The Science of Bread

A talk for people who are not very familiar with baking but want to start baking their own bread that will cover the basic food science principles of doughs, fermentation and convection ovens. The talk will cover a whole range of basic leavened breads from a simple loaf, Pav/buns, Foccacia/Pizza, Sourdough, Naans and Kulchas

Outline

The talk’s outline is as follows

• Introduction to Baking (differences between cooking methods)
• Bare minimum list of tools and appliances required
• Introduction to Flours (Maida/Atta, All-Purpose, Bread flour, Pizza flour, Whole wheat, the role of Gluten)
• Introduction to Yeast and Fermentation
• Flour + Salt + Water + Yeast = Basic bread method
• Enriched breads - Pav/Buns
• Flat breads - Foccacia, Pizza, Naans, Kulchas
• Industrial yeast vs Wild yeast - introduction to Sourdough baking

Requirements

An open, curious mind, an active inclination towards getting your hands dirty (and really sticky) and wholehearted love for the aroma and flavour of fresh baked bread

Speaker bio

Krish Ashok is a techie, amateur musician and the upcoming author of Masala Lab: The Science of Indian Cooking to be published in Dec 2020 by Penguin RandomHouse.