Ingredients and processing play a 50/50 role in the quality production of artisan bread. It’s the simple ingredient list and simple processing that is helping boost this style of bread’s popularity in the natural and clean label trend. I addressed the ingredients side in my last column in the March issue (see “Ingredient functionality in artisan bread production”). In this column, I will examine the other 50 percent: the process.
Mixing. Great artisan bread dough starts at the mixing step. Mixing is a complicated but a necessary step in any industrial bakery. It blends, disperses the ingredients, and it hydrates the damaged starch and gluten. Once the gluten is hydrated, it entraps air bubbles. Mixing also kneads and develops the dough, providing that much-needed foundation for a network that results in a good volume. Lastly, mixing is the only step that provides a uniform distribution of cell structures.