Sourdough Panettone and Viennoiserie 2957261111, 9782957261116

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КНИГА ИЗ ЗАКРЫТОЙ БАЗЫ БИБЛИОТЕКИ PRO ОТ BEAUTIFUL FOOD

Preface by Chad Robertson

'Levain' from the traditional French baking practice-a fermenting paste or dough made of flour, water, and wild yeasts working in symbiosis with lactic bacteria used to leaven bread and other baked goods. Any baker who has managed to add a bit of natural leaven to recipes in the family of enriched doughs such as panettone, brioche, and laminated viennoiserie will swiftly and surely recognize their good fortune with certain discoveries. First off-improved depth of flavor and generally more supple, moist texture; and then significantly extended shelf-life or 'freshness', and finally, and increasingly more important considering today's modern farming practices-that of increased overall digestibility. Many years ago, at Tartine, we began to incorporate our levain into this family of baked pastry favorites in addition to our breads and there was no turning back. In some cases, we were rediscovering ancient tradition that had been all but lost. In other cases, like so many elegantly articulated in this book, bakers have built on this tradition by applying these principles and techniques in new ways. Thomas Teffri-Chambelland delves deep into the history, theory, microbiology, science, and practice to more thoroughly illuminate the seemingly invisible art of baking with sourdough. In doing so, he places the natural leaven tradition firmly back as both foundation and crown of our most beloved baked goods; a place where history had since replaced it with the more convenient and pain­ fully compromised practice of straight commercially yeasted dough baking. Thomas-a generous teacher, scientist, master baker and miller-presents these innovations/'retro-innovations' with a collection of recipes richly coloring the story with the various different approaches of a handful of select chef bakers who have mastered baking with sourdough in their own distinctive ways. With this book, one gains the knowledge to restore both these lost traditions with all the benefits they bring to product quality-flavor and texture, longevity and digestibility-together with the know-how and accompanying confidence to push innovation forward in the practice of sourdough baking. 7

Introduction

�he panettone and sourdough v iennoiseries presented in this book are all excep­ t1o�al pro ducts requ i r ing specialist know-how shared by just a few hundred �rt1sa� bakers worldw ide. They are re markably tender with an intense aroma, mcred1ble softness, and long shelf life (some types of panettone stay fresh for several months). The Holy Grail for a new type of baker working with natural leaven (or sour­ dough starter), these products have sparked a veritable passion a mong bakers and an increasing number of connoisseurs and food lovers. It is our hope that this book can help increase thei r popularity by making their preparation more generally accessible.

Traditional or modern? This book looks at sourdough v iennoiseries in the general sense, a field of baking that is both ancient and modern-a paradox which merits a br ief explanation. Let us start with a simplified history of baking in countries where wheat is the staple bread gra i n. For centuries, all over the world people's daily bread was enhanced for celebrations by adding sugar, eggs, fat, or dried fruit depending on what was available. This orig i nal enriched bread became what is now known as " brio che" in some areas of France and by various other weird and wonder­ ful regional names such as Proven\al oil pu mp (pompe a l'huile proven\ale), Romans pogne, Landes pastis (pastis landais) and Corsican canestru (canestre corse). No era or area of France is without its specialty celebrat ion bread. This history of celebration breads, which has yet to be researched and written, is the story of people. It tells of their joys and sorrows, thei r far m ing, their trading, and their social classes. There is the Landes past is w i th spices and rum that evokes the region's overseas trade; the buttery Parisian br ioche with egg replacing all the water in the original bread dough recipe, a symbol of the opulence and luxury specific to the Parisian elite of the late 19th and early 20th century; and the Proven�al pompe a l'huile, which conta i ns no eggs or butter 9

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had to settle for olive oil . · ally poor region of Provence . at all smce the h.istonc . s. from usmg fl our to clean the oil. mill Legend even has 1·t the specialty arose ' h 1· 5 · he, " wh1c became the I oca 1 "bnoc 1 g • This oily dough · d'n . ter gnn after the wm . . day. The pompe nal Christmas desserts eaten to st1.11 one of the th1'rteen traditio · . · · pro 1 d 01 d uct1on, an harvest the need olive the of mpse · i gl a U S gives a 1 'hU1-1e . , also their to 1et noth.mg g0 to waste , the poverty of the reg10n s people, but . . functio one of the main ns · t.10n to maintain their dignity. For that was determma • . . of these enriched breads throughout all these reg10ns: provi ding pleasure and fueling a proud fight against poverty. The 20th century, however, brought an excess of food to Western countries, leading to the seemingly permanent disappearance of �amine �nd the scourg� of obesity. The traditionally positive image of recipes ennched with substances hke fat and sugar has changed over recent decades. And rich French cuisine has been influenced by Asian flavors, uses more vegetables and less fat, and has carved out a new place in today's world by taking modern issues into account. Enriched bread doughs no longer play the same role as in the early 20th century, but they still make an appearance on Sundays and special occasions like Christmas and Easter as a vestige of tradition in our modern world. Finally, we should note that prior to the late 20th century, all bakery products were fermented with natural leaven (or sourdough starter), which is a set of microorganisms made up of yeast and bacteria. Note: The purified yeast that is now used in nearly all bakery fermentations only became widespread in the early 20th century. This is an absolutely key point. It is important to understand that before the end of the 19th century, all bread dough, whether plain or enriched, was fermented with leaven. The products had virtually nothing in common with the ones we are familiar with today such as croissants and Parisian brioche.

These items, which we call viennoiseries, appeared with the use of yeast. In a way, yeast brought them into being. So they are relatively modern products, having only been around for just over a hundred years. We also need to bear in mind that there are at least two very different types of products grouped under the name "viennoiseries." Although they all arose from a tradition of enriching bread dough, some have maintained their original natural leaven fermentation through the ages while others were developed in the 20th century with the use of yeast, without any real roots in the history of sourdough products. A final point on this notion of tradition and modernity is that it is clear that the type of products we have today-which depend greatly on the quality of the flour used-has changed greatly over time. While the first traces of Itali n panettone seem to appear in the Middle Ages, the product at that time nothing like the one we make today since wheat has changed so much. 10

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Thoroughly modern!

Thi book offers a resolutely modern take. Steeped in an often-ancient past, all the viennoiseries featured in this book are fermented with natural leaven. That is something unique. Some of these viennoiseries, such as the iconic panettone, have always been fermented with sourdough. That is what makes panettone so interesting. Other products, such as the sourdough croissant, are thoroughly modern concoctions since leavened puff pastry came about with the introduction of yeast in the late 19th century. So giving the croissant a contemporary twist by fermenting it with leaven is not a return to an ancient form but an interesting way of moving forward and shaking up tradition!

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I , I

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are often made using the following process outlines. Work begins with a starter management phase, which lasts at least one day and produces the leaven. The next step is to mix the first dough in the evening of the first day. For the simplest products, such as brioche, the dough is then divided, shaped, and left to rise overnight before being baked the following morning. In more elaborate recipes, like for panettone, this first dough is used to seed a second dough on the morning of the second day. It is this second dough that will be divided, shaped, and left to rise for 6 to 8 hours before baking. OURDOUGH VIENNOISERIES

SOURDOUGH VIENNOISERIE PRODUCTION CYCLE

ll._____

D_ay_2 _____.

Da_ y _ l_ _______

L..______ __

ONE DOUGH

Refresh the starter � �

First dough

�

refreshment refreshment refreshment �

���

M / D / 5 -----� B

Day 1 _____________ _ II

Day 2

.___ TWO DOUGHS

Refresh the starter

First dough

���

refreshment refreshment refreshment �\}_/\_:_)

�

Second dough

M � M � D/5 � B 2 1 M:mix 0: divide

15

S: shape B: bake

URDOUGH STARTERS O S F O W IE AN OVERV G TOGETHER CTERIA WORKIN BA D N A ST YEA

flour and water and populated with wild yeasts A starter is a dough made from ays lactic acid bacteria. It is used as a fer­ and bacteria, which are nearly alw menting agent to seed other doughs. not totally accurate-the yeast and In "natural" starters-although the term is in a targeted way by the baker. bacteria are not introduced intentionally or nce as a result of competition They develop naturally, self-select and find a bala ent in the environment. and coop eration with strains which are naturally pres ng characteristics. This complex flora of yeasts and bacteria has several stro another. It is First of all, the populations are highly stable in relation to one tions difficult to desta bilize the composition of a starter if the ecological condi of the fermenting agents are stable, i.e. mainly the dough temperature and hydration as well as the food availability and pH range in which they develop. Next-and this is one of the key points-the yeasts and bacteria each produce different fermentations in the dough. Dough is a great environment to live in Sourdough, which is mainly a mixture of flour and water creates an environment that �ulfils the ecological needs of bacteria and yeast;. The dough hydration level 1s perfectly suited to the development of bactena · and yeasts, both of w h'1ch feed 0� the 1. 1e sugars (maltose, glucose, fructose, etc ) which are plenti ful . m the oug� · ese simple sugars come directly from th� flour and indirectly from the breakdown of the starch. Starch, which is the main comp on ent of. a ll fl ours, is made up of a strin� of sugars connected in a chain so I ng that it cannot be used by the fermentmg agents It is broken