Reinhart's 100% WW sandwich Bread multigrain variation issues

Especially if you used 28g after cooking instead of 28g dry weight.  That adds more water and reduces dry material at the same time.

Something else seems to be off, though.  The formula works out to about 72% hydration. For a 100% whole wheat dough, that ought not produce slop.  Sticky, maybe, but not sloppy; especially if the recommended times are followed so that the flour can absorb the liquid.

Can you walk us through the whole process to see if we can spot something?

Paul

I am not sure why you adjusted the flour down from the 794g called for in the book.  I would not consider the other ingredients part of the total flour.  If you had left the flour quantity as it was written the HL was  71% which would have produced a nice medium firm dough.

With the adjustment you made the HL jumped to 88% and the 'wet mess' you got.  If you want to keep the flour 640g than simply adjust the water down to 454g which then gives the original HL of 71% and you should get a nice medium firm dough and a tasty bread.  :)

Good Luck.

Janet

"Replace up to 5.5 oz (156g)of the WW flour with the same weight of any of the following ingredients, in any combination...uncooked cornmeal...oatmeal flakes, whole or ground...cooked brown rice,bulgur or barley...whole or ground flaxseed (no more than 28.5g)".

This is exactly what is written in the recipe list but multiple times throughout the next 2 pages are reminders to check the dough consistency and "if it's still very wet, add more flour; if it's very stiff, add a little more water".

It has to be written this way because it is not really a formula. The dough consistency will depend on what ingredients the baker uses and different ingredients have different effects. This recipe is a good one for someone familiar with bread dough  and how to tweak things to get the outcome they want. I would practice this recipe by using the same ingredients over multiple bakes, tracking how much extra flour was needed for that particular set of additions to have a good dough and loaf and then creating a unique recipe for that set of ingredients.

Over time, you get comfortable just adding things willy-nilly and adjusting flour/water/salt on the fly. I don't often follow recipes anymore. I have become familiar enough with ingredients that I only use a few actual recipes . It comes with repetition of experience. So keep baking and noting how ingredients behave and how technique impacts the outcome. Esp with WW.

With WW/whole grain, the most important aspect is 1. plenty of hydration, 2. TIME to allow the dough to hydrate and 3. to develop the starchy gel to windowpane with aggressive kneading and time. Use the SEARCH box for "windowpane". Txfarmer has some very well illustrated posts on this. Also search "multigrain" esp from America's Test Kitchen. Several excellent posts on the subject that would be beneficial if you want to make this your favorite bread.

Bake some delicious fun!