Avendra - Comprehensive Procurement Solutions

Bread Basics Including the Craft of Artisan Bread

Proper bread delivery and storage help determine the quality of the finished product. Bread exposed to too much air can get stale and dry out quickly; conversely, stored in a place with too much humidity or moisture, bread can break down and deteriorate or mold. Follow these simple guidelines to keep your bread fresh and ready to serve.

Delivery, Storage and Ordering Quality Assurance Guidelines

Bread should always be distributed in a container, box, or bag. Never open.
Do not package bread with condensation inside; adequate cooling is required prior to packaging
Keep breads in a cool, dry area, but never refrigerated
Pars should be reviewed weekly to ensure the freshest product is being used

..................................................................................

The Fundamentals of Artisan Bread
Artisan bread is crafted, rather than mass-produced. Baked in small batches, artisan bread-makers pay special attention to ingredients, process and a return to the fundamentals of the age-old bread-making.

Artisan bread will usually have less than five ingredients. The basic building blocks of bread are flour, water, yeast, and salt. Sourdough is added for some breads; eggs and sugar for others. For more complex, flavored artisan bread, the ingredients list might include sliced onions, cheddar cheese, sun-dried tomatoes, and olive oil.

To craft artisan bread, quality ingredients are mixed, slowly fermented, hand shaped, and baked in small batches in masonry ovens. Often, steam is utilized during the baking process to produce the crispy golden-brown crust characteristic of certain varieties of the artisan loaf. Acute attention is paid to details of chemistry, resulting in specific crumb and crust textures. Since chemical additives are not used, the flavors of each ingredient are fully developed. Examples of artisan breads include the country French loaf, semolina bread, whole-grain farm-style bread, flavored focaccia, stoneground wheat and ciabatta.

Because artisan bread is made without chemical additives, it tends to have a short shelf-life.

Fresh artisan breads taste best on the day of purchase/baking, although they will keep longer. Frozen artisan bread should be kept in its original box/bag at below freezing temperatures. Do not refrigerate. To use it, remove the product from the bag, thaw it and bake according to the baking guidelines. Let cool before eating. Artisan breads should be eaten within a day or two of purchase, or frozen for extended storage.

Bakery Terms
.......................

Acidity: A natural effect from the reactions of yeast and sourdough bacteria fermenting the dough. The mild lactic acids and tangy acetic acids add complexity and depth of flavor to the bread. (Acidity also increases dough strength and lengthens the shelf life of the loaf.)
Artisan Bread: Bread made as it has been for centuries-by trained hands. While the dough contains only flour, water, salt and leavening, other additions, such as olives or nuts, are acceptable. The dough undergoes a lengthy fermentation process and is baked directly on a masonry hearth. The result is bread with more flavors, better crust and a complex texture.
Alveoles: The holes in the crumb of the bread. Alveoles will be of varying size, depending on the type of bread, although for artisan bread that has been properly handled; the crumb should be relatively open.
Baguette: A long loaf of bread about 18-30 inches in length with a very open crumb possessing five to seven slits on the top of the loaf.
Bake-off: To bake a frozen dough piece or par-baked bread for consumption
Batard: Any loaf which has an oblong shape.
Biga: Sponge starter made from flour, water and a small amount of yeast. It is used to give breads a light, chewy crumb.
Boule: A round loaf.
Certified Organic: This is an independent, third party certification process that requires food producers and manufacturers to follow extensive guidelines and standards. These producers are subjected to annual on-site inspections.
Chef: A piece of dough saved from one day's batch of dough to be mixed into the next day's batch.
Ciabatta: A flatter, rectangular shaped bread with a tan-brown crust. Loaves should be more flat than high and the bread should have large alveoles and lots of them.
Couche: A piece of cloth, usually linen, which is used in Artisan bakeries as a vehicle to proof, or rise, the bread.
Crumb: The bread's interior is the soft part that is surrounded by the crust. It is often judged by holes (alveoles), moistness, color, texture and flavor.
De-gassing: When fermentation gasses trapped in the glutinous web are expelled by manipulation of the dough.
Elasticity: A property describing dough’s ability to rebound back to its original state after being stretched.
Extensibility: A property describing dough’s ability to be stretched without breaking.
Fermentation: The length of time dough is allowed to rise after mixing. Fermentation describes the action when yeast feeds on available starch, converting sugars to alcohol and carbon dioxide. Trapped carbon dioxide stretches gluten, develops complex flavors and is responsible for the development of the alveoles in the crumb.
Focaccia: An Italian chewy flatbread made with pizza or bread dough
Forming: Artisan forming entails forming by hand in a gentle manner to allow for changes in the consistency of the dough.
Gluten: A unique protein found in wheat that gives cohesiveness to dough. A gluten web traps fermenting gasses that make bread dough rise. Gluten has both elastic (bounces back) and extensible (stretches out) properties.
Hand Formed: Made and formed by hand, not machine. For true Artisan bread, careful handling is the most crucial aspect to create good bread quality.
Hearth: The floor of the oven usually made of stone, brick or cement.
Hydration Rates: Ratio of water to flour in dough.
Levain: A natural sourdough starter made by fermenting a mixture of flour and water. It usually refers to a stiff, firm starter.
Multigrain Bread: Bread made from a number of different grains often with some whole grains left in for texture. This is an excellent source of fiber.
Oven Spring: Describes the phase during baking when the bread dough rapidly expands during the first few minutes of baking.
Parbake: Bread which has been partially baked (approximately 80%) at a central production facility and is then baked again to finish the process at the customer’s facility
Peel: A wooden paddle used to slide loaves into or out of the oven hearth.
Proofing: Defined as any fermentation that takes place after forming the loaf. Dough that is fully proofed should have doubled in volume. The term "rise" can be used interchangeably.
Ready to Bake: A product that doesn’t require any skill or preparation and is completely ready to place in the oven to bake.
Retard: To slow fermentation by placing in a refrigerator to slow the rise, allowing flavors to develop more fully over a longer period of time.
Score: To cut or slash the crust of a proofed loaf before baking to create a place for carbon dioxide to escape and the loaf to expand during baking.
Sponge: A mixture of flour, water and a small amount of yeast that is allowed to ferment and then is mixed into dough. Semolina: is bread which is made with semolina flour, flour derived from durum wheat.
Shelf Life: Refers to the degree of freshness or life span of the product
Starter: Wild yeast and bacteria that is fed in the bakery through regular additions of flour and water. A healthy sourdough starter is sometimes referred to as "mother".
Strength: In describing bread dough, this refers to the amount of resistance dough has to stretching. Dough’s strength is relative to the balance of elasticity and extensibility.
Thaw and Serve: Fully baked bread that is frozen to maintain maximum freshness and taste.

Definitions paraphrased from Wikipedia