Why don't we use yeast?...
Artisan Bread does not use baker's yeast or sourdough...
‘Bread is an essential part of daily nutrition for many of us, but it can also be a burden to the digestive system. Using leavening agents such as yeast or baking soda does not change the unripe nature of the grain, making it difficult to digest. The body produces mucous in reaction to the constituents of the grain, which is in a form designed for long-term storage. The baking ferment method replicates the process of sprouting as the grain changes to provide nourishment for the living organism. This process also produces less acid residue in the body’ Tom Greenfield ND.
What’s wrong with yeast?... Baking without yeast - all your questions answered.
By Ingrid Greenfield of Artisan Bread Organic. I have been asked to explain the difference between baking with baking ferment, sourdough and yeast many times, so I decided to write this leaflet in an attempt to give a brief explanation of a very complex subject. When someone introduced me to ‘Backferment’ during the 1980’s, I just knew that this was the answer to so many problems. Baking ferment is used instead of yeast in many Demeter (Biodynamic) bakeries across the world. At Artisan Bread we bake very special organic and Demeter bread and it gives us great pleasure to see it appreciated and enjoyed by so many people.
What happens in a yeast factory?...
In order to find even cheaper ways of producing yeast and to satisfy the demands of the modern baking industry, extensive programmes for strain development of S.cerevisiae (Baker’s yeast)are taking place using genetic manipulation and some strains have even been patented. These programmes involve gene-altering techniques such as mutagenesis, hybridization, protoplast fusion, transformation and DNA technology. Starting from a pure culture of selected strains it only takes about 6-8 days to produce thousands of kilos of baker’s yeast. The growing yeast requires a source of sugars, alcohol and organic acids. Nitrogen is also essential for yeast growth. Cane and beet molasses were initially found to be the cheapest growing medium; whey (from milk) and corn syrup are even cheaper. S. cerevisiae (Baker’s yeast) does not have the necessary enzymes to utilise the lactose in whey, so a new strain has been developed through genetic engineering! Sources of nitrogen used to be based on ammonia, but it is now possible to use urea.
Comment:
Undoubtedly this helps to produce yeast cheaply and quickly but do these companies ever consider what effect this has on our health and the environment?
Baking with yeast...
Conventional bread making used to involve a ‘sponge dough’ method. About two-thirds of the flour, mixed with water and yeast is left to ferment, and then the remaining flour, water and salt is added and mixed to smooth dough. The dough is then divided into pieces and moulded, while being allowed to rest for short periods in between these operations. During the proving periods, fermentation and leavening of the dough continued. Finally the bread is baked in a hot oven. The fermentation action of the yeast produces carbon dioxide. Trapped in tiny bubbles in the dough this gas expands further in the heat, causing the bread to rise. Steam and alcohol evaporate and the coagulated gluten sets to form the crumb. This conventional sponge dough technology requires about 15 hours, but much faster industrial methods have been developed. Factory Baking...
Fermentation of the dough has been replaced by intense mechanical working and the addition of chemical bread ‘improvers’ and lots of enzymes to add flavour. The dough is ready for baking in minutes!
Comment:
Since baker’s yeast is a single strain variety, it will only metabolise those parts of the grain that are necessary for that particular strain to grow. Many microorganisms that become active in sourdough or our baking ferment process, combined with long proofing periods are responsible for the development of aroma, taste and digestibility. These are missing entirely in yeast and can hardly be replaced by the use of chemical ‘bread improvers’ and added enzymes. The old-fashioned ‘sponge dough’ method, which allowed the dough to ferment overnight, has been abolished in large bakeries. PLEASE NOTE: AT Artisan Bread Organic
WE DO NOT USE YEAST, NOT EVEN ORGANIC YEAST! Yeast is only suitable for the production of wheat breads since it relies on the wheat gluten, which is only available in wheat, forming a viscoelastic film to retain the gas.
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Baking with sourdough...
This dough is fermented with the aid of wild yeasts and airborne acid-producing bacteria. Sourdough creates the conditions that make rye flour bakeable: rye has less starch and less protein than wheat but more soluble sugar and water-binding pentosans; it also contains more enzymes for breaking down starch; sourdough helps to give rye bread structure and elasticity. Sourdough allows the natural enzymes to form the dough structure. Sourdough produces lactic and acetic acid for taste and aroma. There are several methods to produce sourdough, from a single phase to a three-phase process. Basically, a sourdough is started by mixing equal parts of rye flour and water with a starter culture of pure selected strains of bacteria and a small amount of sourdough starter from the previous day’s baking. This dough ferments and can be used all week as a sponge dough for bread making. At the end of the week the remains form next week’s starter dough. The ‘right’ sourdough used to be a closely guarded secret amongst baking families and was handed down through the generations. Artificial sourdoughs are often used today, which give the bread an acidic taste. These doughs do not have the enzymatic properties of a real sourdough, which aids the digestibility and taste of rye bread. Some bakers also add yeast to sourdough breads to speed up the fermentation process.
What is baking ferment?...
Baking ferment was developed in the laboratories of the Institute of Biodynamic Ecology in Darmstadt in 1965 sponsored by Dr. Peter von Siemens. In a book by Ada Pokorny there are even recipes for cakes using baking ferment. Baking ferment is made from wheat or maize flour (in the case of gluten-free baking ferment), legumes (pea flour) and honey from certified organic sources. These ingredients are mixed to a dough. The proteins in the legumes allow the development of the nectar yeasts in the honey, with the cereal forming the main function in the spontaneous fermentation that follows. Honey contains around 24 different nectar yeasts which allow all round assimilation of all available nutrients, resulting in a better dough where more of the nutrients become available for human nutrition. Baker's yeast on the other hand only needs a few key nutrients to thrive and does not leaven the dough at a broad spectrum.The resulting dough is then dried and granulated. In biodynamic terms baking ferment is in perfect harmony with nature as represented by the Demeter flower symbol. The flower is represented by honey; the soil is represented by the legumes and the leaves and stem by the cereal.
Baking with baking ferment leaven...
With baking ferment the process is similar to the sourdough method described earlier. A dough is prepared by mixing flour, water and the baking ferment granules, which is then proved over approx. 15 hours. Each time we bake we use a small amount of this leaven to produce sponge dough, which is then ‘soured’ i.e. allowed to ferment naturally to produce lactic and acetic acid overnight. Myriads of nectar yeasts and enzymes contained naturally in biodynamic cereals and in baking ferment become active and prepare the grain for easy assimilation by our digestive system by starting to break down the starch and protein. Next day more flour and water is added to the dough, which is ripened to maturity before it is finally baked.
Candida...
The carbohydrates in artisan bread are prepared for the human organism rather than feeding fungal organisms that might be present in our bodies as is the case when people suffer from Candida overgrowth. Starved of yeast and sugar, these fungal organisms can be held in check by the body. See Suzanne Ducket's report on fighting Candida in ‘What the papers say’. It shouldn’t really work! - the unique action of baking ferment...
Bread baked with baking ferment leaven tastes less acidic than bread baked with sourdough as the fermentation is more evenly balanced; the acetic acids are kept in check by the naturally forming lactic acids, resulting in milder tasting, more easily digested bread. The unique action of the baking ferment allows the vitality in the grain to fully develop. Slow mixing and a long fermentation and proofing process allows the bread to develop taste, vitality and good keeping qualities. Unlike yeast, which can only be used when baking with wheat, or sourdough (mainly used for rye bread), baking ferment makes tasty bread from the ‘unbakeables’ like barley, oats, millet, buckwheat and cassava. We are the first bakery to bake quinoa bread, pea bread or bean bread.
Baking ferment leaven acts like a catalyst in bread making. Our leaven is made with less than 2% baking ferment; our bread is made with 0.5% of leaven. The pea flour and the honey are totally assimilated in the process and their presence in the final loaf of bread can only be described as ‘homeopathically’ small, yet the effect is far superior to using baker’s yeast, which is up to 1.75% in the Chorleywood process. Artisan bread leaven is made with gluten-free organic baking ferment Comment by author:
You might be as shocked as I was when I found out what happens in a modern yeast factory! The Chorleywood baking process is undoubtedly a great technical achievement, but have the creators of this process considered its effect on human health? Even the Soil Association is approving ‘organic’ ‘bread improvers’ and ‘conditioners’ and ‘flavouring’ incorporating the latest enzymes technology.... What ever next??? Now for the good news... Biodynamic (Demeter Certified) IS more than organic!
Only in Demeter certified bread has organic bread to be made with organic yeast - a positive step in the right direction:
No GM in Demeter certified bread - no other certifier goes this far!
Biodynamic - more than organic!
Demeter International e.V. has finally taken a stand on the issue of non-organic yeast in bread: From 1st July 2009 bakers have to prove that the yeast they use is either certified organic or has been grown on organic substrates. Only if neither is available may conventional yeast be used with a written confirmation that the yeast used is not genetically modified.
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Bioreal - Makers of organic Yeast...
‘The effluent from commercial yeast production contains 75 kg ammonium solution, 15 kg sulphuric acid, 11 kg phosphoric acid, 4kg magnesium sulphate and 10 kg detergent per ton of yeast’.
The ‘effluent’ from organic yeast production, mixed with fruit juices is sold as a vitamin- and mineral-rich health drink.
Ask the questions – demand more!
Start asking makers of yeast extracts, patés, breads, stock cubes, ready meals etc.:
· Are your products made with yeast really suitable for vegans and vegetarians? · Do you know how the yeast in your products is made and what processing aids(genetically modified) are used?
· Are you aware that you can significantly reduce pollution by using organic yeast? · If yes, why haven’t you switched to organic yeast?
Bibliography... Encyclopedia of Food Science, Food Technology & Nutrition - Vol 7, ‘YEASTS’ 1993: Academic Press. Vol. 4, ‘YEASTS’ 1992 John Wiley & Sons Inc. Ada Pokorny (1989) ‘Backen von Brot und Gebäck aus allen 7 Getreidearten mit dem Spezial-Backferment’. Arbeitskreis für Ernährungsforschung.
Andrew Whitley‚‘Bread Matters’ Organic yeast is available in the UK! For more information visit www.bioreal.de
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