There is a recipe for honey whole wheat bread on the back of the 5# bag of Bob’s Red Mill stone ground whole wheat flour. That recipe uses commercial yeast. I have adapted it to use sourdough starter. I have been pleased with the result, whether using just whole wheat and ap flour or substituting heirloom grains for some of the whole wheat. The basic recipe (2 loaves) follows:
Mix together, for a 1/2 to 2 hour autolyse:
500 grams whole wheat flour
500 grams ap flour
360 grams milk, scalded (heated to 180 degrees) and cooled
310 grams water
2 T melted butter
150 grams starter, 100% hydration
Following the autolyse, add:
50 grams water
20 grams salt
3 T honey
Do 4 or 5 stretch&fold during the first 2 hours of the bulk ferment.
When baking in a clay baker, I preheat the oven and bakers to 450 degrees and then reduce the heat to 400. With all the milk in the recipe, this bread has a softer crumb.
And, if you note the file names on my pics (they got corrupted a bit when I uploaded) include the reference to MF&G, which is the source of all of the flour that went into that loaf - the organic whole wheat bread flour and the organic white flour…http://www.montanaflour.com/
Thanks for the link to MF&G! I use WheatMontana flours but it looks like MF&G has a different variety of flours and I’ve been wanting to try Kamut.
For this bread, I used KingArthurFlour Irish Style Flour which is a coarse wholemeal. Reviewers say it is as close to Irish flour as found in the US. I’ve been using it in a KAF “common brown bread” recipe that I adapted to my starter and method … not a soda bread. At any rate, I do like the flour’s flavor and texture. I made 1/2 your recipe for 1 loaf but all ingredients the same (WM white flour with KAF Irish for the whole wheat) … and local honey, of course!
That looks great and I suspect that it will taste better than it looks.
I have been using Kamut as my primary flour for about 4 years and I maintain a starter with it. I’m starting to rethink that - leaning more to baking with a blend of whole grain flours, including Kamut. I like the flavor and really appreciate the nutritional value that it adds to the bread. But, it is a bit more challenging to work with than other wheat flours because the gluten is not as strong.
At the moment, I am working on the dough for two loaves of sourdough Kamut that I will contribute to a fund raising bake sale tomorrow. It’s a simple recipe that would give you a pretty good introduction to Kamut.
500 grams whole Kamut
500 grams AP
670 grams water
150 grams starter
After a 1 1/2 hour autolyse, work in 20 grams of salt and an additional 50 grams of water.
Your bread looks great. I can almost taste it. I appreciate knowing that the recipe worked for you.
I have purchased gluten flour in bulk from a local whole food store. But, I haven’t done it for awhile. I’m willing to accept the tighter crumb and reduced spring when I bake 100% whole grain. As an alternative to adding gluten, I sometimes will bolt a portion of the flour and then reserve the bran to dust the proofing basket.
One other technique that I have read about, but have not tried, would be to bolt all of the flour and then scald the bran (mix it with boiling water) before mixing it back into the dough.
I did but I typically do an overnight or 12-18-24 hour refrigeration before baking. That is just what works best for my starter/home/oven and taste preference.
For this, and for most recipes, I mix all but a bit of liquid and salt as MTJohn writes, a 1 hour or more rest (autolyse), add the liquid and salt, mix in stand mixer, then let rest for 4ish hours. Stretch and fold 4-6 times and then into the frig. I might at this point, shape 1 loaf if it is a multi-loaf amount. I’m real fancy here, I shape a boule or batard and put in a stretched out foil “bread pan” on parchment. The shaped loaf, I will add cold to a preheated dutch oven after flour/slash and bake most recipes at 500 for 20 min with lid on, remove lid, lower heat to 450 for 14 more min. The remainder of the dough I’ll use in the next 3-5 days usually.
I do it one of two ways. In the loaf that started this conversation, I developed the levain and scalded the milk the day before. Then I began the loaf early in the morning, warming the milk to room temperature. Then, doing the bulk ferment and proof in the oven, with the light on. The bulk ferment, including S&F took about 6 hours. Alternatively, I have begun late afternoon/early evening and did the bulk ferment overnight on the counter. I use this approach more frequently in the winter, when the temperature in our kitchen will drop to about 60 overnight. But, in the summer, room temperature might be too warm for an overnight bulk ferment. Alternatively, I could reduce the amount of starter, but I have not experimented with that.
Many thanks to you both. Will give this a try tomorrow. I always bulk ferment my sourdough overnight but wondered if with the butter and honey it was still feasible. I generally make lean breads.
Btw, this has become our new favorite sandwich bread. It consistently bakes up to large, beautiful loaves with outstanding flavor. Thanks for sharing the recipe and tips.
