Sandwich Bread with Salt-Stressed Yeast
Hi,
I made this simple sandwich bread using salt-stressed yeast. I use this method often for softer and richer doughs. You can find the recipe below.
If you want to have a closer look, here is the link to our recipe video:
Step 1: Salt-stressed yeast
Ingredients:
13g fresh yeast
120ml water 20°C or 68°F
12g salt
Put all ingredients in a jar. Dissolve the yeast and the salt in the water. Close the jar and let it rest for at least 4 hour and up to 2 days at room temperature or in the fridge at 5°C or 40°F.
Step 2: Dough
Ingredients:
Salt stressed yeast
625g bread flour or wheat flour type 550
320ml milk 3.8% fat 5°C or 40°F
19g sugar
37g butter
Start mixing for about 4 min on low speed without butter. Continue mixing for about 10 min on medium speed without butter. Add the butter to the dough and continue mixing for about 5 min on medium speed. After mixing the dough had a temperature of 25°C or 77°F.
The dough is fermented over the next 90 min at room temperature, which was 23°C or 73°F.
After 45 min degas the dough and perform one stretch and fold to strengthen the gluten. After this, let the dough rest for another 45 min.
Step 3: Shape
After a total resting time of 90 min, divide the dough into four pieces and give them a round shape. Cover a baking pan with baking paper. Place the dough balls in the baking pan, cover it and let it rest for about 1h 45 min at room temperature.
Step 5: Bake
Preheat your oven in time for 45 mins at 240°C or 460°F
After final proofing, put the baking pan carefully in the preheated oven.
Bake for 10 min at 240°C or 460°F with steam. Release the steam after 10 min and cover the dough with aluminum foil to prevent it from getting too dark. Continue baking at 200°C or 390°F for about 40 min.
For an even color bake the bread for the last 10 min without baking pan while keeping the top of it still covered with aluminum foil.
Enjoy your bread after a total baking time of 50 min.
What is the logic behind salt stressing commercial yeast?
I quote the translated summary from the bread blog www.hefe-und-mehr.de
"The yeast survives the salt stress to which it is subjected in the salt-yeast process. The salt stress leads to the release of glycerol into the dough, which makes the gluten network more elastic and stable, thus allowing the dough to rise higher and improving fermentation tolerance. At the same time, the production of carbon dioxide is stimulated - especially in doughs containing sugar - which causes the dough to rise faster."
Source: hefe und mehr: salt-stressed-yeast
I found this abstract from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4357469/
So the effect will depend on the yeast variant involved, and apparently is helped by sugar.
Turns out there was a TFL thread on this way back from 2009-
https://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/13848/saltstressed-yeast-increases-rise
Why preheat oven for 45 minutes when it takes 10-15 minutes to get there without the stone?
My oven is slower, it takes about 20 min to heat up to temperatures around 240°C. From there I still give extra time to make sure, that not only the air is 240°C but although the steel. But you are right, without baking stone 30 min could be enough. 10 min as you mentioned wouldn´t work with my oven.
Keeping salt away from yeast until the dough is mixed is a myth. I've never done this and the yeast works just fine. Now we have purposefully salt stressed yeast helping to make better bread!
Just did a quick read up of the study and apparently glycerol seems to be the main factor in this technique. Thank you for the interesting post and what a lovely bake. Something i'll need to experiment sometime with.
I wonder how this would affect rye bread and heritage wheats with weaker glutens.
Thanks, for posting this interesting topic. I see many avenues and side trips to explore. In fact the possibilities seem endless.
For me the first round of experimentation will involve tailoring for use with instant yeast.
Kind regards,
will F.