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+ <title>Scaling up</title>
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+ <div>
+ <h1>Scaling up: A new national loaf</h1>
+ <p>An essay about bread and the revolution.
+ <br>
+ By <a href="https://xmdv.blogspot.com/">William Greenwood</a></p>
+
+ <hr><h2>Introduction</h2>
+ <p>
+ The national loaf is a recipe, released by the Federation of Bakers in 1942, to replace
+ all other forms of bread in the face of dwindling supplies of wheat and sugar. If faced with
+ such a situation now, how could bread be supplied to the masses? With the squeeze on independent
+ bakeries more than ever, and with almost complete reliance on the electrical grid, they would
+ almost certainly be overwhelmed almost immediately or unable to function totally. So how could a
+ small group of people scale to fill this gap? How would they power their bakery? And what would
+ be the next step towards self sufficiency? This essay will attempt to answer all these questions
+ in pursuit of the <b>new national loaf</b>.
+ </p>
+ <p>
+ I will not be discussing the general operations of a group of people unless they are expressly related to bread. Individual survival
+ and operations of your community is up to you. I will also not be discussing growing wheat or other crops, it is something I know
+ little about, although this would be necessary to maintain the bakery indefinitely. Both are outside of the scope of this essay.
+ </p>
+
+ <hr><h2>Ingredients</h2>
+ <p>
+ The first thing you will want to do after securing a property is procure supplies and equipment. If cars
+ and vans are not available, use wheelbarrows.
+ </p>
+ <p>
+ Care must be taken to keep all supplies in a sustainable location. With flour
+ this can be done by storing it in a moisture free and airtight container, such as a large seal-able barrel. If frozen first, it can
+ last up to 10 years, but this should not be beneficiary.
+ </p>
+
+ <h3>Flour</h3>
+
+ <p>
+ Flour is by far the most important ingredient in bread, as well as the most difficult one to acquire. Where the end goal of this
+ community bakery would be to be self sufficient, relying on grown wheat may not be practical as a short term solution and is outside
+ the scope of this essay. Therefore we will be assuming access to at least some form of grain.
+ </p>
+ <p>
+ For us, milling would be possible, but hard work if turned manually. A millstone can be acquired from any nearby tile shop, a thick
+ piece of granite with some grooves cut in it will work perfectly. It could potentially be hooked up to some form of motor, as it
+ would not be running often, or even mechanically coupled to to a water wheel or wind turbine.
+ </p>
+ <p>
+ 1.5kg, 5kg and 10kg bags of flour are stocked in most large supermarkets as well as Asian supermarkets as large bags of chapatti
+ flour. You would initially want to sweep the local area to collect as much as possible. Takeaways and wholesale food suppliers will
+ most likely stock large amounts of some kind of flour. Most homes, also, keep a bag or two of flour and a bag could be swapped in
+ return for the equivalent of bread.
+ </p>
+
+ <h3>Water</h3>
+ <p>
+ Hopefully you have located yourself somewhere near a large water source as it will be essential for bread production. If not,
+ rainfall could be collected by the community. in this case, large amounts of water storage would be necessary to offset any
+ droughts. Attempt to secure some kind of tanker. Since the water is to be heated, it doesn't need to be sterile, but any solids in
+ it will be left as a part of the dough when the water evaporates. A simple water filter using organic material should be enough for
+ the bread itself, and bringing it to a rolling boil for a few minutes will make it drinkable.
+ </p>
+ <p>
+ Chemicals could be used to make a large amount of water drinkable at once, Chlorine dioxide or household bleach could be used for
+ this. On a smaller scale, UV sterilization would be effective. Utilizing either the sun's rays, or a dedicated sterilizer. Aquariums
+ and pet shops selling fish could be one way of acquiring both chemical, and UV sterilization equipment.
+ </p>
+
+ <h3>Yeast and levaining</h3>
+ <p>
+ A large amount of yeast will be available and is common is every supermarket and in many homes. Try to initially get as much as
+ possible. It will not last long and will die within the year so should be used as much as possible. Conveniently, the amount of
+ yeast is completely arbitrary and effects only how long it takes to make the bread. I would suggest using it as a backup for bread
+ needed within around 2 hours time, as using sourdough will not be as flexible.
+ </p>
+ <p>
+ Depending on the situation, some form of brewing operation may be setup nearby may be able to provide leavening, produced as a
+ byproduct as the brewing process.
+ </p>
+
+ <h4>Sourdough</h4>
+ <p>
+ Sourdough starter is perfect for a long-term operation, taking very little flour to keep alive and proving you with limitless
+ levaining power. Usually sourdough bread will use 10-20% starter, but this could be reduced in the event of a flour shortage. We can
+ therefore calculate that per kg of dough we would only need as little as 30g of starter for optimum ferment, also requiring us to
+ feed the starter 15g of starter daily. This means that for approximately every 100 loafs of bread made, we will need to sacrifice a
+ household bag of flour for levaining.
+ </p>
+ <p>
+ The calculations here will most likely be very inaccurate, but it should be easy enough to work out the most effective use of flour
+ for you with what you have access to, as this will be vastly different community to community.
+ </p>
+ <p>
+ It should be noted that sourdough is digested by the body differently. During the fermentation process acetic acid is produced by
+ LAB bacteria, making it easier to digest by the body. This manifests in decreased effect on coeliac disease or other gluten
+ intolerance.
+ </p>
+
+ <h3>Salt</h3>
+ <p>
+ Salt is a common ingredient in bread, and makes it palatable. In white bread I would usually use
+ somewhere between 1-2%, and 1.5-2.5% in wholemeal or rye bread. Salt should be easy to acquire
+ in mass from supermarkets. It keeps as long as its not exposed to moisture and will probably not
+ be on peoples minds while searching for food.
+ </p>
+ <p>
+ If it is not available, sea salt can be made easily from saltwater. If your location is nearby a
+ source of saltwater, try to acquire tarps or flat baking tins. A car park or flat roof could be
+ easily cleaned and used as a large salt pan if necessary.
+ </p>
+ <p>
+ Salt has beneficial properties with other foods (lactose-fermentation, curing &c) and would be
+ in demand for other uses than baking bread, simply stockpiling a large amount of salt would not
+ be enough in the long term and some dedicated operation should be setup to supplement this.
+ </p>
+
+ <h3>Seeds and other additives</h3>
+ <p>
+ Remember that most grains and seeds can be incorporated into bread through soaking, so along
+ with flour try to find as much of these as possible. Pet stores and large supermarkets will
+ stock large amounts of birdseed such as sunflower seeds and peanuts which will be safe for human
+ consumption when cooked and are a good source of protein. Rice or potatoes could be used, but
+ may just be more nutritious if just cooked and eaten regularly.
+ </p>
+ <p>
+ Soaking is the process of soaking any additives in water for an hour before incorporating them
+ into the bread dough. This ensures that that are already saturated with water and will not draw
+ water away from the yeast.
+ </p>
+ <p>
+ If it can be found, grains such as rye, wheat and spelt should be ground into flour, but if a
+ grindstone was unavailable could simply be incorporated whole via soaking.
+ </p>
+ <p>
+ Where seeds are organic, either from specialty stores or grown as part of a conscious effort,
+ sprouting them before incorporating them into the bread can provide a far greater nutritional
+ value. This takes only additional water and is well worth the effort.
+ </p>
+
+ <hr><h2>The recipe</h2>
+ <p>
+ The bread that you actually make will not be that important, and the classic "artisan sourdough"
+ will be completely impractical. The only priority is now: make as much bread as possible with as
+ little waste as possible. This means making the most use of the ingredients available to you,
+ which will be completely different community to community.
+ </p>
+
+ <h3>Bakers percentage</h3>
+ <p>
+ When working out recipes to be used to make an arbitrary amount of bread, instead of using a
+ unit of weight (grams, pounds &c) we use percent. This allows us to come up with a recipe that
+ is consistent at any scale. The total amount of flour is 100% and is the ruler we use to measure
+ out the rest of the ingredients. For example we might use 60% flour, 10% starter and 2% yeast.
+ At this point, if we know the total weight of bread we want to make
+ </p>
+
+ <p>
+ For most, you will probably have far more wholemeal flour than plain white flour and plain white
+ should be mixed in in small amounts to enhance the gluten content and offset wholemeal flour's
+ higher absorption.
+ </p>
+ <p>
+ Water should be used in moderation, as a higher hydration loaf will take longer to cook for each
+ unit of flour. For example: A 50% loaf and a 70% loaf of equivalent weight will take the same
+ about of time and space to cook, but the 70% will have approximately 12% more flour and
+ therefore 12% more nutrients.
+ </p>
+ <p>
+ Seeds and other additives should be used as much as possible, both to incorporate other
+ nutrients but also to reduce the amount of flour used per loaf. Seeds and grains can both be
+ incorporated via soaking (described above in "Seeds and additives"). When using this method the
+ hydration percentage is based off both the flour and the seed weight. if your hydration is 70%
+ without seeds, if you add 10% seeds, you should adjust your hydration to 77% (because 70% of
+ 110% is 77%).
+ </p>
+ <p>
+ Other than these general pointers, it is up to the community what bread they make. Generally,
+ its difficult to make bread that is inedible, especially if there is little food and the people
+ you feed will, I'm sure, be happy to offer plenty of advice like "more salt" or "could you use
+ sesame seeds?".
+ </p>
+
+ <hr><h2>Fermenting and Proofing</h2>
+ <p>
+ In large scale artisan bakeries, dough is fermented at mass within large seal-able containers.
+ This would be completely practical for us, and a large amount of plastic boxes or storage crates
+ could be procured within almost any town or city. Bread dough will double is size during
+ fermentation and as an approximation for our purposes, the weight of the bread is equivalent to
+ its volume. (The actual figure is difficult to calculate as flour is particulate so the dry
+ volume is vastly different to the volume when mixed with water.)
+ </p>
+ <p>
+ Proofing is slightly more difficult due to to the fact you have to separate out the
+ loafs, meaning they take up far more space. We can therefore consider 3 options.
+ </p>
+
+ <h3>Bannetons</h3>
+ <p>
+ A banneton is a reed basket floured to stop the dough sticking to it, it can also be lined with
+ a floured piece of cloth. For our purposes, a common plastic mixing bowl or strainer and a tea
+ towel would be sufficient. If more Bannetons where required, one could be woven out of reed
+ found throughout the world. This option does limit the bread's size and shape, although
+ aesthetics will not be the most important thing to be worrying about.
+ </p>
+
+ <h3>Tins</h3>
+ <p>
+ Bread tins would be an easy to use and consistent tool for proofing bread, and more than enough
+ could be procured with the help of neighbors. Even if more where desperately needed, cake tins
+ and saucepans would work just as well. The downside to this is getting the cooked bread out of
+ the tin. Usually, I would grease up the sides of the tin before proofing, however access to oil
+ might be difficult, especially once the supplies that can be acquired from nearby shops dry up.
+ </p>
+
+ <h3>Proof on surface</h3>
+ <p>
+ A method that i have seen done in commercial bakeries is proofing directly on a surface and
+ allowing the gluten to hold enough of its shape during proof time. This limits the maximum
+ hydration of the dough but allows us to effectively proof our dough with little space used and
+ no consumables other than flour.
+ </p>
+ <p>
+ A Couche could also be used. This is a large cloth used to proof baguettes and batards. A fold
+ is created in the sheet to separate the loafs.
+ </p>
+ <p>
+ As a release agent, to keep the bread from sticking to the surface, regular glutenous flour can
+ be used. Preferably, a substitute like rice flour or bran should be used to make it as easy as
+ possible to release the bread from the surface, whole wheat and low gluten flours could also be
+ used, but may not be as effective.
+ </p>
+
+ <hr><h2>Baking</h2>
+ <p>
+ Whether under the strain of widespread change or via intentional sabotage, I find it difficult
+ to believe that the power grid would stay a consistent source of energy. With access to a steady
+ stream of flowing water, however, access to a dependable source of energy is also secured. A
+ source of energy that has mechanically powered large-scale production since the fourth-century
+ BC. With a property within half a kilometer of flowing water, upwards of 10kW could be secured.
+ Enough to power our entire community bakery as well as comfortably housing its caretakers.
+ </p>
+ <p>
+ The tool used to bake the bread will depend on what is available to you. A nearby takeaway may
+ have a pizza oven, but this may not be suitable due to its large energy consumption. The
+ advantage of hydroelectricity is a consistent and dependable source of energy throughout the day
+ and this should be used as much as possible. An assortment of average household ovens (each
+ approx. 2kW), further insulated to increase efficiency, would be more than enough for our
+ community-scale bakery.
+ </p>
+ <p>
+ If using an alternate source of power, such as solar, larger batches in the day would be
+ prioritized and bread production would have to be reduced In the winter months.
+ </p>
+
+ <h3>Fire</h3>
+ <p>
+ In a situation where electricity is unfeasible it may be easier to go back to basics. Ovens are
+ very simple to construct with basic building materials and a large capacity oven could be built
+ from just a few paving slabs and bricks.
+ </p>
+ <p>
+ Bread in the late middle ages was baked in what was called a faggot oven which used small
+ bundles of sticks that burned fast and hot to heat up a chamber, which could then be swept of
+ ashes and the residual heat used to bake bread. It requires only an insulated area with thick
+ stone walls. It is more suited to higher capacity batch production.
+ </p>
+ <p>
+ Alongside these furn ovens where also used. Open at the front with a fire kept lit either at the
+ back, or below the cooking area. Because of its consistent heat, food could be baked
+ continuously and over a longer time. The construction of both of these ovens is simple, and
+ could be achieved very quickly and with little effort.
+ </p>
+ <p>
+ Using a piece of scrap 6mm steel, some bricks and mud, I was able to build a very simple and
+ capable oven. I used metal sheet because i wanted a cooking surface as well as a furn style oven
+ compartment. This oven is suitable for no more than 4kg of bread dough and is pretty crude, but
+ the bricks that built the mansions of the capitalists could build a far larger, more beautiful
+ oven.
+ </p>
+
+ <h3>Solar Power</h3>
+ <p>
+ Solar power is a source of energy unlikely to be affected by large scale infrastructure
+ collapse. Not only that but the complete lack of petrol and diesel for consumer use will
+ inevitably cause most cars to become unusable, each containing a 500Wh battery, good for 2
+ years. An array of 10 car batteries could keep a fridge running overnight while remaining above
+ 50% charge.
+ </p>
+ <p>
+ Currently, however, solar power largely depends on the grid, especially at the peak of winter,
+ when solar panels can have as little as one hour of useful sunlight. This means that they are an
+ effective secondary source for low power, low priority, situations.
+ </p>
+
+ <p>
+ Its feels important to say, that in the event of full collapse, combustion based dependable
+ electricity is completely impractical at any kind of scale. Even with a glut of car batteries
+ and the nearest solar power plant, equipment will begin to malfunction and eventually fail.
+ Without constant production modern infrastructure is unlikely to last more than a generation.
+ The use of electricity here, then, is to ease us into a lifestyle of more physical labor, rather
+ than replace the luxury of the grid. Not to say that there will be no electricity, but as
+ convenient and fun as it is, wide-scale dependence will flood the world and kill us all.
+ </p>
+ </div>
+ <p>© 2024. This work is licensed via CC BY-NC-SA 4.0.</p>
+ </body>
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+
+\title
+{
+ Scaling up: A new national loaf\\
+ {\large{}An essay about bread and the revolution.}
+}
+
+\author
+{
+ William Greenwood
+}
+\date{\today}
+
+\begin{document}
+
+\maketitle
+
+\newpage
+
+\textit
+{
+ The national loaf is a recipe released by the Federation of Bakers in 1942 to replace all other forms of bread in the face of dwindling supplies of wheat and sugar. If faced with such a situation now, how could bread be supplied to the masses? With the centrelization of bakeries greater than ever, and with almost complete reliance on the electrical grid, they would almost certainly be paralized with demand and scarcity. So how could a small group of people scale to fill this gap? How would they power their bakery? And what would be the next step towards self sufficiency?
+}
+
+\tableofcontents
+
+\newpage
+
+\section*{Disclaimer}
+
+I will not be discussing the general operations of a group of people unless they are expressly related to bread. Individual survival and operations of your community is up to you. I will also not be discussing growing wheat or other crops, it is something I know little about. Although this would be necessary to maintain the bakery indefinitely, both are outside of the scope of this essay.
+
+\section{Ingredients}
+
+The first thing you will want to do after securing a property, is procure supplies and equipment. If cars and vans are not available, use wheelbarrows.
+
+Care must be taken to keep all supplies in a sustainable location. Keeping moisture away from flour and salt, as well as generally, is best. Try to pick a high up location or a building unlikely to suffer from flooding or rodent infestation.
+
+\subsection{Flour}
+
+Flour is by far the most important ingredient in bread, as well as the most difficult one to acquire. As mentioned, growing and processing crops would be an ideal end goal, but it is unfortunately outside of the scope of this essay. Therefore we will be assuming access to at least some form of cereal crop at the very least, and processed flour at the very most.
+
+Cereal crops like wheat, rice, barley and oats, all grow with an innedible shell surrounding them, called the chaff.
+
+Assuming some raw crop, the grian kernal must first be seperated from the chaff. This was done traditionally by tossing the grains into the air, letting the heavier kernals fall to be collected, and the lighter chaff get blown away in the wind. should this not be effective, the grain can be pounded or soaked to loosen the chaff. This can be done easily by anyone, and scales moderately well with woven baskets. Baskets can additionally be used to sift the grain to remove the chaff.
+
+The grain kernel is then ready to be milled down into flour. This was done traditionally with two large stones with groves cut into them, the grains fed in through the top. It is done now with a collection of motorized metal rolers which crush the grain.
+
+Millstones where traditionally made from grainite, which can be acquired from any nearby tile shop, a thick piece of granite with some grooves cut in it will work perfectly. Grooves can be cut with an angle grinder, or chisled by hand.
+
+For us, milling would be possible, but hard work if done manually. It could potentially be hooked up to some form of motor, as it would only be running intermittently, or even mechanically coupled to to a water wheel or wind turbine.
+
+If we assume processed flour is available, this becomes far easier.
+
+1.5kg, 5kg and 10kg bags of flour are stocked in most large supermarkets, as well as Asian supermarkets, as large bags of chapatti flour. You would initially want to sweep the local area to collect as much as possible. Takeaways and wholesale food suppliers will most likely stock large amounts of some kind of flour. Most homes, also, keep a bag or two of flour and a bag could be swapped in return for the equivalent of bread.
+
+Takeaway shops would also be a good source of flour, and would be helpful in plenty of ways. Any takeaway, or any restaurent, selling battered food will keep a large 25kg bag of batter, which consists mostly of flour.
+
+Any cereal grain you can get your hands on will be of use, whether it be added whole or milled down, and almost any powdered grain can be added to bread to some effect. Being, by name, cereal, they will be under high demand. Think carefully about what you use. Grain can be used in many ways, and although you are a bakery, your end goal is to feed the people, not to make as much bread as possible. Do not do bad things to make good bread. Take what is surplus and make good bread.
+
+\subsection{Water}
+
+Good water from a natural source is rare. Thankfully it falls from the sky.
+
+Hopefully you have located yourself somewhere near a large water source as it will be essential for bread production. If not, rainfall could be collected by the community. in this case, large amounts of water storage would be necessary to offset any droughts. Attempt to secure some kind of tanker. Since the water is to be heated, it doesn't need to be sterile, but any solids in it will be left as a part of the dough when the water evaporates. A simple water filter using organic material should be enough for the bread itself, and bringing it to a rolling boil for a few minutes will make it drinkable.
+
+Chemicals could be used to make a large amount of water drinkable at once, Chlorine dioxide or household bleach could be used for this. On a smaller scale, UV sterilization would be effective. Utilizing either the sun's rays, or a dedicated sterilizer. Aquariums and pet shops selling fish could be one way of acquiring both chemical, and UV sterilization equipment.
+\subsection{Yeast and levaining}
+
+A large amount of yeast will be available and is common is every supermarket and in many homes. Try to initially get as much as possible. It will not last long and will die within the year so should be used as much as possible. Conveniently, the amount of yeast is completely arbitrary and effects only how long it takes to make the bread. I would suggest using it as a backup for bread needed within around 2 hours time, as using sourdough will not be as flexible.
+
+Depending on the situation, some form of brewing operation may be setup nearby may be able to provide leavening, produced as a byproduct as the brewing process.
+\subsubsection{Sourdough}
+
+Sourdough starter is perfect for a long-term operation, taking very little flour to keep alive and proving you with limitless levaining power. Usually sourdough bread will use 10-20\% starter, but this could be reduced in the event of a flour shortage. We can therefore calculate that per kg of dough we would only need as little as 30g of starter for optimum ferment, also requiring us to feed the starter 15g of starter daily. This means that for approximately every 100 loafs of bread made, we will need to sacrifice a household bag of flour for levaining.
+
+The calculations here will most likely be very inaccurate, but it should be easy enough to work out the most effective use of flour for you with what you have access to, as this will be vastly different community to community.
+
+It should be noted that sourdough is digested by the body differently. During the fermentation process acetic acid is produced by LAB bacteria, making it easier to digest by the body. This manifests in decreased effect on coeliac disease or other gluten intolerance.
+
+\subsection{Salt}
+
+Salt is a common ingredient in bread, and makes it palatable. In white bread I would usually use somewhere between 1-2\%, and 1.5-2.5\% in wholemeal or rye bread. Salt should be easy to acquire in mass from supermarkets. It keeps as long as its not exposed to moisture and will probably not be on peoples minds while searching for food.
+
+If it is not available, sea salt can be made easily from saltwater. If your location is nearby a source of saltwater, try to acquire tarps or flat baking tins. A car park or flat roof could be easily cleaned and used as a large salt pan if necessary.
+
+Salt has beneficial properties with other foods (lactose-fermentation, curing \&c) and would be in demand for other uses than baking bread, simply stockpiling a large amount of salt would not be enough in the long term and some dedicated operation should be setup to supplement this.
+
+\subsection{Seeds and other additives}
+
+Remember that most grains and seeds can be incorporated into bread through soaking, so along with flour try to find as much of these as possible. Pet stores and large supermarkets will stock large amounts of birdseed such as sunflower seeds and peanuts which will be safe for human consumption when cooked and are a good source of protein. Rice or potatoes could be used, but may just be more nutritious if just cooked and eaten regularly.
+
+Soaking is the process of soaking any additives in water for an hour before incorporating them into the bread dough. This ensures that that are already saturated with water and will not draw water away from the yeast.
+
+If it can be found, grains such as rye, wheat and spelt should be ground into flour, but if a grindstone was unavailable could simply be incorporated whole via soaking.
+
+Where seeds are organic, either from specialty stores or grown as part of a conscious effort, sprouting them before incorporating them into the bread can provide a far greater nutritional value. This takes only additional water and is well worth the effort.
+
+\section{The recipe}
+
+The bread that you actually make will not be that important, and the classic "artisan sourdough" will be completely impractical. The only priority is now: make as much bread as possible with as little waste as possible. This means making the most use of the ingredients available to you, which will be completely different community to community.
+
+\subsection{Bakers percentage}
+
+When working out recipes to be used to make an arbitrary amount of bread, instead of using a unit of weight (grams, pounds \&c) we use percent. This allows us to come up with a recipe that is consistent at any scale. The total amount of flour is 100\% and is the ruler we use to measure out the rest of the ingredients. For example we might use 60\% flour, 10\% starter and 2\% yeast. At this point, if we know the total weight of bread we want to make
+
+For most, you will probably have far more wholemeal flour than plain white flour and plain white should be mixed in in small amounts to enhance the gluten content and offset wholemeal flour's higher absorption.
+
+Water should be used in moderation, as a higher hydration loaf will take longer to cook for each unit of flour. For example: A 50\% loaf and a 70\% loaf of equivalent weight will take the same about of time and space to cook, but the 70\% will have approximately 12\% more flour and therefore 12\% more nutrients.
+
+Seeds and other additives should be used as much as possible, both to incorporate other nutrients but also to reduce the amount of flour used per loaf. Seeds and grains can both be incorporated via soaking (described above in "Seeds and additives"). When using this method the hydration percentage is based off both the flour and the seed weight. if your hydration is 70\% without seeds, if you add 10\% seeds, you should adjust your hydration to 77\% (because 70\% of 110\% is 77\%).
+
+Other than these general pointers, it is up to the community what bread they make. Generally, its difficult to make bread that is inedible, especially if there is little food and the people you feed will, I'm sure, be happy to offer plenty of advice like "more salt" or "could you use sesame seeds?".
+
+\section{Fermenting and Proofing}
+
+In large scale artisan bakeries, dough is fermented at mass within large seal-able containers. This would be completely practical for us, and a large amount of plastic boxes or storage crates could be procured within almost any town or city. Bread dough will double is size during fermentation and as an approximation for our purposes, the weight of the bread is equivalent to its volume. (The actual figure is difficult to calculate as flour is particulate so the dry volume is vastly different to the volume when mixed with water.)
+
+Proofing is slightly more difficult due to to the fact you have to separate out the loafs, meaning they take up far more space. We can therefore consider 3 options.
+
+\subsection{Bannetons}
+
+A banneton is a reed basket floured to stop the dough sticking to it, it can also be lined with a floured piece of cloth. For our purposes, a common plastic mixing bowl or strainer and a tea towel would be sufficient. If more Bannetons where required, one could be woven out of reed found throughout the world. This option does limit the bread's size and shape, although aesthetics will not be the most important thing to be worrying about.
+
+\subsection{Tins}
+
+Bread tins would be an easy to use and consistent tool for proofing bread, and more than enough could be procured with the help of neighbors. Even if more where desperately needed, cake tins and saucepans would work just as well. The downside to this is getting the cooked bread out of the tin. Usually, I would grease up the sides of the tin before proofing, however access to oil might be difficult, especially once the supplies that can be acquired from nearby shops dry up.
+
+\subsection{Proof on surface}
+
+A method that i have seen done in commercial bakeries is proofing directly on a surface and allowing the gluten to hold enough of its shape during proof time. This limits the maximum hydration of the dough but allows us to effectively proof our dough with little space used and no consumables other than flour.
+
+A Couche could also be used. This is a large cloth used to proof baguettes and batards. A fold is created in the sheet to separate the loafs.
+
+As a release agent, to keep the bread from sticking to the surface, regular glutenous flour can be used. Preferably, a substitute like rice flour or bran should be used to make it as easy as possible to release the bread from the surface, whole wheat and low gluten flours could also be used, but may not be as effective.
+
+\section{Baking}
+
+Whether under the strain of widespread change or via intentional sabotage, I find it difficult to believe that the power grid would stay a consistent source of energy. With access to a steady stream of flowing water, however, access to a dependable source of energy is also secured. A source of energy that has mechanically powered large-scale production since the fourth-century BC. With a property within half a kilometer of flowing water, upwards of 10kW could be secured. Enough to power our entire community bakery as well as comfortably housing its caretakers.
+
+The tool used to bake the bread will depend on what is available to you. A nearby takeaway may have a pizza oven, but this may not be suitable due to its large energy consumption. The advantage of hydroelectricity is a consistent and dependable source of energy throughout the day and this should be used as much as possible. An assortment of average household ovens (each approx. 2kW), further insulated to increase efficiency, would be more than enough for our community-scale bakery.
+
+If using an alternate source of power, such as solar, larger batches in the day would be prioritized and bread production would have to be reduced In the winter months.
+
+\subsection{Fire}
+
+In a situation where electricity is unfeasible it may be easier to go back to basics. Ovens are very simple to construct with basic building materials and a large capacity oven could be built from just a few paving slabs and bricks.
+
+Bread in the late middle ages was baked in what was called a faggot oven which used small bundles of sticks that burned fast and hot to heat up a chamber, which could then be swept of ashes and the residual heat used to bake bread. It requires only an insulated area with thick stone walls. It is more suited to higher capacity batch production.
+
+Alongside these furn ovens where also used. Open at the front with a fire kept lit either at the back, or below the cooking area. Because of its consistent heat, food could be baked continuously and over a longer time. The construction of both of these ovens is simple, and could be achieved very quickly and with little effort.
+
+Using a piece of scrap 6mm steel, some bricks and mud, I was able to build a very simple and capable oven. I used metal sheet because i wanted a cooking surface as well as a furn style oven compartment. This oven is suitable for no more than 4kg of bread dough and is pretty crude, but the bricks that built the mansions of the capitalists could build a far larger, more beautiful oven.
+
+\subsection{Solar Power}
+
+Solar power is a source of energy unlikely to be affected by large scale infrastructure collapse. Not only that but the complete lack of petrol and diesel for consumer use will inevitably cause most cars to become unusable, each containing a 500Wh battery, good for 2 years. An array of 10 car batteries could keep a fridge running overnight while remaining above 50\% charge.
+
+Currently, however, solar power largely depends on the grid, especially at the peak of winter, when solar panels can have as little as one hour of useful sunlight. This means that they are an effective secondary source for low power, low priority, situations.
+
+Its feels important to say, that in the event of full collapse, combustion based dependable electricity is completely impractical at any kind of scale. Even with a glut of car batteries and the nearest solar power plant, equipment will begin to malfunction and eventually fail. Without constant production modern infrastructure is unlikely to last more than a generation. The use of electricity here, then, is to ease us into a lifestyle of more physical labor, rather than replace the luxury of the grid. Not to say that there will be no electricity, but as convenient and fun as it is, wide-scale dependence will flood the world and kill us all.
+
+\end{document}
projects / national-loaf / commitdiff