Lets’s Make Whole Grain Bread
Let’s Make Whole Grain Bread
Whole grain bread is often filled with sugars, eggs and fat which technically makes it more of a rich bread. I want to make a very lean but super flavorful whole grain bread. I like a good crunchy bread. But if you are not a fan of the crunch, you can still make this without the soaker.
A soaker is used when there are ingredients in a formula which either need some softening or may need extra water. You can cook the soaker but I find that just some time in water will do enough to soften most grains. I leave it for a few hours but it can be overnight if that fits better into your workflow.
Whole grain breads are healthier than white bread but that should not be the only reason you try one. They also have great texture, color and mouthfeel. Give this one a try. I think you’ll like it.
What are the basic ingredients?
Chef Tom Whole Grain Bread
bread flour 80% 400g
whole wheat flour 10% 50g
Rye flour 10% 50g
Water 62.5% 325g
kosher salt 2% 10g
instant yeast 2% 10g
All of soaker 45% 225g
Soaker (combine and rest for 1 hour)
Water 125% 125g
Millet seed 25% 25g
Flax seed 25% 25g
Buckwheat groats 25% 25g
Whole Barley 25% 25g
½ sheet pan
Bench scraper
Stainless steel bowl for mixing
Dutch oven (optional)
water sprayer
razor blade for slashing
Parchment paper
Straight dough method with soaker
The key to good whole grain breads is to get the whole grains as hydrated as possible before continuing to mix. This means mixing the soaker at least 3-4 hours before mixing them in the bread. You can use warm water but it’s not necessary. All of these grains will soften in that time. In the meantime, you can combine the flours, salt and instant yeast in a bowl. Mix the water in and knead to a shaggy dough. It will be pretty dry at this point. The soaker will provide some more hydration during the first fold. Just cover it and wait for the soaker to soften the grains. If your work environment is relatively cool, the dough should not rise too quickly. But if it starts to go too fast, you can put it in the refrigerator for a few minutes to slow it down. I like to let it hydrate/ferment for about an hour before putting the soaker into it.
After an hour of hydration rest, you will give it a stretch and fold. Wet your hands and pull the dough out of the bowl with a flexible bench scraper. I find it’s much easier to do it on the bench. The dough will become easier to stretch but it will be relatively dry compared to other doughs. Get the dough stretched out to a rectangle about the size of a ½ sheet pan. Spread the soaker over ⅔ of the dough. Fold the dough with no soaker over ⅓ of the dough. Then fold the last third towards the middle to form sort of a letter fold. Then give it a little more stretch and fold in thirds again. Return it to the bowl. It will look pretty shaggy again. Don’t worry, the rest of the folds will take care of that and make it smoother. I like to give 2-3 more stretches over about 90 minutes to 2 hours with 20 minute rests between them. Then you are done mixing. Place it in a covered container or a ziplock bag in the refrigerator overnight.
The next day, the dough should have blown up the bag a bit. If it did not, don’t worry, the bread is fine. Remove the dough from the container and scale out two equal pieces. This formula makes just over a kilo of dough. Give the pieces a rough round. The reason for this is to give the bread some general shape. The real shaping will happen after resting. Cover the pieces and give them 5-10 minutes of bench rest. They will spread out a bit. You are about to give them some more structure.
Give the bench a light dusting of flour. Turn one of the doughs over, rounded side down. Stretch out the dough with both hands and bring the ends in your fingers back to the middle. Turn the dough 90 degrees and repeat that same stretch. Bring all the edges of the dough to the middle of the loaf. Turn the bread over and round the bread again. You should have a very taut gluten structure around the top of the bread. Place the dough on a parchment paper. Repeat this process with the other dough. Cover the doughs with a towel and let them proof until they have risen to double in volume. It may go as fast as an hour or up to 3 hours. It depends on your environment.
Preheat your oven to 450°F. If you have a Dutch oven to bake in, this bread will benefit from it with a wonderful crust. Get the Dutch oven hot for at least 20 minutes before baking the bread. Once the breads have doubled in volume, you can slash them in the pattern you like. I like to to double “C” slashes on mine. You can do a cross or a square as well. Go about ¼ inch to ½ inch deep. This may seem pretty deep but it really helps open up the bread. If you are baking the breads in a Dutch oven, slip the bread on the parchment into the Dutch oven and return it to the preheated oven. Be very careful when handling the Dutch oven as it is extremely hot. Put the top on and bake for 20 minutes with the lid on and then about 12-14 minutes with the lid off. This is a great way to get the best crust on your bread. But if you only have one Dutch oven, the process is slow.
If you are baking using a baking stone, slip the breads and parchments onto the stone using a peel. I like to spray water into the oven during the first ten minutes of baking. This approximates the crust you will get with the Dutch oven but it’s not the same. It’s close. Bake for about 30 minutes on the stone. If you are using a sheet pan to bake the breads, the process is similar to using the stone.
I hope you try this bread. I have made it a few times since this writing and it has come out great each time. It’s a crunchy, deeply flavored bread. You might even try changing up the grains you use. You don’t have to use the ones I suggest. I’ll have more for you on whole grain breads in the future. Happy baking!
Chef Tom
July 9, 2021
