crumbly means not enough gluten and heavy can mean the same thing, i.e., not enough gluten to form balloons that will hold the CO2 produced by the yeast and/or steam in the oven.
what's your flour ratio? 100% whole wheat is difficult to work with because the bran cuts through the gluten. I generally use 40%-50% whole wheat maximum for a smooth, tender crumb.
other considerations might be that the dough is too dry. total hydration should come out to around 60%-65%, factoring in not only the water, but any eggs, oil, sugar (which counts as a liquid) and/or honey.
it is hard to judge. However, as Stan said, gluten development could be an issue. I have made challah before with both AP, whole wheat and high-gluten flour, and I have had other issues, but what you describe wasn't one of them.
Ok - sorry I haven't written back.
All the info and guidence are appreciated.
We'll see what happens.
I will keep you all informed here on the thread.
David
It also helps if you talk about how you made the dough-hand-mixed,stand mixer,autolyse,rested for any period, proofing,baking temp,etc
crumbly means not enough gluten and heavy can mean the same thing, i.e., not enough gluten to form balloons that will hold the CO2 produced by the yeast and/or steam in the oven.
what's your flour ratio? 100% whole wheat is difficult to work with because the bran cuts through the gluten. I generally use 40%-50% whole wheat maximum for a smooth, tender crumb.
other considerations might be that the dough is too dry. total hydration should come out to around 60%-65%, factoring in not only the water, but any eggs, oil, sugar (which counts as a liquid) and/or honey.
Stan Ginsberg
www.nybakers.com
it is hard to judge. However, as Stan said, gluten development could be an issue. I have made challah before with both AP, whole wheat and high-gluten flour, and I have had other issues, but what you describe wasn't one of them.
Like mentioned above, without knowing details it is hard to help. I have heard great things about this recipe:
http://www.thefreshloaf.com/recipes/honeywholewheatchallah
Give it a try and let us know how it turns out. I think Stan and Norm's book is the next one on my purchase list.
-Maverick
My first thought was that the dough might be too dry as was mentioned above.
I've had great results making whole wheat challah (100 %!) using cold, overnight fermentation which develops gluten for you. Give it a try!