12/20/2010 - Whole Wheat Bread

I was interested to see what I would get from this formula. I'm open to the idea of whole wheat. I know it's healthier, I just don't know if it's as yummy. This formula calls for high-protein whole-wheat flour. I substituted the plain normal flour you can buy at the grocery store. That's also what I used in the sponge in place of the "coarse whole-wheat flour or other coarsely ground whole grains" called for. Maybe in the future I'll try pumpernickel rye flour or rolled oats there instead, but this time I wanted to keep it plain.

This formula makes use of both a soaker of whole-wheat flour and water, and a poolish of whole-wheat flour, water or milk, and yeast. The soaker sits on the counter all night, the poolish ferments there a couple of hours and then goes in the fridge until morning. I opted to use milk in an attempt to get the tenderest loaf I could. The next morning I stirred together flour, salt, and yeast, and then mixed in the poolish, soaker, honey, oil, and egg. The oil and egg were optional, but again I wanted the tenderest loaf possible. I kneaded the dough and left it to rise for two hours. Then I shaped and panned two loaves and proofed them for another hour and a half before baking.

I was quite pleased with the results. This was pretty good, for whole-wheat bread. It was soft enough for sandwiches, and had just the right touch of sweetness. When I asked J4 what he would say if I told him that this was the only bread I was going to make from now on because it's healthier, he said, "You're fired." It's not that he didn't like it. He liked it fine, for whole-wheat bread. I think this could be a sometimes bread at our house. But I don't think we could ever make the switch to all whole grains. It can be yummy. But not all the time.