February 5, 2008 - 2:05pm
Dan Leader: On No Retardation in Whole Grain Breads
On page 33 of Dan Leader's Local Breads, he says:
Some professional bakers retard whole grain bread and rye breads, but I wouldn't recommend this to home bakers?
Is whole wheat a whole grain bread? If so, P. Reinhart in his latest book would definitely disagree with this.
Are there experienced people out there with a viewpoint on this?
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I retard my whole grain dough on a regular basis as do many on this site. I bake 100% whole grain 95% of the time. Interesting comment by Leader but you can't believe everything you read :) I didn't catch that in the bit I have read of that book. I can't for the life of me think of why he would say that. I'm sure he has his reasons.
I wouldn't retard a whole grain rye sourdough (I think all his ryes are sourdough) as they tend to get too acidic and fall apart in the oven, but I see no reason as to not retard whole wheat.
SOL
Two things -
He also said you can't get a window in whole grain bread, which several of us here have done.
The bakers on this site are perhaps a bit more knowledgeable than your average home bread baker. We're certainly more obsessive about our bread!
retardation of my rye when I prepare my starter. I start out with a few tablespoons and let it ripen in the kitchen for a few hours, then add more water and rye and park it where it's cooler overnight. Then add to it soaked seeds, water and spelt flour in the morning.
It is strange that this question has not come up before.
I would have thought that the answer to the difference of opinion would have been a clear one from those more experienced than myself.
Those kinds of disagreements are a sign that bread making is an art, not a science.
Colin