Customer wants lighter-colour sandwich loaf
Hi, I have a client who wants to make a loaf of bread from his country in Africa. He has given me the recipe and it's a pretty simple sandwich loaf (Wonder-style).
I've done a few bake tests and it seems that the colour the loaf comes out (see image) is "too dark".
To me, it looks quite fine and the bread is pretty good, for what it is.
For this, I've been using Rogers All Purpose flour (13% protein) which has gotten me the above result.
I've read that the Maillard Reaction is affected by protein levels (more protein = more browning) so I've done a batch with a mix of AP and Pastry flours (8.5%) to a level where the combined protein is now 10% which matches the protein in the local flour back in Africa.
However, the bread came out just as dark as the previous AP only loaves so the change in protein/gluten levels didn't make any difference. This was baked at the same settings as the previous loaves: 8 seconds steam (released at 12 minutes), 380º for 35 minutes to internal 100º C, 25% top, 60% bottom heat.
What I did notice was that the loaf tops started with a light tan colour but soon developed darker brown spots that eventually became the whole top of the loaf. It wasn't a gradual darkening.
Ingredients include:
Ap (and now pastry) flour
Water
Milk
Sugar
Margarine
Oil
Salt
IDY
Bulk 90 minutes, S&F at 30 and 60, shape, pan, proofer 40 or so minutes. Poke test for readiness. Pop into pre-heated oven.
What other ways might there be to get a lighter loaf crust?
He is looking to please the community in his city who pine for the "paler loaf" from back home.
Would baking this in a rotary rack convection (the eventual goal) make any difference to that final colour that isn't attainable in a deck oven?
Any guidance would be appreciated. Willing to try different things using regionally available flours.
There's a possibility of getting his "local" flour shipped in, so this may all be for naught and the solution will simply be using "original" flour with whatever characteristics it contributes to the paler loaves.
Thanks much!
That is a perfect representative of its category. Beautiful.
I'm not a professional; I'm hardly an amateur.
In my experience sugar has much more impact on browning than flour type. Could you reduce the sugar?
You could lower the temperature. Perhaps they are baked at lower temperature for longer?
Or maybe shield the tops with foil or a pan? But doing that in quantity would be a challenge.
Gary
I concur with one of Gary's ideas: try baking at a lower temperature or scaling down the temp during the bake.
BTW: what country is your client from? It's gotta be one of the former Brit colonies. I have spent a bunch of time in Nigeria and Kenya and it's true: both countries eat British-style sweetened white bread with crusts that are so pale they almost don't qualify as crusts. When I was in Lagos, a friend who was originally from Togo took a short trip back to Lomé and smuggled some baguettes across the border. We reveled in their flavor while all our Nigerian friends were thoroughly disgusted by a tiny taste.
Rob
Rather than sugar, I would eliminate the milk if the goal is to get rid of reducing sugars that can contribute to Maillard browning. Sucrose isn't a reducing sugar and can't participate in the Maillard reaction until it is broken down first, and by the time you're worried about that you should also be worried about the starch and any malt that may be present. Lactose, however, is a reducing sugar and would definitely contribute to browning.
Aside from lowering the temperature (which I agree is a good idea to make the crust paler), I would try to increase the exposure time to steam, as the crust can only brown after it dries out.
The thing is, he's already got the recipe. Presumably, someone has been able to use it to make a loaf of bread that meets the requirements. I would look at 1) reducing the bake temperature - 380 deg F seems high to me if the goal is not to get browning; 2) cover the loaf pans during most or all of the bake. This could be done using a Pullman pan that is underfilled so the lid can be kept on and the loaf wouldn't quite expand against it. That would also keep the environment moister.
In addition, baking to 100C internal temperature seems high, especially for a soft white sandwich bread. Actually, it would be high for most any bread. You can't get to 100C until all the water has been driven out, and you probably don't want that.
In fact, I don't see how the loaf could have baked to 100C in only 35 minutes at 380 deg F. This makes me wonder if the baking temperature is actually somewhat higher than that. Or maybe the loaf is really small : )
One more difference is that the Rodgers' flour is probably malted, and if so that might contribute to browning. Perhaps the original flour wasn't malted.
TomP
Absolutely agree if he already has the recipe not to change the milk for now (unless the milk available in that part of Africa is different somehow...).
So the best changes for now would be to lower oven temperature, cover pans (or add more steam throughout the bake), and find an unmalted flour.
If you develop the gluten substantially during mixing to ensure good rise, simply rest the dough a little and proceed directly with shaping, essentially combining BF and proofing in one stage? Reduced fermentation with lead to pale loaves.
Other thoughts: lower bake temperature, less milk (lower protein content milk, maybe even combination of water with evaporated milk).
-Lin
Pan colour makes a big difference. A dark pan will produce a darker loaf than a light, shiny one. My dark Pullman pan was turning out loaves that were darker than I liked, so now I wrap it in foil for the last 10 min, or so. Below is a photo. That was baked at 350F for 35min. It contains milk, fat and egg yolk.
The next picture shows this loaf and another hiding behind it...same dough, baked at the same time...same everything...except the 2nd was in a dark blue pan. The top of the loaf was covered with damp parchment paper near the end. There's not much side/end showing on the 2nd loaf, but the difference in colour is obvious. Keeping the top of an exposed loaf light is another matter though. As others suggested, you (he) might have to cover the top for a prolonged period, not just toward the end of baking.
I have used a shiny aluminum pan that turned out bread so pale (but cooked) it had trouble supporting itself on depanning. So, that's a problem at the other extreme.
Edit: I had another look at your photo and the bread's bottom & sides look quite light. Were you talking about the top crust only? If so, when it comes to my post, I'll just invoke Emily Litella and say, "never mind".