The Fresh Loaf

A Community of Amateur Bakers and Artisan Bread Enthusiasts.

Hamelman Workday 100% Whole Wheat

louiscohen's picture
louiscohen

Hamelman Workday 100% Whole Wheat

I shelled out $48 (!) at Google Play Books for the 3rd edition of "Bread" and it's paid off for me already.

Workday 100% Whole Wheat Photos

The Workday recipe is designed to fit the breadmaking around a conventional work schedule.  Here is my schedule; each step is about 12 hrs apart:

  • Day 1 AM  Refresh sourdough starter
  • Day 1 PM  Build levain
  • Day 2 AM  Mix final dough and bulk ferment
  • Day 2 PM Divide, preshape, shape, proof (2 hrs in baskets in the proofer and then into the fridge)
  • Day 3 AM Spritz with water, sprinkle with seeds, score, and bake

The recipe calls for 10% culture in the levain, which itself is 10% of the flour - the low percentages allow for the 12 hrs between steps and no risk of overfermenting.  I left out the 2.5% honey in the final dough.  The result was delicious with a little sweetness, even.  But I probably could have bulk fermented a bit longer. 

The 80% hydration (I needed to add a little more water to incorporate all the flour) made a fairly stiff dough; no special high hydration methods needed to mix it.  I had been thinking about going to 85% next time, but the crumb is somewhat open already and the bread held shape on the stone.  I am looking forward to trying it with some onion or olives mixed in.

Since I started baking bread, I never had any luck with steaming with a pan; even with a dutch oven I struggled with oven spring.  But the batard at least has a nice grigne for 100% WW.   I baked on a thick stone with another stone on a rack above imitating a commercial oven; it seemed to help equalize the heat and possibly help keep the steam from a pan from venting too quickly.  For the steam, I used the method in "The Rye Baker" - 2 cups boiling water in a pan 5 minutes before loading the bread.  

 

caryn's picture
caryn

Louis-Since you were so successful with this loaf, I recommend that you try it with a preheated covered cast iron pot. I have gotten the very best results with this technique. It may be that previously your pan was not the reason for the low rise, but something else. The cast iron pan will not correct a dough that has not fermented or proofed properly, but I think it can enhance oven spring when the dough has developed well. At least that has been my experience.

louiscohen's picture
louiscohen

I think I am not alone in having the experience that dutch ovens work better than steam pans for home ovens.  I have a big round dutch oven and a big cast iron lidded stove-top smoker.  Both work great for bread baking.   But I thought that I  could fit only one in the oven at a time, and each one fits only one loaf at a time (maybe 2 demi-baguettes in the big smoker).  

It turns out that the pot and the smoker will not fit side-by-side on the same rack, but they will fit on separate racks, with one on the bottom rung and one in the middle, with the top about 1.5 inches from the top heating coil.   I'll try that set-up for the next 2-loaf batch.  

 

caryn's picture
caryn

Louis- I would be careful about putting a pan too low in the oven unless you place it on a stone because in the past I had an issue where the bread burned on the bottom. So you might bake one after the other or make sure you protect the bottom some way. 

louiscohen's picture
louiscohen

WIth the 2 dutch oven setup in our oven, the bottom rung for a rack is about 1 in off the oven bottom. And then there is the thick cast iron of the pot.

I've got a smaller pot in the storage cage downstairs; I'll measure it and it'd lower than the big one, I'll swap them out.

In the 2-pot setup, the top of the lid of the top pot is pretty close to the heating coil.  

caryn's picture
caryn

So aren’t you worried that being close to the heating coil could cause the bread to burn on the bottom?

louiscohen's picture
louiscohen

It's certainly possible.  But the cast iron in the dutch oven and the smoker are pretty thick and heavy; they might be able to distribute the extreme heat.

And after a 1 hr preheat, my guess is that the heating elements will come on only intermittently and for short intervals.  I think it's worth trying, with low expectations. 

OldWoodenSpoon's picture
OldWoodenSpoon

I think it depends on your oven.  I cannot bake without dutch ovens in my oven.  It is too hot, even with un-glazed quarry tile on the racks, and regardless of configuration.  I tested combinations until I got sick of loaves that sealed their crusts so fast they could not bloom.  I bought (2) 6 Qt Lodge Dutch Ovens.  These fit on a single rack if I put one in the back corner on the left and one in the front corner on the right (or the reverse works!).  I still cannot go to the bottom though, and that's the point.

You may, as you've already allowed, find that you cannot go above/below, without the stone.  I could not either, and thus the quarry tiles.  Without the tiles my dutch ovens burn the bottoms of my loaves.  They still bloom very nicely though.  So don't give up.  There is a combination in there that will work for you, even if you have to use all the tricks:  stone, DO, positioning.

You mentioned in passing that you struggled with bloom even with dutch ovens.  How were you using them:  Preheated or cold start?  How long covered vs uncovered?  Just curious, because I believe the Do method is the best defense against an intractable oven.

OldWoodenSpoon

louiscohen's picture
louiscohen

I have always preheated the dutch oven or stones for an hour; 50 F hotter than the baking temp  temp to allow for losing heat when loading the bread.  I used to bake 25 F lower than the recipes when I used convection.

When I tried 2 stones (second on a higher rack) and no convection recently, it looked as if the 50 F preheat boost wasn't necessary; the bread baked a little darker and crustier than usual.

I just swapped out my big dutch oven for a smaller one, about 1 inch lower and with a smaller diameter.  I think it will provide better support for single-loaf boules (450g flour).  And it fits in the 2 dutch oven configuration (photo at the link below) 

Double Dutch in the Oven

I tried to put a stone under the stovetop smoker on the lowr rack, but no-go,  There is about 1/2" from the oven floor to the lowest rack, and it is about 3/8" thick.  I think the thick cast iron will be ok on that rack.  But I'll find out for sure the next time I bake 2 loaves (which is relatively unusual).  

caryn's picture
caryn

Louis-I would worry that the bread might burn on the rack so close to the bottom. For a long time I would bake a great loaf of bread, but it would burn on the bottom, and that was maddening. I solved it by doing 2 things- lowering the temperature by 25-50° and by putting the pot on top of a baking stone. If a recipe calls for preheating the oven at 500°, I usually set it for 475° and then lower it to 450 or 460° for the actual baking. I now mostly use the Challenger pan which allows you to reconfigure the pot when you uncover it, by putting the lid with the loaf on top of the large pan part. This way there is a nice air space between the bread and the bottom of the pot.  I may not be explaining this clearly: You first put the dough into the flat part of the pot (the pot lid) with the pot body over the lid and then when it is time to uncover the bread, you put the pot body upright on the oven rack and put the lid with the bread on top. This protects the bottom for the rest of the bake.

louiscohen's picture
louiscohen

You might be right.  I'll give a try the next time I make 2 loaves and see how it comes out.

The distance from the actual bottom of the oven and the thickness of the cast iron suggest that it might work, with, perhaps, an unusually crusty bottom.  

My last bake was the "bread" 100% whole wheat; I fed my culture this morning and I'm browsing "The Rye Baker" for the next loaf.

louiscohen's picture
louiscohen

I made the 100% Whole Wheat Workday bread from "Bread" 3rd edition again.  This time, I baked the whole recipe (811g flour @ 80% hydration) in one boule in a cast iron dutch oven).  I also paid more attention to developing the gluten during the mix.  And shaping boules is easier than batards; I've got a pretty good handle on the tension pulls.

I added 10% (total) black olives and onions.

It's easy to schedule (the Workday part of the title), easy, and delicious.  Photos:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/pWUGBeGc5J5K5DED8

It might be slightly overfermented because of an incoming phone that took me past when I wanted to pull the dough from the proofer.  Even so, the crumb is nice for 100% whole wheat.

This is now my go-to for 100% whole wheat; the only reason to change would be to try multigrain soakers.  

caryn's picture
caryn

Your second try looks great, Louis. I will definitely try this again. I just want to be sure that I know exactly what you did. Other than what you mentioned, were there any other changes that you made? And did you use your rye starter for your starter for this bread? Also, were the onions cooked or raw? 

louiscohen's picture
louiscohen

Thanks for your kind words.

Same rye culture as always.  Refreshed Day 1 AM 1:10:10 as usual; left in the proofer at 85F and set up the levain 12 hrs later.  As usual with this dough, the leveain looked exactly the same after 12 hrs in the proofer at 70 F - no volume change, hardly any change in the texture.  But there is better than usual volume from the bulk fermentation.  

Changes from the 1st try

  • More gluten development during mixing: 10 min Rubaud's Method + 10 min rest + 5 minutes Rubaud + some stretch-and-folds
  • Lamination fold just before bulk fermentation to add garnishes: raw Mexican onion (like a scallion with an oversize bulb) + sliced and rinsed pitted black olives, 60g of each
  • Bulk fermentation at 70 F rather than 75 F 12.5 hrs (I had planned on 11 hrs but I was stuck on the phone)
  • No dividing; preshaped and shaped as one big boule
  • Proofed in a stainless steel mixing bowl lined with a kitchen towel dusted with rice flour, rather than a basket; 1 hr room temp, then into the fridge overnight in the bowl in a big (2.5gal) ziplock (same as before)
  • Baked in the 5 qt round cast iron dutch over rather than on a stone (same water spritz before seeds and score as before)
  • Baked at 500F lid on for 15 min as before
  • Checked internal temp after 15 minutes open; continued baking another 5 minutes.  

This is my 100% whole wheat from now on.  Maybe sometime I'll try a big hydration and bake it in a loaf pan, just to see if i get the big open crumb.  But it's for sandwiches as is.

caryn's picture
caryn

Thanks for these details, Louis. It gives me the confidence to try this bread again since I, too, like hardy loaves like this one. Did you feel the onion added a lot?

if I get organized, I may be able to try this for a gathering in which I plan to bring a sweet potato and red lentil soup.

louiscohen's picture
louiscohen

My sense is that the important factors are 

  • Building the gluten.  I could feel the dough change from a mixture of water and flour to something like a smooth dough.  But you have to keep going for a while.  I was folding until the dough got too stiff to fold easily
  • Fermenting on point.  I probably should have moved to shaping once the volume doubled, even though I never got the sort of loose airy feel under the surface or the jiggle

The onion variety I used is more like a big scallion.  I really like it, raw, but if you aren't an onion/scallion lover YMMV.  Seeds would be nice too.  Maybe some rye flour as well, but that would really hurt the volume. 

caryn's picture
caryn

Actually, I love onions in bread of any kind and Alex will eat scallions like people eat celery, raw and out of hand!  I plan to make bialys some time soon.

alcophile's picture
alcophile

I'm glad you liked this bread. My experience was less than satisfactory. I thought there were too many hands-on "touch points" that I would not have cared for if I was still working. I was glad I got the book from the library.

I actually like King Arthur's Do-Nothing Sourdough much better than this recipe. I made it with unfed starter and it came out fine. Granted, it's not 100% WW, but I'll bet I could it could be.