The Fresh Loaf

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100% Whole Wheat Sandwich Loaf - 4th Attempt

gavinc's picture
gavinc

100% Whole Wheat Sandwich Loaf - 4th Attempt

I saw a picture of your Debra Wink’s 800-gram loaf in a 330 mm / 13 inch Pullman pan. It looked terrific, so I ordered the pan from the USA. It arrived this week, so today I baked using the pan and was very pleased, apart from a shaping mistake (I shaped as per a batard out of habit instead of a blunt cylinder). I’m learning with each iteration of this wonderful bread. It’s such a beautiful taste that it is now has a place in our weekly breadbasket. A nice light soft crumb.

Cheers,

Gavin

Comments

HeiHei29er's picture
HeiHei29er

You've convinced me.  Need to try this one too.  :-)

One clarification on the method in your earlier blog post.  1st rise all in the refrigerator and then allow dough to come up to room temp before degassing and moving on to 2nd rise?  Do you use a specific type of fold before the 2nd rise?

gavinc's picture
gavinc

You will not be disappointed.  Yes, the first rise starts in the refrigerator for 12 hours. Try to match the desired dough temperature of about 23C / 73F before refrigeration as it gives the yeast a head start.

Bulk Fermentation: 1 st rise 12 hours overnight in the refrigerator. Should at least double in volume. Finish at cool room temperature, up to 2 hours if needed. Degas well and fold the dough. 2 nd rise 3-5 hours at cool room temperature. Should rise higher the second time.

When you degas and fold, be aggressive and do 4 to 6 stretch and folds. Shape again into a ball and move to the second bulk fermentation. I set my proofer to 22C for this stage.

Benito's picture
Benito

Very nice bake Gavin.  I love the squarer profile that these pullman pans give the loaf.  

gavinc's picture
gavinc

Thanks, Benny. Best so far. It's been an interesting learning curve. I just sliced the loaf and will upload the image soon.

Abe's picture
Abe

Success, more like! And as far as shaping goes it doesn't need to be perfect because it'll fill out in the pullman and correct itself. As long as the dough fits and it's in a rough loaf shape it'll be fine as you can see. 

Really lovely delicious looking whole-wheat loaf, Gavin.

gavinc's picture
gavinc

Thanks, Abe. My first use of such a large loaf pan I was afraid that 800-gram was way too small when I put the dough into the bottom. But to my astonishment the dough rose to above the top during the final proof, hence the light crumb. I sliced it this moring and will include the crumb shot soon.

gavinc's picture
gavinc

I left the loaf on the bench overnight and sliced this moring. Very pleased with the result. I sliced it a bit thinner than normal as I will be using it mostly for sandwiches. Lovely and soft with a flavour that suits savory or sweet fillings.

Benito's picture
Benito

Beautiful even sandwich loaf crumb Gavin, I’m still working on increasing the whole wheat content of my Hokkaido milk bread, but will have to try this recipe soon afterwards.  Really great bake.

Benny

gavinc's picture
gavinc

Cheers. I've been following your Hokkaido endeavours. I love challenges.

Abe's picture
Abe

A perfect whole-wheat sandwich loaf which looks as soft as any white loaf. 

Bon Appetit, Gavin. 

Benito's picture
Benito

Gavin, I’m curious about the total flour weight and the amount of VWG you added for that flour weight.  Would you mind sharing?  I keep reading about the negative taste imparted by too much VWG, but so far in the amounts that I have added I cannot discern any flavour from the VWG.  I wonder at what % would you be able to taste it?

Benny

gavinc's picture
gavinc

Hi Benny,

In calculating the amount of VWG I work in percentages. I need to know the flour protein percent, the VWG protein percent and the target protein percent. Below is my real-world calculation for the 100% Whole-Wheat sandwich loaf. The result is that I need 8.1% VWG to be added to 91.9% flour; the total flour is 100%. In this bread the VWG is undetectable in the baked loaf. Make sure you dry mix the flour and VWG before proceeding. I'm not sure what the threshold is before the VWG affects the taste.  (Underlying this table is the Pearson's Square formula. I can PM you a link to my spreadsheet if you want.)

 

Bread Flour Protein %10.891.9%
Vital Wheat Gluten Protein %758.1%
Desired Protein % 16 
Benito's picture
Benito

That’s super helpful.  The most I have used VWG at was about 4.5% of the total flour.  So that is great to know that at 8.1% the flavour of it still wasn’t detectable.  I think there is still hope that I can get more height from my 100% spelt Hokkaido milk bread then.  Thanks again Gavin.

Benny

pnguyen951's picture
pnguyen951

Gavin - thanks to following your posts, I was inspired and able to bake this beautiful loaf! Link to post

gavinc's picture
gavinc

Wonderful. I've commented on the post.

Cheers,

Gavin