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Carmelization of bread.... ??

2K views 1 reply 2 participants last post by  zukerig 
#1 ·
Hello all!

I have a question. Tonight, I made the baguette dough from Reinharts (sp?) book. Instead of making baguettes, I made boules. One I proofed in a banaton (sp?) and the other on a sheet pan. The one I proofed in the banaton, I proofed a little faster then the one on the sheet pan by only 30 minutes. I baked the banaton one first and was sorta disapointed with the lack of carmelization.

Then I baked the other boule and the carmelization was great.

Why is this? Was it because you have to use some flour in the banaton so the dough will not stick to the banaton and maybe the excess flour prevents carmelization?

Any ideas?
 
#2 ·
Crust color is noticeably enhanced when steam is injected into the oven. During the early stage of baking there is a rapid increase in enzymatic activity on the surface of a loaf. These enzymes break down the starches in the dough into sugar-like compounds called "dextrins," and other simple "reducing" sugars.

Steaming the oven has a cooling effect on the dough, and this enables the enzymes to remain active for a longer period of time - which, in turn, contributes to the crust browning through the "Maillard reaction" - and later, through caramelization of the crust.
 
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