My 21st experiment: 2:1 whole wheat bread with flaxseeds

Now it has become my habit to make our own bread every week. Here is my revised version of whole wheat bread.

Recipe: 2:1 whole wheat bread (make 1 medium loaf)

Ingredients
Pre-ferment or biga (to be fermented for 2 days)
- 1 cup Giant brand unbleached wheat flour
- 1/2 tp active dry yeast
- 1/3 cup + 2 tp warm water
Soaker
- 2 cups whole wheat flour
- 2 TB buttermilk powder
- 3 TB non-fat milk powder
- 1 TB oat bran
- 1 TB flaxseed
- 1 tp kosher salt
- 1+1/4 cup water
Final dough
- all of the pre-ferment
- all of the soaker
- 1/4 tp salt
- 1/8 tp active dry yeast proofed in 1TB warm water
- 1 TB honey
- 1 TB olive oil
- extra oat bran for toppings

Procedure:
Day 1
To make the pre-ferment:
Dissolve the active dry yeast in 2 TB warm water. Add in the flour. Stir in warm water to form a soft dough. Allow to chill in the fridge.

Day 2
Do nothing.

Day 3
To make the soaker:
Mix all the soaker dry ingredients together. Then add in water and stir until a dough is formed. Allow to rest for at least 1 hour. Stir intermittently (at 5 minutes interval for up to 20 minutes) to help gluten development by autolysis.
To make the final dough:
1. Take biga out of the fridge and allow to warm up for at least 1 hour at room temperature.
2. Mix biga, soaker, salt, yeast and honey together to form a smooth dough. Stir every 5 minutes, for up to 20 minutes, to help gluten development. Rub in the olive oil. Then allow the dough to rest at room temperature, oiled and covered with plastic wrap, until it has become 1.5 times its original volume.
3. Pour dough into a well-greased pan. Minimize knead so that the gas bubbles won't be destroyed. Sprinkle oat bran on top and sprinkle water to moisten the oat bran. Then allow the dough to rest in a warm oven (heated at 150F for 5 seconds) until dough has risen to about 1.5 times its original volume (or above the edge of the pan, whichever is do-able).
4. Pre-heat oven to 425F. Meanwhile, score the top of the dough.
5. Bake in middle rake at 350F for 20 minutes. The rotate the loaf pan and bake for another 10-12 minutes.
6. Remove loaf from pan. Allow to cool at room temperature for 1 hour before slicing.

Result:

Day 1, 10:33pm, biga made:

Day 2: do nothing.

Day 3, 1:41pm, biga to warm, and soaker made:

Day 3, 1:50pm, soaker's texture:

Day 3, 2:13pm, final dough's texture before oiling:

Day 3, 2:29pm, final dough oiled and ready to rest:

Day 3, 4:15pm, final dough rested 100 minutes:

Day 3, 4:19pm, final dough poured into pan:

Day 3, 4:19pm, final dough's height before proofing in warm oven (heated at 150F for 5 seconds):

Day 3, 4:23pm, final dough's height during proofing:

Day 3, 4:44pm, final dough proofed for 25 minutes in warm oven:

Day 3, 4:44pm, final dough's height after proofing:

Day 3, 4:51pm, final dough scored just before baking:

Day 3, 5:10pm, loaf baked 18 minutes (not done yet):

Day 3, 5:25pm, loaf baked 35 minutes (done):

Day 3, 5:26pm, loaf's height:

Day 3, 5:29pm, loaf's top corner:

Day 3, 5:30pm, loaf's bottom corner:

Day 3, 5:30pm, loaf's bottom:

Day 3, 5:30pm, loaf's side:

Day 3, 6:34pm, loaf cooled for 1 hour, being sliced into thick slices:

Day 3, 6:37pm, very clean knife:

Day 3, 6:38pm, loaf yielding 14 thick slices:

Day 3, 6:38pm, a center-of-loaf slice:

Day 3, 6:38pm, an end-of-loaf slice:

Day 3, 6:38pm, a slice with big holes:

Observation:

1. This loaf gives very clean cuts. I think it's a result of the balance between dough's hydration and baking time.
2. When the dough was poured into the loaf pan, there was minimal disturbance. So a lot of bubbles survived and stayed in the loaf. The dough was also at a very nice hydration. So it held up the shape wonderfully.
3. This loaf is much more yellow than my previous whole wheat loaves. The possibility is that the flaxseeds give that color.
4. I used a lot of milk powder in the soaker. This loaf is distinctively more tender and soft than the loaves without milk.

It's getting better and better each time! Yeah!