• Brickstick or "cooked flour" is used to replace food additives
• Production of natural yeast
Returning to natural ingredients
In the last period, it has become more and more obvious that bread producers are aiming to create products in which the proportion of natural ingredients should be as high as possible. Thus, more and more manufacturers began to pay attention and promote the concept of "clean label" in order to win new customers.
In turn, buyers resonate more and more with products that are as natural as possible, avoiding more and more products whose ingredients synthesized by the symbol "E ..." are sometimes so numerous that they hardly fit on the labels.
Of course, from the manufacturer's point of view, it is infinitely simpler to use premixes that guarantee your success and simplify your work, but it is clear that the level of information of buyers has increased along with it and their demands.
The most important aspect from this point of view is the fact that major manufacturers have begun to see this challenge as an opportunity, creating customized products, on the one hand, to meet customer requirements, and, on the other hand, to it differs from those of the competition. Bakers are thus able to attribute a special touch to the products, perceived as healthier, containing a reduced number of synthetic elements.
Polish technology for replacing food additives
In another part of Europe, in Poland, we find a simple but ingenious method with remarkable results in terms of the quality of the finished product. An important Polish equipment manufacturer, MECH MASZ, has launched, starting from the baking tradition of this country, a machine for making a natural compound, known as Brickstick or "cooked flour". The product obtained with this machine is added to bread dough, in order to improve its quality, without the need to use food additives.
Using this machine, MULTI COOKER, proceed as follows:
- add flour and water in a ratio of 1:2 (for 10 kg of flour, 20 l of cold water);
– the working temperature is programmed at 90°C;
– the duration of the work cycle is set to 90 min;
- start the machine, using the cross mixing utensil;
- work initially with the second speed, for two minutes, until the mixture becomes smooth and homogeneous;
- switch to speed I, the working speed of the machine, for the remaining time until the end of the process, the whole process lasting 90 minutes.
The resulting product, Brickstick or "cooked flour", has a darker color and a pasty consistency. It should be left to cool before using in bread doughs.
Starting from the classic recipe of a dough, a maximum of 10% of the amount of flour is replaced with "boiled flour", as follows:
- for 100 kg of flour, used for the preparation of a dough - a maximum of 10% of this quantity is replaced with 30 kg of "boiled flour" (obtained according to the recipe above, respectively from 10 kg of flour and 20 l of water). The percentage of "cooked flour" added to doughs depends on the gluten content of the flour used.
In the process of preparing the dough, the amount of water brought by the "boiled flour" will be taken into account, which will be added to the amount of water added, so as to reach the desired final hydration. The dough is prepared in the classic way, in a mixer, using the desired types of yeast.
The Brickstick compound, or "boiled flour", gives elasticity to doughs, having the ability to create gluten networks even in the case of flours with a very low gluten content, such as rye flour.
This way of working is another example by which Polish bakers manage to obtain a more natural, good quality bread without the addition of chemical additives.
Italian technology for the production of natural yeast
Italy is recognized as a country where the bakery industry stands out for its wide variety of products, many of which are made with the most natural ingredients and whose flavor is delightful.
From a long series of secrets, which determine the obtaining of special products in Italian bakery, but not only, I will dwell on the natural ferment used in many bakeries in the world.
Some time ago, a piece of equipment produced by SITEP caught my attention, an automatic machine for maturing natural yeast.
Studying more closely the characteristics of this machine, I entered a new world, proposed by this manufacturer, that of natural yeasts made by simple methods and excluding the use of any type of additives.
Thus, SITEP offers us a machine that starts from natural ferments such as: honey, yogurt, fermented fruits, which, after a period of incubation, give birth to natural yeast or yeast.
Of course, the working method requires a period of time, necessary for the maturation of the ferment and, at the same time, a constant care on the part of the baker to keep alive the formed yeast colony, but the result is one that is worth taking into account, the natural yeast putting its strong imprint on the taste, aroma and nutritional characteristics of the finished product.
Some of the advantages of using this working method are:
- superior quality of the finished product, by improving the nutritional values due to the long-term action of the natural yeast, by reducing the effects of consumption intolerance and a better resistance to the formation of molds and other types of bacteria;
- optimization and automation of work phases in the production process.
ROMANIA and the recipes of majesty preserved over generations
Even if the recipes of our bakers are not very sophisticated, being often made with the simple means at hand, we also have new passionate producers, who obtain the yeasts or natural yeasts that contribute to the creation of unique products, full of taste and flavor. Their recipes deserve to be preserved and perfected, they are part of our "dowry of traditions" that the bakery industry must do everything possible to put in the best possible value.
Such working methods and technologies allow the differentiation of producers, each of them being able to find and secure their place on a heterogeneous market, made up of customers who are still looking for products that satisfy them.
Article written by Marius Costea, Director of sales of equipment and industrial lines Nova Pan
