My 29th experiment: 2/3 whole wheat loaf with delayed fermentation

I am pressed for time to bake a loaf for a good friend, Linda. So in this experiment, I prepare the entire dough as one pre-ferment, let it chill overnight, and bake it as it is the next morning. This shortens the preparation time without trading off any noticeably good flavor. This loaf is meant for my good friend who first taught me how to bake. She gives this loaf a very good appraisal, which encourages me greatly. My friend is a great baker. If she says it's good, it's good.

Recipe: Two-third whole wheat loaf with delayed fermentation (make 1 medium loaf)

Ingredients:
- 2 cups King Arthur whole wheat flour
- 1 cup King Arthur unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tp active dry yeast
- 1+1/4 tps kosher salt
- 2 TB buttermilk powder
- 3 TB non-fat dry milk powder
- 1 TB oat brans
- 1 TB flaxseeds
- 3-4 TB cooked wheat berries
- 1 TB honey
- 1 TB olive oil
- about 1+1/4 cups warm water

Procedure:
1. Proof active dry yeast in 2 TB of warm water for about 5 minutes.
2. Mix flour, salt, 2 milk powders, oat brans, flaxseeds, wheat berries in a medium bowl.
3. Add in the proofed yeast, along with about 1/4 cup warm water.
4. Start mixing the ingredients in the bowl with a fork, adding 1/4 cup of water at a time. Give the flour mixture a minute to hydrate after each addition of water.
5. When the mixture starts to hold together a little, apply kneading by hand. Knead for 1 minute, and allow to rest for 2-3 minutes. Repeat this a few times until the dough becomes soft and well hydrated.
6. Add honey and olive oil. Knead the dough thoroughly to ensure uniform mixing.
7. Allow the final dough to rest at room temperature for an hour or two. Then punch it down once.
8. After punching down the dough once, let it chill overnight in the fridge.
9. On the next day, take dough out of the fridge to warm up on the counter for about 2 hours.
10. Gently fold dough a few times to shape it.
11. Place dough in a generously greased medium loaf pan. Brush a little water on top and sprinkle a little oat bran as toppings.
12. allow it to rest in warmth, covered by plastic wrap, until its height exceeds the pan ream by 3/4". Then carefully score dough with a sharp knife.
13. Preheat oven to 450F.
14. Place loaf pan into middle rack. Turn oven setting to 350F. Bake for 10 minutes. Cover with foil to prevent further browning of the top. Bake for another 20 minutes.
15. Allow to cool for 1 hour before slicing.

Results:

Day 1, 5:41pm, preparation of ingredients:

Day 1, 5:48pm, initial mix of the ingredients:

Day 1, 5:51pm, dough mixed intermittently:

Day 1, 5:59pm, dough well hydrated:

Day 1, 6:10pm, final dough with honey and olive oil:

Day 1, 7:03pm, final dough rested for an hour on counter top; this allows the yeast to grow rapidly in the warmth of the dough before chilling:

Day 1, 7:06pm, final dough punched down and ready to chill:

Day 2, 6:40am, final dough chilled overnight, and taken out of the fridge to warm up:

Day 2, 8:37am, final dough warmed for 2 hours on counter top:

Day 2, 8:45am, final dough shaped by folding gently a few times; observe the strength of the dough:

Day 2, 8:46am, final dough to proof in a generously greased loaf pan:

Day 2, 9:34am, final dough's height after being proofed 1 hour:

Day 2, 9:34am, final dough scored:

Day 2, 9:38am, final dough just before baking; oven preheated to 450F:

Day 2, 9:49am, loaf baked at 350F for 10 minutes, and to be covered with foil to prevent further browning of the top:

Day 2, 10:07am, loaf baked 30 minutes at 350F:

Day 2, 10:07am, loaf's height:

Day 2, 10:09am, loaf's bottom:

Day 2, 10:09am, loaf's side:

Observations:

1. This loaf has a light-colored top because I cover the top with foil very early during the 30-minute baking.
2. It tastes very good!
3. It seems to me that when the dough has some all-purpose flour, it is easier to handle. Maybe it's just my illusion. I find it a lot easier to shape and hold a 2/3 whole dough than a 100% whole wheat one.

My 27th experiment: 100% whole wheat full loaf

Here is my new adventure into 100% whole wheat bread. This time, it's a full medium loaf.

Recipe: 100% whole wheat bread (make 1 medium loaf)

Ingredients:
- 3 cup King Arthur's whole wheat flour
- 1/2 tp active dry yeast
- 1+1/4 tps coarse kosher salt
- 2 TB buttermilk powder
- 3 TB non-fat milk powder
- 1 TB flaxseeds
- 1 TB oat brans
- 2 TB cooked wheat berries
- 1 TB honey
- 1 TB olive oil
- about 1+1/2 cup warm water

Procedure:
Day 1
1. Add active dry yeast to 2 TB warm water. Allow to proof for 5-10 minutes.
2. In a medium bowl, mix whole wheat flour with butter milk powder, milk powder, salt, flaxseeds, oat brans, and wheat berries.
3. Add the proofed yeast to the medium bowl. Then add water and slowly mix the ingredients together to form a dough.
4. Intermittently mix for a few minutes and let the dough rest for a few minutes. This allows dough to hydrate and autolyze gradually.
5. Chill dough for 3 hours.
6. Rub in honey and oil, kneading the dough thoroughly until soft and homogenous. Continue chilling overnight.
Day 2
1. Take dough out of the fridge and allow to warm up for several hours at room temperature on counter top.
2. About 2 hours before baking, shape dough and place it into a generously greased loaf pan. Minimize handling so as not to destroy any existing bubbles. Dough may still shrink a bit while being shaped. But it will rise again.
3. Brush top of dough with water and sprinkle oat bran as toppings. Then cover with foil. Proof at room temperature until dough has risen substantially above the pan top. Bake before dough falls out of shape.
4. Preheat oven to 450F. Place loaf pan in middle rack and set oven temperature to 350F. Bake for 30 minutes. Check after the first 15-20 minutes. Cover top with foil if browning is sufficient.
5. Unload pan and allow loaf to cool for an hour on cooling rack before slicing.

Results:

Day 1, 11:12am, initial ingredients mixed, yeast proofed, and warm water ready:

Day 1, 11:19am, initial mix of the ingredients:

Day 1, 11:28am, water added to soften dough and help dissolve the coarse milk powder:

Day 1, 11:33am, initial dough ready:

Day 1, 11:52am, initial dough flattened and rubbed with a little oil to prepare to be chilled:

Day 1, 3:12pm, dough chilled for 3 hours:

Day 1, 3:15pm, dough punched down; observe how it does not stick to the hand:

Day 1, 3:31pm, texture of dough after rubbing in the honey and olive oil:

Day 1, 3:34pm, final dough preparing to rest overnight:

Day 2
Day 2, 8:23am, final dough taken out of the fridge to warm up on counter at room temperature (72F):

2:00pm, final dough warmed up for 5.5 hours:

Day 2, 2:25pm, final dough shaped with minimal handling and placed in medium loaf pan generously greased with 1 tp butter; because of the minimal handling, dough appears sloppy:

Day 2, 2:25pm, final dough's height at the start of proofing:

Day 2, 2:28pm, final dough brushed with water and topped with oat brans at the beginning of proofing before covering with plastic:

Day 2, 3:25pm, final dough proofed at room temperature on stove top and covered with plastic, for 1 hour:

Day 2, 3:31pm, final dough's look just before baking:

Day 2, 3:31pm, final dough's height just before baking:

Day 2, 4:03pm, loaf baked for exactly 30 minutes; because of the low hydration, it's covered with foil after the first 20 minutes of baking to prevent over browning:

Day 2, 4:03pm, loaf's height:

Day 2, 4:04pm, loaf's bottom:

Day 2, 4:04pm, loaf's side:

Day 2, 4:04pm, loaf's top:

Day 2, 5:29pm, loaf yielding 12 thick slices:

Day 2, 5:29pm, side view of the slices:

Day 2, 5:29pm, a center-of-loaf slice:

Day 2, 5:29pm, an end-of-loaf slice:

Observations:

1. This loaf is a success beyond doubt!
2. The rise during the warming is spectacular.
3. The holes in the loaf tend to be not very uniformly distributed. The bottom tends to be denser than the top. There are also some holes that are significantly bigger than the rest.
4. Unlike my previous experiment with only 2 cups of flour, this loaf tastes more like a regular whole wheat loaf, fit for sandwiches.
5. I make this loaf on the same day that I make burger buns from unbleached flour. In comparison, the whole wheat dough is a lot denser and harder to knead than the white dough. But because of the delayed fermentation, the whole wheat dough has sufficient gluten to give it the oven spring.
6. The whole white loaf is much denser than the buns made from unbleached flour. They are simply different.

My 12th experiment: wheat berry round bread

Whole wheat is nice. But I'm one who can't tolerate boredom. So, instead of having the same whole wheat bread again, I plan on trying out wheat berry bread instead. I'm becoming more and more excited about improvising my own bread formulae, thanks to my husband's support.

Recipe: Wheat berry bread (make 1 round loaf)

Ingredients:
Soaker
- 3/4 cup cooled wheat berries, cooked until all the grains are opened
- 1 cup grocery store brand whole wheat flour
- 1.5 TB sour milk powder
- 1/2 tp salt
- 1/2 cup + 2 TB water
Biga
- 1.5 cup unbleached flour
- 1 tp yeast
- 3/4 cup + 2 TB warm water
Final dough
- 1/2 cup unbleached flour
- 2.5 TB honey
- 1-2 TB oil

Procedure:
Day 1
1. To make the soaker: mix the salt, sour milk powder and whole wheat flour. Add in the wheat berries. Then add water and stir until the mixture becomes a moist dough.
2. To make the biga: dissolve 1 tp yeast with 2 TB warm water. Then add the dissolved yeast to the unbleached flour. Keep mixing the flour with water until it becomes a smooth dough. It's fine to be on the moist side, but not to the extent of becoming a poolish.
3. Chill both the soaker and biga overnight until needed.

Day 2
1. Take the biga and soaker out to warm to room temperature for about 2 hours.
2. In a large bowl, mix the biga and soaker. Sprinkle flour while mixing, using up to 1/2 cup. Knead the dough to develop strength after the ingredients are well mixed. This time, the dough should be very moist and sticky. Possibly not easy to handle by hand.
3. When kneading is complete, add honey and use hands to rub the honey into the dough.
4. Pour oil into a medium bowl. Place the dough into the bowl and roll it a little to coat with oil. Then allow the dough to rest until its volume has increased to 1.5 times.
5. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400F.
6. Place the sticky dough in a pan, top with oat bran, and moisten the toppings a little. Then bake at 350F for about 40 minutes. Because this dough is very moist, it may take longer to bake. If the surface of the bread becomes too brown, cover with foil and continue baking.

Results:

Day 1
8:28pm, biga and soaker prepared to be chilled, both are rather moist.

Day 2
2:14pm, biga and soaker are taken out of the fridge to be warmed up before mixing the final dough:

5:58pm, final dough has been prepared and allowed to rest at room temperature. Its texture is rather rubbery. Sufficient gluten has developed to make it strong. But it's not dry enough to be shaped by hand. It's allowed to rest only once, and then poured into a pan for baking. Minimal handling is done on the dough. Scoring isn't quite possible at this point because of the stickiness of the dough. So it's done after the loaf is a little baked in the oven.

5:58pm, height of the final dough before baking:

After 8 minutes, the loaf is scored. At this point, the surface has already formed a thin crust, but the interior is distinctively moist.
20 minutes into baking, I cover the top of the loaf with foil to prevent over browning.
30 minutes into baking, I remove the foil and test the loaf. The center is still a little sticky.
The loaf is allowed to bake for another 10 minutes uncovered.
6:50pm, loaf baked for 40 minutes:

6:50pm, loaf's height when freshly out of the oven:

6:52pm, loaf's side:

6:52pm, loaf's bottom:

6:54pm, the penalty of an ungreased pan:

7:20pm, the texture of the crumb at the center of the loaf:

7:21pm, observe the softness of the crumb when sliced. The loaf has a very nice hard crust, but the center is still a little moist, and sticky to the knife. So, slicing needs extra care. The crust of some slices break at the top because of the pressure of the knife.

7:26pm, one loaf yields 12 big slices:

7:28pm, observe the texture of a center-of-loaf slice (the long slice) and that of an end-of-loaf slice (the short one on top). The large holes tend to distribute closer to the edge than to the center. I guess this is because of the weight of the loaf.

Comments:
1. In this experiment, I am using less flour and less yeast. In total the amount of flour is only 3 cups instead of the 3.5 cups used for large sandwich loaves. I also reduce the amount of yeast to just 1 teaspoon, and add it all to the pre-ferment.
2. The liquid level in this dough is a little too high, making it a bit sloppy. I think, round loaves need better shapes and so they should not be too hydrated.
4. For some reason beyond me, this loaf smells buttery when baking, though I have not used any butter!
5. This loaf surprises me pleasantly by its large holes. I was expecting it to be heavy because of the small amount of yeast and the poor gluten development due to the hydration. But it turns out to be really soft, light and with large holes. It means that the loaf has developed strong gluten to capture the CO2, and the small amount of yeast has been very active during the overnight fermentation.

I have gone this far, from making inedible brick-like white sandwich loaves, to improvising wonderful whole wheat round loaves. I used to think that baking is too hard for me because I'd never seen it done. But time has shown otherwise. My husband's day-to-day support has made a miracle in my baking. I thank him for gracefully enduring my first few failures. Love perseveres.