Not just a loaf: how Russians' preferences for bread are changing
"Bread is the head of everything", - they often say in Russia, and these words emphasize the special role of this product in the national gastronomic culture. However, in the new century, Russians' consumer preferences for bread have undergone significant changes. "Izvestia" found out what bread is considered the most useful and more suitable for our compatriots, and also understood the variety of products that can be found today in bakeries, bakeries and restaurants in the country.
What is happening with bread in Russia
These days, bread is still an important part of the diet of Russians, although in recent decades, experts note a tendency to reduce its consumption, which is especially noticeable in the segment of products made from rye flour. This is partly due to the stereotype widespread in many countries that dark bread is food for the poor, since not everyone could afford wheat flour products in the past. In recent times, this misconception has been supplemented by the fashionable belief that bread is a useless product, a source of empty calories, yeast and harmful gluten.
- Only with bread we consume a whole range of essential substances: a significant amount of protein, amino acids, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals and dietary fiber," Marina Kostyuchenko, Director of FGANU Research Institute of Baking Industry told Izvestia. - In addition, the body of Russians is genetically tuned to the consumption of rye bread. Its iron content is higher than in beef.
White wheat bread on yeast "French loaf"
The most widespread and mass bakery product today remains a loaf of sliced loaf made of wheat flour of the highest grade. Consumers have formed the opinion that the highest grade is better than the first grade, although in the professional environment these concepts are used as names, not characteristics of quality. Many people do not know that the healthiest bread is made from wallpaper flour, which is now beautifully called whole wheat flour. In the process of its production, the main parts of the shell are preserved, in which all the vitamins, minerals and dietary fiber are concentrated. Interest in bread made from such flour is now growing.
Traditional French baguette
- If we talk about other trends, we have an increasing consumption of bakery products for snacks, especially among young people, - adds Kostyuchenko. - These are buns for hamburgers, for hot dogs, for sandwiches used in ready meals. That is, bread has become an element of an independent dish of ready meals, rather than a snack with hot food.
From the East various flatbreads came to our diet, and from Transcaucasia - lavash, which is used both as bread and for making rolls and rolls. From Europe, such products as ciabatta, which is also good for sandwiches, and baguette, which is often seen in restaurants today as a separate dish - bruschetta - came to us and became firmly established.
Hokkaido bread
- Baguette has become a new baton for the Russian person and its popularity is growing in all regions of the country," says brand-chef and co-owner of La Poste boutique bakery Oksana Kuznetsova. - We have already gotten used to the fact that bread has a crust, although in Soviet times this was not the case. We grew up on bread - crumb. It was a brick or a loaf with a soft crust.
According to our expert, bread-myakish, introduced by Soviet baking, once displaced the traditional Russian technology of making loaves, which were nosy and with a strong crust. Therefore, we can say that through the bridge to European baking we have today, in part, returned to pre-revolutionary traditions. Some bakers today are trying to recreate canonical Russian bread, the true taste of which is already poorly known to most of our compatriots.
How does today's bread differ from pre-revolutionary bread?
In pre-revolutionary Russia, the most common grain was rye, rich in numerous microelements, vitamins B, P, magnesium and selenium. This unpretentious cereal gave good sprouts even in areas that are now considered a zone of risky agriculture, so it accounted for most of the bread. Wheat flour was used to bake more difficult varieties and festive baked goods.
- In those times rye bread was called "black breadwinner", it was the basis of nutrition, - Valentin Maximov, the founder of the "Bread Rule" project, told our publication. - A peasant, eating a few loaves of rye bread, worked without exhaustion. The nobility did not disdain it either, as we learn from the letter of the diplomat Pyotr Sheremetyev to the poet Alexander Pushkin, where he complains: "It's bad, brother, to live in Paris: there is nothing to eat; you can't ask for black bread!".
Buckwheat bread. It contains wheat flour, buckwheat, sourdough starter, water and salt
Bread was baked in ovens on wood. The oven was stoked, then the coal was removed from it, the underbaking area was washed and the dough was laid out on it. In some Russian villages this technology is still preserved, but the taste preferences of Russians have changed a lot over the past 100 years.
Potato bun for burgers.
- If we were to try pre-revolutionary baked goods now, I think most of our contemporaries would not like them," suggests our expert. - The bread had a sour flavor and a denser structure than its modern counterparts. This is due to the fact that it was baked mainly on sourdough and no sugar was used.
100% rye bread. It consists of flour, water and sourdough starter made of flour and water
According to our interlocutor, thanks to the development of domestic tourism, today there is a process of revival of regional varieties of bread and various pastries. Some enthusiasts of artisanal baking are literally collecting recipes and selecting modern analogs of ingredients.
What kind of artisan bread is made in bakeries and restaurants
In the last 20 years, there has been a rapid revival of artisan bread in Russia. It is prepared according to a longer technology and differs from GOSTovskogo by the presence on the loaves of undermining, large cracks, rough crust and large holes inside. The experience of its preparation at the initial stage was actively borrowed from colleagues from France, Italy, Germany and other countries where this trend has always existed. This orientation is also reflected in the range of baked goods on the shelves of specialized bakeries, as well as in restaurants equipped with their own bakeries.
Rye focaccia on whole wheat sourdough and olive oil
- The top positions today are focaccia, tartine and brioche," explained "Izvestia" in the restaurant Ava Bistro, which has its own bakery with bread and pastries. - These are classic types of bread, in the process of creation of which fermentation and baker's skill play a key role.
Tartine
According to chef Vladimir Baranov, who heads the Gorynych restaurant, which also has its own bakery, wheat, rye-wheat and borodinsky bread, as well as baguettes, are in constant demand among guests. The secret of popularity lies in the fact that these products are always prepared from quality natural ingredients and served freshly baked, warm, with a crispy crust. At the same time, our interlocutor is sure that new experimental items should be introduced on the basis of basic recipes, which, if successful with visitors, can remain on the menu. For example, for New Year's Eve, his project is developing a classic baguette that would go perfectly with red caviar.
Seed, beard and rye breads
- Many people today follow a healthy diet, so we switched from extra flour to a coarse flour blend, which allows us to get a richer taste of bread and additional fiber in the diet," our interlocutor continues. -We also make wheat bread with dill, garlic and cumin, and it turns out very fragrant and delicious.
The longer bread is made, the tastier it is, convinced the chef-baker and co-founder of the bakery Masa Madre Olga Kiseleva. Fast bread, even if it is made on sourdough, will have a flat flavor, dry crumb, soft crust. That is why in her project they use the technology of long fermentation: it means that from kneading to baking takes on average 24 hours or more. Such bread has a light crumb with shiny holes, a crisp crust with bubbles, a multifaceted flavor and, no less importantly, a long shelf life: a week if kept open and two or even three if, for example, tightly wrapped in foil.
- I am interested in making both strong classics (tartine, brioche) and something non-banal (manki brad, rye focaccia, gray baguette with freshly milled spelt), - admits our interlocutor. - I regularly watch what important figures in the industry are doing. They include Anton Kornyshov, Matthew Duffy, Maurizio Leo, Andy Kadin and Saadi Mahambet. And on every trip I build routes around bakeries and just breathe their life.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
