Light and fluffy 100% Whole Wheat Bread
100% Whole Wheat Bread from BBA
I've been admiring the whole wheat pan loaves txfarmer has shown us in recent weeks. Her use of intensive mixing to achieve a higher rise and airier crumb has particularly intrigued me. (See SD 100% WW sandwich loaf with bulgur (cracked wheat) - discovered a new favorite ingredient [1]). When I read her blog, I decided to make the same bread. However, on further reflection, I changed my plan. I have a favorite 100% whole wheat bread – that in BBA – and I really don't like the combination of sourdough tang and whole wheat flavors. So, I decided to fiddle with Peter Reinhart's formula for 100% whole wheat bread using some of txfarmer's techniques to see if I could get a lighter-crumbed version of a bread I already know well and love. The crumb texture I have gotten with this bread is moist but rather dense and crumbly, following Reinhart's suggestions for mixing time. This is not at all unpleasant to eat, but is very different from the airier crumb txfarmer and khalid have shown.
Reinhart's formula calls for a soaker with a coarsely-ground grain and a whole wheat poolish. As usual, I used bulgur for the soaker, and I used fresh-milled whole wheat flour for the poolish. The flour in the final dough was KAF Organic Whole Wheat. The procedures described are those I used. They deviate from both Peter Reinhart's and txfarmer's in significant ways.
Soaker |
Baker's % |
Wt (oz) |
Medium bulgur |
100 |
4.25 |
Water |
141 |
6 |
The day before baking, measure the bulgur into a 3 cup bowl. Pour the water over it and cover tightly. Leave at room temperature until used.
Whole Wheat Poolish |
Baker's % |
Wt (oz) |
Whole wheat flour |
100 |
6.75 |
Instant yeast |
0.41 |
0.028 (¼ tsp) |
Water |
88.9 |
6 |
The day before baking, mix the poolish ingredients. Cover the bowl tightly. Allow to ferment until bubbles start to form (2-4 hours), then refrigerate.
Final dough |
Baker's % |
Wt (oz) |
Whole wheat flour |
100 |
9 |
Salt |
3.7 |
0.33 |
Instant yeast |
1.2 |
0.11 (1 tsp) |
Honey |
16.7 |
1.5 |
Vegetable oil (optional) |
5.6 |
0.5 |
Egg, slightly beaten |
18.3 |
1.65 (1 large) |
Seeds to garnish (optional) |
|
2 T |
Soaker |
114 |
All of above |
Poolish |
142 |
All of above |
Procedure
-
Mix the soaker and poolish, as instructed above, the night before mixing the final dough.
-
One hour before mixing, take the poolish out of the refrigerator to warm to room temperature.
-
Place all the ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer.
-
Using the paddle, mix at Speed 1until a ball forms on the paddle and the ingredients are well-mixed (1-2 minutes). Note that the dough should be quite tacky – neither dry nor sticky. Adjustments can be made by adding either water or flour during this step or during the next mixing step. (I added about 15-20 g additional water.)
-
Let the dough rest, covered in the mixer bowl, for 20-40 minutes.
-
Switch to the dough hook and mix at Speed 2 until a medium window pane can be made. (20-25 minutes) Note: Reinhart's instruction is to knead for 10-15 minutes, “less” if machine kneading.
-
Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl.
-
Ferment for two hours or until the dough has doubled in volume, with a stretch and fold on the board at 60 minutes.
-
Divide the dough into two equal pieces and form them into pan loaves.
-
Place the dough into lightly oiled medium loaf pans and place the pans in food-grade plastic bags or cover well with a towel or plasti-crap.
-
Proof until the loaves have almost doubled and are peaking above the rims of the pans. (About 90 minutes)
-
Pre-heat the oven to 350ºF with a rack in the middle.
-
Optionally, spray the loaves lightly with water and sprinkle on seeds or rolled oats.
-
Optionally, score the loaves.
-
Bake for 45-60 minutes. At 30 minutes, rotate the pans 180º, if necessary for even browning. The interior temperature should be at least 195ºF, and the crust should be firm on the top and on the sides of the loaves. If necessary, return the loaves to the oven and bake longer. (My loaves were done in 45 minutes.)
-
Immediately transfer the loaves to a cooling rack.
-
Cool thoroughly before slicing.
I noticed two significant differences in this dough, compared to my previous bakes of this bread. First, the dough was less sticky than usual. Second, the loaves achieved significantly greater volume during proofing. I attribute this to the more intensive mixing, but also the S&F which serves to further strengthen the dough but also equalized the dough temperature and redistribute the products of fermentation.
Once baked, the loaves felt much lighter than usual. When sliced, the reason was quite obvious. Rather than the cakey, somewhat crumbly crumb this bread has always had in the past, the crumb was airy and, in txfarmer's words, “shreddable.”
Crumb from a previous bake of the BBA 100% Whole Wheat Bread, made following Reinhart's mixing time instructions
Crumb of the 100% Whole Wheat Bread from BBA mixed as described above
"Shreddable"
The flavor of the bread is basically unchanged, but the mouth feel is entirely different - light and mildly chewy. I was amazed.
I'm looking forward to having toast for breakfast.
Thanks, txfarmer, for your inspiring and informative postings!
David
Submitted to YeastSpotting [2]