Basic Knowledge of Wholegrain and Wholemeal Dough – Part 2

When food is heated, a non-enzymatic browning occurs, the “Maillard reaction”: With this, the reduction of proteins and reduced carbohydrates creates characteristic flavors and color developments. Many wholemeal / whole-grain breads get an intense crumb color due to long baking times and a high proportion of rye and fiber. Extremely long baking times, such as with Pumpernickel (16-20 hours), even lead to dark brown crumb colors.

A natural browning agent such as beet syrup or apple butter has a positive effect on the moisture of the crumb, taste and freshness. The viscous, often syrupy browning agents are added to the dough during kneading.

Crumb coloring / browning

Beet Syrup:

Beet syrup/sugar beet syrup, is the concentrated juice of sugar beets. For production, the sweet beet juice pressed from the beet pulp is thickened by boiling. Beet syrup contains no fiber components, no preservatives and is produced without any chemical treatment!

Sugar beet syrup is neither a preliminary product nor a waste product of white household sugar. The brown, bitter syrup is calculated with a dosage of 2% of the grain amount. It promotes a good bread crumb, ensures a light browning, rounds off the bread taste and ensures improved freshness.

Apple Butter:

Apple and pear butters are viscous red-brownish, slightly tart and sweet syrups that are made from freshly harvested apples and pears. The syrup has a noticeable fruity note and a higher proportion of fructose and glucose than beet syrup, but less sucrose and fewer minerals. Like beet syrup, it improves the bread crumb and taste, and keeps it fresh.

The dosage is the same as for beet syrup (2%), but apple and pear herbs are used as browning agents.

Malt Extract:

Dark malt extracts are a popular browning agent. In the past, colored malts were mainly used to add color to beer, which was not possible with normal malt. To obtain colored malts, moistened, light-colored malts are roasted. The temperatures rise slowly to up to 200 ° C. The diastatic enzymes are destroyed and a strong melanoid reaction causes an intense browning through starch saccharification and protein denaturation.

Color malts are available in different browns. The thickened, enzyme-free, water-soluble components of the malt are usually offered in liquid to syrupy consistency. With the addition of 0.75%, a slight browning of the crumb is created. At 1.5% it is significantly tanner, at 3% it is very brown and at 6% it is dark brown. A slightly malty note is already noticeable with an addition of 1.5% and with a higher dosage this can be perceived as tart and slightly bitter.

Caramel:

Caramel is produced by slowly heating/melting sugar without any other ingredients. By which the sugar browns and takes on the familiar flavor compounds. The level of heating determines the color from light brown to dark brown.

Caramel Colour:

The caramel is mainly used for coloring. Rounding off the taste of the bread plays a subordinate role here. When adding 0.75% (of the amount of grain), the crumb changes significantly to brown. With 1.5% very brown and with 5% very dark brown.

Schlüter Flour:

The crumb can also be colored by processing Schlüter special flour, which, thanks to its special treatment, is already brown in color and is whole grain quality.

Wholemeal bread issues: Causes and Remedies

“Small causes = big impact”

This applies to many bread defects in wholemeal production. Here are the most important bread issues, their cause and remedies:

  • Torn open crust surface (free-form breads)
  1. Forming and shaping erros = work without a seam a form into elongated loaves
  2. Strongly swollen wholemeal = softer dough
  3. Dried out while proofing = cover the dough with a towel
  4. Not a long enough or sufficient steam = brush the dough surface with water
  5. Too cool oven temperature = increase the temperature
  • Flat shape (free-form breads)
  1. Dough too soft = firmer hydration
  2. Excess wholemeal = increase the soured amount
  3. Proofed too long = bake sooner
  4. Too cool oven temperature = increase the temperature
  • Torn open at the bottom (free-form breads)
  1. Too short of proof = bake after a longer proof
  2. Bottom heat was too weak = Allow the oven to preheat 
  3. Too cool oven temperature = increase the temperature
  • Collapsed Crust Surface (Baked in a tin)
  1. Too much yeast = less yeast
  2. Proofed too long = bake sooner
  3. Too cool oven temperature = increase the temperature
  • Ripped dough surface (Baked in a tin)
  1. Place seam-side up in the tin
  2. Too short of proof = bake after a longer proof
  3. Oven too hot = reduce the oven temperature
  • Sides collapse (Baked in a tin)
  1. Under fermented = increase soured amount
  2. Dough too weak = firmer dough
  3. Baketime too long = shorten the baking time
  • Dry Crumb
  1. Poor meal swelling from too little fermentation= increase the fermentation
  2. Excess wholemeal = increase the soured amount
  3. Dough too weak = firmer dough
  • Dry crumb / cracks in the crumb
  1. Strongly swollen wholemeal = softer dough/ increase the soaker or scald
  2. Dough too firm = mix the dough softer (especially with coarse meal)
  3. Too short of proof = bake after a longer proof
  4. Oven too hot = reduce the oven temperature
  • Over baked top surface
  1. Dough too weak = firmer dough
  2. Proofed too long = less yeast and shorter proof
  3. Oven too hot = reduce the oven temperature / dimple the top dough surface
  • Middle of the crumb is too loose
  1. Too much yeast = reduce yeast amount
  2. Dough rested too long = Add the yeast only during the second kneading
  3. Proofed too long = bake after a shorter proofing time
  4. Oven too cool = higher initial temperature (260°C)
  5. Dough too weak = firmed dough
  • Poor cohesion of the crumb
  1. Crumb too loose = increase the soaker/scald
  2. Wholemeal was not sufficiently hydrated = Increase the standing time, increase the temperature
  3. Too much coarse meal = increase the fine meal content
  4. Under fermented = increase fermentation
  5. Not sufficiently baked = bake until well browned
  • Crumb is too dense and dry
  1. Dough is too firm = improve wholemeal swelling
  2. Wholemeal was not sufficiently hydrated = increase the standing time
  3. Baked too hot = reduce the oven temperature
  4. Proof too short = bake after longer proof
  • Poor slicing/ residue on the knife blade
  1. Imbalance between coarse and fine meal = monitor the meal size
  2. Meal over-hydrated = optimize the meal soaking
  3. Dough was over kneaded = don’t knead the dough until it’s greasy
  4. Under fermented = stronger fermentation
  5. Dough rest too long = short dough rest
  6. Not sufficiently baked = bake until well browned
  • Moist crumb
  1. Poor meal hydration
  2. Poor gelatinization
  3. Under fermented
  4. Bake time too short
  5. Protuberance
  • “Fat strips” on the bottom
  1. Under fermented = increase ferment
  2. Fine meal over-hydrated = optimize the meal soaking
  3. Dough was kneaded until greasy = shorter kneading time
  4. Dough too weak = firmed dough
  5. Initial heat too low = bake with higher lower heat
  • Bread tastes too sour
  1. Sourdough too cold = control the sourdough temperature
  2. Too much sourdough = reduce the sourdough
  3. Dough rest too long = Adjust preliminary stages and maturing times