Honey Wheat Bread
(Barm)
80 grams wheat bran flour (*)
160 grams water
40 grams starter (starter is 70% hydration)
(*) Place about half a cup of wheat bran kernels in a food processor to make the wheat bran flour. Pulse in 1 minute cycles until fine flour results.
Mix thoroughly, cover loosely and refrigerate for 48 – 72 hours
Remove barm from refrigerator and allow to rest at room temperature for 1 hour.
Combine barm with:
100 grams AP flour
60 grams water
3 grams ADY
3 – 4 grams salt
1 ½ tsp honey
Mix well (the dough will be sticky) and knead in stand mixer five minutes or with spatula in bowl for 7 – 8 minutes.
Grease and flour a 42 cubic inch bread pan (William Sonoma 5 ¾ x 3 ¼ x 2 ¼) and scrape the dough into the pan.
Set aside in warm place until doubled in size (60 – 90 minutes)
Lightly spray top with melted butter or commercial (e.g. PAM) preparation
Load into preheated 425 degree oven for 30 – 40 minutes or until the loaf reaches approx. 210 degrees and top is golden brown.
Cool on rack at least one hour before slicing.
flournwater, I had never heard of bran flour before. Re. loaf temp. Did you mean 210 degrees? Ray
Thanks, Ray. I corrected the typo.
The wheat bran flour was an experiment. I couldn't find any commercially so I made some (as described) that turned out as a very fine material that absorbed water like a sponge when preparing the barm. But it developed a nice flavor. Next time I'll increase the ingredients to produce a larger loaf. Made nice sandwiches, toasted up beautifully (kinda like a whole wheat english muffin) and it was consumed quickly by the chowhounds in this house.
Hi flournwater. Everyone here would have known what you meant, I had to be the wise guy to bring it to your attention. So you took wheat bran flakes and reduced them to a flour with a food processor? What a great idea. I am going to try your method with one of my straight dough whole wheat recipes that call for more bran. In my recipe it required a long bran soak. I think it would have worked better with your finer grind method. I got some early loft with my bread while in the oven, then right before my eyes it went south. Your recipe was almost a batter? When the family eats your bread - that's success. I try to kill them with kindness (100% whole wheat most times) and my wife still prefers that pseudo bread at the bread factory. multi grain ha ha ha. My Grand children bless their hearts love my bread. Thank goodness I have some allies. It gives me a reason for being. Ray
One clarification, Ray. What I used was Wheat Bran, not bran flakes. I got it at a health food store. Looks a bit like rice but is light brown in color. It's pretty hard and resists my food processor for grinding (I don't have a mill) but I didn't mind taking the time to get the flour I needed.
I'm lucky to have grandchildren like yours. They like all of grandpa's bread. But this one, while it could use a little bit of fine tuning, really is kind of special in it's crumb and flavor. I agree that when the family is pleased with the end product, it's worth the time and effort to prepare it for the table.
I don't have a lot of experience with whole wheat creations so these experiments are a new world for me. Most of my previous exprience has been with sourdough and straight dough using AP and bread flour. The decision to embark on this reckless, albeit fortunate venture, was impulsive but I'm glald it worked out as well as it did.
Flournwater, when I said flakes, I made it sound like Post cereal. The Bran I had used is from Hodgson Mill, and is called miller's bran. The reason I said flakes, is that the bran I have, resembles tiny flakes, and are flat. Is this the same stuff? Sorry for the confusion. This bran IS very hard and probably tears and shreds the gluten envelope. The soaking was suppose to minamize this. But cutting it finer and soaking, sounds like it would work better still. Ray
Sounds like you've got the ingredients. Heck, go for it.
The dough I ended up with was very slack, not quite a batter, because it wouldn't pour, but it was far too slack to handle. Just a bit wetter than some ciabattas I've worked with.
If you decide to try something like this, please share your results.
Sure, I'll be glad to. Ray