Slow bread is made using a 6,000-year-old baking process that involves a long fermentation period of 18 hours, resulting in a hearty bread with a thicker crust and open crumb. The dough is mixed with water and a small amount of yeast, left to rest, and then baked at 450 degrees Fahrenheit for 30 minutes. This bread-making technique creates more elastic strands of gluten, giving the bread its distinctive chewy texture. Prior to standardized yeast production, slow bread was made with natural yeasts, including beer and wine.
Slow bread is a type of bread based on a 6,000-year-old baking process that uses a slowly fermented combination of flour, water, and a very small amount of yeast. Typically, this blend is left to ferment for 18 hours before being cooked. The resulting bread is hearty with a thicker crust and open crumb, similar to the rustic loaves available in modern artisan bakeries. Slow bread can go by various names, including slow-rising bread, slow-rising bread, or no-knead bread. Many loaves of rustic or artisanal breads, including French baguettes and sourdoughs, can be considered slow loaves due to their longer rising periods.
Although slow bread takes 18 hours to ferment, mixing the dough is a relatively simple process compared to other types of bread making. The flour is mixed with water and as little yeast as possible to create a sticky dough that can rest for an extended period of time. This resting time allows the yeast to begin fermenting, creating alcohol, acetic acid, and lactic acid which naturally incorporate air into the dough, just like dough does. The alcohol will burn off during the baking process, giving the bread a more complex flavor.
The long period of fermentation is commonly known as leavening. The leavening process allows the starches in the flour to absorb water more effectively. This technique creates more elastic strands of gluten, the protein that gives this bread its distinctive chewy texture.
Once the slow bread dough has gone through the rising process, it is then divided and left to rise for another two hours. After it has fully risen, the dough is folded and placed in a heated skillet or saucepan. The dough should be baked at 450 degrees Fahrenheit (232 degrees Celsius) for 30 minutes or until the crust reaches the desired color. The slowbread is then removed from the pan and allowed to cool.
Standardized yeast production was first developed by Louis Pasteur in 1859. Prior to Pasteur’s innovation, slow bread was made with natural yeasts. Sometimes, these yeasts were simply airborne particles that were incorporated into the dough as it was being mixed. Some ancient cultures were known to mix beer and wine into flour or grains to create bread. During the first century, Roman author and philosopher Pliny the Elder reported the use of “skimmed foam from beer” to create airier bread.
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