespoon of grapeseed oil (that's the green stuff in the pic, it tastes lovely in bread).
I mixed for 5 minutes on medium and did a window pane test, which confirmed that the gluten development.
I then did a 90 minute bulk fermentation and a 60 minute proofing at 71F.
After baking for 65 minutes at 400F, I pulled the loaf out and let it rest for an hour. I then sliced it open and started munching away.
The crumb is tighter than I was aiming for, but it turned out quite tasty. You can really taste the black patent malt, with it adding a smoky, almost chocolaty flavor.
However, after this I'm still left with a some nagging questions, and this is why I am posting on this forum:
1. was the tight crumb due to gelatinization that occurred during the 'paste mash'?
2. did I actually alter the flavor in a pleasant way
i'm going to do a few more loaves here in the coming days, so if people are interesting i'll post photos of those as well. in the meantime, i would love to hear other peoples experience with, let's say, non traditional methods of dough making--specifically, what *not* to do
cheers, and happy wednesday!
