Whole Wheat White??

I started out baking white bread because the recipe is simple, tasty and the dough is very easy and satisfying to work with. From there I wanted to try whole wheat(to which I will refer to as WW from here on out). Most people start with a mixture somewhere around 60/40% of WW to all-purpose flour or bread flour and work their way up to 100%. This is because the dough rises much better and is easier to punch down, fold, and shape. By sheer luck my first 100% WW loaf turned out great but it took me a very long time and several attempts to duplicate that result. 100% WW bread tastes great and is good for you but it is a pain to work with! If you’ve never had the pleasure, give it a shot.

The reason I brought this up is because I recently saw this bag in the grocery store…

Whole wheat nutrition with white flour appeal? What!?? This was very exciting for me as someone who had so much trouble with whole wheat for so long, and let me tell you, I was not disappointed. The dough was WAY easier to work with, the finished bread was similar in texture to white(soft and airy), but it had all the raw, bready, and earthy flavor of 100% WW. I also made a 40% poolish that ripened(fermented) for 18 hours before mixing which really enhanced the flavor. A pre-ferment can help almost any style of bread develop amazing flavor.

First I will post the recipe then the pics below that.

100% Whole Wheat White

Poolish:

• 2 cups flour
• 1 3/4 cups water
• pinch of yeast

Dough:

• 3 cups flour
• 2 tsp Kosher Salt
• 3 1/2 Tbsp Sugar
• 1 pkg. + leftover yeast from the pinch (I use Fleischmann’s Rapid Rise because you can easily mix it into the dry ingredients)
• 1/2 cup milk
• 4 Tbsp Butter
• Poolish

Allow 2 rise periods if you can and bake for 25-30 minutes in 400 degree F oven.  Here are the pics…

 

I know it has been all bread so far, but fear not, brew day is coming! I am gathering ingredients now and will have plenty of pics from my next batch of beer. Maybe one day I’ll even go back and post some from my previous batches.

Enjoy the Whole Wheat White!