January 13, 2011 - 9:15pm
Crunchy Whole Wheat Struan
I just made my first attempt at Peter Reinhart's "Multigran Whole Wheat Hearth Bread". The Whole Wheat version of his Struan bread. It tasted wondefully and came out really well, the crust was fantastic. But I really want to change the consistency. Right now it feels smooth, like a normal whole wheat loaf. I'm looking for something more... like gravel. Crunchy even.
I did three different batches of grain, two cooked and one uncooked.
1st Cooked: Oat Groats and Wild Rice, simmer for ~45 minutes
2nd Cooked: Quinoa, Millet, Buckwheat, simmer for ~10 minutes
Uncooked: Poppyseed and Flaxseed
I'm wondering if I should lower the simmering times for less water absorption?
Or change the grain mix?
Ideas?
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That's a lovely loaf. It's a shame you want to change it!
But yes, in my experience parboiling for shorter times completely changes the kind of loaf you get. In fact, try pouring hot or boiling water over whole grains and letting the grains soak overnight. This may not work for harder grains like wild rice, but it's perfect for, say, cracked wheat and steel-cut oats.
Still, grains soften during the bake and won't be very crunchy (they're probably undercooked if they are) - nuts and seeds are better for that crunchy texture.
Thanks Caltrain.
I'm going to try the pour and soak method you mentioned, that sounds like it would produce what I'm after. Have you tried this? What kind of change did you experience?
I thought the seeds/nuts would get very soft if I let it soak overnight with all those other grains.
Yup, I've done it for cracked wheat, rye, and cut oats, albeit not with Reinhart's epoxy method. The result is about what you'd expect; sprinkled bits (rather, lots of sprinkled bits) of whole grain throughout.
One thing I forgot to mention was that, at least for the three grains I mentioned, equal parts water and grain seem to work well. That is, if you wanted, say, 100g oats, pour 100g of boiling water over 100g of oats and let it sit, covered, overnight. The oats should absorb nearly all the water.
As for seeds, there should be no need to soak them. At least I never do.
Thanks again, I'll let you know the results as soon as I've cut the loaf :)