Traditional Bread

Traditional Bread

Alexandr Piatkov


Detoxifying the body and preventing its contamination requires a radical

rejection of yeast bread and replacing it with traditional bread. It can be

called traditional because its preparation technology has been restored from the

stories of many people—young and old, and, of course, mostly grandmothers. The

sourdough starter is made only once; in the future, its role is performed by a

ball of dough separated each time from the fully matured dough during its

shaping. This piece of dough is placed in a jar, covered with flour, and stored

in the refrigerator. The dough is made from just two components: flour and water.

If you need to make enriched dough, you first prepare the regular kind, separate

a piece for the next starter, and only then add the enriching ingredients. The

ball left for the starter must consist strictly of flour and water.


To make the initial starter, you need a few hop cones and a handful of bran.

However, you can simply buy hop cones at a pharmacy and bran at a store, although

it is best to buy fresh bran straight from a mill. We steep the hops in a

thermos, let them infuse, strain the liquid, and cool it to room temperature.

Regarding temperature, it is best to use water and a fermentation place with a

temperature approaching 40 degrees Celsius (104°F). To this cooled hop infusion,

we add the bran sifted through a coarse-mesh screen, mix it to the consistency of

thick sour cream, and wait for fermentation. If the starter separates, mix it;

this may be required a couple of times. When using store-bought bran and pharmacy

hops, the starter stood at a temperature of about 40 degrees for 36 hours before

active fermentation finally began.


This hop starter is used only the first time. In subsequent batches, you simply

take the jar (for example, a one-liter jar) containing the flour-covered dough

ball out of the refrigerator, pour in unboiled but warm water, and gradually stir

it in a couple of steps. This can take several hours, but if necessary, it can be

mixed quickly, even with a hand mixer. Strictly speaking, you can prepare the

starter in advance and take from it as needed, using it simply as wild yeast,

which is essentially what it is.


The dough preparation begins with making a sponge (preferment); you can even use

the Tangzhong technique. Boiling water, for instance, one liter, is poured into a

dough container, and one tablespoon of flour is sifted into it. There is no need

to stir the flour—it will scald and settle on its own. Simply sift the flour into

the boiling water, cover it with a lid, and wait for it to cool to room

temperature.


Once the flour scalded in boiling water has cooled, pour the contents of the

starter jar into it, mix everything thoroughly, cover with a lid, and leave to

ferment, stirring occasionally. Bubbles and even foam will indicate a successful

fermentation process. As a next step, you can sift another five tablespoons of

flour into this sponge; this time, you will need to stir it and smooth out any

lumps. After a while, this substance will also begin to ferment, after which the

dough is kneaded with the full remaining amount of flour.


When the dough rises, a small piece is separated from it to become the future

starter, and the rest is used as desired. You can bake a simple loaf of bread or

add enriching ingredients to prepare something more complex. Such bread can be

made once a week; it almost never goes stale and never spoils.


In the very first loaf made from a fresh starter, a slight bitterness will be

felt due to the hops, along with a certain note of bran, but in subsequent

kneads, these influences are neutralized. It is better to make the initial

starter with the addition of rye flour, and you should also use rye flour for

subsequent periodic refreshments of the starter.


P.S. The bread rises quite strongly, even if it is rye bread, and this must be

regulated at all stages. Starting from the initial preparation of the sponge, it

is important to patiently wait until it begins to bubble intensely. Only after

that should you proceed to add a small portion of flour that will not

significantly change the current acidity of the fermenting dough. Gradually,

while stirring and adding the next portions, you need to bring it to the state of

a large-bubbled, mucous, stretchy mass that possesses internal cohesion and

slides off a metal spoon or knife. This can be achieved by maintaining the

correct temperature over a corresponding duration of the process. Only when you

have a sufficient amount of sponge of this quality should you knead the dough

with the full amount of flour. During this time, the gluten will swell, and the

dough will not stick to your hands or the board on which it needs to be kneaded.

You can knead it simply by repeatedly rolling and folding it. After two rises of

the dough, you can shape the loaves and wait for them to proof; then the height

and porosity of the bread will be significantly greater. However, when using your

own starter made of wild yeast, this entire process can take about 16 hours from

the activation of the starter to the end of baking.



Publication Details & Credits
Author: Alexandr Piatkov
Source Text: proza.ru/avtor/alexanderan
Original Publication Date: 2014
Publication Certificate No: 214102602113
Translated into English by: AI Assistant
Copyright: © Alexandr Piatkov, 2014