September 16, 2015 - 5:17am
Retarding time for 100% WW
As you can probably surmise from the topic my question has to do with retard times for a 100% whole wheat bread. I will aim for 80% hydration and I would like to do a refrigerated retard.
Any suggestions for an outside limit? Convenient for me is about 20 hours but that might be too long.
Thx in advance.
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Hey Jane,
As with all things related to bread-baking, it really depends. I have definitely retarded 100% whole-wheat (freshly milled, to boot) for upwards of 20 hours, though I notice that after 16 hours it has a little more trouble holding its shape. I make boules in linen-lined bannetons which go conveniently into the fridge after being placed into plastic bags (to guard the moisture).
If you want your breads to withstand a longer final proof, I would put my dough in the fridge towards the end of the bulk fermentation, just to pre-chill it a little. That way, the slow-down will have begun even before the final proof, giving you some more wiggle room.
If you are making sourdough, the acid in the dough will wreck havoc with the gluten over long periods. You can, however, soak the wholewheat without the starter for long periods and then add the leaven.
Ford
Needless to says it's about my convenience. And both of you are reinforcing what I thought I understood about the WW bake.
Ford. Yes it is natural levain (sourdough).
You can retard for a long time with 100% WW SD but you have to take into account several factors and then find out what works best for you.
In AZ where the temps are very hot in the kitchen, 86F. I cut the prefermented flour down to 10% max and I skip the bulk ferment on the counter completely. I do a 2 hour autolyse with flour and water only, so that there is plenty of food for the LAB and yeast. Sine the dough is going to be in the fridge a long time, it will continue to develop gluten so I do less gluten development 3 sets of 30 slap and folds on 30 minute intervals and 2 sets of 4 stretch and folds on 45 minutes.
I also make sure than my fridge in running at 36 F . 40 F would make the bulk ferment much shorter. The other thing I do is to do a bulk ferment in the fridge rather than a shaped one. It always over proofed in the fridge if it wash shaped but by bulk fermenting I can do a quick pre-shape right pit of the fridge, let it warm up an hour and do a final shape. Then 30-45 ,minutes later after it proofs 50% (not 100%), I get it in the oven.
I will just take some experimenting to get it just right for you but doing a long cold retard in the fridge with 100% WW should not be an issue - it is just relative.
Happy SD retarding
Thanks for that. That gives me some ideas for a game plan. I'm going to do some experimenting and log it all in my (completely indecipherable to anyone but me) notebook!
Needless to says it's about my convenience. And both of you are reinforcing what I thought I understood about the WW bake.
Ford. Yes it is natural levain (sourdough).
Thank you for your response(s).
Here are 3 recent bakes earlier this year where I was experimenting around with 100% whole grains – some of it sprouted, with long retards of 12-18 hours. 2 were shaped retard and 1 was a bulk retard. They might help you on your quest. I think you will do fine with the 100% WW long retard if you do a bulk retard aand don't go crazy like Lucy does with hydration
100 % Whole Grain Kamut With 14 % Sprouted
100% Whole Spelt SD w/ 50% Sprouted Flour, Spelt Sprouts & Baked Scald
Sprouted 4 Grain Sourdough - 100 % Whole Grain
Good luck with the 100% WW