Okay breadmakers...I need help.

[teresainNC]

You might want to invest in an instant read thermometer and check that your water temp is about 105F when you dissolve the yeast in it. Do this each time you make bread and you will soon know what the correct temp feels like. If I heat filtered water in a glass cup in the microwave, I often get it too hot. But I always check with my finger before I add the yeast - and let it sit to cool down if I overdid the time in the microwave oven.

I would advise you to get some bread books from the library and read up on baking whole wheat bread as it is more of a challenge than bread with mostly white flour in the recipe.

"Whole wheat flour has the same gluten-making capabilities as an all-purpose (white) flour. But its rising abilities are affected by the presence of the bran and the germ: they weight the dough down a little, so that the rise may not be as high as with white flour breads. To compensate, let breads made with whole wheat flour alone rise for a little longer than those made with a combination of whole wheat and all-purpose flour."

Source: The Bread Book, Betsy Oppenneer, Harper Collins, 1994.

If you are a beginning bread maker, you may want to start with recipes you make with half whole wheat and half all-purpose flour, then gradually increase the whole wheat flour while reducing the all-purpose flour.

I use this recipe most often for 100% whole wheat flour from King Arthur Flour.com.

Classic 100% Whole Wheat Bread

Who says whole wheat bread has to be dense, dry, and tasteless? This 100% whole wheat recipe features the delightfully nutty taste of wheat in a fine-grained, moist loaf.

2 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast, or 1 packet active dry yeast dissolved in 2 tablespoons water
1 1/3 cups (10 1/2 ounces) water
1/4 cup (1 3/4 ounces) vegetable oil
1/4 cup (3 ounces) honey, molasses, or maple syrup
3 1/2 cups (14 ounces) King Arthur Traditional Whole Wheat Flour
1/4 cup (1 ounce) nonfat dried milk
1 1/4 teaspoons salt

Mixing: In a large bowl, combine all of the ingredients and stir till the dough starts to leave the sides of the bowl. Transfer the dough to a lightly greased surface, oil your hands, and knead it for 6 to 8 minutes, or until it begins to become smooth and supple. (You may also knead this dough in an electric mixer or food processor, or in a bread machine programmed for "dough" or "manual.") Transfer the dough to a lightly greased bowl, cover the bowl, and allow the dough to rise till puffy though not necessarily doubled in bulk, about 60 minutes, depending on the warmth of your kitchen.

Shaping: Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled work surface, and shape it into an 8-inch log. Place the log in a lightly greased 8 1/2 x 4 1/2-inch loaf pan, cover the pan loosely with lightly greased plastic wrap, and allow the bread to rise for about 1 hour, or until it's crowned about 1 inch above the edge of the pan. A finger pressed into the dough should leave a mark that rebounds slowly.

Baking: Bake the bread in a preheated 350F oven for about 40 minutes, tenting it lightly with aluminum foil after 20 minutes. Test it for doneness by removing it from the pan and thumping it on the bottom (it should sound hollow), or measuring its interior temperature with an instant-read thermometer (it should register 190F at the center of the loaf). Remove the bread from the oven, and cool it on a wire rack before slicing. Store the bread in a plastic bag at room temperature. Yield: 1 loaf, 16 slices.

Nutrition per serving (1 slice, 51g): 150 cal, 3.5g fat, 5g protein, 24g total carbohydrate, 5g sugar, 3g dietary fiber, 0mg cholesterol, 200mg sodium.

 

[lorihadams]

Thanks you all, my husband has gotten used to Nature's Own bread as far as texture goes and I am having a hard time getting him to eat what I make...too dense. The last loaf I made was pretty good but it was a little sunken in on the top and I let it get away from me and it got too done on the top.

I guess I need to mix the white and the wheat...can I add wheat germ and bran to it if I do?

 

[teresainNC]

Yes, you can add extra wheat germ or bran - just don't add a lot as it will make your whole wheat bread much more dense and heavy. I like to use the Cornell Triple Formula to "wean" people off white bread:

in a 1 cup measuring cup put
1 TB soy flour
1 TB wheat germ
1 TB dried milk powder

then fill up the cup with unbleached all-purpose flour; do this for each cup of flour called for in the recipe you are using; you are adding more protein and calcium and the goodness of the wheat germ to make your white bread more nutritious. If hubby is used to Nature's Own, he will be used to flecks of brown in the bread anyway. I'm thinking it is the softness that people want as opposed to a heavier, denser texture of whole wheat bread.

Don't add too much bran as it is the wheat germ and bran that can cut the gluten strands and keep them from forming a nice, light, soft bread.

 

[AngieChick]

Here is the recipe that I have found rises well.

6 TBS lukewarm tapwater (around 110deg)
2 tsp active dry yeast

1 tsp. salt
1 1/2 TBS honey or sugar
2 TBS oil
1/3 cup plain yogurt
2/3 cup hot tap water

3 cups whole wheat flour

Sprinkle yeast over the 6 T water and set aside. Mix yogurt with hot water, add honey, oil and salt. Stir in yeast water. Stir into flour until it forms a sticky dough. Knead on a lightly floured surface for 10 minutes. During the kneading, at first the dough will want to stick to the board and your hands, using a scraper will help. As you knead the consistency will be less sticky and more of a smooth, solid dough. Using too much flour will make your bread into a brick.

Cover with a damp cloth and let rise for an hour and a half at around 90deg. I hang a brooder light over the bowl. It should be double in size. Punch down and knead the dough briefly, put back into bowl covered with a damp cloth and let rise again, this time for 45minutes (that's all it should take to double its size). Form into a loaf, I press it out into a rectangle and roll it. Put it in a lightly greased loaf pan and put it back under the light (covered) for its final proof. This should take anywhere from 30-45 minutes. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes, or until it's browned and makes a hollow sound.

This recipe is the learning loaf from Laurel Robertson's Bread Book, which is full of many fantastic recipes using whole grains. She has great, clear explanations and instructions for beginner breadmakers.