On food and cooking the science and lore of the kitchen ( PDFDrive ) 1032

refreshed,thebettertheyeastswillbeableto
grow,andthemoreleaveningpowerthe
starterwillhave.Startersshouldbe
incorporatedintoadoughwhenthey’re
activelygrowingandattheirbubbliest.While
bacteriathriveatwarmtemperatures,86–
96ºF/30–35ºC,yeastsinanacidenvironment
growbetteratacooler68–78ºF/20–25ºC;so
bothstartersandrisingdoughsshouldbekept
relativelycool.
Finally,sourdoughsshouldbewellsalted.
Saltlimitsbacterialprotein-digesting
enzymes,andtightensthevulnerablegluten.
Rye Breads Though a minor grain compared
towheat,ryeisstillfoundinmanybreadsin
Germany and elsewhere in northern Europe
andScandinavia.Mostryebreadsbakedtoday
are made from mixtures of rye and wheat
flours, with rye providing its distinctive, full
flavor and wheat the rising power of gluten.
Rye proteins simply don’t form an elastic


network like gluten, apparently because the
glutenin molecules can’t link up end-to-end
into long chains. Rye has another major
breadmaking liability: it tends to begin
sprouting before harvest, so its starchdigesting enzymes are active during baking
and break down the other major source of
dough structure. Nevertheless bakers in
northern Europe found a way of making a

uniqueraisedbreadfrompureryeflour.
Pumpernickel True pumpernickel was
apparently born during a famine in
Westphalia in the 16th century. It starts with
coarse whole-grain rye flour and a severalstage sourdough fermentation; the acidity
helps limit starch breakdown and also makes
thedoughmoreelastic.Thedoughmanagesto
retainsomecarbondioxidebubblesthanksto
itshighcontentofgummycell-wallmaterials
called pentosans (p. 470). The fermented rye
dough is baked in a pan at a low oven