How to Convert any Baked Good Recipe to a "Soaked" Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is the ratio of flour to water for bread? ›

Water. Different flours absorb different quantities of water, but for a strong white flour the rule of thumb is to take the amount of flour you are using in grams, work out 60% of that and add that amount in ml. For example, if using 1 kilogram of flour, add 600ml water.

Generally speaking, substituting whole wheat can result in a drier, denser product. This likely isn't a problem when you're making muffins or quick breads, but using all whole wheat flour may be too heavy for cakes and cookies.

Cover and allow to sit at room temperature for at least 7 hours or longer. Change the water after 24 hours if you're still soaking. Drain and rinse the grains before cooking with fresh water. Even though 7-8 hours is the minimum recommended for soaking, even a few hours is better than nothing.

Soaking flours and grains is a shortened version of fermentation. It is usually done for 12 to 24 hours and it is often recommended to introduce an acidic medium to the process, mimicking the acids that are naturally produced during the souring process.

When the water is added to the flour during mixing, this results in the swelling of gliadin and glutenin (the insoluble proteins of the wheat flour). These meet and interconnect through covalent (disulfide bonds) and non-covalent bonds. Connected glutenin form big aggregates.

Hydration is calculated by taking the weight of water or liquid in a recipe and dividing it by the weight of flour to get a percentage. Remember that hydration = water / flour. So in the recipe above, if water is 750g and flour is 1,000g, the total hydration of the dough is 750 / 1,000, or 75%.

Your dough can become sticky when you add too much water or the flour isn't suitable for the type of dough you are making. Over proofing or fermenting the dough can also result in the gluten structure weakening causing sticky dough.

The basic all-purpose flour/liquid ratio is 2 1/2 to 3 cups flour to 1 1/4 cups liquid, depending on the time of year -- more flour in the summer, less in the winter."

Substituting whole wheat flour 100% for white flour will lower the rise of your yeasted baked goods significantly. Why? Mainly because whole wheat flour absorbs more liquid than white flour and produces a stiffer dough. The stiffer/drier the dough, the harder it is for it to rise.

You can always substitute all-purpose flour for bread flour one for one in any recipe that calls for it. Your bread might not raise quite as high or have quite as much chew, if you are using all-purpose flour, but it will still be delicious and homemade and all the good things.

What does more gluten do to baked goods? ›

Gluten makes the dough elastic enough that the bubble walls can expand like a little balloon without tearing up until the point where the bread overproofs. When carbon dioxide exerts more pressure than a proofed dough can withstand, the gluten structure weakens, releasing the gas and deflating the overproofed dough.

Soaking grains in water with a little bit of acidic medium like lemon juice or vinegar can help break down phytic acid and enzyme inhibitors, making the grains easier to digest and the nutrients more bioavailable. However, soaking is not necessary for all grains and some can be cooked without soaking.

Whole grains are wonderful in flavor and I'm glad you are using those such as millet. Soaking is not necessary but it does appear to make it easier to digest and breaks down the phytic acid that blocks absorption of some nutrients.

WAPF recommends a very lengthy bean-soaking process of up to 36 hours with the soaking water being changed out and the beans being thoroughly rinsed at least every 12 hours. In addition, WAPF recommends adding a phytase-rich medium to the bean soak to help further improve phytic acid reduction.

Phytic acid found in the bran of many grains prevents some of the nutrients in the grain from being absorbed by our bodies. The overnight soak neutralizes this acid and also goes further by breaking down complex starches, enzyme inhibitors, and other things that can make digestion difficult.

No, you do not need to soak white flour, which is flour where the bran and the germ have been sifted out. Examples of white flour include all-purpose flour or bread flour. You want to soak whole grains or whole grain flour to deactivate some of the anti-nutrient phytic acid contained in the whole grains.