Baking with whole grain flour can be a challenge. It’s not a problem as long as you stick to lower amounts, but when you start to approach 50%, you may run into difficulties, such as flat, dry, and dense bread.
It doesn’t matter how healthy it is nobody likes dry and dense whole wheat bread.
Still, we want the rich and deep taste that whole wheat provides.
But we also want it to be light and moist with an open crumb.
It’s not the easiest thing to get, especially not if you’re not used to baking with whole grain flour.
Because of that, we will start with a lower amount, 25%, whole wheat in this whole wheat bread recipe. Bake this bread a couple of times, and when you start to get a hang of it, you can add more whole wheat. That will give you valuable information. You will start to understand more about the shortcomings of whole wheat because you will notice the difference to bread flour, even at an amount of 25%.
WHAT IS WHOLE WHEAT?
The word whole refers to the fact that the whole grain, including bran, germ, and endosperm has been used. Only the endosperm has been used in white wheat flour.
The bran and germ are the parts that provide all that extra nutrition and taste. But they are also the troublemakers. They don’t add anything to the baking qualities, and they will also act like little knives the cut through the gluten strands.
Therefore, it’s a good idea to use a gentle hand when stretching and folding.
It’s also a good idea to let the whole wheat soak in water for some time before baking with it. The idea is to soften these small pieces of bran and germ as much as to minimize the damage. You can also call it a prolonged autolyze.
If this is the first time you are baking with whole wheat, you will also notice how much water it absorbs compared to white wheat.
Therefore higher hydration is necessary. But higher hydration also means a higher risk that you won’t get the raise you want. The bread will become flat.
Now, the flour I used in this whole wheat bread recipe is not that strong, so I settled for 71%, but if you are using stronger flour, you may have to increase the hydration.
You have to test until you get the perfect hydration for your flour. I understand if this is not what you want to hear, but saying anything else would be a lie.
FLOUR AND STARTER USED FOR THIS RECIPE
The following ingredients have been used in this whole wheat bread recipe.
| FLOUR | PROTEIN CONT. % | WEIGHT | BAKER’S % |
| Wheat flour (bread flour) | 12.5 | 275 | 73 |
| Whole wheat flour | 11 | 100 | 27 |
| SOURDOUGH STARTER | 60 | 16 | |
| WATER | 260 | 69 | |
| SALT | 8 | 2 |
The starter has a hydration of 100% and was refreshed 4 hours before it was mixed into the dough.
The hydration of the final dough is 71,5%
PREPARATIONS
I started by mixing all the whole wheat flour with 80 g water and let it autolyze for 3 hours.
Before it was time to mix the dough I added the remaining water to the wheat flour and let it autolyze for one hour.
MIXING THE DOUGH AND BULK FERMENTATION
As mentioned before, try to be as gentle as possible with the dough. Thanks to the long autolyze, the dough has already developed a lot of gluten, so don’t overwork it. Two or three sets of stretch and fold should be enough at the beginning of the bulk fermentation. I waited 30 minutes after mixing the dough, then I made two sets, spaced out by 30 minutes.
Make a windowpane test to check the dough.
There is another thing you should be aware of when baking with whole wheat. It ferments at a higher speed than bread flour. If you use to add whole wheat to your starter to give that extra strength, you know what I am talking about.
Keep an eye on the dough, and not on the clock.
The bread on the pictures needed 4 hours and 30 minutes at room temperature, 79-80ºF / 26-27ºC.
SHAPING THE DOUGH
I shaped the dough into a boule by pushing it around with my bench knife. There is an excellent video showing the technique here.
After that I let the dough rest for 15 minutes before I shaped it into a Batard and placed it in a lined and floured banneton.
PROOF
I placed the banneton in the fridge and let it proof for 12 hours.
You can also let it proof at room temperature. Check it regularly, at least every half hour, and perform a finger poke test.
BAKE
Preheat the oven to 480ºF / 250ºC.
Turn out the dough gently on a piece of parchment paper. Score it as desired and load it into the oven, preferably on a baking stone and add steam. The easiest way is to pour water on a preheated baking sheet under the baking stone. You can also use a Dutch oven with a good result
Open the oven lid and let out the steam after 15-20 minutes. Bake for an additional 15 to 20 minutes.
The taste that whole wheat provides is just great. It has an earthy, nutty taste with a hint of sweetness. Some claim that bread made of whole wheat has a bitter taste, something I have never experienced. I suppose it has to do with what kind of variety has been used for the flour.
I mentioned earlier in this post that it’s a good idea to start with a lower amount of whole wheat, adding more and more when you become more experienced. That goes for the hydration as well. I know that there are many popular recipes out there that call for 85 to 90% hydration. But not all types of flour can take such high hydration. Remember also that you have to be quite experienced to handle such a dough properly. If you are not, you may end up with bread that nobody wants to eat, and lots of frustration.
Baking bread is a craftsmanship, and it takes some time to learn it.
Happy baking.
Whole wheat bread recipe for beginners
Ingredients
- 275 gram Wheat flour 12,5% protein content
- 100 gram whole wheat flour 11% protein content
- 60 gram wheat starter 100% hydration
- 260 gram water
- 8 gram salt
Instructions
- Mix all the whole wheat flour with 80 g water and let it autolyze for 3-6 hours. Before it is time to mix the dough, add the remaining water to the wheat flour and let it autolyze for one hour.
- Mix wheat dough, whole wheat dough, salt, and starter.
- Let the dough ferment at 73ºF / 23ºC, until it has expanded about 1/3 of it’s size. Make on o
- Dump out the dough on a floured working surface and form to a batard. Place the loaf in a floured banneton.
- I placed the banneton in the fridge and let it proof for 8-12 hours. You can also let it proof in room temperature. Check it regularly, at least every half hour, and perform a finger poke test.
- Preheat the oven to 480ºF / 250ºC. Turn out the dough gently on a piece of parchment paper. Score it as desired and load it into the oven, preferably on a baking stone and add steam. Open the oven lid and let out the steam after 15-20 minutes. Bake for an additional 15 to 20 minutes.
15 Comments
Excellent recipe. Thanks. You can push to 100percent wholemeal if you autolyse overnight or 8 hours. Elly on Elly’s Everyday Sourdough blog has done it. I followed if this weekend and it works. Family approved
Glad You liked the recipe. I will check that blog, Many thanks for the tip.
I made the bread and it turned out quite delicious, thank you!
But why not autolyze all the flour together?
Hi Jan,
I’m glad you liked the recipe. The idea is to give the whole wheat some extra time to absorbed water. The small pieces of bran in whole wheat acts like little knives to the gluten strands. But if you let it soak in water in the water they will soften which will reduce the damage. But I don’t want the rest of the flour to autolyse that long since the process actually breaks down some of the gluten. Autolyse has many benefits, but we must be aware of that fact.
Thank you for your reply, Tomas. I’m going to bake again soon and then with a little more whole wheat flour. See how that goes 🙂
Hello, Tomas,
I began baking with sourdough back in 2014, always whole wheat/spelt. I had some periods where it went really well (particularly when I used freshly ground flour), but in the past years I felt like I lost my touch (and sources of freshly ground flour) and my bread was almost always dense and doughy — no problem of dryness over here — so I stopped about 2.5 years ago. I also only have a mini oven now, but our new one can fit a dutch oven in it. I’m going to try like you said, making a whiter bread and then gradually doing more whole wheat. I’ll try your recipe. Thank you.
By the way, I think that you need to change the term you use in contrast to whole wheat. You write “white wheat.” In English we say “white bread/flour” but “white wheat” actually refers to a type of wheat. In French it’s called “blé tendre,” tender wheat. So you should write “refined wheat” or “white flour.” See here: https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/learn/guides/white-whole-wheat
Hi Casey.
Many thank for noticing me about this. I was actually told about this by another reader, and though I had updated all posts, apparently I had missed this one.
Again, many thanks.
It’s frustrating when it’s not working. I know, I have been there myself. Most of the time it’s a starter issue, especially when it comes to the problems you describe. It sounds like it’s under-proofed. What’s the status of your starter? How much does it expand when you feeding it?
It definitely was often under-proofed and I also have a discipline issue with feeding my starter enough to keep it very active! But I remember that in the past I didn’t even keep my starter out, I refrigerated it and just fed it a couple times before making bread once a week, and I made good bread. It’s strange. The flour I get now since I moved to France is in good packaging (hermetic plastic), but it looks very coarse to me. The current status is that I am feeding my starter more and more regularly, sometimes daily, and I’m not sure if it doubles in size but it rises rapidly and our house is cool. It gets very acidic though.
Here’s what I did: I didn’t feed my starter daily. I used this recipe with way too much starter (https://www.culturesforhealth.com/learn/recipe/sourdough-recipes/basic-sourdough-bread/). And I never put flour down for kneading, nor sprayed water, just kneaded in a bowl. I’m watching “Elly’s Approachable Loaf. Easy Everyday Whole Grain Sourdough Bread, inspired by WSU Bread Lab” on YouTube and she does some of those things too! I think the secret is fresh flour and a finer grind. What do you think?
I checked that recipe, and I agree. The amount of starter in that recipe is quite huge. Just like you, I keep my starter in the refrigerator most of the time, so I don’t think that is the problem. You mentioned that the starter gets very acidic. Have you tried to discard most of it, keep just a tablespoon, and feed it with lots of flour and water? Alternatively, you can mix a levain with the ratio of 1:4:4 (1 part starter and 4 parts water and flour. That way you can keep your starter, just in case. Too much acidity in the starter is not optimal.
Also, I think it’s a good idea to try another type of flour. I have had issues with some flour types, so it’s worth a try. I don’t think that coarse flour has to be a problem. I bake with very coarse flour now and then. However, it is a good idea to give it a long autolyse, perhaps 2-3 hours, to give all those little flakes of the bran time to soften. They act like knives that cut through the gluten strains otherwise.
Thanks for the feedback and sorry that I was unclear in my second message. I meant that I was doing those things at the time when my bread was successful, which is so surprising (like using that CFH recipe with way too much starter).
Yes, just this past week I have been doing just what you say: keeping only a very small amount of starter and feeding it more flour. Indeed my starter has changed a lot! It smells so yeasty, I had forgotten that a sourdough starter gets like that! I had become so accustomed to it smelling SOUR. Do you recommend that it smell like yeast when you stir it or does that risk being too yeast dominant? In fact lately my main use of my starter has been to rise my oatmeal cake that I make for my family’s breakfast about every 4 days. I made it again yesterday and it was much denser–my starter wasn’t acidic enough to make enough gas with the baking soda. It is doughy and tastes yeasty, yuck! But that’s not bread-making… I guess I’ll use starter that has sat out awhile for my future oatmeal cakes.
Unfortunately that is the only organic flour brand offered in the supermarkets where we live (in the countryside). So if I want to use a different flour, I would have to use a more refined flour (integral is type 150; then there’s semi-complete type 110). I would like to have a miller like a MockMill someday. I will do the autolyse as you say, and for you that means including the starter or not? That isn’t clear to me above in your article.
I think you are back on track with your starter when it comes to baking bread. It should smell fresh and a bit sour. I still encourage you to try another type of flour. I have come to the conclusion that organic flour is unfortunately not always the best choice when it comes to baking sourdough bread. I say unfortunately because I love the idea of organic food. But I have also experienced problems sometimes when I have tried organic flour. I’m not saying that all organic flour is unsuitable for sourdough baking. But it’s not a guarantee for success either.
Hi Tomas,
I’m a bit confused by that last comment. Why would organic flour change bread results? I get organic for less pesticides (especially because it’s the whole grain), no synthetic fertilizer, etc. Also this brand uses a stone mill which is said to better preserve the nutrients. I would not think that it being organic would make my bread more or less successful though.
Hi Casey
It’s not really about whether the flour is organic or not. Some flour varieties are not equally suitable for baking bread. Some organic flour varieties work excellently, some do not.
What I am trying to say is that organic flour is not a guarantee of success.
I was in the grain elevator business for years. My son is a wheat trader and trades with many millers (of flour). Every flour mill has its own “recipe” for their flours: cake flour, bread flour, cookie flour, bleached flour, etc. By recipe I mean the % of hard wheat, soft wheat, spring wheat, white wheat, soft white wheat, etc. that is in each blend. There are many different varieties of wheat and understandably, depending on the blend a mill uses, the flour will be different accordingly. So not surprising that one flour might ‘work differently’ than another.
I have had trouble when my whole wheat % gets ‘too high’. I have NOT tried autolysing the whole wheat separately. I will give that a go, for sure. Thank you for a very informative post.