100 Whole Grain Bread With Bigasoaker Food

100% WHOLE GRAIN WHEAT BREAD

Steps:

• Place the first five ingredients in the bowl and mix.
• Add: 2 Cups 100% Whole Grain Wheat Flour. (to cool the water and end up with warm dough) Mix then add 2 Tbs of Dry Active Yeast. If your not sure about your yeast proof it in a little warm water first.
• Add: 4 Cups of 100% Whole Grain Wheat Flour.
• Mix until the consistency is some what even. Then continue to slowly add flour 1/2 Cup at a time until the dough quits sticking to the sides of the bowl. It should be tacky to the touch. The trick is to have enough consistency to stand up with the least amount of flour so the bread will be fluffy. It will most likely be 6 1/2 cups but in any case do not exceed 7 1/2 cups of wheat flour. You can trade one cup of wheat flour for one cup of all purpose white if you wish. Don't over mix or the bread will be tough.
• When your dough is finished, leave it in the mixer, cover the bowl and let it rise for about 30-45 minutes. The dough will be larger but it doesn't need to double.
• Grease two bread pans with Crisco. You can also flour the pans to reduce sticking.
• Mix the dough again just enough to knock it down at least close to the original size.
• Drop the dough on a floured surface so you can work the dough and shape it. Shape it with your hands to make a nice ball getting enough flour on it so it isn't sticky. Divide the ball in half and do it again. Shape the loaves by turning the dough under it's self over and over. When the dough is shaped the sides and ends will be sealed and all you will see is a nice oblong shaped loaf with smooth sides and top. Drop the loaves in your bread pans and let them rise until almost doubled. Bake in a preheated oven at 350 for 36 minutes. If you forgot to preheat 41 minutes. (gas oven).
• When done turn the bread out of the pan to a rack to cool. You can eat it right away (a great time for real butter) don't wrap it until completely cooled. (Condensation will make it soggy) Put in tinfoil to store on the counter. If you put it in the refrigerator it will turn into a brick. Enjoy.

WHOLE-WHEAT BREAD

Steps:

• The day before making the bread, make the soaker and the poolish. For the soaker, mix together the coarse whole-wheat flour and the water in a bowl, cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and leave it at room temperature until the next day. For the poolish, mix together the whole-wheat flour and yeast, then stir in the water to make a thick paste. Stir only until all the flour is hydrated, then cover the bowl with plastic wrap and allow to ferment at room temperature for 2 to 4 hours, or until it just begins to bubble. Then put it in the refrigerator overnight.
• The next day remove the poolish from the refrigerator 1 hour before making the dough to take off the chill. In a mixing bowl (or in the bowl of an electric mixer), stir together the whole-wheat flour, salt, and yeast. Then add the poolish and the soaker, as well as the honey, oil, and egg. Stir with a large metal spoon (or mix on low speed for about 1 minute with the paddle attachment) until the dough forms a ball, adding more water or flour if needed.
• Sprinkle whole-wheat flour on the counter, transfer the dough to the counter, and begin kneading (or mix on medium speed with the dough hook). Add flour if necessary and knead until the dough forms a firm, supple dough. This will take 10 to 15 minutes by hand, slightly less by machine. The dough should be tacky but not sticky. It should pass the windowpane test (page 58) and register 77° to 81°F. Lightly oil a large bowl and transfer the dough to the bowl, rolling it around to coat it with oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap.
• Ferment at room temperature for approximately 2 hours, or until the dough doubles in size.
• Divide the dough into 2 equal pieces (they should weigh about 18 ounces each). Shape them into sandwich loaves, as shown on page 81. Lightly oil two 8 1/2 by 4 1/2-inch loaf pans and place the loaves in the pans. Mist the tops with spray oil and loosely cover with plastic wrap.
• Proof at room temperature for about 90 minutes, or until the dough nearly doubles in size and is cresting above the lip of the pans.
• Preheat the oven to 350°F with the oven rack in the middle of the oven. Just before baking, you may choose to garnish the loaves by misting the tops with water and sprinkling on sesame seeds.
• Bake the loaves for about 30 minutes, then rotate them 180 degrees, if necessary, for even baking. Continue baking for 15 to 30 minutes longer. The finished bread should register between 185° and 190°F at the center and should sound hollow when thumped on the bottom. The loaves should be golden brown all around and firm on the sides as well as on the top and bottom. If they are soft and squishy on the sides, return them to the pans and continue baking until done.
• When the loaves have finished baking, remove them immediately from the pans and cool on a rack for at least 1 hour, preferably 2 hours, before slicing or serving.
• BREAD PROFILE
• Enriched, standard dough; indirect method; commercial yeast
• DAYS TO MAKE: 2
• Day 1: 2 to 4 hours soaker and poolish
• Day 2: 1 hour to de-chill poolish; 15 minutes mixing; 3 1/2 hours fermentation, shaping, and proofing; 45 to 60 minutes baking
• Commentary
• Coarse flour weighs slightly less per cup than regular grind flour because it doesn't pack as tightly and contains more air. This explains why the coarse flour is only 4.25 ounces, while the regular whole-wheat flour used in the rest of the formula weighs 4.5 ounces per cup.
• The bread will develop a more open crumb if the flour is high in protein. The strongest flour comes from hard spring wheat, which can often be found at natural food markets that offer a variety of flours (see also Resources, page 291). You may also substitute regular whole-wheat flour from the supermarket.
• The use of oil and/or egg is offered as an option to tenderize the bread. If you use either of them, you will need to add additional flour during the final mixing. Let the dough determine how much flour to add, as you knead it to a firm, slightly tacky consistency. Another way to tenderize the dough is to use milk or buttermilk instead of water when making the poolish.
• BAKER'S PERCENTAGE FORMULA
• Whole-Wheat Bread %
• (Soaker)
• Whole-wheat flour: 100%
• Water: 141%
• Total: 241%
• WHOLE-WHEAT POOLISH
• Whole-wheat flour: 100%
• Instant yeast: .41%
• Water: 88.9%
• Total: 189.3%
• (Dough)
• Soaker: 114%
• Whole-wheat poolish: 142%
• Whole-wheat flour: 100%
• Salt: 3.7%
• Instant yeast: 1.2%
• Honey: 16.7%
• Vegetable oil: 5.6%
• Egg: 18.3%
• Total: 401.5%