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1/ Since the start of our #covid19 #confinement in #France, I've gone back to making homemade #bread about 3 times per week, so between that and the book I'm reading on the history of bread, I'll leave some interesting tidbits here whenever the fancy strikes me.
#thread
#thread
2/ First up: #DidYouKnow that the #French #blé was once the general word for any #cereal crop ("plante qui produit le grain dont on fait le pain"), much like the 
#English #corn ("any of various cereal plants")?
To talk about wheat, the word was (and remains) "froment".
#xl8
#English #corn ("any of various cereal plants")?To talk about wheat, the word was (and remains) "froment".
#xl8
3/ You know flour and flower are pronounced alike, but #DidYouKnow that the similarity is related to the fact that #flour was once spelled "flower", i.e. "the finer portion of ground grain"?
Not coincidentally, the #French term is "fleur de farine" ("flour flower").
#xl8
Not coincidentally, the #French term is "fleur de farine" ("flour flower").
#xl8
4/ Short on yeast? (Aren't we all?)
You can reuse the same #yeast several times in an old technique called "pâte fermentée" (or "pétrissage sur pâte").
Just set aside and cover about 1/3-1/4 of your yeasted #bread dough in the fridge and incorporate it into your next recipe.
You can reuse the same #yeast several times in an old technique called "pâte fermentée" (or "pétrissage sur pâte").
Just set aside and cover about 1/3-1/4 of your yeasted #bread dough in the fridge and incorporate it into your next recipe.
5/ I tested pétrissage sur pâte this week and it worked like a charm.
A couple remarks:
The dough rose more slowly than with new yeast.
It needs to be "fed" flour and water once in a while (or frozen) if not used soon.
It has markedly better flavor than new yeast.
A couple remarks:
The dough rose more slowly than with new yeast. It needs to be "fed" flour and water once in a while (or frozen) if not used soon. It has markedly better flavor than new yeast.
6/ If you've got some stale bread from a previous loaf lying around, you can actually reuse it to make new #bread.
Just soak it in water overnight, squeeze out the water in the morning, and incorporate the mash into your new dough (up to 1/2 of the weight of flour used).
Just soak it in water overnight, squeeze out the water in the morning, and incorporate the mash into your new dough (up to 1/2 of the weight of flour used).
7/ The name for this in English is "altus", which is linguistically interesting in itself; the original 
is "altes Brot" (old #bread), which somehow became deformed over time. Perhaps German-Jewish immigrants who brought the term to 
with them? #xl8 #language
is "altes Brot" (old #bread), which somehow became deformed over time. Perhaps German-Jewish immigrants who brought the term to with them? #xl8 #language
8/ In addition to preventing waste (or bread pudding overdose), using altus in your dough also allows you to use less flour when baking bread (an advantage as flour has become something of a rare commodity in some shops/places).
