quality of sourdough
TRANSCRIPT
Quality of Sourdough
Lin Carson, PhD
What is Quality?
✓ Ingredients
✓ Human resources
✓ Environmental factors
✓ Equipment
Delivering a consistent product that meets the customer’s expectations
pH: measured with pH meter
Acidity: Total Titratable Acidity (TTA)
Consistency: dough and final product
Key Aspects:
Defining the Quality of Sourdough
Challenges in an Industrial Environment
• Increased complexity• Production Planning• Cleaning
• Equipment breakdown
• Risk of contamination
• Right amount of sourdough for the daily production schedule
Challenges in an Industrial Environment
Questions to Ask:
• How many flavor profiles can be managed?
• Is the mother dough split into multiple tanks?
• Are there multiple mother doughs?
• Are sourdough refreshments always done at the same time?
• Is the production line down time taken into account?
Controlling the Sourdough
✓ Ingredient specifications Mainly flour
✓ Secure the recipe to use High yield vs low yield
✓ Fermentation parameters Time and temperature ESSENTIAL!
✓ Trained workforce
✓ Sanitary conditions
✓ Consistent feeding
Consistency
How to control the key parameters
• Define flour specs: protein, ash level, falling number
• Measure and record: pH, TTA, flavor
• Recipe: checks and recording
• Fermentation: follow thoroughly & record fermentation times and temperatures
Consistency
• Training: regular training on the importance of the key parameters, hygiene and risks of contamination, line cleans, etc.
• Select your most disciplined people for the job
• Design: how your plant is set up
How to control the key parameters
Fermentation Effect on QualityWatch Ask Dr. Lin Episode 9
Controlling the Sourdough Process
Controlling the Baking Process
Thermal Profiling
• S-curve involves:• Oven spring zone• Up to yeast kill at 50%
• Critical change zone• Starch gelatinization 60%• Proteins destroyed• All dough turns to bread
• Crumb set zone• Moisture escapes• Browning
Manipulating Zones
• Increase Zones 1 & 2• Reduce steam• Target 45% yeast kill
To reduce oven spring:
To control proper crumb set:
• Keep bread moist by targeting 90%• Reduce Zones 4 & 5• Integrity of crumb is lost if arrival >95%• Increase Zones 4 & 5
• Last zone in oven
To control color:
• Core bake to proper arrival
• Cool to internal temperature of <40°C (104°F)• Reduces condensation in package• Reduces molding• Improves loaf’s Integrity of loaf
• Consistent temperature storage
• Lean formula = faster starch retrogradation
Staling of Sourdough
Shelf Life Extension
✓ Lower pH
✓ Naturally mold free
✓ Controlled cooling
✓ Less exposure
✓ Clean surfaces and air
✓ Gloves
✓ Controlled environment
✓ MAP
Descriptors Target, UL, LL
Max points Scoring guidelines Actual
Score Comments
Weight 21±0.25oz 3030 pts - 20.75-21.25 oz10 pts - 20 - 20.74 oz
0 pts - under 20 oz10 20.7oz
Color L value 20 20 pts - L = 40-500 pts - L <30 0 L = 28
No. of slices 18 2020 pts - all 18 slices
10pts - 18 uneven slices0 pts - more or less than 18 slices
20
Height 4”±0.2 10 10 pts - 3.8 to 4.2”0 pts - <3.8” or >4.2” 0 3.75”
Firmness 350-500g 10 10 pts - <500g0 pts - >500g 0 600g
TasteSalty, sweet, chewy
10 10 pts- for usual taste0 pts - burnt or off odor, or missing salt 0 Burnt aroma
Total points 100 30
Quality Instrumentation
✓ Mixolab
✓ Farinograph
✓ Falling number
✓ C-cell crumb scan
✓ Volume meter
✓ Color meter
✓ Texture Analyzer
✓ Infra-red moisture
• Used for cell wall thickness, # of air cells, and distribution
• C-cell (Video)
• Sightline
• Minolta BC-10• L- Values• Plain tops
• Minolta BC- 410 • LAB Values• Seeded tops
Quality Quantification
1. Colormeters 2. Image Scanner 3. Texture Analyzers
• For firmness, chewiness, resilience and cohesiveness
• CT3 (Video)
• TA.XT Plus
Challenges
There’s no rights or wrongs
No sourdough is good or bad; it’s a matter of preference and “signature”
BUT as professional bakers, we must deliver the same results all the time
Try it “at home” but Discipline and Consistency
Sourdough comes with many benefits, but also with a lot of complexity and challenges
