April 13, 2020 - 7:14pm
First try: white bread: tasteless?
I just followed Jack’s (of Bake With Jack fame) simple white bread for my first go. It turns out that I didn’t bake it long enough- hence the somewhat doughy crumb center... and light crust. But what sort of error would make it so tasteless? AFAIK I followed his instructions... but something slipped! Ideas? ?
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That’s actually pretty typically of an undercooked dough to be tasteless for a variety of reasons that stem back to the complex chemical reactions that occur during baking. If the dough does not the reach the proper temperatures, the caramelization of sugars as well as sugar-protein bonds cannot fully go through (the former is responsible for a dark, roasty crust and the latter creates the sweet, nutty flavors typically of high-quality breads). Considering that bread is primarily made of flour, which is just sugary starch and protein, the absence of these reactions will rob the loaf of a significant amount flavor. Additionally, an undercooked dough might still contain un-gelatonized starch molecules, which will impart a raw, sawdust like taste and mask the other, more pleasant flavors.
I haven’t looked at the recipe you’re talking about, but a good recipe will also obviously help improve flavor. Typically, the best breads are those with very long fermentation periods; I like to believe that, with the exception of certain rich doughs like brioche or challah, good bread should never take less than 12 hours to make, the longer the better. Thankfully, modern technology makes extending fermentation really easy since you can just pop the dough in the fridge after kneading it and let it have a cold rise for 1-3 days, where enzymes in the dough will convert starch to sugar and allow more caramelization to occur in the final loaf.
As a science major, I find the chemistry behind bread to be so incredibly fascinating and it’s the main reason why I’ve stuff with the hobby for so long. ?
Thanks for the insight. I’m aware of how caramelizing creates flavor - just didn’t take it far enough and now realize how under baking really can mess thinks up!
My first loaf was a white bread with grocery store yeast. I did a good job shaping and baking it, so it had good crumb and a fantastic crust. Good texture. But the flavor was bland and uninteresting. It tasted like... white flour.
So I got my own sourdough starter going. I did it from scratch with just flour and water, but I recommend lowering the pH, e.g. pineapple juice, to avoid the stink and get it done faster if you're going to try it. Then in my future loaves, I let the yeast and bacteria work on the flour a long time. That's how you get flavor.
I overproofed once, meaning I let the yeast and bacteria work on it so long they destroyed the gluten. When that happens your dough is ruined, you're done. (I still baked it anyway -- terrible texture but great flavor!) So you have to strike a balance between developing flavor and maintaining gluten.
Time and temperature are the main ingredients here. My last loaf I had a poolish going for about six hours, bulk fermented at room temperature for a few hours, and then continued in the fridge overnight. Then a few more hours the next day. That gave it quite a nice flavor. And that white flour taste: it's gone.
I forgot to add salt once and the resulting bread lacked a lot of flavor.