I have been baking about a month now and have done 2 whole wheat loaves. Each time, I'm less than impressed with the oven spring and end height of it. Today, I did the 50% whole wheat with biga from FWSY and it was considerably less tall than the other, all-white wheat loaves I've made using the same methods.
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Because it has all the bran which interferes with the gluten formation. In a nutshell. Question is, when baking with whole wheat, are you getting the maximum out of it even if it cannot attain the same heights as bread flour?
Things to think about are...
1: Hydration. Whole wheat needs more water. Getting the hydration right will help.
2: Autolyse. Whole wheat will benefit from a longer autolyse as it needs more time to soak up the water and soften the bran.
3: Judging the final proof. A whole wheat loaf doesn't need to rise as much in the final proof as an all bread flour loaf. For bread flour dough just under double is good. For whole wheat - 80% risen.
I'm sure there's more but there's a start. Hope this helps.
You might have to just accept a whole wheat will be different to bread flour and as long as you've gotten the maximum out of it then enjoy it for what it is.
Your bread looks lovely!
Thanks for the great advice and encouragement. This recipe called for a biga. Can you incorporate an autolyse into any recipe include one that uses a biga? When would that occur?
Ditto the above suggestions, and the assessment that you've made a good-looking WW bread!
If you want more lightness, sometimes putting the WW flour through a fine sieve helps, as it will pull out the larger pieces of bran. You can also try different WW flours. I usually go up to only about 25% WW, which for me is enough to get the flavor, and I get the stuff in small quantities (it can go rancid) from a store that sells bulk and has a variety I like.
Thanks for the great ideas.
I don't know for sure about any of this but this is how it works for me:
I homemill my wheat then I sift it through a fine mesh to pull out the bran. Then I do my kneading without the bran so the gluten formation isn't impacted at all. Then I add the bran back in at the very end the same way I would add seeds or raisins etc. This seems counter-intuitive in that the bran should be soaking up the liquid all that time and instead I'm adding it when there is not much liquid left to absorb. But it works really well for me and for my tastes. I get very nice gluten by kneading without the bran and my bread rises well. I think of the bran as an added texture/flavor and I like to add flax, sunflower, pumpkin seeds too at the same time (gently fold them in after the kneading is done).
I use hard white spring wheat - the bran doesn't have a tannin taste at all - I think it tastes good so it just mixes in nicely with the seeds for a little extra crunch.
Alternatively, sometimes I just eat the bran by itself and wash it down with a glass of water - so I get all that good fiber - and then don't feel guilty about eating bread that has the bran removed.
Thanks for the great ideas!