The Fresh Loaf

A Community of Amateur Bakers and Artisan Bread Enthusiasts.

Whole Wheat + Gluten

Esopus Spitzenburg's picture
Esopus Spitzenburg

Whole Wheat + Gluten

This loaf is a complete game changer for me. This is my first (nearly) 100% whole wheat loaf (I think!) that I have found to be delicious. I'm generally an aspirational high-percentage whole wheater - I'll often make high percent whole wheat loaves wanting to enjoy them, but ultimately finding them overpowering in flavor and sourness.

For this loaf, I used some leftover whole wheat flour from Maine Grains that I had purchased to make matzah. This particular flour was shmurah, or "watched," which means that it was observed from the time of harvest to ensure it didn't come into contact with water. While I've been familiar with the company for a while (I won their lottery for a ticket to the NY Grains Home Bakers Meetup a few years ago!) this was my first introduction to actual Maine Grains flour, albeit in a roundabout way. The flour was marketed as whole wheat, but because I didn't get it from Maine Grains I don't have much other information about it - the taste is so mild that I am slightly worried it isn't 100% whole wheat (I'm reaching out for more info).

Anyway, this loaf has 100g starter (75% hydration, 50/50 AP and WW), 500g mysterious MG flour, 20g vital wheat gluten (Anthony's), 10g salt, 383g water. 45 min autolyse, stretch and folds every 30 mins for 3 or 4 hours. Refrigerated for about 14 hours, pre-shaped cold and rested for an hour, shaped and did a final proof for another hour in the Lodge, baked at 475 first covered, then uncovered (no idea for how long). 

This is my first non-matzah use of this flour, so I can't tell how much of an impact the vital wheat gluten had, but I am very pleased with this loaf. It has a nice crumb as far as I am concerned, and it is flavorful without being super wheaty or very sour.

 

I generally mill my own whole wheat, but I'm afraid to say this flour is far superior to my own... I need to learn how to get my flour closer towards this one. 

 





You can see that I need to re-season my Lodge!

Comments

ifs201's picture
ifs201

Do you get your wheat at Grow Grains NYC?

Esopus Spitzenburg's picture
Esopus Spitzenburg

I used to, when it was the NY Regional Grains Project, (or something like that?), and it was really high quality grain. I moved out of NY last year and I've been disappointed with the bulk grain that I've bought since.

Do you use GrowNYC Grains?

ifs201's picture
ifs201

Yes! And I buy in bulk from them to save money so I'm always hoping to find someone to share with so I don't need to store 50lb of spelt in my NYC apartment! They are awesome.

Esopus Spitzenburg's picture
Esopus Spitzenburg

I store some of it in 5 gallon buckets, and the rest in ziplock bags. It was definitely a struggle in an NYC one bedroom, and still is even though we have a bit more room now.

headupinclouds's picture
headupinclouds

@ifs201 I'm a home baker and miller in Brooklyn and recently discovered the grain stand.  I was asking about the Renan berries last weekend, but they have a very firm 50 lb minimum, which is a bit much for our two-person household.  Let me know if you have any interest in splitting.

ifs201's picture
ifs201

Ohh! I wish I'd gotten this message last week. I just picked up 25lb of hard wheat berries from Farmer Ground Flour on Saturday. It's supposed to be some combo of Renan/Warthog/Glen. I had the same issue with spelt (they aren't dividing 50lb bags right now). 

headupinclouds's picture
headupinclouds

Next time.  I'm interested to hear how the blend performs and tastes.  I didn't preorder anything, so I ended up buying a few bags of pre-milled flour, including a whole wheat bread flour from Farmer Ground, which I'm guessing is the same blend of berries you have.  I gravitated towards the Renan from some previous discussions here, but perhaps the blend is a better way to go. 

JonJ's picture
JonJ

Inspirational to see such an open crumb with so much WW.

I'm now wondering if the amount of VWG could be reduced or eliminated for the next loaf since the hydration is not, say, 80%.  But that would be me, I'm always see sawing back and forth when it comes to adding VWG and then seeing if it can be left out with a repeat bake.

Got a question about the flour itself, is it so finely ground that the bran is not visible?

Also gave me a chuckle to see what kind of flour you're using. It is like some kind of reverse kitniot to use matza flour to make bread.

-Jon

Esopus Spitzenburg's picture
Esopus Spitzenburg

Yeah I might try this again without the VWG if I have enough flour (if not, maybe a half batch).

You can see specks of bran, but it is very fine and soft to my eye/touch. (Picture below in case it helps).

And yes, a long fermentation feels like the antithesis of matzah! It felt totally weird but tasted delicious!

headupinclouds's picture
headupinclouds

That looks like it is very light in the hand.

> I generally mill my own whole wheat, but I'm afraid to say this flour is far superior to my own... I need to learn how to get my flour closer towards this one.

I've encountered the same thing recently when comparing my own milled berries with a small bag of pre-milled flour from the same supplier.  That experience, and some discussion about lighter loaves resulting from finer flour in The Bread Book, have encouraged me to revisit very fine milling as in THIS VIDEO while trying to keep the temperature down.  I'm very curious to hear about other people's experiences, and probably need to do some side-by-side experiments.