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INTRODUCTION

In this age where everything goes too fast, can we reclaim the pleasure we get from doing simple things that require a little more patience? In our frantic race toward greater productivity and less personal satisfaction, is it so crazy to hope that we could take a step back with respect to the most basic elements of our daily life, things like making our own bread?

I remember my mother and the ritual with which she made bread: the choice of ingredients; the kneading, which she often did by hand; the traditions, like not leaving the doors open to avoid the drafts that might have affected the rising of the dough. . . . As children, we never asked questions; we were too busy waiting for the bread to be baked so that we could savor it hot, just plain or covered with a thin film of good farm butter. There was something magical in that moment! A magic that we have forgotten over time, as rushed as we are!

What if, finally, the most important ingredient in making true good bread is simply time? I asked myself that question recently, after having spent some time pleasantly examining a batch of bread dough as though it were the most fascinating thing in the world. What is satisfying to me is rediscovering real bread, bread that takes time to make but is so worth it.

I also learned that this slow process could not only bring me a great deal of pride but could also be healthier. For a very long time, I thought it was a wonderful thing to be able to bake up a loaf of par-baked bread in less than 30 minutes. But over time, I began to enjoy it less and less and even found it harder and harder to digest, and I was far from being alone in that. . . .

If you think about it, bread, the idea of bread, is both extremely simple and very complex. Some flour, some water, some salt—these ordinary ingredients are enough to produce this “divine” food. So how can we help but be amazed by this process that has allowed the human race to benefit from wheat in so many ways, by this mixture that, once transformed, can give rise to an entirely different food, one that is fragrant, richly savory, and that stimulates every one of our senses?

Have you ever tried to chew a few grains of raw wheat? Not only is it very tough, but there isn't much to be gained from it. The transformation of the grains, however, allows us to develop a multitude of nutrients and flavors that continue to give us pleasure with every bite of bread that we take.

AN ANCIENT FOOD

For centuries, before instant baking yeast was developed and then marketed commercially, our ancestors produced nutritious breads using natural leavening. The development of a natural wild yeast, then, is simply a return to the origins of breadmaking.

At first, grains were eaten in the form of a mash, a little like porridge, and in Europe, it was usually made with rye. We would have a hard time recognizing the connection between that food and the bread that we eat today. The origins of the first bread made from wild yeast are hazy, but several sources attribute it to the Egyptians: someone supposedly, probably by accident, left a mixture of raw grains out somewhere that was exposed to the air and to wild yeast at ambient temperature, which gave it the opportunity to ferment and to swell. This process would have had to be followed by baking (someone had to think of that!), and that is supposedly how the ancestor of bread made from wild yeast was born!

Be that as it may, bread made from a natural starter is the result of a slow process that drew on wild yeast and bacteria, mainly lactobacilli. For more than five thousand years, bread was only produced through the synergy of these two microorganisms. Their combination allows bread to rise and gives it a lot of flavor, but it also allows the mixture's full nutritional potential to emerge. Baker's yeast, on the other hand, with its very quick acting time, has drastically reduced fermentation time, which is essential to the complex development of bread's aromas and digestibility.

THE BENEFITS OF BREAD MADE FROM WILD YEAST

The digestibility and the nutritiousness of bread that has been fermented through this process are very important points. The process of breadmaking using a natural wild yeast starter, which is a result of the action of lactic acid bacteria that break down sugars and thus produce lactic and acetic acids, lowers the pH of the dough and thus makes it more acidic. This acidification has a number of benefits. Grains contain phytic acid, which is present in large quantities in whole grains because it is mostly concentrated in the husk of the grain. But this phytic acid interferes with the proper assimilation of the minerals that are present in the grain. The acidification of the dough activates an enzyme called phytase, which allows the phytic acid to be broken down. This is why the slower preparation time is important: the more slowly the dough ferments, the more time the enzyme has to act and, therefore, to allow for the release and assimilation of all of this mineral potential. In addition, this acidification makes it possible for the bread to keep longer, unlike breads and other baked goods that are made quickly using baker's yeast, which tend to dry out as quickly as they are made.

Several writers have shown the advantage of eating bread made from wild yeast because of its lower glycemic index value and its greater digestive tolerability. It is assumed that the fermentation of the starter leads to a certain “predigestion” of the food because enzymatic processes, such as the action of protease (an enzyme that degrades gluten), act directly on the gluten and make it possible for it to be transformed. Thus, wild yeast may be well suited for people who suffer from intestinal discomfort connected with eating foods that contain gluten. The author Michael Pollan, who has become adept at making bread from wild yeast starter, explains in his culinary series Cooked (broadcast on Netflix, adapted from his best-selling book by the same name, Penguin Publishing Group, 2008) how the way we have been making “modern” bread for decades now has totally damaged our health. According to Pollan, methods of rapid breadmaking, without any real fermentation and often based solely on white flours, have contributed to the development of food intolerances (especially of gluten) and metabolic disorders (such as diabetes) in more and more people. He is convinced that, for most of them, if they could just start eating bread that has been fermented slowly, they would soon forget the discomforts they had that were associated with the overconsumption of modern bread.

As for me, I have been making bread from wild yeast for several years now. At first, I went about it wrong: I was using the wild yeast starter more for the taste and the light acidity that it gave to the bread than for its health benefits. Not only that, but I was thinking of it like baker's yeast in the usual quantity and, thus, did not really allow the dough to rest. I thought I was making “wild yeast bread,” but in fact, it was nothing more than slightly “improved” baker's yeast bread. Quite naturally, I ended up abandoning the procedure, telling myself that wild yeast was limiting and that I did not, ultimately, derive much benefit from it. How wrong I was!

A few years later, I discovered some photos of bread baked by Chad Robertson, a baker in San Francisco who was trained by Richard Bourdon, a guru of bread made from wild yeast, and also spent time with French bakers in Savoie and Provence. Robertson's popularity kept growing and growing—he is a true star among bakers and fans of wild yeast starter—and it was easy to see how well deserved that popularity was: you only had to see his bread to imagine tasting it! It has a beautiful caramelized crust and an airy cream-colored crumb, proof of the bread's authenticity and the baker's passion. This was nothing like the bread I had been making earlier. It was like a new challenge; I immediately decided to try the experience again!

Off I went to the natural foods store to stock up on flour, because I wanted to stack the odds in my favor. I figured some high-quality rye and wheat flour would be good to start with. A few utensils: a jar, a bowl, a rubber spatula, a pastry cutter, and the like—and I was ready! Armed with a recipe for a country bread from wild yeast starter, I threw myself back into this adventure, and I haven't stopped since. I have no regrets. All of my eating habits around bread and baked goods have changed. And my family and friends have rediscovered the taste of “real” bread. We digest it better, we feel fuller, and the sensory experience is better.

Good bread needs time, the time required for effective fermentation, which allows us to benefit from the nutrients that the grains have to offer; even if this process means that the dough has to rest for 8 to 12 hours, we have everything to gain!

This book is not intended to demonize commercial baker's yeast, which can certainly be added to certain recipes. My intention is mainly just to make it clear that a long, slow fermentation process is essential, as much for its health benefits as for the taste of the bread.

I baked all of the recipes in this book myself, using French flour, in the household oven of my tiny kitchen in the Paris region. So, there is no reason why you shouldn't be able to get the same results. Take the time to read each recipe carefully through, and most of all, have faith in yourself! Happy baking to you, my friends!