Non-white flour bread recipes

[chandos]

BakerAunt, I will try the poke next time. Mike, I'll watch for the soaker or mash explained further in the books that were recommended. I have another question. On the KAF site, there are several other 100% whole wheat bread recipes that I tried. The pictures showed high loaves with the "ears" (I don't know how else to describe it when the bread rises high and then hooks around just above the middle of the loaf.) Neither of my loaves got nearly that high. I thought I followed directions exactly but thost pictures sure didn't look anything like mine did. Any ideas? I'll keep trying. That is my goal for the winter, to have whole wheat bread that is bread shaped.

[chandos]

Mike I just saw your second post. I forgot the window pane, will do that next time. Thank you for the link. Yes the bread has a wonderful taste!

[Mike Nolan]

It may be that your pan is a bit too large for the recipe. Keep in mind that professional baking writers like the ones at King Arthur Flour, will bake a recipe many times during testing, and only pick their best efforts for the photo.

Something to look forward to is the annual April Fools Day blog post at King Arthur, showing some of their worst efforts over the year. Some of them are hilarious!

[Mike Nolan]

There's always something new to learn or something old to remember to do. 🙂

[BakerAunt]

Blanche--could you post a link to the KAF recipe that you are using? There are four 100% whole wheat breads--which suggests to me that perhaps on some days even the baking whizzes at KAF have issues with it. 🙂 At least one of the recipes, while showing the "ears" also shows a slightly sunken back.

[skeptic7]

Is your heart set on backing a loaf of bread in a bread pan? I can give you a very easy whole wheat bread recipe that I use for pizza and focaccio loaves. I bake it in a medium cast iron frying pan and it only gets a couple of inches high as a bread, and flatter as a pizza. But its tasty particularly sprinkled with rosemary and very forgiving of mistakes.

[chandos]

BakerAunt, I don’t know how to post links but the one I baked the other day has sunflower seeds and walnuts in it. I also have tried two that show “ears.” One says to use orange juice, the other does not.

[chandos]

Skeptic7, I would love to try your recipe. The rosemary sounds especially good. Mike I will also try a smaller pan. I had not thought that mine may be a little too big. Thank you.

[BakerAunt]

Ah, so you tried this recipe this time:

https://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/king-arthurs-100-whole-wheat-sandwich-bread-recipe

My first thoughts, and others will doubtless chime in: there is a lot of yeast (a Tablespoon) and a lot of sugar (5 Tbs. honey, molasses, or maple syrup). I wish that Cass (Kid Pizza) were posting; I'm sure that he would have some thoughts about that.

I don't know if you used the "Whole Grain Bread Improver." I've never used it. However, in this week's Baking Thread (Jan 7), S. Wirth provides a link to do-it-yourself whole grain bread improver, that is from Bookbag, a member of the original KAF Baking Circle. However, I'm thinking that an adjustment with the yeast and sugar might be the place to start.

Note: to post a link, when you are on the computer page for the KAF recipe, highlight the "address" in the top bar on your computer that shows the page. Press Control + C on your keyboard. That will copy the link. Then come to the Nebraska Kitchen page, go to where you will post, press Control + V on your keyboard, and it will paste the link into your post.

• This reply was modified 6 years, 3 months ago by BakerAunt.

[Mike Nolan]

In general, the dough should fill 2/3 to 3/4 of the pan before the final rise. I've always called the part that extended beyond the width of the pan 'wings', but 'ears' is a reasonable description, too. In extreme cases, you wind up with a loaf where a slice looks like a mushroom.

I'll run that recipe through my analyzer later today, but it does look rather high in sugar, and I suspect the yeast was increased to compensate. An osmotolerant yeast like SAF Gold might help, it's designed for use in sweeter doughs, although some people use it for all their baking.

[BakerAunt]

Although KAF has a very nice Whole Grain Baking book, I have always suspected that the recipe developers do not really like whole grains and/or expect that other people will not. They really want to cover up the flavor. I know that for some people whole wheat has a rather strong taste. I recall Wingboy from the KAF Baking Circle telling us that in taste tolerance he came in low on the bitterness scale, whether it was bread or beer, so some people are probably prone genetically to respond more negatively to whole wheat's assertiveness. (Another example is cilantro, which to some people tastes like soap.) Orange juice is, of course, one way of helping to tame it, as is using white whole wheat flour.

Why do we always assume that whole grain has to mean just whole wheat flour? My husband and I like whole wheat, but lately I've been discovering for myself that adding other whole grain flours can give a nice complexity, as in my experimentation with Antilope's basic recipe.

I have been using 1 tsp. of the Gold yeast with 1 1/4 tsp. of the regular yeast in that loaf. It started as a way of using the Gold yeast more, since I do not do that many sweet rolls or coffee cakes. However, I do get a somewhat higher rise with that combination.

• This reply was modified 6 years, 3 months ago by BakerAunt.

[Mike Nolan]

I love rye breads, even throwing a 1/4 cup of rye flour in a white bread recipe adds a nice flavor to it. I used to get a very good coarse pumpernickel flour when I was on site at my company's HQ in Tennessee, but now that I'm retired I probably won't be making that trip. I probably should buy another bag of rye berries and grind it myself.

There's a new professor at the department of Agronomy and Horticulture who is from Germany. He's been disappointed with the bread he finds here, so my wife had me make some of my honey wheat bread and she took a loaf of it to him today. I hope he likes it.

If he asks for something more like a German black bread I'm hoping he has some recipes for it, because I haven't been able to make anything like the black bread we had in Germany. As I understand it, it is baked in a brick oven for a long time, like 18 hours, which causes the flour to caramelize even on the inside and turns it dark, and that might be difficult to replicate. Adding caramel coloring, cocoa or coffee to turn it dark is a kludge.

Personally, I prefer breads that are not baked in a loaf pan, it gives more character and substance to the crust, and you can play with the shape a lot. (Shape has a surprisingly significant impact on the taste of bread, something many authors tend to ignore.)

[skeptic7]

I bought the KAF Whole Grains book and was not terribly impressed by it. One of my favorite bread cookbooks was "In a Baker's Kitchen" which introduced me to sponges. Have you tried making corn breads? I like the Southern spoonbreads but these are rich in eggs and cheese.

[Mike Nolan]

Like any cookbook, there are good recipes and ones that aren't so good in the KAF Whole Grains book.

I ran the KAF 100% whole wheat sandwich bread (with walnuts and sunflower seeds) through my recipe analyzer, it comes up as quite moist, around 73% hydration. I'd probably recommend adding up to a half-cup of flour to it. It's also on the sweet side, which helps to explain the wide variance in rise times, especially if your kitchen is cool, so an osmotolerant yeast like SAF Gold might help.

In the absence of the KAF Whole Grain Bread Improver, I'd suggest adding 2 teaspoons of vital wheat gluten and replacing 2 tablespoons of the water with vinegar. If you have diastatic barley malt, I'd suggest adding a teaspoon of it as well.

[BakerAunt]

I'm still exploring the KAF Whole Grain Baking book. I have repeatedly baked their Soft Barley cookies and their Dark and Dangerous Cinnamon Rolls--which are all whole wheat--as well as their Lemon Barley Scones and their Vanilla Pound Cake. Many of their recipes will use some AP or bread flour, but that is ok with me, as I do not need to banish white wheat flour from my diet. I also liked the Hazelnut Waffles I made on Sunday--once I found out what the missing liquid ingredient and its amount should be. The Lemon-Oat Squares were also very good. There are other recipes that I have marked favorably as well. Of course the Peach and Ginger Turnovers I tried baking this summer reduced me to tears, and I have a note that suggests the Gingered Oatmeal Muffins (p. 40) did not come out correctly (I vaguely recall disappointment), but most cookbooks will have some recipes that do not come out well for whatever reason. There are also some recipes that I read and am not excited to try, so I pass them over. On my "To Bake" list right now is the Cinnamon Spiral Bread (pp.252-254) and the Golden Raisin Hearth Bread (233-234).

Now that I'm retired, I have more time to experiment with new recipes. When I was working, I often needed a recipe where I knew how it would turn out because I did not have time to bake something else in its place.

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