SC - Re: Bread making Platina style (long)

[Jeff Gedney]

> >  So...whole 
> > wheat would be better for sourdough also??

> Not necessarily, although it might be more correct historically.  

Listen to Bear, he has forgotten more about baking than I know
about Brewing!!

It is entirely probable (infact even likely) that enough Amylase
exists in the cells of the endosperm, and the dust from milling
and boulting the flour, to generate the relatively small amounts 
of sugar necessary to add lift to bread.

After all, converting all starch to sugar is not needed, and even
undesireable in breadmaking, but rather necessary to brewing. 

The yeast also has a variety of digestive enzymes which break 
down starches and other polysaccharides into simple sugar, but 
it is a LOT of work for the yeast, especially at lower than 'blood 
warm' temps (which hinder the enzymatic action). At some point 
there is a "point of diminshing return", and not enough energy is
available from the broken down starches to fuel the breaking 
down of more starches. A starch is typically hugely complex 
and requires a lot more energy to digest than simpler 
polysaccharides like Sucrose.

It should be OK to use white flour to make the starter.
If the flour seems slow to start, adding a pinch of fresh 
wheat germ to the starter to get the starter established would 
help, I think, and it would only require a 1/4 tsp or so. 
The amylase in the germ would be more than sufficient 
to the purpose.
( If you are buying wheat germ, try to get "fresh" or "live", as 
heat treating and other processing steps will denature the 
amylase, and render it useless. If the stuff required refrigerating, 
it is probably ok for this purpose )

Of course, you could add the amylase the way certain primitive 
societies do in making beer, like South American "Chicha" beer...
(But I doubt that your family will be particularly drawn to bread that 
you prepared by chewing some of the ingredients and spitting 
into the bowl  ;-)

> Whole grain is not particularly critical to breadmaking, where it and malted
> grain are very essential to Brandu's specialty of brewing.

Well, I hope to make it a specialty, and I aspire to be as good a 
brewer as Bear is a baker, one of these years.

Brandu