Another round of whole wheat bread experimenting making.  After the last round using no-knead methods, I decided to go back to the regular bread-making techniques for the whole wheat bread.  The hydration level required to make the no knead version work was, in my opinion, too high to produce a nice light, fluffy bread.  So, back to the drawing board.

For most of the variations on the theme that i came across, the proportions seemed to be approximately the same, and for most, the methods were the same…. until I came across Dave’s Killer Bread recipe.  Dave has a bakery in Portland, and bakes many varieties of whole-grain bread, and has a loyal following in and around Oregon.  He has kindly posted a recipe for his basic bread on Everyday Dish TV.

This recipe compelled me to try it, because he starts with a sponge — something I have done to make artisan-style bread such as fougasse, but never tried with whole wheat bread.  The other addition which seems to make a big difference, is the addition of the vital wheat gluten, which enables you to get a nice stretchy dough.

A note here, he recommends using a stand mixer, and I wouldn’t recommend trying this by hand unless you have arms like He-Man!  I used the Cuisinart mixer, which handled it no problem.

So, mixer set up, and the Salt Spring mills Red-Fife wheat flour in hand, I mixed up a batch, and I have to say the recipe is great!  After mixing, the dough is nice and supple, it rises great, and makes a great-textured loaf.  The recipe makes 2 loaves, so one went into the freezer for later, and i’m using the other one for toast and sandwiches.  It toasts great, which was a problem with the no-knead bread.

As you can see, the interior has a great texture when sliced.  Definitely one for making over and over, with potential variations with different types of flours, seeds and nuts.   As you can see, it has a nice crust, but isn’t too chewy and dark, and the flavour, with the local wheat, is nice and sweet with lots of complex flavour.  Taking the time to make the sponge definitely makes a difference, and really doesn’t add a lot of “hands-on” time, as it just sits on the counter while it does it’s thing.

Finally, a gratuitous picture of what a shiba inu resorts to when begging in the kitchen doesn’t work — laying in the path of food preparation!

Things are starting to happen in the garden — look for a post coming up soon about outdoor adventures.