I recently observed that using the bran that is sifted from the home milled flour is not good for starters or levains IF used in too high a ratio.
I had the idea that using 100% sifted bran as food for the culture fermentation would soften the bran, and I assume it does. But I noticed a large reduction in fermentation activity. The starter or levain became sluggish. After thought, it seems obvious that the bran doesn’t provide the carbs necessary to nourish the culture. The culture needs endosperm, the part found in white flour.
I now believe a small portion of WW or bran can be beneficial, but over doing the percentage will hinder the activity.
I welcome the thoughts and ideas of others...
Dan
I hope he responds as this is an area he has often talked about. Take a look at his past posts. He never wasted a speck of the flour he ground. Wonderful posts and formulas!
I hope you and Lucy are still kickin', Dabrownman!
I PM’d Dab immediately after posting this. I am aware of his technique. It was his post that originally got me interested in using bran.
but I love the bran levain invented by his lovely apprentice Lucy! In fact this technique is adopted in every bake of mine.
In contrary to your experience, I found the levain much more active when bran is used instead of flour. Very seldom do I build a levain with white flour. Whenever I do, at least two builds are needed to make it sufficiently active. Yet this isn't the case with bran levain in my experience. It's ready after just one build, usually in half the time it takes for a white levain to double for the first build.
My guess for this phenomenon is that most of the ash (mineral) of wheat is contained in the bran and germ. Bran thus provides microbes a lot more nutrient than the flour (endosperm), which elevates the fermentation rate. The activated enzymes might also play a role in the breakdown of macro molecules so that they are available to microbes. This is the same reason why a shorter bulk is used for whole grain bread.
Dabrownman once explained that the microbes don't really require that much starch. Although not much, bran does have some starch and this quantity is already more than enough. One point worth mentioning is that the bran we sift out from whole grain flour is not purely "bran". There must be some part of the endosperm attached to it, contributing to a bit of extra starch.
How did you determine the degree of fermentation activity? For bran levain, it'd be inappropriate to judge by height (or how much it expands in volume). What I like to do is to observe the levain surface. The center would be slightly domed when it is ready. It'd be wise to rely on your smell as well to draw a more accurate conclusion.
Elsie, you are correct. I am judging the growth by the increase in height. When I think about it, there isn’t much gluten available to contain any gas.
I am still wondering if there are enough carbs in a bran only starter or levain. I am interested to learn more...
Danny
When using bran. When you stir it though, you will notice that it is very light and airy compared to the initial mixing. Plus you can also smell the activity. I’ve gone back to not sifting the bran out, but when I did, I used the bran for the first couple of builds and then used flour for the last build. No problem rising my loaves.
Dab has a post with the numbers you seek. He has calculated it out and figured that bran had plenty of what was needed to meet the needs of the yeast and bacteria.
I took Danni’s advice and searched the forum, but I haven’t found a full and concise description of the process.
Enter this into a web browser - site:thefreshloaf.com bran levain dabrownman
So, I sent Dab a PM asking him to reply to this post so that others with a similar interest can also learn.
Here is a copy of the message. If anyone can help, please share.
///message///
I have been researching past post by you and others that relate to your post about the bran/levain.
Is the 100% bran fed levain supposed to not rise as a normal levain would? I am trying to understand the expectations (visual signs of maturity) from the bran levain. I did read that the bran does contain some carbs. But I’m wondering, if a normal starter that matures once it starts to recede in “x” amount of hours, how does the brans starter handle the greatly decreased amounts of carbs for food? Does it mature much quicker?
I am interested to learn.
I’m going to post this text on the forum so that you can reply publicly, so that others can benefit from the info.
http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/62515/starters-levain-and-sifted-bran
///end message///
When you use bran at 100% for feeding, it makes for a porridge type of consistency. After 6 hours or so, when you stir it, you will notice that it is quite airy, almost like beaten egg whites. And if you use a transparent container, you will see a lacy network through the bottom. Mind you, that lacy network appears at the second build for me. The first build is too tiny for it to do much.
In all builds, there is no or next to no rise until you add flour
Thanks, Danni!
I have noticed what you explained. But, how do you know when it has matured and is time to feed for the next build?
And usually 8-10. I can also tell by the smell. I can’t really describe it but the odour is definitely different than levain with only flour. Give it a shot and you will see how it changes hour to hour.
I've been using leftover bran for years, mixing it my feeeding mixture, but I only add 3-5%.
A small percentage of bran works fine, but there is a concept, initiated by dabrownman that utilizes 100% sifted bran. It is that method that I am inquiring about.
When I mix 100% bran at 100% hydration it is somewhat dry without glutenous appearance. It is super unfamiliar to me. So I want to make sure that I fully understand the method. Utilizing all or most of the sifted bran in the levain is very interesting for a number of reasons.
inquiring minds want to learn...
I've observed on multiple occasions that feeding a starter with certain whole grain flours messes up its established microflora, presumably from introduction of too much of external one. So, I, personally, would absolutely not do that. If I wanted to "autolyse" bran, I would do an overnight soaker, and add salt to it.
As that’s what I do with mine. I feed it whatever wholegrain flour I have left over from the previous week’s milling. Rise seems to be the same; it doubles.
That depends entirely on what microflora your grain carries. And perhaps on how acidic your starter is.