Hamelman's Whole Wheat Multigrain Bread

The formula for this bread is from the second edition of Hamelman's Bread.  It's a 50/50 white/whole wheat bread with a multigrain soaker.  It is leavened with both a sourdough levain and a yeast kicker in the final dough.  The multigrain soaker composition is entirely up to the baker.  In this version, I used flaxseed meal, whole millet, and a blend that includes sunflower seeds and flaked wheat, barley, rye, and oats.

The levain and the soaker were set up before I went to bed.  Since nights are getting frosty here in northern MIchigan, the levain was stashed in the B&T proofer at 75F.  It was 11:00 a.m. the next day before I could start the final dough, so the levain was nice and bubbly. 

All of the ingredients were placed in the bowl of my KItchenAid mixer.  Hamelman's recommended mixing and kneading times resulted in a fairly firm, though not dry, dough. The dough went back into the proofer for bulk fermentation, which proceeded very nearly as described in the book.

Since it just two of us (and a lot of days just one of us) who eat the bread, I elected to shape three medium-size loaves, rather than the two large loaves mentioned in book.  The shaped loaves were placed on a lined sheet pan for the final fermentation.  Happily, the dishwasher was running, which meant that the countertop immediately above the dishwasher was nice and warm; so that's where I placed the sheet pan with the loaves. 

When the loaves had nearly doubled in volume, they were slashed and placed in the preheated oven.  I added boiling water to the steam tray and closed the oven door.  The loaves expanded very well in the humid heat, forming prominent ears.  Hamelman notes that the oven temperature can be lowered if the bread browns too rapidly.  I didn't and the breads is, to use Hamelman's own words, boldly baked.  At least that's what I told my wife when she said it was burnt.  It wasn't, as you can see here:

I've made a note for myself to add some more water the next time I make the bread.  It rose well and had a good oven spring but the crumb would have been more open if the dough was looser. 

The bread tastes wonderful, as is typically the case with Hamelman's breads.  The crumb is firm and moist.  The crust is crisp, with a bit of crunch at the ears.  Lots of wheaty, nutty, roasty flavors to enjoy.

Paul