{"id":6855,"date":"2021-04-09T08:55:53","date_gmt":"2021-04-09T08:55:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/genomicgastronomy.com\/?p=6855"},"modified":"2021-11-29T10:08:14","modified_gmt":"2021-11-29T10:08:14","slug":"what-can-i-make-with-this-smoke-tainted-wheat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/genomicgastronomy.com\/blog\/what-can-i-make-with-this-smoke-tainted-wheat\/","title":{"rendered":"What Can I Make With This Smoke-Tainted Wheat?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

How do wildfires affect the smell, taste and texture of bread? <\/em><\/strong>Wildfire Loaf is a multi-year research project to taste-test and genetically sequence sourdough starters made from smoke-tainted wheat. Climate change is increasing the number and severity of wildfires and this has direct implications for the ways that food products are farmed, assessed, processed and eaten. As we make connections across scales\u2014from the microbial to the planetary\u2014we are asking: what is the future of this iconic and commodified ingredient?<\/em><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are many varieties of wheat:<\/strong> hard, soft, red, white, and durum. As we search for wheat affected by wildfires, the one of the first questions we ask is \u2018What can I make with this smoke-tainted wheat?\u2019 Our aim is to experiment with making bread, using traditional leavening processes, from this abnormal\/new-normal\/smoke-tainted wheat. Here\u2019s the reference guide we made for ourselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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WHEAT GLOSSARY<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

For the glossary below we\u2019ve focused on wheat classifications common in the United States and in trade terminology. The broader concepts we outline (Winter, Spring, Hard, Soft, White, and Red) are used around the world, but of course there are many other varieties and sub-varieties. \u201cWinter\u201d and \u201cSpring\u201d refer to both the season (and relatedly) the distinct cultivar or variety of the crop that is planted. \u201cHard\u201d and \u201cSoft\u201d refer to the ease of milling and protein content, hard is protein-rich and more difficult to mill while soft has less protein and is easier to grind into a smooth texture. \u201cWhite\u201d and \u201cRed\u201d refer to the color, protein and flavors; red typically contains more protein, meaning stronger gluten and has a nuttier, almost bitter flavor, and white varieties are known to have less gluten and feature milder flavors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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This interactive map by US Wheat Associates<\/a> shows where varieties are grown. <\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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If you want to bake bread, it\u2019s best to reach for the hard stuff. Hard wheats are high in gluten and offer impressive stretchiness.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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Hard Red Winter, Hard Red Spring, Hard White<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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HARD RED WINTER (THE VERSATILE WHEAT)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

EXCELLENT FOR:<\/strong> rustic breads, hard rolls, croissants, flatbreads, some Asian noodles and general purpose flours<\/p>\n\n\n\n

TEXTURE: <\/strong>elastic, chewy<\/p>\n\n\n\n

EXAMPLE OF A LOCATION WHERE IT IS FARMED:<\/strong> The Great Plains and Northern parts of the United States, with pockets in the Pacific Northwest and Central California<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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HARD RED SPRING (THE FANCIEST WHEAT) <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

EXCELLENT FOR: <\/strong>hearth breads, rolls, croissants, bagels and pizza dough, and flour blends<\/p>\n\n\n\n

TEXTURE: <\/strong>tensile, stretchy<\/p>\n\n\n\n

EXAMPLE OF A LOCATION WHERE IT IS FARMED:<\/strong> Upper central region of the United States and lower central region of Canada<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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HARD WHITE (THE SMOOTH WHEAT)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

EXCELLENT FOR: <\/strong>tortillas, pan loafs, flatbreads, and some noodles<\/p>\n\n\n\n

TEXTURE: <\/strong> fine, smooth<\/p>\n\n\n\n

EXAMPLE OF A LOCATION WHERE IT IS FARMED:<\/strong> Central California and The Great Plains in the United States<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And then there\u2019s durum, the hardest of all wheats with the highest gluten content.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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Durum<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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DURUM (THE HARDEST WHEAT, A.K.A. THE PASTA WHEAT) <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

EXCELLENT FOR: <\/strong>Excellent for: premium pastas, couscous, and Mediterranean-style breads<\/p>\n\n\n\n

TEXTURE: <\/strong>snappy<\/p>\n\n\n\n

EXAMPLE OF A LOCATION WHERE IT IS FARMED: <\/strong>Specifically, North Dakota and Central California in the United States<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you want to bake cakes, crackers, or some Asian style noodles, it\u2019s best to reach for the soft stuff. Soft wheats are lower in gluten and have reduced stretchiness.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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Soft Red Winter, Soft White<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n

SOFT RED WINTER (THE LOW-COST WHEAT) <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

EXCELLENT FOR: <\/strong>cookies, crackers, cakes, blends for baguettes and other bread products<\/p>\n\n\n\n

TEXTURE:<\/strong> fine, soft<\/p>\n\n\n\n

EXAMPLE OF A LOCATION WHERE IT IS FARMED:<\/strong> Midwest and eastern regions of the United States<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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SOFT WHITE (THE LOW-MOISTURE WHEAT) <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

EXCELLENT FOR:<\/strong> Asian-style noodles, cakes, pastries, and snacks<\/p>\n\n\n\n

TEXTURE:<\/strong> crumbly, meltaway<\/p>\n\n\n\n

EXAMPLE OF A LOCATION WHERE IT IS FARMED:<\/strong> Pacific Northwest region of the United States<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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<\/div>\n\n\n\n

SOURCES<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

US Wheat Associates: Wheat Classes<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Master Class: Essential Guide To Wheat<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

How do wildfires affect the smell, taste and texture of bread? Wildfire Loaf is a multi-year research project to taste-test […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7162,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6855","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/genomicgastronomy.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6855","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/genomicgastronomy.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/genomicgastronomy.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/genomicgastronomy.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/genomicgastronomy.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6855"}],"version-history":[{"count":27,"href":"https:\/\/genomicgastronomy.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6855\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7211,"href":"https:\/\/genomicgastronomy.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6855\/revisions\/7211"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/genomicgastronomy.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7162"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/genomicgastronomy.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6855"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/genomicgastronomy.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6855"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/genomicgastronomy.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6855"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}