The Fresh Loaf

A Community of Amateur Bakers and Artisan Bread Enthusiasts.

Differences between course or fine ground whole wheat?

June 17, 2013 - 7:10pm
Bread Head's picture
Bread Head

Differences between course or fine ground whole wheat?

What should I be aware of when grinding my whole wheat at a different coarseness?

When it is very fine do I need to add more water?

When it is very fine how does it affect the fermentation time?

When it is course how does it affect the crumb of the bread?

Thanks!

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subfuscpersona's picture
subfuscpersona
Jun 18 2013 - 1:52pm

It is difficult to target a truly useful response without knowing what kinds of breads you intend to make with with your home-milled whole wheat flour.

  • are you making 100% whole wheat bread OR are you mixing whole wheat flour with commercial white flour?
  • are you making sandwich bread or artisan/freeform breads?
  • are you using commercial yeast (instant? active dry? fresh?) or a sourdough starter?
  • if you are using commercial yeast, do you use a preferment (such as a biga or poolish) in your bread?
  • what kind of whole wheat are you milling (hard red winter? hard red spring? hard white spring?)
  • what grain mill do you use?
  • if you have purchased whole wheat flour in the past for your bread(s), what has been your experience with it? What brand(s) did you use? Were your bread(s) successful?
  • where (in the world) do you live? This may seem like a silly question, but TFL has bakers from many countries. Where you live affects the flour(s) and grain(s) that are available to you.

If you could point us to some recipes that you have used in the past it would be very helpful.

Looking forward to hearing back from you. - SF