Bread, a centuries-old delight!
An age-old tradition
throughout the worldMan has been making bread since Antiquity. At first, it was simply water added to ground cereal grains to form a paste which was then cooked. This produced a nourishing flat cake that kept a long time and traveled well. The virtues of yeast had yet to be discovered.
It is believed that the Egyptians first discovered yeast, by accident, some 3000 years ago. When making bread, the Egyptians used water from the Nile which contained micro-organisms that were in fact natural yeast and the sweet, yeasty fragrance of fresh-baked bread has lured consumers to the bakery aisle ever since.
The recipe for bread
The bread we eat today is still made using the basic, age-old recipe of flour, water, salt and yeast.
Yeast is the organism that makes bread rise; it reacts with the natural sugar (starch) in flour to create gas bubbles that expand the gluten strands and get trapped in the dough, forcing it to expand. Yeast is a requirement to start the fermentation process. The yeasts used in bread-making are either the naturally-occurring leavens in non bleached, non treated flour, or what is known as baker’s yeast, strains of yeast specially bred for baking and sold in fresh or powdered form, all of which are activated by adding liquid. Cake yeast is highly perishable, dry yeast is more concentrated and longer lasting. The expiration dates are indicated on the packages.
Although several different types of grain flours can be used to make bread, wheat flour is the popular choice because it contains more gluten which acts like elastic, allowing the dough to stretch and trap the gas and air bubbles which enables the bread to rise higher than breads made with flours milled from grains with little or no gluten such as barley, rye, corn, oats, rice and millet.
But regardless of the variety of bread, the important thing to remember is that high quality wheat will render high quality flour and, in turn, better gluten. And it is quality of the gluten that determines the quality of the bread!
Many people still make bread without any
leavening agent, or flat breads. The recipe is very simple: flour,
water and salt. Some of the most popular flat breads include
Middle-Eastern pita bread, Indian chapatti, Mexican tortilla and
the Jewish community’s much celebrated azimous bread (matzo).
Sourdough bread: the exception to the rule.
Before commercial yeast was manufactured in the 17th century, bakers depended on wild airborne yeast to haphazardly ferment flour and water. Small pieces of uncooked dough were set aside and used as starters for new dough. This is how sourdough is made. Sourdough bread is appreciated for its distinct, slightly sour flavour and dense texture. This method can be used with all cereal grains, white flour, whole wheat flour, rye, spelt, Kamut or a blend of grains.
A traditional sourdough starter is made with a flour-and-water mixture that is left to ferment by wild airborne yeast. Once established, a sourdough starter can be kept indefinitely in the refrigerator. The longer it is kept, the better the flavour of the baked bread. The yeast is activated simply by mixing flour and water that is changed daily over a period of one or two weeks. This yeast is used to encourage the fermentation process in the dough.
The Art of bread making
Though the recipe is very simple, bread making requires patience and practice because several factors can influence the final result, including ambient humidity, oven temperature, kneading, fermentation, and even the baker’s mood. This is why bread-making is referred to as an art!
Modern bread-making techniques have
eliminated many of the uncertainties encountered using the old
methods for small-scale production. Even so, artisan methods have
resurfaced and gained a great deal of popularity in the last few
years. As a result, artisan breads are displayed alongside
commercially-produced breads and both are much in demand. So, the next time you visit your METRO Supermarket, why not take a moment to appreciate the wide variety of breads available in the Breads & Sweet Things bakery counter. Not only will you find artisan breads from a very well-known specialized baker, Première Moisson, but also a multitude of other fine products just waiting for you to discover!