Tag: Lean dough

According to the official French Bread Decree of 1993, traditional baguettes must be made with only four simple ingredients: flour, water, salt, and yeast. This legislative clarity is just one of many factors that make French bread different from white bread, which often contains added fats, sugars, and preservatives.

Yeast fermentation can be severely inhibited by high sugar levels due to a process called osmotic pressure. Knowing what is the difference between high sugar yeast and low sugar yeast is crucial for achieving the perfect rise and texture in your baked goods.

Over 90% of basic bread recipes consist only of flour, water, yeast, and salt, meaning eggs are not a standard ingredient. However, some specialty loaves do contain eggs, leading many to question: do they put eggs in bread for a specific purpose?

According to the strict French 'Décret Pain' law, a true traditional baguette contains just four core ingredients, none of which are eggs. This simplicity is what defines the iconic loaf, ensuring its characteristic crispy crust and airy interior.

By definition, soft, tender bread products like dinner rolls are made from a rich or 'enriched' dough, while crustier breads like baguettes are made from a lean dough. This fundamental difference in dough composition has a significant impact on texture, flavor, and, most importantly for a nutrition diet, the overall fat and calorie content.