A technical definition of artisan breads is proposed based on the concepts of lean formulations, long fermentations, and the use of process as the primary way to adapt to changing flour qualities. The current status of what constitutes refined flour that is suitable for artisan bread production is discussed. A conclusion is drawn that very high protein flours that create very strong doughs are likely not to be optimum for artisan breads. Because the long fermentations used in artisan production create acidified doughs, even when only baker's yeast is used, the effect of long fermentations on acidification and its impact on dough strength are also covered. In addition, the article discusses the state of the art in the rapidly changing world of whole wheat baking at the artisan level, where the use of ancient and heritage wheats with weaker dough properties is growing, along with the use of modern hexaploid wheats with more conventional, "normal, " dough performance. Preliminary data suggesting that whole wheat sourdough breads respond to different aspects of flour quality compared with refined flour straight-dough breads are also presented. (basically flour, water, leavening, and salt), and because they have been made for centuries, one is tempted to oversimplify the process.
Because hearth breads have so few ingredients-James MacGuire (6) Flour quality for artisan bread-where do we even start? Are we in danger of oversimplifying the process, in part because there are so many kinds of bread that can be considered "artisan"?The philosophy of what constitutes artisan with respect to breadmaking is covered elsewhere in this special issue of Cereal Foods World (47), but clearly there is a need to define a target from a technical perspective. To manage the scope of this article, it is focused on lean-formulation, risen breads and not on enricheddough products, such as panettone or brioche, that are legitimately "artisan" when made using traditional processes. This article does not aim to be the definitive tract on the topic but, rather, to be a conversation starter. The article also has an unavoidable North American bias as a result of the author's domicile there.To get a better idea of the technical framework surrounding artisan breads a series of interviews was conducted within the artisan baking community, both in the United States and Denmark. All of the interviewed bakers and millers espoused a common theme: for artisan breads and processes, within certain constraints, the process can be adapted to the flour. This conclusion is supported by Leonard (28), who wrote that an artisan baker "adapts each formula and the timing of mixing, rest, scaling, molding and proofing, to variances in [among other factors] the quality of flour. " In contrast, the interviewees suggested that in modern high-speed, continuous, industrial processes, because of their comparative inflexibility, in a sense, the flour needs to be adapted to (i.e., chosen specifically for) the process. The interviewees suggested that the adaptabil...