No more chewy than a typical 100% bread flour bake. You do though have to watch the amount used as yes it could get too chewy with too much. I have a formula but you need to know the protein content of the flour and what you want to wind up with.
For us everything seems to be a guess even if educated … hahaha a loose term!
Melissa, you bring up another good topic for discussion I think.
Have you tried to add a bit of VWG to lower gluten flours, like Kamut, Spelt, and Durum to strengthen the dough?
It kind of seems like it’s cheating, but by which rules? I know it’s not a purist’s approach, but are we more interested in working with the characteristics and weaknesses of the chosen flours, or do we want a superb crumb and loft?
To experienced bakers out there, is there any reason why it WON’T work?
Just a thought-
Hey Morgana, I don’t consider VWG to be cheating. If you buy your flour from the store it is made with hybridized grain with exceptionally high gluten content (GMO’s of sorts) and mixed so the gluten content and F/N is consistent with good bread baking. If they are not cheating than you for sure are not. Look at the bag you have sitting in your cupboard. My bet they will even tell you some of the additives both good and BAD.
BTW… this high gluten content in the commercially processed flours is the reason why so many people have a"gluten sensitivity" nowadays. My wife had sensitivity issues with store bought breads and rolls since a child. She has no problem with anything I make at home even those with the added VWG so go figure.
As far as my pea brain sees it. The grains we purchase bulk have not been tested (usually) for protein content or the F/N of the grain. If you were King Arthur or Central Milling you would require this information from the grower before purchasing. I read an article once by a grower producing Turkey Red. Their grain had almost a 15% protein content and the neighbour farm that grew it also only had a 11% protein content. Which one do you think would make better bread. Which one does your supplier purchase, do the whole grain suppliers even know OR care! My bet the latter.
Bottom line we have to deal with it no matter because we don’t have this information. My last spring wheat purchase had a guarantee to have between 10 and 14% protein. I should have known better to buy as my bet is I have 10% protein grain. MY BAD!
If your grain is not doing what you expect then you need to make an adjustment if you can. Additives if done right are the way to go to improve the bake quality of the flour and the rise and texture of the bread. Now I do understand the reservation to using VWG, try an egg instead.
I used the high hydration formula and had no trouble with shaping, but didn’t get the oven spring I would have liked. The dough was superb after the overnight proof, and I’m thinking equipment failure. I had an element replaced on my oven, and couldn’t get the temperature over 450℉, and the lid on my Emile Henry Loaf Baker does’t fit lightly enough to contain the steam. However, I’m happy with the crumb, and I love the taste of this healthy bread. I’ll have my oven calibrated and replace my Loaf Baker, and bake this many times again. This was my first attempt at decorative scoring, and I think my slashes were too deep.
Richard
Hello,
Glad to see more whole wheat recipe.
Obviously there are big differences in the times (for both versions) that you used for Bulk Fermentations & the Final Proof. Can you please mention some pointers that you use to determine those times.
Thanks
Ytzhack
That looks fantastic! It may not have a huge ear but that crumb is amazing. It’s interesting that you didn’t struggle with the shaping like I did. Maybe my bulk was a little too far.
Good luck with oven repairs! Here’s a tip for tightening up the seal on your baker
I adjust the starter amount and the temperature of the dough to make the fermentation times longer or shorter. A large amount of starter and a warm environment will make the dough ready sooner, and a small amount of starter and a cold environment will do the opposite.
This FAQ focuses on adjusting sourness, but I think the info and articles in it may answer your question further:
Also this is a good article that breaks down the concepts underlying sourdough fermentation:
@DennisM I definitely do a lot of educated guessing in baking…let’s call it hypothesizing 
@djd418 's panettone recipe also has a formula for calculating VWG to add, and it also requires you to know the protein content of the original flour. Panettone has very high gluten flour and is also super tender, because of the eggs and butter. I bet the egg in your dough also helps keep the crumb tender.
@Morgana I’m mostly interested in finding out how ancient wheats will taste and perform by themselves, but I love to see what bakers with different experimental tendencies are doing. I’m not much of a purist, more a lover of all the breads 
Yes the crumb is very tender. Allow me to share some info I gleaned from the net as I was curious what the egg was doing. I remember Grandmother using egg in her baking.
The next time I make the 100% home milled Wholewheat I am going to use 2 eggs in the batch rather than the VWG. I have to believe it will work the same as in the milk bread. By the way I added the Sourdough with Egg in the “Readers Recipes.”
This forum would not allow me to send the file so I linked it below.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1digu83rI5DdsuPByfklhwXRPNBNmXbOe/view?usp=sharing
BTW, go to chefsteps.com if you have not ever been there and download the excel file you can add to your own spreadsheet for calculating the VWG. They also have a handy chart, and yes you do need to know the beginning protein in the flour. Doing a WAG always seems to get me started ok. Hope you know what a WAG is… 
Hi Dennis, do you know where I can find a guide to adding VWG to flours?
What is your method?
Agree about buying flours. After getting consistent bakes with both KA bread flour and Bob’s bread flour, those are my go-to’s for standard loaves when I just want bread and not experiments. Otherwise I mill my own.
Also agree about the gluten sensitivity. I have also heard and read stories about gluten-sensitive folks who are able to eat European-made breads with zero issue. We’ve really dropped the ball on that one here in the U.S.
From my research, done at the height of the gluten-free mania a few years back, there was also some buzz about sensitivity issues being caused by the enrichment of flours, the problem seemingly a buildup of minerals (iron I think) that were not bio-available (so weren’t doing much good) but could still be stored to somewhat toxic levels. I believe they looked at one of the Scandinavian countries, sometime mid-century, who had periods of time where they ate enriched and developed sensitivities, but when enriched wasn’t available the sensitivities disappeared.
Something like that. Boy we’ve made a mess of food AND our health.
Thanks for your thoughtful reply!
Sorry, wrote my rambling post before I saw this about the VWG chart! Thanks!
That’s a beautiful loaf. It looks like it’s just begging to be toasted and slathered with butter and fig preserves.
I’m going to mix this today and try it.
Thanks, Melissa. I prefer breads made with HE and/or WW flour, and this combination tastes great.
Thanks for the tip on making a tight seal on a clay baker. However, this baker also has large openings at each end of the lid where the “handles” are, and I think I’m going to invest in a pot with a tight seal. The cast iron pots that I use for my boules always give me a better oven spring than I get with this particular clay baker.
Richard
Thanks, Morgana. I’m sure that you will enjoy the taste, and I look forward to seeing your photos.
Richard
go to chefsteps.com for an excel spreadsheet you can download and make your own, they also have a handy chart. If you look up a couple of posts to Melissa I gave her a link to adding eggs in baked goods also. Like I said before I don’t consider adding things like these to be cheating as the millers do, why not you? If you are using bread flour you are adding additives to your wholegrain.
Also if you go to the readers recipes you will find a post for Sourdough Wholegrain with Egg. There is also a link to the recipe I used to make the home milled wholegrain sourdough using two weak flours. I believe I included the % of each in the flour, if not easily figured.
Personally I would rather not add VWG as frankly you don’t know how it was processed or from what wheat. As I said to Melissa my next Home Milled Wholegrain will include 2 eggs and MY BET is the dough will react just as good as adding VWG and it really makes for a nice texture. Nothing ventured nothing lost!
Now if you don’t have a weak stomach I can send you research some from the CDC regarding the hybrid wheat they are allowing the populous to eat. I found it quite distressing and then people wonder why we have an epidemic of heart disease, metabolic syndrome, diabetes, uric acid gout, population weight gain, gluten intolerance and a couple of others. Between the wheat and high fructose corn syrup (my Rheumatologist calls the later metabolic poison) they are literally causing diseases. But I guess they couldn’t sell any drugs if there wasn’t any disease huh!!! I don’t remember if I still have the documentation on the hybrid wheat but somehow the gluten content of the proteins is drastically higher than the ancient grains. An example is you would have to eat over 100 slices of bread in the 60’s to equal the content of gluten in 6 slices of store bought today. I am not sure about even the organic wheat we pay dearly for as a person has to pull teeth to find out what they are selling us. Sorry state of affairs.
Melissa, thank you for your reply.
I actually meant “pointers” to determine when to stop the Bulk Fermentation & the Final Proof.
I think it’s important, as each dough batch has limited potential/ability to ferment (result of flavor & crumb). So, how much we allow to ferment before the bake has important effect on the result.
Thanks again
Ytzhack
Richard, that crumb is outstanding, super impressive. I’d certainly be proud to have baked that loaf. Well done.
Benny
Would this work with only Kamut? Spelt is an intolerance for me but I love Kamut.
Ah I understand your question now. For whole grain and lower gluten wheats, I tend to end the bulk fermentation at about 75% expansion, bumpy on the top (bubbles don’t happen much with these flours in my experience), webby on the bottom when flipped out of the bowl. This may be on the far side for a whole grain dough, but I like the flavor and crumb of an extensive ferment.
Then I shape pretty aggressively and let the dough expand “some” in the basket. I put photos of the final proof – beginning and end – in the gallery at the end of the recipe post to try to give a visual of this. The photos in this case are of the dough that was proofed in the refrigerator.
Here’s a good explanation and video by @Benito of how to use an aliquot jar – this is a helpful way to track fermentation, especially when you’re handling and degassing the dough for gluten development.
I don’t use the jar usually, but it’s a good tool for the toolbox.
