Make gruel for improve dough
Gelatinized flour (known as gruel, zaparka, zápara, zavarka, tang zhong, water roux, roux de agua, scald) is one of best natural dough improver - it increase water absorption and it is a slight emulsifier. Use part of flour and make gruel.
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Gruel is known from years, it increase water absorption of dough for better work with it, but it also extends bread freshness.
Zaparka (gruel ~250% hydration) is one of oldest Polish method for make crumb softer. Gruel called tang zhong (about 500% hydration) is using for bake eg hokkaido traditional Japanese bread. You can add gruel to any bread, buns dough, or dumplings (yes, that why traditional Polish pierogi are unique). Do you know traditional Polish babka (baba)? "Baba parzona" have most delicate crumb thanks zaparka. Do you know and like Eclairs? Yes... it thanks gelatinization.
There are two diffrent ways for make zaparka and tang zhong. The idea is the same you need obtain starch gelatinization temperature - about 65°C / 150°F (depends flour type). For zaparka cool down from boiling temperature to gelatinization, for tang zhong heat up from room temperature to gelatinization temperature.
- For make zaparka put flour to bowl and mix with boiling water. It will be quite dense, mix with wooden spoon until remove all lumps. Zaparka therm came from Polish zaparzanie word it mean brewing
- For make tang zhong (known as water roux) put flour to frying pan or saucepan add mix with tap water. It will be more liquid than for Crêpe. Start heating and mixing with silicone spoon until it became dense, that you can create line. Tang zhong should is ready when it get temperature 65°C / 150°F. I am using infrared thermometer.
For use gruel in your dough you need cool it to room temperature first - leave it for cool itself, or if you are hurry dissolve gruel in tap water. For cool you can melt it with cold lard, butter, margarine if you need add fat to your dough. Gruel has a slight emulsifying effect of fat.
Pregelatinized flour is just dried and milled gruel. It is the most widely used natural flour improver in the baking industry. It belongs to the "clean label" improvers - mill does not have to inform that they added and how much they added pregelatinized flour to flour because it is of the same flour. Gruel gives clear results - that is one of reason why one flour is better than other. Look at samples.
There is also Victorian gruel about 2500% hydration, it was make with wheat flakes or wheat middlings.
Gelatinization process is... (I will post soon if you are interested?)
You can type flour weight in any unit. If you type eg. 500 grams or kilograms the results will be also in grams or kilograms. If you type eg 12,58 ounces, the result will be also in ounces.
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