The return to whole grains: A challenge for artisan bakeries
Whole grain flour is nothing new – professionals have long proven that it can be used to cook or bake almost anything, though the path from vision to perfect result is often winding. Each twist and turn along the way dusts off the experience that was lost in the arrival of white flour – the discovery of a new, suitable variety, or a method of milling, prompting craftsmanship to step up to the challenges of the present day.
Some bakers are uncompromising, already pulling whole-wheat loaves and pastries from their ovens – Tomáš Solák at Praktika is a pioneer on the Czech gastro scene, who introduced stoneground, whole grain as a foundation of his work. However, for many bakers (and also millers!) its use is still a distant goal, or an insignificant addition to the shelf.
Instant gratification
"Thanks to whole grains, we return to nature and what is natural for us," emphasises Karolína Kunftová, who works with holistic natural medicine called naturopathy. “Our society is nutritionally malnourished because foods have lost their nutritional density – they contain less nutrients relative to their energy value. At the same time, I feel that we have displaced the fact that food primarily provides material for the operation and regeneration of our organism, and we have looked for mere satisfaction in it. We need to take a small step back.'
Stability and a longer shelf life, faster preparation of cereals, an attractive white flour, and finer texture are all reasons why the skins and layers of grains began to be removed – plus, it’s easier to make a fluffy baked good from light, ground flour, as opposed to whole grain. Yet this depletes the final product of valuable elements and the characteristic flavours of the grain.
While the inner part of the grain, the endosperm, largely contains proteins and starches, the outer shell, the bran and the so-called aleurone layers hold vitamins (mainly B-complex, A, E), minerals (calcium, manganese, iron, zinc, magnesium), enzymes, phenolic compounds (with antioxidant effects), as well as insoluble and soluble fibre, which is the main source of food for the intestinal microbiome.
"The shell of the grain is a great multivitamin and multimineral, in contrast to the starchy core, which is not so important from the point of view of nutrition," confirms Karolína. "Whole grains and whole grain foods loaded with fibre are ideal food for gut bacteria and a beneficial microbiome, but they also stabilise blood sugar and slow down glycemia, which is beneficial for humans both physiologically and energetically."
It probably won't surprise you that eating whole grain products (preferably in organic quality that excludes the accumulation of residues in grains) helps reduce the risk of certain types of cancer, heart disease and diabetes. In addition, the mentioned enzymes and oils in the bran and germ add a specific taste and aroma to the grain – and influence work with flour and dough.
A postcard from Berlin
“Because of industrialisation, we’ve come to believe that white flour has the best baking properties and is therefore the only choice for baking. Now we’re finally realising that we were wrong. "Flour is not just a substance – it is a full-fledged raw material, the origin and quality of which must be monitored," says Olga Graf from the Kornlabor project in Berlin, which connects farmers, millers and bakeries, educates about flour and sparks discussion not only among professionals.
People from the UM education centre at Národní have also joined the project – they teamed up with both Olga and bakers Florian Domberger and Björn Wies as part of flour research. Both work with whole grain flour, but most importantly, they work closely with farmers and millers, thereby shortening the supply chain, increasing the quality of ground grain not only in their operations and stimulating the development of artisanal baking.
"Bakers and confectioners have become accustomed to stabilised flour, and have forgotten that their craft consists of working with flour that is alive and non-standardised. In doing so, they renounced joint responsibility for the health of their customers," says Olga, who sees whole grains as the necessary answer to today's situation: "Various economic and ecological crises clearly signal that we can no longer afford to throw away 30% of grain. About that much remains after grinding classic white flour."
A similar idea is carried by the U Kalendů bakery. "It makes sense to me to use raw materials as fully as possible, and this also applies to grain. We tried mixing wholemeal flour into the sweet dough as well, but so far we haven't been able to get it to a successful end. Soon I'm going to test flours at UM and adjust the recipes so that we bake all our bread from whole grain flour," plans chef and baker Sláva Grigoryk. U Kalendů’s bread already contains 40% whole grain spelt, red wheat and rye from Dubecko mill.
Inspiration from Turin
"If we want to bake with old varieties of cereals and wholemeal flour, we have to look into the past and realise that baked goods used to look different than they do today. We can’t change our approach, follow tradition, and at the same time expect the same result from the dough as with milled white wheat," recalled Andrea Perino, a baker from Turin, to which artisans from Ambiente ventured to uncover further knowledge.
They visited several businesses in two days. In addition to Andrea and his Perino Vesco operation, they visited baker Luca Scarcella and the pizzeria Sesto Gusto by Massimiliano Prete – timeless concepts where, through various doughs, tradition meets the needs of today's society, be it wholemeal flour, the potential of original cereals and direct contact with farmers, or climate change and so-called “population wheat”.
"We have to adapt to nature, not the other way round," said Andrea, a thought echoed by the others, including the mill from which his bakery gets its flour, Molino Agostini, as well as Prague’s Café Savoy, where organic Italian monograin complements Czech flour from Dubecko in their baguettes.
The main goal, however, was an excursion to the Bongiovanni mill, from which flour is sent to Pasta Fresca and Pizza Nuova – in Celetná street alone, they process around 400 kilos of pasta flour per week, caring not only about quality, but also about who and what their ingredient purchases support. The workshop in the mill (and bakery laboratory) was devoted, among other things, to whole grain and stoneground flour, which preserves important parts of the grain – the active germ and a larger proportion of bran. This must then be taken into account when preparing the dough.
"Stoneground wholemeal flour requires autolysis, which helps kickstart enzymatic processes and create a springy dough. When flour is mixed with water and left to sit for half an hour, the bran hydrates, which would otherwise take moisture from the dough during ripening and only harm it," advised baker and technologist Luca Zucchini. The bran therefore allows for highly hydrated dough, which will acquire a deliciously pliable texture and better digestibility – all thanks to the activation of enzymes.
To strengthen the whole-wheat dough, after autolysis, two other types of wheat flour were poured into the bowl – a lighter Type 1 and a "semi-whole-wheat" Type 2 with higher germ and bran content, which is ground between the stones to a finer granulation than on the rollers. As such, this T2 flour is also suitable for pasta, for example.
Times of change
At Bongiovanni, the stone-milled flours are called Antiqua – they come from grain harvested within 50 km of the mill and include several types of flour of different strength (W). Bread made from cereal flour supplemented with whole grain rye, sesame and flax seeds, oat and barley flakes, corn flour and millet was tasted, and there was talk of a multi-cereal special for pizza makers who dare to let go of old school ideas about pizza dough.
During the training, a pinsa romana was baked from Core flour – where bran and roasted sprouts are added to the grain at the end of milling on a roller – whilst no longer so active, this adds at least some nutrients, taste, fat and suppleness to the pastry. Millers are thus trying to defend the advantages of roller mills, and at the same time looking for ways to increase the nutritional and baking quality of the resulting flours.
"Grain forms the basis of our diet, and we should be interested in how flour is made and the difference it makes when it’s ground on a stone or on a roller. It has revolutionised our diet," shares Antonio Carlini, a chef and baker who has worked with the Bongiovanni mill for several years, and accompanied the Ambi team on a journey through his native Turin.
"I'm not saying that we all have to bake with wholemeal flour, but I think it's an added value that enriches our products. As bakers and gastronomists, we can change the paradigm of how ingredients are grown and processed and offer people really good and healthy food," urges Antoni, who is in the same boat as the Ambiente pros, and is helping to steer the collective voyage to better flour.
Source: Kornlabor, Molino Bongiovanni, Probio, Karolína Kunftová Naturopatie
