I’ve been experimenting with Debra Winks 100% whole-wheat sandwich bread but have been struggling to get a good sandwich loaf profile. Today I baked two loaves in two different sized pans to see if I could obtain a higher loaf. I’ve been baking them previously in 210 x 110 x 70 mm (8.27 x 4.33 x 2.75 inch) pans. Today, I compared my usual loaf pan to another I’ve had for years, narrower, shorter but taller; 185 x 95 x 90 mm (7.28 x 3.74 x 3.54 inch). Both pans had 500 grams of identical dough and were proofed alongside each other. Both proofed and raised to the rim of the pans at the same time and were baked together. The results were very encouraging; the smaller pan produced a loaf of the profile I prefer for sandwiches.
The narrower pan certainly gives you a better slice Gavin. I love the pullman pan I have 9x4x4 inches, you should get one if you like tall sandwich loaves. The crumb looks perfect by the way.
Thanks, Benny. What weight of dough suits the Pullman? One of my experiments was to increase the dough weight but I got a dense loaf instead of rise.
I’ve generally been doing 750 to 900 g and since I love a tall loaf 900 g most of the time.
Benny
Don't bother with the wide pan, i call them banana bread or meatloaf pans. The more the angle the less the height. Enjoy?
Yes. Banana bread is great and I've used that pan before to make it. I haven't made meatloaf for years but was a staple when the kids were small and the budget tight.
Nice loft and crumb, Gavin. Is that the recipe from Bread 3rd ed?
Lance
Hi, Lance. Yes, it is Debra Winks recipe from Bread 3rd Ed. This is my fourth attempt, tweaking the formula under Debra's guidance. Since the book's version, she has continued to tweak the formula specific to the home baker. My whole wheat protein is only 10.8% and she uses 16-17%, so I have added some VWG. In this attempt, I've also added a stiff WW levain of 5% PFF. I've also switched the egg and water per-cents around.
It was well worth the journey to get to this one, as I learned a fair bit. I can post the revised formula if you want, but you will have to adjust the VWG corresponding to your WW % protein.
Cheers,
Gavin
If you wouldn't mind, Gavin; it looks like the kind of loaf I would like to try making.
Lance
The formula that I baked on this occasion was the result of three previous attempts that were ok but did not get the rise that Debra obtains. The formula below is what I used for this fourth go. The use of VWG is due to my weak protein whole wheat flour; so, if you have a better flour between 14 – 16 per cent, then don’t use it for your first bake. I use Pearson’s Square to calculate the amount of VWG. Alfanso posted about it in 2016. https://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/45828/vital-gluten-excel#comment-352245.
Regarding the stiff WW levain, a note from Debra was “less is more. 5% pre-fermented flour (stiff) didn't alter the loft and texture of this bread, but 10% in a liquid starter noticeably sacrificed some height”. I found that in my attempt to get a good rise, I suspect that the stiff WW levain helped.
You can play around with dough size and pan sizes. I saw a picture of Debra’s 800-gram dough in a 13” Pulman. It looks fantastic.
The below formula was for 2 x 500-gram doughs.
Thanks Gavin - I will put it on the "bake soon" list!
What is USB? Ah, unsalted butter, I presume.
Lance
correct. I've PM'd you some notes