I can make a nice Workday 100% Whole Wheat 80% Hydration with King Arthur Whole Wheat Flour and no additions at 80% hydration on a baking stone. The dough holds its shape pretty well.
But...
- My wife loves 100g of whole walnuts added; I add them with a lamination fold about 90 minutes into bulk fermentation
- We both agree that KA Golden Whole Wheat flour tastes a little better
- The Golden Whole Wheat flour is slightly lower in protein than the regular whole wheat and spreads in the oven at 80% hydration with 100g of walnuts
I tried doing more folds to strengthen the dough; it still spreads. I tried reducing the hydration to 75%; bulk fermentation takes nearly twice as long (~20 hrs vs 12), and maybe I mishandled the proofing (at room temp rather than overnight in the fridge) and ended up with tasty open crumb frisbees.
I decided to bake the next batch (in 2 weeks; I alternate between this bread and some kind of rye) in loaf pans. What if any adjustments do I need to make for loaf pans (2 pans 9" x 5") - hydration? baking time/temp?
Thanks
I have no experience with pan loaves & so have no light to shed on the direct questions you ask. Sorry.
But I did want to comment how amazing it is to me that a 5 percentage point drop in hydration (which works out to be around a 6.25% reduction in the amount of water) results in almost doubling the time required for bulk fermentation.
Have you tried:
a. bulking at a slightly higher temperature
b. laminating or stitching during final shaping
I could also envision experimenting with putting a ring from a small spring-form cake pan around the dough on the stone, to prevent it from spreading too far laterally. I guess this would be kind-of like using a pan with sides but no bottom. Of course, it would give you a boule and not a batard.
Rob
I bake pan loaves at a lower temperature than free-standing ones. If the pan is without a lid, the lower temperature reduces the chance of burning the top before the rest of the loaf is done. Also, dough for pan breads is often wetter, and that also calls for a lower temperature bake for a longer time. With a pan, even if the dough isn't actually wetter, the moisture can't escape as easily as with a free-standing loaf, and even more so if there is a lid.
Lately I've been baking free-standing loaves with a 425 deg F/220 C, and Pullman loaves at 375 - 390 F/190 - 200 C. BTW, my countertop oven bakes Pullman loaves beautifully.
TomP
I'm looking to replace an old toaster oven and I'd like one that does a decent job of baking bread. What countertop oven do you have? I don't have a lot of space, so I'm hoping I can get a medium-sized (≈18″ W) one that also bakes well.
I have the Breville Smart Oven Pro. It's larger than some and smaller than their latest one. It's also on the expensive side, but it works very well, I think. It has a "Proofing" setting and you can set any temperature from 80 deg F/27 C and upwards. I think it probably doesn't toast quite as well as a smaller toaster oven would - this is my first appliance of this kind so I don't know how it compares with others. It seems very controllable and easy to set and use. It's around 21'' wide. The heaters are quartz tubes.
It also doesn't require an internet connection or an app to use, a big PLUS! for me.
I use store brand WW flour and AP flour.
My recipe calls for 3.5 cups ww flour to make a loaf and it came out squat/flat on top. I replaced one cup of the ww with white flour and now it rises properly. This may or may not apply to your recipe as I do not add nuts etc.
The recipe also calls for 3 tblspn butter which I replace with avacado oil.
My loaf pans are nonstick but I still oil then ww flour them because they are not really nonstick.
My WW recipe w/pics
3.5 cups WW flour - If it doesn't rise enough for you the first time replace a cup of flour with AP or bread flour. I oil the pan and flour it after the bread sticking my first time in the nonstick pan.
1 cup water, .5 cup milk, .25 cup honey, 3 tblspn melted butter (I replace with avacado oil),2 tspn yeast.
I add table salt to the flour when I put it into a bowl for dispensing into the mixing bowl. Using my palm about 1tsp. Also don't try to go more milk less water. The whole milk doesn't have enough water in it to let the yeast work properly. Yes I found out the hard way after doing it 3 times it finally dawned on me. :-)
I put the water milk and honey in a cup and microwave to warm. Then put it in the mixing bowl, then add the yeast not before. Let sit 10 minutes to activate the yeast. Put the flour then melted butter or oil in and mix until fully combined with the paddle. Take the paddle out, scrape down the sides and bottom, hen use the dough hook to continue mixing adding flour if needed as you let it develop. I mix 6+ min (not counting paddle use) medium/low speed then 3 minutes on high or until the dough cleans the sides and pulls it off the bottom of the bowl. Put on your surface, light flour and tighten up the dough into a ball, place in oiled container (cover) to rise for 1hr.
Place risen dough on surface press out all the air. fold like an envelope then continue to knead into shape for the bread pan. Place in bread pan let rise for 1hr.
Bake at 350F for 35 minutes or until interior temp is 195+
Tip out of pan and place on cooling rack until completely cool before slicing or putting it into a bag.
I did not photo it for first rise.