Flour & Grains: Changing grains
Heritage Loaf, Sprouted Grain Loaf, Seeded Whole-Wheat with Stoneground Khorasan and Spelt Loafβ¦ The bread flavours popping up in the baskets at farmers markets and on the shelves of bakeries are increasingly varied and intriguing. Baking Business finds out how different varieties of grains have been shaking up the establishment and showing customers that bread neednβt take a back seat to the ingredients it accompanies.
Flour, grains and the status quo: how we got here
The current flour commodity market in Australia works like this: farmers grow wheat right across the continentβabout 20 million tonnes every yearβand after harvest, wheat grains are transported to silos where they are stored until needed. Millers use these grains, often combining varieties from several farms, and grind them to make flour.
Flour bags are labelled with strength and extraction percentages and shipped off to a bakery for use in bread and other products.
βThese factors are extremely valuable to bakeries that need to produce consistent products by numerous staff,β says Emily Salkeld of Small World Bakery.
While commodity flour is reliable and produces consistent results for bakers, its dominance in the marketplace means customers have grown to see bread as something that lacks variety in flavour. Mostly, customers think of bread as a casing to fill with ingredients, rather than as an ingredient in itself.
βCustomers have become accustomed to thinking about baked products in terms of neutral flavour, unobtrusive texture and overall softness,β Emily says.
Revolution in the air: where weβre going
Bakers think bread neednβt be the bridesmaid anymore, and theyβre increasingly turning away from flour available on the commodity market and toward flour made from single-origin grains, or sometimes blends of certain grains, so they can play with the texture, taste and aroma of their loaves.
Emily says the revival of historic cereal grains follows the same kind of revival in heirloom vegetables and fruits.
βA global concern with conserving diverse foods for food security as we face uncertain climatic changes has led people to consider all food sources as valuable for the future.β
Emily is one of the leaders of this revolution, and has been growing lines of ancient wheat grains at a property in South Australia. Her interest in grain varieties began after she tasted a loaf of bread containing freshly milled flour. When she tried the bread, she could taste more than the usual fermentation characteristics.
β[I tasted] this beautiful flavour and aroma pop. I didnβt realise wheat could actually have a character and personalityβit gives the loaf personality,β she explains.
Emily decided to plant different varieties of wheat to explore their affect on bread. She approached the Genebank at Horesham who provided her with samples of wheat varieties.
βThere were thousands [of varieties] to choose from so we just chose based on some comments we could pick up on in the literature.β
That literature comes from journals from the late 1800s and early 1900s as well as knowledge from retired seed breeders.
βThereβs a couple of old seed breeders that are still alive,β says Emily.
βTheyβve got a lot of material and theyβre so helpful and really glad to know that people are still interested in the work that they put in in the old days. Theyβve been brilliant to share stuff.β
Emilyβs currently growing einkorn, spelt, emmer and khorasan along with other wheats that were used during settlement in Australia, as well as lines such as Red Spice, Sonora, and Marquis from North America.
Emily says different varieties have a complexity in flavour.
βIn our experience, different grain varieties and cultivars produce varied flavour profiles. They have spiciness, grassiness, creaminessβ¦ Some of them are more malty and some of them are quite tannic. And some varieties are pretty neutral in flavour.β
Increasingly in Australia, and indeed the world, bakers are seeking out these grains and experimenting with them in the bakery.
Milling Matters
Before we go any further, we must talk about milling, because it matters. The two main methods of milling are roller milling and stone grinding.
Roller milling
Wheat grains are made up of three parts: bran (the hard outer covering of the wheat grain thatβs high in fibre and nutrients), the germ (also high in nutrients, this is the part that sprouts) and the endosperm (the biggest part thatβs high in starch). When grains are roller milled, the bran and germ are removed, and the remaining endosperm is milled into refined white flour.
βRoller milling enables the unstable fractions (the oil-rich germ and bran layers) of the grain, which affect shelf life, to be removed,β says Emily.
The longer shelf life allows roller-milled flour to be stored for longer, and transported over large distances, and this has led to roller milling being established as the current convention.
The downside of roller milling is, removing the germ and the bran removes much of the nutritional value of grains, and it also removes much of the flavour profile, too.
Stone Grinding
Stone grinding retains all three parts of the grain, which are squeezed between the runner and bedstone of a stone mill and ground into a whole meal. Not only does stone grinding retain nutritional elements, but it also releases oil from the germ through the flour. While this oil reduces the shelf life of flour, it is also responsible for releasing the unique flavour and aroma of individual grain varieties.
Emily says while interest in both has always been around, the recent revival of stone mills and grain varieties go hand in hand, and their revival is why many bakeries are now turning to different varieties of grains that are freshly stone milled.
βWhen you stone mill grain and use that, youβre using freshly ground germ and bran smeared in with all the endosperm, so you get this really lovely fatty creamy kind of flour.
βWe have certainly tasted sifted stone milled flours of many kinds, including ancient and historic and modern cultivars of cereal grains, which have their own great flavour characteristics. From the late 1800s to current times Australians havenβt had much of a chance to taste these differences, and sometimes people assume that because they havenβt experienced something, it doesnβt exist!
βUsing wholegrain flour from a stone mill brings a beautiful complexity to the flavour of a well fermented loaf, along with a feeling of satiety.β
Maintaining the rage
Emily says bakers need to support growers of diverse grains to keep the momentum going. βThereβs a group of us that all try to support this diversity as much as possible. Wholegrain Milling has a blend of historic Australian wheats and thatβs a beautiful blendβreally lovely flavour.β Rosemary Dunn at Four Leaf Milling in South Australia grows khorasan wheat (they call it Egyptian Gold) as well as spelt while Jason Cotter from Tuerong Farm in Victoria is growing and stone-milling spelt and red wheat varieties. Grant and Lindsay Tuckwell are freshly milling wheat at St. Albanβs farm in Western Australia while Courtney and Ian Congdon are growing and milling wheat varieties at Woodstock Farm in New South Wales. John Campbell of Provenance Flour in Sydney connects bakers with farms producing the varieties they seek. Creating direct farm to bakery connections means bakers can liaise with farmers about what theyβre growing, and can adjust and experiment with grains depending on seasonal and regional differences. And of course Emily Salkeld continues her experiments with different grains at Small World Bakery in South Australia. She says, βWeβve been using older wheat whenever we can, just to support the supply from the mill because if bakers donβt buy these flours, then you wonβt be seeing them in a couple of years because theyβll stop producing them.β
Ancient Grains 101
Using flour made from historic grains can be tricky and there are tips and tricks you need to know to use them effectively.
Stone-ground bran, for instance, is quite sharp, and small bits of bran can act like little knives, cutting through the gluten frame on which dough rises. But there are ways to get around this, including mixing stone-milled flour with regular flour, increasing hydration and proofing times, and getting to know the way different wholegrain flours behave.
βSome of the grains are quite tricky to use in conventional loaves, so you have to rethink the way you mix your dough,β says Emily.
βSometimes you use them just for blending, or you might just sprout the grain and add that to the dough.
“Youβve got to be flexible when youβre in the bakery, which makes it interesting.”
Emily’s tips
Einkorn
Einkorn is probably the trickiest grain to make into a voluminous loaf because it has a very high overall percentage of protein or gluten. Those glutens donβt perform in an elastic manner, but the flavour is fantastically grassy and sweet.
If you want a conventional hearth loaf, use a proportion of einkorn flour with a more modern wheat flour. You can put a whole einkorn flour loaf into a tin, and the sides of the tin will support that loafβmuch like a 100 per cent rye can go into a tin without fear of it going totally flat and having a lot of crust-to-crumb ratio.
Einkorn makes really beautiful pancakes, pasta, pastry, and flat breads. Just slowly build up how much water you think you can add.
This all depends though, on how the flour is milled and whether youβre using wholegrain flour thatβs stone-milled or whether youβre using a sifted flour that is either stone-milled or roller-milledβthat does make a difference to every flour.
Weβre really thrilled the wholegrain flour we mill is really fine but a lot of people value a coarser stone-milled flour. If itβs coarser, you get more chew in the crumb but you also get the bran cutting through the gluten strands and making a flatter loaf. So it just depends on what you prefer and what end result youβre aiming for.
Youβve got to be aware of how fine your flour is and how silky it is before you start mixing. When it is a whole ground flour with all of the bran and the germ, the flour will usually take more water in a dough because itβs more absorbent and will take up more water.
Emmer
Emmer is a little bit like einkorn in having a grassy sweetness but thereβs also a little bit of maltiness. It has a larger grain, and slightly redder coloured bran, and the maltiness comes through the flavour from that darker coloured branβI really like it.
I havenβt used it whole yet and itβs being milled really well by Wholegrain Milling. Theyβve stone milled it and itβs beautiful and fine, so itβs easy to use. It has good strength and Iβve used it with 50 per cent proportion in a loaf and it made a really lovely hearth loaf.β
Spelt
Spelt has a darker coloured bran than white wheats and quite a mild nutty flavour. If I get a flour that has a more robust flavour Iβll blend it with some spelt just to make it less arresting for the customer. Weβre really into flavour but we want balance as well so spelt is very usable in the bakery. I find it great for making hearth loaves.
Khorasan
Khorasan flavour is really robust. The ones Iβve used have been a bit like black tea; theyβve got a tannic note to them. But they also have a sweetness thatβs very attractive. The people that eat our khorasan loaf say itβs a little bit treacly and a little bit caramelβitβs a nice, full-flavoured grain.
Itβs also a tricky one to use because the grain itself is a long shape with a hump in its back, so the proportion of bran per grain is greater than the endosperm, which is the fluffy white starch in the centre of the grain.
So, if you use wholegrain flour, youβre going to get more bran in the flour than you would with a conventional wheat. The effect is, it will typically ferment very fast but wonβt absorb the water as quick. It needs time to absorb the water so I usually reduce the amount of sourdough starter in those loaves and keep the dough just a degree cooler. I allow it to bulk ferment for longer to absorb all the water in time for the fermentation to finish; thatβs when I divide itβso it can be a bit of a tricky one. Itβs all in the timing.
RugbrΓΈd
Quantities suitable for a tin sized 17cm x 10.5cm x 9cm. Prepare the tin by lightly spraying with canola oil. Bake in 180 – 200Β°C oven until interior of the dough is approximately 95Β°C.
Day 1
Prepare the seeds. Combine the seeds, salt, and boiling water in a bowl. Cool to room temperature and then refrigerate overnight.
Sunflower seedsΒ Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β 50g
Pumpkin seedsΒ Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β 50g
Flax seeds Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β 25g
SaltΒ Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β 3g
Boiling Water Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β 65g
Day 2
Making the dough
Prepare your dry ingredients.
Freshly mill the rye and spelt grains, then combine in a bowl with the salt.
Fresh milled ryeΒ Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β 220gΒ Β (cracked setting 7 on the small mill; at cracked setting on large)
Fresh milled spelt (finest setting)Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β 95g
Salt Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β 5g
Prepare wet ingredients.
Sourdough starter, 100% hydrationΒ Β Β Β Β Β Β Β 130gΒ Β Β (You can use a wheat or rye starter, or indeed any active starter.)Β Β
Water Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β 275g
HoneyΒ Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β 3g
Combine the wet and dry ingredients with your hands, mixing well.
Allow to bulk ferment approximately three and a half hours.
Shape into an oblong appropriate to the size of your tin.
Cover the top with the topping (see below).
Place into the refrigerator overnight.
Topping
Equal parts sunflower seeds, flax seeds, and pumpkin seeds.
Day 3Β Β Β Β Β Β
Pull out of the refrigerator and allow to proof until the dough has doubled in volume (some of this will have happened in the refrigerator).
Bake 180Β°C – 200Β°C until internal temperature is 95Β°C approximately.
Recipe and Image by Dianne Palmer of Hearth Breads Bakery
Rustic Sourdough Emmer Loaf
Makes two large loaves.
Total Percentages
Water 77%Β Β |Β Β Flour 100%Β Β |Β Β Salt 1.8%
Prefermented flour 15.8%Β Β |Β Β Emmer flour 42%
WaterΒ Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β 1158g
Wholegrain stone-milled Emmer flour Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β 724g
Wholegrain stone-milled wheat flour Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β 724g
60% hydration stiff starter, mature Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β 434g
SaltΒ Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β 31g
Total weight Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β 3071g
Method
Combine the flours and water to reach a desired dough temperature of 24Β°C. Rest at room temp (22 – 25Β°C) between 40 minutes and 4 hours as an autolyse step.
Add starter (fed 12 – 14 hours prior, kept at room temperature) and begin to develop. Assess if more water can be added as you slap and fold the dough over and over on itself. The flour we have used can take up to 5% additional water, keeping the desired final dough temperature to 24Β°C.
Add the salt before medium development stage is reached, hand mixing for about 8 minutes in total.
Rest in container to hold the dough fairly snugly to maintain 23 – 26Β°C dough temperature during bulk fermentation.
Fold the dough four ways 2 – 3 times every 30 minutes, depending on the water absorption and fermentation activity of the dough. (Ours was folded twice.)
Turn out and divide in 2 after 2.5 – 3 hours, when the dough is domed and all water is absorbed.
Flour 2 couch clothes well. Very gently but thoroughly fold the 4 sides of the dough over on top of the main body of each mass of dough, to make a rectangular shape. Very gently transfer the loaves to each cloth, positioning along the cloth one-third from one end, to fold the cloth like a pillow-shaped parcel, keeping in mind the proofed loaves need to be flipped out of the cloth and removed smoothly. Place into a container that maintains support for the loaves as they proof. (We use plastic bulk fermentation lidded tubs).
Proof at room temperature until the total fermentation time has been approximately 5 hours. The doughs will be puffy, beginning to pull apart at the seams, and warm.
Transfer the loaves to the oven loader or peel by partially unwrapping the cloth to expose the dough, flipping the loaf onto the peel and gently slipping the remaining cloth out from under the dough. Try to maintain all of the gas inside the dough.
Make light slashes across the loaves to follow the existing cracks, or make a cross-hatch pattern.
Bake at 235Β°C with enough bottom heat to provide a good spring and prevent a doughy line at the base.
We steam twice, pull the draft at 23 minutes, and finish the loaves to a good burnished crust, about another 20 minutes.
Recipe and image by Emily Salkeld of Small World Bakery.
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