A Peek into My Kitchen: 100 % Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread ~ We knead to Bake #10

This is Aparna's We Knead to bake challenge for the month of October. After two unsuccessful attempts of baking this bread, I guess the third time was a charmer. Please refer to Aparna's blog for more detailed recipe.

Peter Reinhart’s recipe uses a soaking procedure and the Biga/ sponge and that is the secret to the softness and texture of this bread. Other than that, it is important to knead the dough well to develop whatever little gluten there is in the whole wheat flour. Also be careful while shaping the dough into a loaf and make sure that you do not tear the risen dough as this will tear the gluten “cloak” that would have developed.

Ingredients:

For The Soaker:

Whole wheat flour - 1 3/4 cups

Salt - 1/2 tsp

Water at room temperature - 3/4 to 1 cup

Vinegar (apple cider or plain) - 1 TBSP

For The Biga/ Sponge:

Whole wheat flour - 1 3/4 cups

Instant yeast - 1/4 tsp

Milk - 3/4 cup (or a little more)

Vinegar (apple cider or plain) - 1 TBSP

For The Final Dough:

All of the Soaker

All of the Biga/ Sponge

Vital Wheat Gluten (optional) - 1 1/2 tsp

Salt - 1/2 to 3/4 tsp

Whole wheat flour - 1/3 cup (and a few tbsp. more if required)

Instant yeast - 2 tsp

Oil (or melted butter if preferred) - 1/8 cup

Honey - 2 TBSP

Method:

First make the Soaker. Mix all of the Soaker ingredients together in a bowl until all of the flour is hydrated. I found that I needed more than the original 3/4 cup of water suggested and used a little over 1 cup but this can change from flour to flour. So I would suggest using 3/4 cup water and then adding a little at a time, until you have the desired consistency. Your Soaker should be somewhat like reasonably firm bread dough in consistency. Cover the bowl loosely with plastic wrap and leave at room temperature for 12-24 hours.

Now make the Biga/ Sponge. Mix all of the Biga/ Sponge in a bowl and knead together well till a soft ball forms. Again you might need more than the originally suggested 3/4 cup of liquid; I needed a little more. Cover and refrigerate for at least 8 hours or overnight. This will keep for up to 3 days.

Two hours before you plan to mix your dough for the bread, remove the Biga from the refrigerator and allow it to come to room temperature. You might find your Biga rising a little during this time.

Divide the Biga and Soaker into small pieces (about 12 pieces each) using a sharp knife or scraper and put them in the food processor bowl (or stand mixer). You can knead this by hand too, but the dough will be tacky and a little difficult to manage. Do not be tempted to add more flour, when it is time to, than necessary.

Add the remaining ingredients for the dough, except the 1/3 cup flour) and knead for about 3 minutes. Let it rest for 5 minutes, then add as much flour as needed (if necessary) to the dough and knead for another 3-4 minutes. Your dough should now come away from the sides of the bowl but still be a little sticky but somewhat manageable. It’s really important to not add too much extra flour during this step.

Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl and let rise until almost doubled (about 1 1/2 hours). Then turn out the dough onto a lightly floured surface and pat the dough out into a rectangle with a width that just a bit less than your loaf tin. See that you do not tear the dough. Roll it up and shape into a loaf (see the video, if you need it).

Place your loaf in a greased and floured loaf tin (I used a 9” by 4” loaf tin) and let it rise until it is just higher than your loaf tin. Bake the loaf at 180C (350F) for about 40 to 45 minutes until the top is a nice deep brown colour and the loaf sounds hollow when tapped.