Vol. XXXIV · History and Projects Plate 7 of 13project, bread formula, baker's percentages, hydration, salt, yeast, fermentation, dough temperature, bulk fermentation, schedule, proofing, over-proofing, design briefMT

Project: A Bread Formula.

A formula is five numbers: flour 100, water, salt, yeast, and the temperature and time you give it. Get them right together and the dough is ready when you are.

A bread formula in baker's percentages (XXIV.2) sets the dough's character: hydration (XXIV.3) between about 65 and 75 % gives an open, manageable lean dough; salt about 2 % seasons it and tightens the gluten without slowing the yeast too much; yeast and temperature set the speed of the rise (XXIV.5, XXIV.6). Too little yeast or too cold, and the dough is not ready in the time available; too much or too warm, and it over-proofs, its gluten exhausted and its structure collapsing.

Your design: water, salt and yeast as percentages of the flour, the dough temperature and the hours of bulk fermentation. The checks are read from the dough bench: hydration, salt, the volume reached at the end of the bulk (course fermentation model, which includes salt's inhibition) and the time. The starting design — a stiff, under-salted dough — fails.

Below: the dough's volume through the bulk fermentation of your design (course fermentation model, with salt), the formula in baker's percentages, and the brief.

What you will learn

Write a formula in baker's percentages.
Choose hydration and salt.
Schedule fermentation with yeast and temperature.
Avoid under- and over-proofing.

Workshop

Dough bench: the course fermentation model (instant yeast, Q10-type temperature response, salt inhibition above 2 %), volume relative to the mixed dough, peaking near 3.2 before collapsing. Brief: hydration 65–75 %; salt 1.8–2.2 %; end-of-bulk volume 1.8–2.6; bulk 4 hours or less.

Five numbers that work together

With 70 % water, 2 % salt and 1 % yeast at 26 °C, two hours of bulk bring the dough to a comfortable rise; three hours take it to about 3.2 times — past the brief's 2.6 and close to collapse. Yeast and temperature are interchangeable to a degree: less yeast and a longer, cooler bulk gives more flavour (XXIV.6) on a slower schedule, which is why bakers plan the formula and the clock together.

At the bench: weigh 500 g flour, 350 g water at the temperature that gives a 26 °C dough (XXIV.6), 10 g salt and 5 g instant yeast; mix, rest, knead or fold (XXIV.4); ferment in a covered container, marking the starting level, until the dough has about doubled and a floured finger leaves a dent that springs back slowly; shape, proof (XXIV.8), and bake (XXIV.9). Write down the room temperature and times — next time you can adjust the yeast to fit your day.

At the stove

Make your project formula and note the clock. Did the dough double in the time the model predicted at your kitchen's temperature?

Baker's percentages make formulas scalable and comparable: a "70 % dough" means the same in a home kitchen and a bakery making a thousand loaves, which is why professional bakers write every formula against flour = 100.

Terms

Formula: A bread recipe in baker's percentages.
Bulk fermentation: The first rise of the whole dough.
Over-proofing: Fermenting too long, until the structure weakens.
Dough temperature: The temperature that, with yeast, sets the pace.

A lean formula: hydration 65–75 %, salt ≈ 2 %, yeast and temperature chosen so the bulk ends at about double (1.8–2.6 ×) within the time you have. Plan the formula and the clock together.

Sources

A teaching value chosen for the course: the right order of magnitude and shape, not a measurement of a particular food.