What You Need to Know
The Chopin Alveograph is an empirical tool for wheat flour quality measurement. It measures the properties of the dough produced from the flour, by inflating a bubble in a thin sheet of the dough until it bursts. This process is supposed to simulate the natural bubble growth during the fermentation and in the early stages of baking. An analysis of the recorded graph of pressure vs. bubble volume yields about ten values that characterize the suitability of the flour for different uses. As of the 2020s, the device is manufactured by Chopin Technologies. A similar device for bubble inflation, D/R Dough Inflation System, is made by Stable Micro Systems.
Steps
- 1.
French Baguette (France): Optimizes flour selection for crust development
- 2.
Focaccia Genovese (Italy): Ensures proper gas retention for open crumb
- 3.
Brioche (Normandy): Tests flour strength for enriched doughs