I have a different interpretation of porridge bread and it is somewhat
connected to the concept of porridge.

If you crack grain, slake it down, and let it sit in a covered bucket
for a day or so, it starts to ferment. This fermentation is an
essential part of making regular porridge as bran needs to be softened
by water and phytic acid is reduced during fermentation. If you then
add coarse flour to a cup or so of the softened, wet cracked grain, the
whole business then performs like a regular sponge. From there the
process is like the wet ferment stage of any other bread. In the end
you get a smooth, silky bread as the kneading and bulk ferment finish
breaking down the cracked grain.

The bread's flavor is very mild.

Will wrote:

> I have a different interpretation of porridge bread and it is somewhat
> connected to the concept of porridge.
>
> If you crack grain, slake it down, and let it sit in a covered bucket
> for a day or so, it starts to ferment. This fermentation is an essential
> part of making regular porridge as bran needs to be softened by water
> and phytic acid is reduced during fermentation.

If by "regular porridge" you mean something like Quaker Oats in hot
water or milk (as I would), has the process you describe already been
done to such products before they are packaged and sold? Or is heating
another way of accomplishing, quickly, the same thing?

--
To get my e-mail address, remove a dot and replace a dot with a dash.

On Wednesday, June 8, 2005, at 10:09 AM, Greg wrote:

> Will wrote:
>
>> I have a different interpretation of porridge bread and it is
>> somewhat connected to the concept of porridge.
>> If you crack grain, slake it down, and let it sit in a covered bucket
>> for a day or so, it starts to ferment. This fermentation is an
>> essential part of making regular porridge as bran needs to be
>> softened by water and phytic acid is reduced during fermentation.
>
> If by "regular porridge" you mean something like Quaker Oats in hot
> water or milk (as I would), has the process you describe already been
> done to such products before they are packaged and sold? Or is heating
> another way of accomplishing, quickly, the same thing?

Porridge, to me, is cracked (or rolled) and soaked, slightly fermented
grain that is then slow cooked.
There is a difference in both texture and flavor when you use cooked
cereal vs. the raw, fermented soaker stuff that was probably last
popular a hundred years ago.

Bread with cooked cereal, as in Quaker oats, or even my own home brew
variety when cooked, is heavier and gummier. The flavor is more vegetal
as well.

"is heating another way of accomplishing, quickly the same thing..."

I suppose the answer is yes and no. Yes, it is quicker if you measure
elapsed time. No, it is not quicker, if you measure effort, you must
cook the cereal, clean the pot, etc....

On Wed, 8 Jun 2005 11:13:42 -0500, Will
> wrote:

>"is heating another way of accomplishing, quickly the same thing..."
>
>I suppose the answer is yes and no. Yes, it is quicker if you measure
>elapsed time. No, it is not quicker, if you measure effort, you must
>cook the cereal, clean the pot, etc....

Howdy,

I may be missing something here, but...

Heating does not produce the tastes and textures of
fermentation of grain in my experience.

All the best,
--
Kenneth

If you email... Please remove the "SPAMLESS."

Kenneth wrote:
>
> Howdy,
>
> I may be missing something here, but...
>
> Heating does not produce the tastes and textures of
> fermentation of grain in my experience.
>

You got it. Cooked oatmeal in bread, tastes like... well, cooked
oatmeal.

I was trying to finesse the issue of "quickly". I usually have trouble
with it, since "bread" and "quickly" seldom seem to rendezvous at the
taste line.

Perhaps making bread is one of those fascinating, real life, examples
of "asynchronous" time. Three days is 20 minutes.

On 8 Jun 2005 09:54:52 -0700, "Will"
> wrote:

>I was trying to finesse the issue of "quickly". I usually have trouble
>with it, since "bread" and "quickly" seldom seem to rendezvous at the
>taste line.

Hi Will,

This is an endlessly amusing issue. On other groups I often
read of folks who delight in being able to bake a loaf of
bread from start to finish in mere moments. I sometimes try
(to little avail I suspect) to explain that making bread is
not unlike making wine. No doubt, these folks would enjoy
wine that they made overnight...

All the best,
--
Kenneth

If you email... Please remove the "SPAMLESS."