100% Whole Wheat Bread (Home Milled) ***

I've started experimenting with 100% whole wheat bread that I mill myself.  The basic no-knead recipe works great if you add a little more water.  I've found 100% whole wheat flour needs a hydration percentage of at least 79%.  

If you're working from Jim Lahey's recipe that's:

• 14.1 ounces of flour or 400 grams
• 11.1 ounces of water or 316 grams (versus the recipe's 10.7 oz or 300 grams)

If you're working from the Cook's Illustrated recipe that's:

• 15 ounces of flour or 425 grams
• 12 ounces of liquid or 340 grams (versus the recipe's 10.5 ounces or 298 grams)    

First Loaf: 50% All purpose flour, 25% Hard Red Spring Wheat, 25% White Spring Wheat

I know it's not 100% Whole Wheat but I wanted an intermediate step to see what adjustments I might need to make.  I wasn't sure how well it would rise so I used a 10.5 inch diameter Dutch Oven so that less oven-spring would be needed. This loaf that was done in 45 minutes rather than the normal 60.  Possibly because of using a wider Dutch Oven than the 9 inch one that I normally use.

There are large air holes. I didn't do a quick no-touch no-knead at the 12 hour mark--just the shaping knead before the final 2 hour rise.

  

50% Hard Red Spring Wheat, 50% White Spring Wheat

I baked this my 9 inch diameter Dutch Oven to get a taller loaf.  It's 3 inches tall and 6 inches in diameter

 

This loaf has a very fine crumb structure. Like the first loaf, I didn't do a quick no-touch no-knead at the 12 hour mark--just a quick shaping-knead before the final 2 hour rise.

 
 

100% Hard Red Spring Wheat

The loaf is 3 inches tall and 9 inches in diameter. That's about an inch shorter than a loaf made with 100% all purpose flour.  The loaf is very acceptable as a 100% whole wheat loaf.  It's heavy but not heavier than expected.  I'm going to try doing the shaping-knead 4 hours before baking and see if a longer final rise makes the loaf taller and lighter.

 

 
The No-Kead Bread technique is very robust and forgiving when making whole grain breads. I've tried various flours and they all yield good bread.

I've tried the grains below by themselves and mixed together.  The height and the crust are different from grain to grain but all are good with one exception noted below.

- Bronze Chief Hard Red Wheat

- Prairie Gold Hard White Wheat

- Kamut

- Soft White Spring Wheat-- Don't use it all by itself!
It's OK when mixed with other flours. The loaf that I made with 100% of it was edible but blah--It tasted like a gigantic muffin that didn't have any sweetener or flavoring. That's understandable given that soft white wheat is used for cake flour.

Comments

[Kiran]

My boyfriends LOVES to bake. This is the rcpeie he's always stuck with.Grandma VanDoren's White BreadIngredients * 3 cups warm water * 3 tablespoons active dry yeast * 3 teaspoons salt * 4 tablespoons vegetable oil * 1/2 cup white sugar * 8 cups bread flourDirections 1. In a large bowl, combine warm water, yeast, salt, oil, sugar, and 4 cups flour. Mix thoroughly, and let sponge rise until doubled in size. 2. Gradually add about 4 cups flour, kneading until smooth. Place dough in a greased bowl, and turn several times to coat. Cover with a damp cloth. Allow to rise until doubled. 3. Punch down the dough, let it rest a few minutes. Divide dough into three equal parts. Shape into loaves, and place in three 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 inch greased bread pans. Let rise until almost doubled. 4. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 35 to 45 minutes. The loaves may need to be covered for the last few minutes with foil to prevent excess browning.

[Irv]

more re: salt

The King Arthur Flour article referenced above also states that the yeast will grow faster with less salt.

So you'll have to watch the dough and possibly reduce the rising times.
- the 18-24 hour first rise may be too long
- the 2 hour final rise may be too long
- if you refrigerate the dough, 4 hours warm-up may be too long.

If you've never made no-knead before, I suggest making a loaf or two using the standard recipe so you see the dough at various stages. Then when trying low/no salt, you'll have an idea of when to stop the first and second rises.

[Irv]

I've never tried making bread without any salt. A very good discussion re: salt and bread is on the King Arthur Flour web site. http://www.kingarthurflour.com/professional/salt.html

One line states: "When salt is left out, the resulting dough is slack and sticky in texture, work-up is difficult, and bread volume is poor."

My no-touch technique will help with the slack and sticky part. Replacing several tablespoons of flour with Vital Wheat Gluten, could help. (There's usually a small box in the flour section at the grocery.)

As a starting point, I'd try a batch of bread using 1/4 the salt (1/4 teaspoon) and see how it turns out. Even if it only rises half as much as normal, it should still be very good. If that's an acceptable loaf but still has too much salt, try a second batch without any salt.

I've found no-knead bread to be pretty forgiving--although some of my experiments have only been 2 inches tall. (My only inedible no-knead loaves have been ones that I've burnt.)

To increase the flavor lost from having zero or minimal salt, try the following:
- Put the dough in the refrigerator, (shortly after making it), for 1 to 3 days. Let it warm up for about 4 hours before the final 2 hour rise. The long time that the flour is wet builds wheat flavor and strengthens gluten. The cold keeps the yeast from growing.
- Replace some of the water with vinegar or beer. (Like the Cook's Illustrated Recipe.)
- Add a Tablespoon of butter or olive oil
- Add spices such as garlic, rosemary
- Try the sourdough recipe: http://www.nokneadbread.org/sourdough-noknead-bread-in-a-gas-bbq-grill.html

Let us know how things turn out for you.

[Belinda]

How essential is the salt? Trying to do low sodium for my husband

[Clarissa]

Great site--thanks.

I was surprised at how much better no-knead bread tastes than what comes out of a bread machine. No-knead bread seems much less sensitive to measurement errors.