Wheat and Flavor
How to Rationalize Flavor vs. Performance
A few weeks ago, we talked about our journey of transitioning from Appalachian wheat to Warthog wheat for our signature conchas. When we were recipe testing with the Warthog wheat, our main focus was on flour performance. A successful bake meant that our conchas had a perfect oven spring, resulting in a beautifully domed appearance and a light yet sturdy crumb. This is what we were aiming for.
One of the only easy things about baking bread is the visual end goal is easy to define. Most finished breads in their correct form are domed, and achieving a nice dome is usually the difference between success and failure. If a loaf of bread comes out of the oven flat as a pancake, that’s quite clearly a failure. The bread likely suffered from underdevelopment of gluten or overproofing. On the other end of the spectrum, if the bread is very small with too much vertical lift and excessive cracking, the bread was underproofed. A beautiful dome is aesthetically pleasing, and it also indicates that every step of the bread making process went well.
When our conchas came out of the oven with a perfect domed appearance, we knew that this new Warthog wheat was capable of developing enough gluten during mixing and of holding its shape during proofing. From a wheat functionality standpoint, this was a huge success. They looked beautiful, and we knew we’d nailed it.
But, what about flavor? Just as different varietals of wheat have different performance capabilities in both bread and pastry applications, they also have different flavors. Isn’t flavor just as important? How could we know that our concha test with Warthog wheat was a success before even tasting it?
One of the key reasons we’re such big proponents of using unique varietals of grains in our baking, and of course in using them in their full-inclusion form, is because we’re in search of flavor. Something baked with unsifted flour is always going to be more flavorful with a more satisfying mouthfeel than something baked with white flour. And with grains making up such a large percentage of our diets, I believe we miss a huge flavor opportunity when we default to the sifted, mass-produced flour that seems to be ubiquitous. The fight for full-inclusion is the fight for flavor.
When a baker develops a recipe, one of the first steps is to conceptualize and plan flavor pairings. Chocolate and hazelnuts, cinnamon and apples, bananas and walnuts, and so many other combos are beloved because they just work. A successful flavor combination results in something that is greater than the sum of its parts. And yet, when we talk about the flavors of grains, it’s almost never in the context of specific pairings.
I believe that’s because the rich flavors of full-inclusion flours provide the framework for the other, more intense flavors in a recipe to shine through. Just like salt, when used properly, makes an ingredient taste more like itself, the fattiness and minerality that the bran and germ contribute to full-inclusion flour enhance the overall flavor but are a bit harder to specifically decern. Full-inclusion flours simply turn the volume up.
As we bit into our new Warthog wheat conchas, we could immediately name the flavor differences between them and our old Appalachian wheat conchas. The Warthog wheat contributed an intensely wheaty flavor that warmed the mouth. There were notes of grass and barnyard, as well as a light sweetness that beautifully balanced the overall robustness of flavor. Appalachian wheat, by comparison, is lighter, almost ethereal. It has notes of honey, and the usual wheaty astringency comes across in a lighter way, almost like green tea does. In terms of a tea comparison, the Warthog was like an oolong.
But despite their flavor differences, both wheats made for a delicious concha. Vanilla and anise are the key flavors in our conchas, and even though the wheat flavor comes through clearly, it still serves a supporting role in the overall flavor profile.
Even though we enjoy and value the unique flavors different grains give us, the primary concern in recipe development remains function. A concha made with a grain that tastes amazing but that cannot produce the needed gluten formation is never going to be successful. Texture and mouthfeel are just as important as flavor, and frankly, even though different grain varietals taste unique, they’re all delicious.
This week’s recipe is for banana bread, one of our favorite vehicles for playing with flavor. We pair overripe bananas with honey and apricot jam for a trifecta of acidic sweetness. Toasted walnuts also have a hint of acidity to them. So what balances the recipe, making it all work? Full-inclusion flour, of course! The fattiness and minerality of any varietal of full-inclusion flour balances the acidity perfectly, making for a loaf that’s way more satisfying than the sum of its parts. Let’s get baking!