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+### The Basic Four
+
+In this section, we'll go over the basic four ingredients: flour,
+water, salt and leavening.
+
+#### Flour
+
+Wheat flour comes in many different forms. First, let’s talk a bit
+about the wheat from which it originates.
+
+The wheat berry has three basic parts: the endosperm, the germ and the
+bran. The germ is the embryonic plant, but is only about 2-3% of the
+total berry. The endosperm, which is about 75% of the berry, serves as
+food for the germ as it sprouts. The rest is the bran, which protects
+the tiny germ.
+
+White flour is almost pure endosperm, whereas whole-wheat flour
+retains all three parts. As a result, white flour will keep for a long
+time at room temperature – probably a year or more. Whole-wheat flour,
+on the other hand, contains the oily germ, and that oil goes rancid at
+room temperature in just a couple of months.  This is why so many
+people think that whole wheat bread tastes bitter; mostly likely, the
+bread they ate was made from rancid flour.
+
+##### All-purpose flour
+
+**All-purpose or artisan flour:** For most artisan white breads,
+bakers generally prefer all-purpose (AP) or so-called artisan flour.
+These flours typically have a protein percentage of 10.5% to 11.5% or
+so. King Arthur Flour’s regular AP flour is about 11.7%, so it’s on
+the very high end, while General Mill’s AP flours are about 10.5%.
+Most Southern brands of AP flours like White Lily are not good for
+making bread, because they have a low protein percentage and are also
+bleached, but are better suited to cakes and biscuits.
+
+Bleached flour will produce bread if it has a high enough protein
+percentage, but it will not have the same golden color or rich flavor
+of unbleached flour.
+
+King Arthur Flour’s Organic Artisan Flour and Giusto’s Baker’s Choice
+are  favorites among amateur artisan bakers. They’re about 11.3%
+protein and perform beautifully, striking a nice balance between rise
+and flavor. However, these preferences aside, one can bake very good
+bread from basically any unbleached all-purpose flour one can buy at
+the grocery store.
+
+##### Bread Flour
+
+**Bread flour:** White bread flour is typically between 11.5% and 12.5%
+protein. Some brands, such as King Arthur Flour, are very strong with
+close to 13% protein, whereas others are closer to All-Purpose flour.
+Bread flour is good to use when making bread with a high percentage of
+rye flour or a lot of goodies like nuts, seeds, cooked grains or dried
+fruits. It produces a spectacular rise, but without additions, some
+bakers find that bread made from this flour is a bit tough and
+somewhat lacking in flavor compared to all-purpose flour.
+
+##### Whole Wheat Flour
+
+**Whole wheat bread flour:** Not all whole wheat flours are the same. The
+bran in whole-wheat flour punctures the gluten web which traps gas, so
+it won’t rise quite as high as most white flours. As a result, you
+want to find a whole-wheat flour with as high a protein percentage as
+possible. The bran also contains protein, so look for a flour with at
+least 14% protein. You’ll also want to make sure that it’s fresh
+becausewhole wheat flour goes rancid after just a couple of months at
+room temperature because it retains the oily germ. King Arthur Flour
+and Giusto’s are both high-quality brands.
+
+You’ll want to store whole-wheat flours in the freezer so that they’ll
+keep longer.
+
+**White whole wheat bread flour:** Traditionally, whole wheat bread flour
+is made from hard red winter wheat or hard red spring wheat. However,
+in recent years, a variety of hard white wheat flour has come on the
+market that is strong enough to make bread. It lacks the tannins that
+give the red wheat its color and, for some people, a bitter flavor.
+Some folks really like it, finding that it mimics the taste of white
+flour and is less bitter than traditional whole wheat flour; others
+find it has a waxy texture that’s unappealing. But white whole wheat
+flour is certainly worth trying to see what you think.
+
+**Whole wheat pastry flour:** Perfect for all quick breads, this flour is
+made almost exclusively from soft white winter wheat, and has a low
+percentage of protein. So long as you increase the liquid in the
+recipe a bit, you can substitute it for white flour in nearly all
+quick breads, and hardly anyone will be able to tell the difference.
+Really!
+
+##### Rye Flour
+
+While wheat flour predominates in the breads of southern Europe and
+the UK, rye flour plays a more important role in the breads of
+northern and eastern Europe. This is due to rye's superior ability to
+grow in the poorer soils and cooler, wetter climates of those regions.
+
+*Chemical differences* in the proteins and enzymes found in rye present
+differences in how rye flour behaves when mixed with water to make
+dough, and these differences impact the use of pre-ferments, mixing,
+fermentation and baking when there is more rye than wheat flour in the
+dough.
+
+There are a number of different types of *rye products* available. They
+vary in how much of the rye berry is included, just as whole wheat
+differs from white wheat flour. They also differ in how finely ground
+the rye is.
+
+There are breads made with 100% rye flour, but many other breads are
+made with lesser percentages. The influence of rye flour on dough
+handling and on the resulting taste and texture of the bread varies
+according to the proportion of rye used.
+
+**Chemical differences in rye**
+
+Gluten is the primary protein found in wheat, and the methods of
+mixing dough made with wheat flour center on their impact on gluten
+development and structure. Gluten forms the framework of cells that
+trap the carbon dioxide generated by fermentation of sugar by yeast.
+This trapping generates the expansion of the dough (rising) and
+ultimately the texture of the bread's crumb.
+
+Rye contains much less gluten than wheat, and the gluten rye contains
+is of poor quality when it comes to trapping air bubbles.
+Consequently, breads made with mostly rye flour do not expand as much
+as those made with mostly wheat flour. The crumb of breads in which
+rye predominates tends to be dense with smaller holes. On the other
+hand, rye has more free sugars than wheat, so rye dough ferments
+faster.
+
+Rye contains a group of important complex sugars called “pentosans.”
+These are present in other grains, but rye has more of this substance.
+Pentosans are important to the baker for several reasons. They compete
+with the proteins that make gluten for water, and water is the
+substance that leads the proteins to combine to form gluten. This
+means that rye doughs often require a higher proportion of water than
+doughs in which wheat predominates. Pentosans break apart easily
+during mixing, and their fragments result in a stickier dough. Because
+of this, rye doughs require gentler and, usually, briefer mixing than
+wheat doughs.
+
+Rye is higher in the enzymes (amylases) that break down starch into
+sugars. Starch is needed to form the structure of the crumb, and if
+too much starch is split up, the texture of the bread suffers and
+becomes gummy. Traditionally, this is prevented by acidifying the rye
+dough, which slows down the action of amylases. This is why breads
+with a high percentage of rye flour are made with rye sour (rye-based
+sourdough starter), even if commercial yeast is added.
+
+Acidification of rye dough has other nutritional advantages specific
+to rye bread which may also be of interest to the home baker, as well
+as the advantages that also apply to wheat-based sourdoughs.
+
+**Rye products used in baking bread**
+
+Whole rye berries may be used in bread, after soaking, to contribute
+flavor and texture. Rye berries are also used after breaking them into
+smaller pieces in the form of rye chops, cracked rye, rye flakes, and
+so forth.
+
+The rye flours you may find include the following:
+
+* Pumpernickel flour -- Whole grain, coarsely ground rye meal.
+* Dark rye flour -- "flour milled from the periphery of the grain, similar
+  to the clear flour produced during the miller (sic.) of the wheat.
+  It tends to be coarse and sandy, to absorb quite a lot of water, and
+  in general is difficult to work with." Hamelman, J. *Bread*. pp. 48 ff.
+* Rye flour -- Generally whole grain rye more finely ground than
+  pumpernickel Medium rye flour – Some but not all of the germ and
+  bran have been removed from the whole grain.
+* Light or White rye flour -- Equivalent to all purpose or patent
+  wheat flour. The bran and germ have been mostly, if not entirely,
+  milled out of the rye berry.
+
+In Europe, especially Northern Europe, a much wider range of rye
+flours is available, encompassing different grinds as well as a
+variety of percentages of bran and germ.
+
+Rye flour that contains the oily germ (pumpernickel, dark and medium)
+spoils very quickly, so try to buy the freshest possible and store it
+in the freezer.
+
+**Rye flour used together with wheat flour**
+
+A small amount of rye – 5-10% of the total flour by weight – has a
+definite effect on the flavor of the bread. The distinctive flavor of
+the rye itself may not be noticed, yet the bread's overall flavor
+seems better. This may be due to the action of the amylases in rye
+releasing more sugars. This small addition of rye is what defines a
+French pain de campagne. These breads are often sourdoughs, but the
+rye may be added with the rest of the flour rather than as a rye sour.
+There is so little rye in the dough, that it's behavior during mixing
+and fermentation and its texture when baked may be indistinguishable
+from a purely wheat bread.
+
+Breads containing up to 40% rye flour are usually called “rye bread.”
+Jewish Sour Rye (New York Rye, Deli Rye) is a familiar example. The
+rye flour is in a large enough proportion so that it is advisable to
+add all or most of it as a rye sour.  There is enough rye so that a
+distinct rye flavor is tasted. However, there is enough wheat flour to
+provide gluten to form the kind of crumb we associate with wheat
+breads.
+
+The dough in these breads will feel different during mixing, tending
+to be stickier. The temptation is to add more flour, but this should
+be resisted. When hand kneading sticky rye doughs, using rapid, light
+strokes - minimizing the time your hands are in contact with the dough
+- decreases the amount of dough that will stick to your hands. You may
+also find that wetting your hands with water or lightly oiling them
+helps.
+
+Breads with over 50% rye flour are another story.  All the special
+considerations due to the chemical differences in rye become more
+important as the proportion of rye increases. Typically, these breads
+have a short bulk rise and, once baked, should be allowed to rest for
+several hours before slicing, so the crumb can set up properly. In the
+case of breads with 70% rye or more, a rest of 24 hours, even up to a
+couple of days, may be required.   
+
+##### Other flours
+
+**Pastry flour:** Pastry flour is perfect for making quick breads like
+muffins, banana bread, waffles, and pancakes. Its protein percentage
+is usually about 6% to 8%.
+
+**High-gluten flour:** This flour is typically only available to
+commercial bakers or via mail order from places like King Arthur
+Flour. Its protein level is usually greater than 14%. It’s used in
+bagels (it gives them their tasty chewy texture) and breads with a
+high percentage of rye.
+
+**Fancy durum flour:**  Also known as semonlina flour (though ground
+finer) or pasta flour, durum flour is made from durum wheat.  Though
+high in protein, durum flour does not contain enough gluten to make
+good bread unless mixed in with regular wheat flour.
+
+**00 flour:** 00 is an Italian designation for a type of flour commonly
+used in pizza crust.  It is softer (lower in protein) than American
+bread or all purpose flour.
+
+**Spelt flour:** Spelt, which is also known as farro, is an ancient grain
+that is a cousin to wheat. It contains enough gluten to make a light
+loaf of bread, but absorbs less water than wheat, and so requires a
+lower hydration. The gluten is also somewhat less resiliant than that
+of wheat, and, as such, one needs to be careful when using a mixer, as
+it's easy to over-develop.