Poor Gluten

bethesdabakers's picture
bethesdabakers

Sorry I haven't posted for months (and months) and to come back with a question.

My white doughs have been very slack lately and I suspect this is down to poor gluten in the flour (this is Doves Farm Biobake in UK).

 

My mate Rick Coldman (Mairs Bakehouse) suggested I add some rye. Having been brought up a good Catholic boy I do as I am told, so last week I substitute 10% wholemeal rye and get much better results.

 

What's happening? Rye has bugger-all gluten so why should this help? (There's always the possibility that just by absorbing a little more water the rye has made the dough a little firmer).

 

Any opinions welcomed.

 

Best wishes

 

Mick

 

Mick Hartley

www.bethesdabakers.com

http://thepartisanbaker.wordpress.com

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Replies

Occabeka 2010 January 25

Hi Mick,

You are most probably right about the reason for the slack dough. Gluten is what holds everything together in a dough.

Just wondering if there could be another reason. Like over-kneading.

It has happened to me a couple of times. I have watched Richard Bertinet on youtube making sweet dough where he used the slam-stretch-fold technique to great effect. I tried it a sourdough recipe and the dough collapsed.

I guess I must have slammed the dough to death.

 

Occabeka

bethesdabakers's picture
bethesdabakers 2010 January 26

Hi Maedi

Can I come and work with you guys?

I'm a little up in the air having just finished my income tax returns an hour ago (I'm so paranoid I think the tax man is going to wonder why I'm five days before the deadline - must be something to hide). Maybe you get two weeks main holiday a year but what about the two weeks of hell when you're doing the accounts?

But two years of baking for profit I'm casting around for something new. We're going to France for three months at the end of February to finish the bread book and I'd like to do some teaching. Wouldn't mind baking for board and keep though ....

 

The site is looking really good.

 

Best wishes,

 

Mick

 

Mick Hartley

www.bethesdabakers.com

http://thepartisanbaker.wordpress.com

LeadDog's picture
LeadDog 2010 January 27

Mick I thought about your question and what the Rye is doing to the dough.  Doesn't the Rye help make more acid?  And doesn't the acid help to strengthen the glutten?  That is my guess as to what is going on.

 

Are you able to give us a little idea what your book is going to have in it?

bethesdabakers's picture
bethesdabakers 2010 January 27

Thanks, Maedi. Don't know how realistic my coming down to Australia is. Need to get through the France trip first and then save some dosh. Love to do it though.

 

LeadDog - I can see the point of what you are saying (and I'm glad someone came back to the question) but wouldn't you think there was enough acid in a sourdough without an additional small amount of rye? Science is not one of my strong points.

 

The book is intended to be a no nonsense book about making sourdough. I wrote a lot two or three years ago and then started baking for profit from home. So now I want to take time out to put the two aspects together - home baking and how it's possible to take this further and bake for profit without setting up a full-scale commercial enterprise + plus lots of corny jokes.

Best wishes

Mick

 

Mick Hartley

www.bethesdabakers.com

http://thepartisanbaker.wordpress.com

Normbake 2010 February 5

All the best Mick and Sue the book sounds good the web site looks really good and the bread looks even better

Kind regards Normbake (have not baked any bread for ages)

Have a good trip Don't come too Oz till april-july way too hot here now.

bethesdabakers's picture
bethesdabakers 2010 February 8

Hiya Normbake

Thanks for the good wishes.

I started off adding 10% rye to my Campagne (which was 100% strong white bread flour) and didn't much like the flavour - apart from day-old baguette which was great.

So for the past couple of weeks I've been substituting 10% rye in the final refreshment of my starter and 5% in the campagne dough. Not only is this producing excellent results in the campagne but all my other doughs are getting much better volume and colour.

I might have been a bit rash suggesting I might get over to Oz this year - but I'd love to do it.

 

Best wishes

Mick

 

Mick Hartley

www.bethesdabakers.com

http://thepartisanbaker.wordpress.com

 

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