Yeast and flour: a stable and long lasting relationship
Leavening The magic of the rising phenomenon puts a strain on the fanatics of speed in the kitchen, but no one is immune to his charms. It is all about knowing some basic dynamics and arm yourself with a little patience.
Yeast is basically a fungus that eats our pasta transforming the sugars into carbon dioxide. This, trapped by the "force of" flour creates real bubbles which make the dough grow by creating in-cooking are the characteristic alveoli. The same process also happens to alcoholic beverages. Ethanol produced by the "fermentation" is useful in the production of wine, for example. This is the most simple and concise way I've found to tell even to myself, because when I asked the question I ( "how do you grow?"), It all seemed so complicated.
The yeasts are of various types. The cold sends them into hibernation, while the excessive heat kills them, why most recipes recommend to activate the yeast in warm water, a middle way, to revive him. These extraordinary microorganisms, known for their function in the kitchen for several centuries before Christ, they reproduce very quickly if fed. This is the same principle that makes the yeast active for centuries, improving it over time. The process for producing the yeast is quite long (a few weeks) and requires perseverance and patience, and since they are devoid of the first quality (but maybe the second) I have never competed in its production. To deepen to, however, the discourse on leavening, I find it important to mention two fundamental variables involved in this: the type of yeast and the type of flour. types of yeast That there are various forms of yeast or leavening agents, for sure they know in many. Just look at the shelves in the supermarket to get into confusion between those for sweets, bread or pizza. Basically, types of yeast that are commonly found are five:
- Fresh Yeast: often occurs in a supermarket refrigerator worms into small dice 24 grams. It keeps in the fridge for a month maximum, after which its effectiveness is dramatically reduced. mainly used for leavening out of the oven. - Yeast Dried brewer: the main difference is the possibility to be stored up to one year. It must be reactivated before it can be used, sometimes with the addition of sugars and the dosage is different compared to fresh yeast. - Mother Yeast: Prince of yeast, for its high digestibility and thanks to the stability of the microorganisms contained within it that need to be fed on a regular basis in order to remain active. As anticipated, the process for producing it in the house requires constancy as it is still easy. The yeast grows and grows old with who feeds it, also becoming a source of pride for ovens or families that use it for generations and, of course, as they say in many cases, more and more aging improves. You are taking a sample using one hand and adding it to the mix that you want to grow. - Dried Yeast mother: the recento it is begun to see for sale, but contains within it a component of another type of yeast used to revive it, as the dry yeast is technically "dead" and consequently, less powerful than fresh fish. - Baking powders: these are the so-called chemical yeasts, that through the reaction of elements inside trigger the production of carbon dioxide by growing the dough. One of the elements is usually baking soda. Be used for leavening in the oven.
The force of the flour I was shocked the first time I have found that flour, color aside, are not all equal. Just imagine when I heard about "the flour strength." It looks like a Jedi concept for bakers! This so-called force, measured with the letter W (that goes from W90 to W370), is the result of two variables: the tenacity of the gluten (P) and the extensibility (L). These values ​​were used for the first time at the beginning of the twentieth century, after the dell'alveografo invention. A machine that blows in a flour disk by creating a bubble in order to measure the resistance. More flour is hardy (thus creating more bubbles) is more suitable for long rising, because it is able to hold with more effective carbon dioxide that develops within the alveoli. The so-called weak flours are suitable for the preparation of products such as biscuits, while for breadmaking flour will be used with a W rather high. One of the most powerful is the Manitoba flour (W400), which takes its name from the Canadian region from which it comes (which in turn takes its name from the Native Americans who lived there before). This can be used for long working or mixing it with other flours to strengthen them.