The Laurel's Kitchen Bread Book_ A Guide to Whole-Grain Breadmaking - Laurel Robertson [152]
HONEY
Honey is fascinating stuff. Books have been written about it, and songs and poems as well. One tiny bee works her whole lifetime to produce one teaspoonful, so we use it with a certain appreciative awe. Honey gives a bright sweetness to bread, and because it holds moisture, bread made with honey keeps well.
Since its character reflects the flowers it comes from, there is considerable variation from one jar of honey to another. This is of much practical interest in breadmaking. We have had honey as black as molasses that was so acid or so full of enzymes (or something mysterious!) that the bread made with it simply would not rise. Commercial bakers, when they use honey at all, generally pick the pasteurized kind because even the lightest honey is a biologically active entity, with properties that can interfere with the dough’s development. The home baker can deal with these vagaries better than the professional, whose livelihood depends on being able to produce identical loaves day after day; but even at home if you are making a long dough, one that will take more than four or five hours to rise, we suggest scalding raw honey before adding it to the dough. For the least damage to its flavor, heat it in a double boiler, and don’t let it get over 180°F. Or if you prefer, heat it in part of the liquid from the recipe, then cool to the proper temperature. Some honeys are acid enough to curdle milk if the two are heated together, but that won’t hurt the bread.
MOLASSES
Molasses is one of our favorite sweeteners, especially for the heartier breads, which its dark flavor complements boldly. There are many varieties of molasses, most by-products of sugar refining. Sugarcane is pounded, the juice extracted, and from the juice comes sugar. What remains behind is first extraction molasses, the lightest. Second extraction is darker because more sugar has been removed. Finally, third extraction molasses, or blackstrap, is left. It still contains some sugar, but so little that it is not commercially practical to take any more out. Blackstrap is well known as a rich source of iron and other minerals, partly because sugar extracting used to be carried on in iron vessels. Nowadays this is not necessarily so, and the iron content varies a lot from brand to brand (and so does the flavor).
Because sulfur is used in the refining of sugar, there is residual sulfur in the molasses—highly objectionable to people who are sensitive to it. Unsulfured molasses is available most places; it is this that we have used in testing our recipes. Which kind you prefer is very much a matter of your own taste. As a rule of thumb, the darker the molasses is, the more sugar has been removed, and the stronger the flavor. Blackstrap, by far the darkest of the lot, is more a flavoring agent than a sweetener, and it should be used with caution by those who haven’t become addicted to its tangy bite. The Joy of Cooking (at least our vintage edition) pronounces thus on its pungency: “Blackstrap molasses is a waste product… and is unpalatable.” To its fans, blackstrap is marvelous. De gustibus. Whatever kind of molasses you use, of course, it will make your bread darker in color than if you had used another sweetener.
MALT
Malt is extracted from sprouted barley, usually, and sometimes from other grains. It has a rich taste and so enhances the flavor of grain that manufacturers of white-flour products often use it to help approximate the satisfyingly warm flavor of whole wheat.
The form of malt that is most concentrated and most easily available is barley malt syrup, a thick, viscous semi-liquid: this is the kind that we have used in recipes in this book. When you buy it be careful to get the plain-flavored kind—hop-flavored malt syrup, sold for brewing, is quite bitter. Look for a brand that has not been diluted with corn syrup, certainly.