CIA Whole Wheat with Poolish
If we apply mathematics to baking, the Intermediate Value Theorem [1] says that to get from lousy to good we have to pass through mediocre, and that's where I am today,
CIA Whole Wheat with Poolish Photos [2]
CIA Whole Wheat with Poolish Formula and Notes [3]
Thanks to everyone here who made valuable suggestions to help me get from pancake batter on the baking stone to a so-so loaf of bread, with hope for improvement.
The links above are for a loaf made from a formula in the Culinary Institute of America baking and pastry textbook (66% whole wheat with 75% hydration). I finally got a loaf that held its shape after being transferred from the banneton to the peel. This minor miracle was the result of some combination of:
- Poolish instead of straight dough
- Adjusting the water temp to reach the DDT (it has been chilly here, and I keep the whole wheat flour in the freezer, so the water temp came out to 133° F)
- Mixing in the KitchenAid (4 minutes speed 1 / 4 minutes speed 2)
- Better folding
- Better preshaping, with more tension - a little bit of flour on the board and hands so that the dough didn't stick
- Better shaping, with more tension
I would like to get more oven spring and a more open crumb, and some attractive grigne if possible.
I might have cut the poolish a little short, and/or the bulk fermentation. The formula called for a 1 hr proof, but the bread seemed to pass the poke test (when poked, it came back slowly, and only part way) after just 30 minutes; so that's when I baked it.
Thanks for suggestions, especially on how to know when the poolish, bulk fermentation, and proof are done.