The use of wheat sponges and wheat sourdoughs has proven its worth many times over for soft baked goods and toast bread in particular. Whether these precursors are used depends on the flour quality, recipe and desired final result. With wheat sponges, an improved swelling of the flour components, an enzyme activation and an enhanced freshkeeping of the baked goods are achieved. The crumb becomes moister, while at the same time crumb elasticity, slicing properties and spreadability are improved.
Doughs that are produced using sponges are more plastic, more relaxed and more machinable. The so-called “pan flow” is improved, i.e. the dough pieces flow better into the respective moulds during the final proof and achieve a more uniform baked goods shape.
Refrigerated stockpiled wheat starter doughs can be used to influence the dough temperature, as well. The use of yeast can be reduced. In doughs with a high fat and sugar content, sponge is used to improve the proof performance of the yeast.
Wheat sourdoughs are used to enhance the smell and taste as well as to extend the microbiological keeping quality. The quantities of addition depend on the pH value and degree of acidity as well as the desired result. Wheat sourdough is used to lower the pH value of toast and sandwich bread to meet the long minimum shelf life required by the retail industry.
Good results in terms of aroma, slicing properties and crumb elasticity are achieved using, e.g., IREKS-WEIZENSAUER. The uniformity and the aroma profile are among the advantages of dried sourdough. A company’s own wheat sourdough can be a source of faults and cause a grey crumb, a blotchy upper surface of baked goods or irregularities in taste. (see also the chapter on Wheat sponges and wheat sourdoughs)
Processing:
Soft baked goods, toast and sandwich bread are usually processed with no or only very short bulk fermentation times. The aim is to always achieve the finest possible crumb texture. For toast and sandwich bread, the dough pieces are moulded round and, after an intermediate proofing time of 8 — 15 minutes, tightly rolled over long rollers with two to three pairs of rollers to distribute the pores evenly.
Baking tins with fluted sides are used for toast and sandwich bread. The fluting improves the side stability of bread loaves by increasing the surface area. Inside, the tins are coated. It is important that there is sufficient space between the individual tins to allow air to circulate and thus stabilize the sides of the loaves.
4-pieces method:
This is the most common method for the manufacture of toast. It is used to achieve a crumb that is as light and evenly aerated as possible. First, the rolled dough piece is divided into four equal parts and then placed in the mould rotated by 90°. The tubular pores created by the winding are aligned in parallel to the later slicing direction of the baked toast bread by turning the pieces. This limits the depth of the individual pores and the shadow formation is therefore significantly less pronounced. The result is a lighter-coloured crumb.