I had an interesting guest chef from Ireland at my cooking school last night and I really liked the way he taught cooking. He kept talking about common sense ratios between ingredients and how recipes weren't much of an issue. What one really needed was some ratios, experience and common sense.
I got to thinking about it relative to bread making which many people view as mysterious and difficult. When you analyze it, bread making could be the simplest and most obvious thing to make without a recipe or formula. Let's look at it.
Let's say that 55% hydration is about normal for a bread dough. That means that the water you use will weight a little more than half the flour you use. We can always adjust things later but it's a logical place to start. If you want a 3 lb. dough, then a couple of pounds of flour and a pound of water plus a little should get the job done. You could cut that in half for a 1 1/2 lb. dough etc. Personally, I normally like to use about 1/2 oz. of fresh yeast for every lb. of flour. It's adjustable, of course, but the ratio should work pretty well for most doughs.
OK, so lets make a 3 lb. dough. We need 2lbs. of flour, a lb. and a little water and an ounce of frest yeast. Put these ingredients in a mixer and you'll get a nice, workable dough that will bake up into a couple of perfectly fine loaves of bread of a little over a lb. each.
I like a little salt in my bread to help bring out the flavors. I usually put about 1/2 oz. per lb. of flour. Sometimes I'll put 1/2 oz. per lb. of sugar to add another taste dimension. These two ingredients added to our flour water and yeast, make the typical hard crusted Italian bread you buy in the bakery.
Want French bread? Add a little oil. How about between 1/2 oz. and 1 oz. per lb. of flour? This adds some "wetness" to the dough so I'd suggest cutting back about an oz. of water. You can always add more water as the dough mixes if you put in too little. Bingo, French bread with a softer crust than the Italian bread.
Rye? No problem. Use 1/2 bread flour and 1/2 rye flour. I also like to put in a little molasses. You guessed it, about an oz. per lb. of flour. I reduce the water again by about 1 oz. per lb. of flour. I really like to add the zest of a couple of lemons to my rye bread. It really sings. See how easy this is.
Whole wheat? Same thing. 1/2 bread flour and 1/2 whole wheat flour. Semolina bread? You're getting the idea.
Want to add dried currants or maybe cinammon and raisins or a luscious Italian bread with garlic and rosemary? Throw them in there. A sweet bread like cinnamon raisin bread usually wants more sugar so I add about 2 to 3oz. per lb. Why? I don't know. It's just a ratio that's worked well for me in the past. If what you throw in is wet like some old dough from yesterday or a sourdough starter, just take out a little water. If it's dry like milk solids or wheat germ, add a little water.
I tend to hydrate a little more for pan breads than I do for hearth breads. I don't know why. Experience has taught me I like it that way. I might go up to 60% water by weight or maybe higher. Some breads behave a little differently with different levels of hydration but I've found good ratios that work for me and my ovens. Some breads work better with a lot of mixing and others don't want too much. Some want to ferment for hours and others work best with just an hour or so.
You see, since I'm not making bread commercially, I don't really need to have a formula since I don't need today's batch to taste exactly like last month's batch. I just need to understand the basic ratios and then I can create to my heart's content.
As you begin mixing the dough, experience will tell you immediately how dry or wet the dough will turn out. It's a simple matter to add a little water or a little flour to adjust the texture of the dough. If you're going to mix it for a long time a little more water will help counteract the heat from the friction involved in mixing. The dough will still look right, feel right and bake right after the adjustments.
So my suggestion is go out and create some great bread. Armed with a few simple ratios, you can make any amount of dough you like. Armed with a little experience you can adjust your dough to your ingredients. Go make some bread. It's so easy you don't even need a recipe. Good cooking.
Fred Foodie Forums