Whole wheat bread- Effect of percentage hydration on the volume and texture
How does percentage hydration affect the height and texture of the whole wheat bread?
Background
In the recent decades, the trend of eating healthily is blooming significantly. Whole wheat bread is considered as one of the healthy food option for most people due to its high nutritional values. The flour contains germs and bran, making it much more healthier and giving it an unique texture and flavor. This project will focus on the effect of percentage hydration of the bread to its final volume and texture.
Details of experiment- 5W's
Who?
Ng Ho Ching, Billy from GP 1
What?
To test whether the percentage hydration affect the final volume and texture of whole wheat bread
Where?
Home Kitchen
When?
Test will be carried out right after the bread(with different percentage hydration) is taken out from the oven(after cooling for 5 min)
Why?
To find out the ideal percentage hydration for the bread with the greatest volume and the texture which is the most similar to the whole wheat bread on the market(there will be a reference bread to be compared with it).
The ultimate goal of this project is to home-make the most perfect and healthiest whole wheat bread that the texture and taste is very similar to the product on the market while minimizing the unnecessary chemicals added.
The ultimate goal of this project is to home-make the most perfect and healthiest whole wheat bread that the texture and taste is very similar to the product on the market while minimizing the unnecessary chemicals added.
Procedures
Basic recipe-4 servings
- 1 cups (total 130 g) Whole Wheat Flour
- 1/8 tablespoon Salt
- 2-3 g Instant Yeast (~1/4 tablespoon)
- 1/2 tablespoon honey
- 1/2 cups (total 120 ml) Warm Water (~ 40-45°C)
How?
- Make the whole wheat bread in the same way but differ in the ratio of flour and liquid involved(including both water and honey) to adjust percentage hydration.
- Measure the height and size of the bread after taking out of the oven (after cooling for 5 min).
- Slice the bread after measuring the height into equal weight and observe the inner structure and texture of the bread.
- Compare the inner structure and texture with the reference bread
Variables
Independent variable
- Percentage hydration-adjusted by controlling the ratio of flour and liquid involved, starting from 50% hydration to 100% hydration, which spacing is 10% *(Simple calculation of percentage hydration→Weight of liquid involved/ Weight of flour * 100%)
Dependent variables
- Height-measured by the height of the bread
- Texture-observed and measured by the moisture, the number and size of air bubbles of the sliced bread
Controlled variable
- Brand of all ingredients- including whole whet flour, salt, instant yeast, honey and water used
- Amount of the ingredients- including whole whet flour, salt, instant yeast, honey and water used
- Weight of sliced bread to be measured while observing the texture
- Cooking Temperature- including room temperature, baking temperature and the temperature of ingredients used(especially for the warm water)
- Cooking Time- including fermentation time and baking time
- Time for cooling after taking out of the oven
Science Behind-Gluten hydration
What is gluten
Gluten is a complex mixture of hundreds of related but distinct proteins, mainly gliadin and glutenin in the wheat grains. When water is added into the flour, gluten swells to form a continuous network of fine strands, contributing to the texture and structure of the bread.
Function of gluten
Gluten acts as a miraculous net which holds the bread together. Under the help of gluten, a binding matrix in the dough is formed. This binding matrix traps the carbon dioxide generated by yeast or acid-base reactions, which causes the dough to rise. Finally it gives a very unique texture of the bread.
Importance of hydration
As mentioned before, the structure and texture of the bread is contributed by the hydrated gluten network. Therefore, the key to make the most ideal whole wheat bread is to find out the favorable gluten hydration condition in bread-making.
There are actually many factors affecting gluten hydration, such as the temperature, mixing time and amount of water added etc. Among these factors, the amount of water added seems to be the most significant and influential. As a result, the direction of this project will focus on the percentage hydration of the bread to compare and investigate.
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