March 20, 2014 - 7:06pm
Should my dough smell fruity?
Argh. Second time typing this in, let's hope it works this time.
Ok.
I have been experimenting with GF breads since last fall. I usually let bulk fermentation happen in the fridge. The doughs, without fail, always smell somewhat fruity.
Yesterday I tried something different: I mixed up some dough for a milk loaf, and some dough for naan. I let them double on the counter and then put them in the fridge to retard. Today the naan dough (only one I've smelled) smells STRONGLY fruity. It's just not a smell I have smelled in bread before. However, this is GF bread so I do know it will be different. Thoughts? Is this normal or should I be worried?
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Are you using sourdough starter? Mine will smell a bit fruity depending on the ripeness and whether I'm building it for a bake or if it's been sitting around for a while.
More info might help. On the other hand I'm not sure I'd worry about it.
-Dave
I make lots of GF bread, both sourdough and with commercial yeast, and I don't remember ever getting a fruity smell. Could it be the blend of flours you are using? I'd be interested to hear about your blend.
I don't think a fruity smell is necessarily anything to worry about - there are a lot of other smells that would concern me more.The fermentation process can produce all kinds of smells. The fruity flavor in Belgian beer, for example, is a product of the fermentation process and has nothing to do with actual fruit. When you get this smell, does the final bread taste good?
Nope, no sourdough involved. For the naan I used a mix of Pamela's Artisan Flour blend, whey protein isolate, and psyllium. For the milk loaf I used Mamas Almond Blend, whey protein isolate, and konjac powder. The fruity smell started before I began using WPI, so I don't think it's that.
The final breads are always good, yes :) So I don't worry about it much, but when I posted this it was SO STRONG, so I decided to post just in case.