September 18, 2019 - 9:29am
Sourdough made with 100% Whole Wheat - attempt #1
I am so proud of my bread baking effort today. This sourdough bread is made from 100% freshly ground whole wheat grain (I jumped from 50% to 100% in this bake) with 98% hydration and it's soft and moist and flavorful. It doesn't have quite as much air as the last bakes, so if I want to be SUPER picky, I think I know some more ways to make it even lighter, but if my skill NEVER improves, this is cracking good bread that I'm really proud of it.
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tell us more about your technique and formula.
was going from say 90% to 98% hydration a big improvement?
thanks!
I really don't know. I never made a wet white flour dough. I started by adding more water to my regular 50/50 white/wheat bread dough and then a few weeks ago I tried this recipe and found it very easy. I just don't hold back any water in this recipe because I'm grinding my own hard white wheat. AND, I add a bit more water for incorporating the salt and I add a wee bit with wetting my hands while kneading and shaping. The hydration in this recipe is off. I recalculated it to 92-93% and today's bake it was more on the 93% side. Here's the recipe. I simply just made it smidge wetter as I said and made it ALL freshly ground flour versus 50/50. https://www.theperfectloaf.com/fifty-fifty-whole-wheat-sourdough-bread/
It really is an easy recipe. I'm super surprised as I fought with the Bernard Clayton pain de Campagne bread for a couple of years and only got it right ONCE (baked sporadically). But once I started with sourdough, it's been so much easier. I think it's the long autolyze. Plus I've incorporated stretch and fold as it's easy with a wet dough, so I dirty fewer dishes!
I'm sure I'll try more, but I started making bread with at least 50% whole grain over 20 years ago on and off again and only recently really started baking twice weekly., So that's what I know, but it's just now that I'm dipping my foot into sourdough and so far, I'm loving it!
Oh, and my sourdough starter is about 60/40 whole wheat/rye and it's at 100% hydration. I just made it about 3 months ago and started baking with it about a month? 6 weeks ago, I think.
Hi again,
Thanks for telling how your intuition must surely be giving
you great guidance. The 100% loaves I am doing coming in around the low 90s
too and just on the border of getting a pasty cut. I've held back from going higher.
Thanks again for the 100% loaf!
Wow that looks amazing to me, I haven't even tried more than 30% WW yet and your 100% WW looks much better, good work!
Benny
Thanks for the comments. My husband (honest critic) said he likes it better than the ones I had been making because it was less holey and so it was easier to spread almond butter. I just had it for breakfast and for a loaf that is 2nd day, it's superb. It meets my palate need of feeling fresh enough to not need to toast it up.
To be honest, I can't tell the difference in taste between the 50% whole grain to the 100% whole grain. I just like it! Might try a white sourdough one of these days (never made one) just to see how it tastes!