"The taste that develops in a dough that is leavened for 24 hours, 48 hours, sometimes even 72 hours has nothing to do with a bread that is made on the fly within two hours from kneading to baking"

pArtisan bread costs more, but it also looks better and healthier. I looked for the explanations at Amintiri Gustoase, in the Cronicari Digitali podcast, together with Valentina Ion.

"There are certain studies that show that bread that is leavened more slowly is more digestible, it is received differently by the body. It deactivates some substances called itates that practically prevent the absorption of minerals and vitamins from the wheat grain in the human body. We as humans are not prepared to digest such a hard substance as the grain of wheat, that is why we cannot eat the grain of wheat. The moment we take a grain of wheat, grind it and make bread in an hour, we absorb absolutely nothing from that bread.

During a very slow leavening process, these substances that prevent mineral absorption in the body are basically deactivated, and that makes what's in that slice of bread bioavailable to us and our digestive system. The aim and objective will always be taste. The taste that is formed in a dough that is leavened for 24 hours, 48 hours, sometimes even 72 hours has nothing to do with a bread that is made on the fly within two hours from kneading to baking", mi- said Valentine Ion in the podcast discussion.

We took advantage of the experience of my guest from the Cronicari Digitali podcast to better understand what artisanal bread means, but also how to make a suitable combination considering the wide variety of breads on the market.

"All bakers try to hold a standard"

"Artisanal means a product that is made by human hands. This means that, using minimally and only where necessary, the intervention of modern machines, we make a product that is made in all its stages by man.

It is a yeast that is fed by humans, not bought, because there is yeast in the industry that you can buy, so that you as a baker do not have to maintain your own yeast. There are certain steps that bread goes through, from how you make the yeast to kneading, shaping, leavening and overseeing the entire process of fermentation and then baking.

I don't think you'll find that very often in a true artisan bakery. That's why in real artisanal bakeries you won't find two breads that are identical.

In most cases, all bakers try to hold to a standard so that there is no completely different product to a product in the same range, but they will never be identical."

"Taste differences are significant between cereals"

"Taste differences are significant between grains. For rye bread, a very good pairing is with fish, with matured meats, being a grain that is cultivated in northern areas and somehow developed with the associations they had available.

There are also breads that are more versatile, such as white breads that you can eat with almost anything, but there are also breads where you should be very careful about the combinations you make, because a Borodinski, a rye and coriander bread it is extraordinary when you eat it with fish. If you want to eat it with soup instead, you might not have the most pleasant experience.”

Digital Chronicles podcast, produced by Zaga Brand and Humart Association (Human Made Art), comes with new episodes every Thursday and Friday on all audio streaming platforms and on www.cronicaridigitali.ro.

Digital Chronicles podcast is supported by Raiffeisen Bank Romania and Electrolux Romania. The project partners are convinced that through access to education, culture and technology, we can become the best version of ourselves.