Help: Modifying a FWSY recipe for overnight bulk fermentation
I'm very new to baking bread, and this will be my first recipe from Forkish's book. Most of my mornings are free, so I'd like to do my baking then. I'd like to start with a 40% whole wheat bread, so I thought about combining his Overnight White Bread and Overnight 40% Whole Wheat Bread recipes. The whole-wheat bread is an overnight proof in the fridge for retarding, but I'll be baking in a slow cooker, and I'd rather not start with cold dough. For a one-pound loaf I was thinking:
150g white flour
100g whole wheat flour
200g water
5.5g fine sea salt
0.2g instant dried yeast (I'll have no problems measuring this on my scale.)
The yeast measurement is based on his 12-14 hour bulk fermentation for the Overnight White Bread recipe, but should I reduce it a bit because I'm adding whole wheat flour into the mix?
Also, I'll start keeping a log of the overnight temperature of my apartment, maybe measuring it at 10:30pm and 7:00am. I don't have that information now, but I'll need some advice for estimating the time needed for the bulk fermentation.
Any guidance would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
I'd drop the salt to 5g to keep within the normal range of 1.8 - 2% of total flour.
Water seems fine at 80% hydration and 40% wholewheat. See how the dough handles and alter accordingly.
If this is the recommended ratio of yeast for an all night white then yes, adding whole wheat will go quicker. However it is recommended for a 12-14 hour ferment so you can always aim for an 8-10 hour overnight ferment or drop the amount of yeast.
Yeah, I can drop the salt down easily enough. Do I need a little more because of the whole wheat component, or does the kind of flour not matter?
The overnight temperature of our apartment seems to be about 25°C or just shy of that--say 24.5-25°C. Also, I've heard a couple of times now that the bulk fermentation actually goes faster than what is written in FWSY. Would yeast at 0.15g be a better amount given these parameters?
I made the above recipe with 5.0g of salt & 0.15g of yeast for 12 hours and an overnight temperature of ~25.5°C. I started the autolyse at 7:30pm and shaped the loaf at 7:30am. The temperature of the dough after I added the salt & yeast at 8:00pm was 28.4°C (I used 32°C water when I made the dough).
Does this dough look over-fermented?
Not necessarily. How was it at pre-shape?
I'm not sure how to describe it other than sticky. It seems to have baked up okay.
What's the indicator of over-fermentation?
An increasingly sour flavour and taste, up to the point where the alcohol smell and flavors start over-roding the acidity, and you get "beery" bread (tastes like bad beer / cheap grain alcohol).
I didn't notice any of that I'll give it another taste tonight and also see what my wife thinks.
Your proofed dough will begin to collapse at the touch, and eventually on it's own.