March 20, 2021 - 10:59am
inclusions
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bd0uhcan0rN/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
this is an interesting video on adding inclusions. do you think this was done during the final shape phase? if so, what would the distribution of the inclusions look like in the finished loaf?
I just realized its panettone. It is sourdough however. This bakery does not use commercial yeast.
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I would add inclusions during the mixing stage. It takes a gentle hand and gradual addition. I made stollen and posted it on this site. Inclusions were made at the end of mixing, after gluten was well developed.
I imagine panettone is the same.
I’ve been working on fully developing the gluten early on right after mixing for my hearth loaves. For me adding inclusions then would interfere with that process of slap and folds. I see the inclusions flying all over my kitchen, yikes. I do a lamination with most if not all of my hearth loaves and find that is the ideal time to add them. They won’t interfere with gluten development because I’ve fully develop that already. Also, I can very evenly distribute them during a lamination. That being said, lots of bakers add inclusions differently to great effect, just sharing what I do and why.
Benny
Benito, agree that slap fold and inclusions are not a great combination. It depends on inclusion size and quantity (mass of inclusions to flour weight ratio).
The stollen recipe I posted on this site has a fairly high inclusion ratio, and the inclusions (candied fruit and nuts) were of large size. Inclusions were added in the mixing bowl with paddle attachment on low speed, after gluten was well developed in the mixing bowl with the hook attachment.
I agree with you that slap-fold and inclusions are a tricky business. Slap fold is a gluten development step. So is using a mixer with the hook attachment. We are using the same method, using different equipment. You are using a manual gluten development process, and I am (in the case of stollen) using a stand mixer. Do you agree?
My view is that inclusions should be added before bulk ferment and well before forming. This allows the gas and gluten matrix to have the most uninterrupted development and the least amount of damage. This helps reduce crumb density and improve oven spring. Adding inclusions late or at the end of the process risks breaking the gas-gluten matrix, especially in cases with high inclusion ratio and large inclusion size.
Oh I agree, hand vs machine mixing are just two different ways to develop gluten. I also agree that adding inclusions late in bulk after a lot of fermentation has happened risks losing those gases needed for a good crumb.
The thing we disagree upon is that inclusions should be added before bulk fermentation. The initial portion, say the first hour of bulk fermentation with a sourdough levain there is little in the way of visible rise or gas production. During this time, adding inclusions will do little to damage the dough and lose gases produced during fermentation because there is so little at that time. I would just argue that the beginning of bulk I want to develop gluten fully without any impediment of inclusions. Obviously if you add a very low % of inclusions and they are small, then they won’t interfere as much as adding high percentage of large inclusions, but they will still interfere to some extent.
In the end, either method can produce great bread. As with so much in bread baking, there are as many ways to arrive at the end with good bread as there are bakers.
All of Proof Bakery videos are worth watching. Here is one on inclusions:
https://youtu.be/mMep4zrx8zo