I made the Reinhart 100% Whole Wheat Sandwich bread (the first one in the book, I'm pretty sure) and it came out flat like a Ciabatta.  I tried to make a Batard, per the instructions, and it just didn't come out.  The dough lacked the strength to hold its shape for very long so it flattened out while proofing.

I used a Kitchenaid dough hook to do the mixing.  I am thinking that the dough needed to be stretched and folded somewhere in the process, maybe, to build up strength in the dough.  Anyone had any experience with this and know where I might be going wrong?

I'll post a picture of the pancake tonight. :)

I tried to include a picture, but I'm not adept enough with my photo editor and the online host.  Maybe another time.  But, trust me, they look and taste good.

They're the Four-Seed Snack Crackers on page 122 of Brother Juniper's Bread Book by Peter Reinhart.

Grind 1 cup each sunflower and pumpkin seeds into a flour in the blender.  Also grind 1/2 cup flax seeds in the coffee grinder.  He has you grinding all three seeds together, but the flax seeds did not break down properly.  Mix with 3-1/2 cups ww flour (or ap if you must), 1 cup sesame seeds, 1 teaspoon salt, 5 tablespoons honey, and 1/2 cup oil; add 6-8 ounces of water as needed to make a ball of dough. Knead about 10 minutes "until smooth, firm, but elastic, satiny rather than tacky" about 10 minutes.  Then place in an oiled bowl covered with plastic wrap for at least 10 minutes (I left it overnight).**

Divide into six pieces.  I rolled each piece into a ball and flattened it.  Then I placed five of the flattened balls on a cookie sheet in the freezer for a few hours before placing them in a freezer bag.  They'll keep up to three months.  Roll today's dough out to about 1/8 inch thick.  (It was still stiff from the refrigerator, so I nuked it for a few seconds before rolling.)  I found that my Sil-Pat (little brother to the Roul-Pat) was adequate because the dough was oily enough, but he warns that you should re-flour as needed.  Then he has you use a biscuit cutter or a pizza roller knife to cut out round or diamond shapes, but I used a plastic dough scraper - gently - on my Sil-Pat and cut out random shapes.  I just wanted crackers and wasn't trying to impress the bridge club.

Finally, you can mist the top of the crackers with water and sprinkle with more sesame seeds or other toppings, but I didn't.  I just baked in a 340-degree F oven for 20-25 minutes until they're light golden brown.  You're warned to let them cool for at least 20 minutes so that they'll crisp up.

My first batch is now almost gone.  When I'm ready, I'll pull out another piece of dough, defrost it, and repeat.  I can keep the crackers coming with just a little effort.

Rosalie

**EDIT:  PLACE IN REFRIGERATOR - Details! Details!

A few weeks ago I saw a post with a reference to a Honey Lemon Whole Wheat loaf. As I recall a couple posters had commented that this bread was high on the best breads list for them. A fellow I have high regard for (PMcCool), suggested I would like it, so I decided to give it a spin.

The original recipe is from Bernard Clayton. One of the things Clayton does in this and other recipes I have made is to use very warm water for the mix along with a short primary ferment time and then an overnight chilled proof. Since the dough starts off life warm, it does rise fully while in the refrigerator. I suspect this also helps develop a better flavor. Another component of the flavor being the grated lemon rind, I suspect is enhanced by the warm water helping release the oils of the fruit.

The crumb is about what you would expect from a 40% Whole Wheat mix. The dough and later the bread has a very unusual and surprising aroma with the Lemon. This is an aromatic bread of the highest order. Paul said he liked the way the lemon plays off the WW and I think that's a good description of what I sence. So grab a copy of Claytons book and give this a try.

Eric

Well, here was my first attempt at making Reinhart's Whole Grain hearth bread. I just finished it this morning after having both the biga and soaker in my refridgerator for two days. I have made loaves before, real simple ones though, some turn out fine, some are bricks. Always with organic whole grains though especially since I am the grocery buyer at my local co-op and we recieve fresh, organic, locally milled flours...and it cost me a little less than the normal shopper : )

Any thoughts? I'd love to hear comments! One thing I noticed though is the crumb is very tight : /

I have read somewhere here about people ordering whole wheat flour from people, who grow organic wheat and grind it to your specifications right before mailing it to you.  I am about to order a 10lb bag to try, but don't know how they should grind it.  I bake whole wheat bread, including sourdough.  I would appreciate any advice.  Thanks!

Back in the US, and making bread here for the first time. I'm still learning about the flours available to me. For WW flour, I've been initially drawn to Hodgson Mill Whole Wheat Graham flour (it has the large bran/germ that I am used to seeing from traditional stoneground flours). KA Traditional, by comparison, has a somewhat finer consistency and Bronze Chief seems ridiculously finely ground - totally alien to me, although I'm sure it performs well! 

The Hodgson Mill Graham flour seems quite weak (low protein?) when water is added. It claims to be '100% whole wheat' but I'm wondering if it's actually 'whole wheat on steroids' - ie it has additional bran over and above that from the milled grain. Can anyone in the know or with experience with this flour shed any light on this?

Right now I'm using it to initialise a wheat starter, so dough performance is not important but I'd like to know whether a different whole wheat flour might be more appropriate further down the line for making whole grain/high extraction breads. 

Thanks,

FP

I went on a baking frenzy today, thanks to George Greenstein's Secrets of a Jewish Baker.  I followed one of his "Morning Baking" programs at the end of the book and made muffins, milk bread, whole wheat bread, and Italian bread.

Hi,

Having been on the great quest for that perfect daily bread for my family, I think I'm getting closer.

I've been baking Hamelman's Pain au Levain now and again with mixed reviews from the family.  I recently tried the pain au levain with whole wheat and it has been a massive hit!  The flours here are split between 75% bread flour, 20% whole wheat flour and 5% medium rye.     My starter seems to really love the warmer weather of spring and this dough bursts to life.  I wish I had photos to show you!

One day, due to a cat who needed to be rushed to the vet, the dough sat in the fridge over night and was super!  It seems to be a very forgiving recipe.

I would encourage you to try it if you haven't already!

Cheers,

Tania

PS:  Hope to send pics next time!

I'll admit I haven't made many Whole Wheat breads that I thought were full of flavor. Most of them taste like they are good for you but lack that deep flavor that makes you want to have another piece. Floyd posted a loaf he did a couple weeks ago along with a sourdough starter that sat in the cooler for 2 weeks that caught my attention. I have been wanting to learn about making good WW breads for a while and this is my entry into what I hope will be a good learning experience. I'm a decent rye baker and a little better with light combination's and even better with various bread flour mixes but, I need some help in this area.

I own Reinhart's Whole Grain Bread and the BBA and Hamelmans Bread that I would like to use for a base to start from. So if any of you would like to speak up with a favorite from one of these books or even something else, I would appreciate it greatly.

I have decided to purchase some fresh stone ground flour from the milling operation that sent floyd a package and it arrived today. I opened the bag and it smells wonderful. By comparison the store bought has little aroma. So my hopes are high.

BTW the flour is from flourgirl51's operation in Northern Minnesota. The cost to purchase 10 Lbs of fresh whole grain flour was competitive with our local store, delivered no less. Here is the link.

Eric

I recently tried Reinhart's whole wheat hearth bread. In the final rise period the dough seemed to really spread, as if it was too moist, even though I put it in a lined basket for shape. When I slashed the dough it deflated a little, and came out quite flat.

Tips??????