Sponge and dough

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The sponge and dough method is a two-step bread making process: in the first step a sponge is made and allowed to ferment for a period of time, and in the second step the sponge is added to the final dough's ingredients, [1] creating the total formula. [2] In this usage, synonyms for sponge are yeast starter or yeast pre-ferment . [3] [note 1] In French baking the sponge and dough method is known as levain-levure. [4] The method is reminiscent of the sourdough or levain methods; however, the sponge is made from all fresh ingredients prior to being used in the final dough. [5] [note 2]

Contents

Method

A sponge ferment is usually a sticky process that uses part of the flour, part or all of the water, and part or all of the yeast of a total- or straight-dough formula. Highly liquid sponges of batter consistencies are mixed with a whip, spoon, or fork. Lower hydration, stiffer sponges are lightly mixed or kneaded just until the dough begins to develop. The sponge is allowed to rest and ferment for a period of time in an environment of a desired temperature and humidity. When the sponge's fermentation time has elapsed or it has reached a desired volumetric growth characteristic, the final dough's ingredients are added. The gluten is developed in the mixing or kneading process, and it may then be processed through further work and rest cycles before being proofed then baked.

The sum of the sponge and final dough's ingredients represents the total formula. [3] [7] [note 3] A generic 65% pre-fermented flour sponge-and-dough formula using bakers' percentages follows:


Sponge
%
&
 		(Final)
Dough
%		=
 		Total
Formula
[2] [note 4] [8]
Flour65+35= 100.00%
Water40+25=65.00%
Sugar0+6=6.00%
Milk solids0+3=3.00%
Fat0+3=3.00%
Yeast2.4+0=2.40%
Salt0+2.3=2.30%
adapted from Young and Cauvain's Table 2.3 [1]

The sponge's fermentation time depends on its temperature and that of the surrounding area, the ingredients used, and the percentage amount of yeast. It ferments in a humid environment at 74–78 °F (23–26 °C), where it may rise and expand to 4-5 times its original volume, when it falls it has reached 66-70% of its allotted time. [9]

One significant decision the baker must make when designing such a formula, or adapting a direct or straight-dough [10] formula or recipe, is to decide the sponge-to-dough flour ratio. [1] [11] While the relative amounts of ingredients used may vary, the method remains the same.

Purpose

The sponge method is used for 3 different reasons: taste, texture and chemistry.

The flavour that is created is dependent on the ingredients used and the fermenting yeast. Just like sourdough, the longer the ferment, the greater the taste difference.

Sponge doughs were used before bread improvers were invented. Texture is partly a byproduct of the chemistry going on in the fermentation, which does several important things such as activate the different enzymes (protease and amylase) needed to leaven bread. Modern grain-harvesting practices have reduced the naturally occurring enzymes that grains had in former times, a result of no-longer-used grain-storage processes, [12] so today small amounts of enzymes are routinely added to flour by manufacturers, [13] often in the form of malted barley or sprouted grain.

Proteases, dependent on their time of action and concentration levels, [14] soften the gluten in the dough, hydrolyzing peptide bonds, [15] increasing dough extensibility which allows the protein matrix to stretch out as the mix expands, thus leading to increased baked volumes and better structure. [16]

Products

Many bread recipes call for a sponge method, especially traditional French breads. Some examples of breads that use the sponge method:

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ The phrases "yeast starter" and "yeast pre-ferment" may be considered oxymoronic when the context of "starter" and "pre-ferment" are referring to natural yeast or sourdough leavens which include relatively large populations of lactic acid bacteria.
  2. ↑ A three step, instead of two step, sponge-sponge-dough process results in a Spanish sponge-type sourdough. The first salted sponge ferments to old dough, which is added to a second sponge, itself fermented for some time, before being added to the final dough. [6]
  3. ↑ The total formula could be conceived as equivalent to a straight-dough formula, with the separate sponge & dough formulas representing the additional process.
  4. ↑ Theartisan.net's presentation of sponge is known as Biga, and their separate Biga and final dough formulas have both been normalized so the flour of each equals 100%. This is also true of Michel Suas's example from Advanced Bread and Pastry. These formula presentations obscure the sponge-to-dough flour ratio unless ingredient weights of each are listed, or the ratio is otherwise indicated. Hamelman labels total formula instead overall formula, and specifies a related flour ratio. In Young and Cauvain's Table 2.3, the ratio is otherwise indicated, the 100% ingredient is the sum of the two flour percentages.

Related Research Articles

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Bread is a staple food prepared from a dough of flour and water, usually by baking. Throughout recorded history, it has been a prominent food in large parts of the world. It is one of the oldest human-made foods, having been of significant importance since the dawn of agriculture, and plays an essential role in both religious rituals and secular culture.

Sourdough Bread product

Sourdough is a bread made by the fermentation of dough using wild lactobacillaceae and yeast. Lactic acid from fermentation imparts a sour taste and improves keeping qualities.

Bakers yeast Strains of yeast commonly used as a leavening agent in baking

Baker's yeast is the common name for the strains of yeast commonly used in baking bread and other bakery products, serving as a leavening agent which causes the bread to rise by converting the fermentable sugars present in the dough into carbon dioxide and ethanol. Baker's yeast is of the species Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and is the same species as the kind commonly used in alcoholic fermentation, which is called brewer's yeast. Baker's yeast is also a single-cell microorganism found on and around the human body.

Dough Paste used in cooking

Dough is a thick, malleable, sometimes elastic paste made from grains or from leguminous or chestnut crops. Dough is typically made by mixing flour with a small amount of water or other liquid and sometimes includes yeast or other leavening agents, as well as ingredients such as fats or flavorings.

Rugbrød Danish-style rye bread

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Bread machine Type of home appliance for baking bread

A bread making machine or breadmaker is a home appliance for turning raw ingredients into baked bread. It consists of a bread pan, at the bottom of which are one or more built-in paddles, mounted in the center of a small special-purpose oven. This small oven is usually controlled by a simple built-in computer using settings input via a control panel. Most bread machines have different cycles for different kinds of dough—including white bread, whole grain, European-style, and dough-only. Many also have a timer to allow the bread machine to activate without operator attendance, and some high-end models allow the user to program a custom cycle.

Quick bread Bread leavened with leavening agents other than yeast or eggs

Quick bread is any bread leavened with a chemical leavening agent rather than a biological one like yeast or sourdough starter. An advantage of quick breads is their ability to be prepared quickly and reliably, without requiring the time-consuming skilled labor and the climate control needed for traditional yeast breads.

Rye bread Type of bread made with various proportions of flour from rye grain

Rye bread is a type of bread made with various proportions of flour from rye grain. It can be light or dark in color, depending on the type of flour used and the addition of coloring agents, and is typically denser than bread made from wheat flour. It is higher in fiber than white bread and is darker in color and stronger in flavor.

Kneading Process of preparing dough

In cooking, kneading is a process in the making of bread or dough, used to mix the ingredients and add strength to the final product. Its importance lies in the mixing of flour with water; when these two ingredients are combined and kneaded, the gliadin and glutenin proteins in the flour expand and form strands of gluten, which gives bread its texture. The kneading process warms and stretches these gluten strands, eventually creating a springy and elastic dough. If bread dough is not kneaded enough, it will not be able to hold the tiny pockets of gas created by the leavening agent, and will collapse, leaving a heavy and dense loaf.

Baker's percentage is a notation method indicating the proportion of an ingredient relative to the flour used in a recipe when making breads, cakes, muffins, and other baked goods. It is also referred to as baker's math, and may be indicated by a phrase such as based on flour weight. It is sometimes called formula percentage, a phrase that refers to the sum of a set of baker's percentages. Baker's percentage expresses a ratio in percentages of each ingredient's weight to the total flour weight:

Pre-ferment

A ferment is a fermentation starter used in indirect‍ methods of bread making. It may also be called mother dough.

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Proofing (baking technique)

In cooking, proofing is a step in the preparation of yeast bread and other baked goods where the dough is allowed to rest and rise a final time before baking. During this rest period, yeast ferments the dough and produces gases, thereby leavening the dough.

Vienna bread 19th-century baking process

Vienna bread is a type of bread that is produced from a process developed in Vienna, Austria, in the 19th century. The Vienna process used high milling of Hungarian grain, and cereal press-yeast for leavening.

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Fermentation starter

A fermentation starter is a preparation to assist the beginning of the fermentation process in preparation of various foods and alcoholic drinks. Food groups where they are used include breads, especially sourdough bread, and cheese. A starter culture is a microbiological culture which actually performs fermentation. These starters usually consist of a cultivation medium, such as grains, seeds, or nutrient liquids that have been well colonized by the microorganisms used for the fermentation.

Dough conditioner

A dough conditioner, flour treatment agent, improving agent or bread improver is any ingredient or chemical added to bread dough to strengthen its texture or otherwise improve it in some way. Dough conditioners may include enzymes, yeast nutrients, mineral salts, oxidants and reductants, bleaching agents and emulsifiers. They are food additives combined with flour to improve baking functionality. Flour treatment agents are used to increase the speed of dough rising and to improve the strength and workability of the dough. While they are an important component of modern factory baking, some small-scale bakers reject them in favour of longer fermentation periods that produce greater depth of flavour.

The history of California bread as a prominent factor in the field of bread baking dates from the days of the California Gold Rush around 1849, encompassing the development of sourdough bread in San Francisco. It includes the rise of artisan bakeries in the 1980s, which strongly influenced what has been called the "Bread Revolution".

Straight dough

Straight dough is a single-mix process of making bread. The dough is made from all fresh ingredients, and they are all placed together and combined in one kneading or mixing session. After mixing, a bulk fermentation rest of about 1 hour or longer occurs before division. It is also called the direct dough method.

Injera Flatbread or pancake in the East African culinary tradition

Injera is a sour fermented flatbread with a slightly spongy texture, traditionally made of teff flour. In Ethiopia, Eritrea, and some parts of Sudan, injera is the staple; also eaten in other countries in East Africa, injera is central to the dining process, like bread or rice elsewhere. This food item is almost similar to South Indian dosa.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Young, Linda; Cauvain, Stanley P. (1998). Technology of Breadmaking. Berlin: Springer. pp. 29–30. ISBN   0-8342-1685-X . Retrieved 2012-01-29.
  2. 1 2 "Bakers Percentages - Revised" . Retrieved 2012-04-06. See the compilation of Tables II & III
  3. 1 2 Griffin, Mary Annarose; Gisslen, Wayne (2005). Professional baking. New York: John Wiley. pp. 69–75. ISBN   0-471-46427-9 . Retrieved 2012-01-29.
  4. ↑ Calvel, Raymond (2001). The taste of bread. Gaithersburg, Md: Aspen Publishers. p. 42. ISBN   0-8342-1646-9 . Retrieved 2012-01-29.
  5. ↑ Young, Linda; Cauvain, Stanley P. (2007). Technology of Breadmaking. Berlin: Springer. p. 90. ISBN   978-0-387-38563-1 . Retrieved 2012-01-29.
  6. ↑ Lorenz, Klaus J.; Kulp, Karel (2003). Handbook of dough fermentations. New York: Marcel Dekker, Inc. p. 228. ISBN   0-8247-4264-8 . Retrieved 2011-01-28.
  7. ↑ Hsi-Mei Lai; Tze-Ching Lin (2006). Yiu H. Hui (ed.). Handbook of food science, technology, and engineering. 4. Washington, DC: Taylor & Francis. p. 148-35. ISBN   0-8493-9849-5 . Retrieved 2012-01-29.
  8. ↑ Michel Suas (2008). Advanced Bread and Pastry. Clifton Park, NY USA: Delmar Cengage Learning. p. 179. ISBN   978-1-4180-1169-7 . Retrieved 2012-04-05.
  9. ↑ Ramaswamy, H.; Marcotte, M (2004). Food processing: principles and applications. Cambridge, MA: Blackwell Pub. p. 194. ISBN   0-8138-1942-3.
  10. ↑ Julius Emil Wihlfahrt; The Fleischmann Co. (1915) [1905]. A Treatise on Baking. pp. 39–45. Retrieved 2012-10-30. Sponge and separate Dough sections contrast with embedded discussion of straight dough.
  11. ↑ Jeffrey Hamelman (2004). Bread: a baker's book of techniques and recipes. New York: John Wiley. ISBN   0-471-16857-2.
  12. ↑ Murray, Maynard; Howell, Edward (1985). Enzyme nutrition: the food enzyme concept . Wayne, N.J: Avery Pub. Group. pp.  39–41. ISBN   0-89529-221-1 . Retrieved 2012-01-29.
  13. ↑ Nanna A. Cross; Corke, Harold; Ingrid De Leyn; Nip, Wai-Kit (2006). Bakery products: science and technology . Oxford: Blackwell. p.  345. ISBN   0-8138-0187-7.
  14. ↑ Woods, L. F, J.; Tucker, G. S. L. (1995). Enzymes in food processing. London: Blackie Academic & Professional. pp. 204–206. ISBN   0-7514-0249-4.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  15. ↑ Stauffer, Clyde E. (1990). Functional additives for bakery foods. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold. p. 136. ISBN   0-442-00353-6.
  16. ↑ Wolfgang Aehle, ed. (2007). Enzymes in Industry: Production and Applications. Weinheim: Wiley-VCH. pp. 109–111. ISBN   978-3-527-31689-2 . Retrieved 2012-01-29.
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