My 15th experiment: A bland 2:1 whole wheat loaf

Our sandwich bread runs out so fast, I am now making it every week. Today I tried out the 2:1 whole wheat bread again, with mild variations. Throughout the dough kneading and resting stages, the dough was not very active. So I was suspecting that I'd not get the same big loaf as last time. However, once it entered the oven, the oven spring was spectacular. At the end, I got the same big loaf for the same small amount of yeast. This time, I've forgotten to add the honey and oil, so the crumb is really lean!

A lean 2:1 whole wheat loaf (make 1 standard loaf)
Ingredients:
Overnight pre-ferment (use only half for final dough)
- 2 cups Giant brand unbleached wheat flour
- 1 tp active dry yeast
- 1/2 tp kosher salt
- 3/4 cup + 2 TB warm water
Soaker
- 2 cups whole wheat flour
- 2 TB buttermilk powder
- 3 TB non-fat dry milk
- 1 TB oat bran
- 1 cup water
Final dough
- half of the overnight pre-ferment
- all of the soaker
- a little water if needed
- oat bran for topping
- 1 TB egg white for washing

Procedure:
1. For the overnight pre-ferment, mix all the ingredients using the autolyse method. Allow to chill overnight (for about 10-16 hours). Take the pre-ferment out of the fridge to warm up on the counter at room temperature (72F) about 2 hours before making the final dough.
2. For the soaker, mix all the dry ingredients together in a medium bowl. Then add water to moisten. Stir to form a dough. Then allow soaker to rest. Gluten will gradually develop while resting. Stir every 30 minutes, until up to 2 hours.
3. Add together half the pre-ferment and all of the soaker. Knead with hands to mix the two together as thoroughly as possible. Add water to help integrate if necessary.
4. Place the final dough in warm environment, such as an oven heated up for 10 seconds at lowest setting. Allow the final dough to rest until its volume has increased.
5. Pour the dough into a greased pan. Preheat oven to 400F. Score dough and apply egg wash. Then bake at 350F for 30-40 minutes.
6. Allow to cool and slice up.

Results:

2:13pm, pre-ferment is warming up while soaker is resting:

3:00pm, soaker's gluten is developing:

3:00pm, pre-ferment has been halved:

3:19pm, pre-ferment continues to rise gently:

3:30pm, final dough has been mixed and is ready to rest in warm oven:

4:33pm, final dough poured into loaf pan to proof on stove top with the warmth from baking:

4:53pm, final dough before baking, topped with oat bran and washed with egg white:

5:43pm, loaf baked 40-45 minutes:

5:43pm, loaf's height when just out of the oven:

5:44pm, loaf's bottom:

5:44pm, loaf's side:

5:44pm, loaf's top:

7:13pm, loaf yields 16 slices:

7:13pm, a center-of-loaf slice:

7:13pm, an end-of-loaf slice:

Observations:
1. The oven spring of this loaf is totally impressive, even though the dough has not risen much during the resting and proofing time.
2. I forget to add the honey and olive oil after mixing the final dough. So the crumb of this loaf is drier and less tasty.
3. The extra milk may have contributed to a chewy feel of the crumb.
4. The loaf has a closed crumb. The air bubbles inside the crumb are rather small compared with last time (see my 13th experiment ). However, the height of the loaf is still comparable to the previous 2:1 whole wheat loaf.
5. For this time, I used the oven to bake other loaves before this one. So it's convenient to let this loaf rest on the stove top in the warmth of the oven while baking other loaves. However, the oven may not be as hot as 450F when I bake this loaf immediately after the other loaves are out.
6. When this loaf is done, the temperature registered inside the loaf is 185F.