Home > Whole Wheat Bread Recipes > Freshly Milled Whole Wheat Bread
by Nigel P
(UK)
When I first got a grain mill and started making bread it seemed impossible to get anything light and fluffy. Everything was full of flavour but the crumb was always dense and heavy. I read many recipes which used all manner of additional ingredients to try to get around this but what I wanted was simple, basic ingredient whole wheat bread as it was intended. After many iterations I’m pleased to say I’ve found my answer. No extras, no faffing, simple tasty, light and fluffy whole wheat bread.
It’s all in the method!
Freshly Milled Whole Wheat Bread
Ingredients
(Makes 1 loaf or 8 rolls)
500g freshly milled wheat flour
300ml warm water
7g Instant yeast (1 std packet)
7g Salt
Splash of olive oil (or other oil)
Sprinkling of sugar
The stages involved as as follows:
Autolyse, Knead, Prove, Shape & Prove, Slash and Bake
All are very easy.
Stage 1 – Autolyse (pronounced Auto-lees)
Put all the flour and the water in a large bowl and mix. Stir with a spoon or spatula first then as it comes together get your hands in and push it around the bowl to get all the flour incorporated. You want this mixture to be slightly wet but not at all sloppy. If it seems too dry just dip your fingers in water and rub it around the surface of the dough and fold it in.
When all the flour is incorporated leave the dough in the bowl and walk away for 10 mins.
There’s no yeast in yet so no rising is going on but the mix of water and flour starts to get the gluten content going. This single step of autolysing is going to remarkably change your bread results (if you’ve been getting heavy breads). By letting the gluten develop like this you’ll save a lot of kneading time too.
Stage 2 – Knead
Take you autolysed dough and spread it out on a board but DO NOT FLOUR the board or your hands. Stretch the dough out or roll it out flat.
Now sprinkle the yeast and salt evenly over the dough and also lightly sprinkle the whole surface with a little sugar. This just gives the yeast a little feed along the way. Finally rub a little oil all over the surface too.
Now fold over 1/3 of the dough to the centre then fold the remaining 1/2 over the top and press it all well down. Now start folding and kneading the bread.
You will notice immediately how “firm” the dough already is and how workable it is. In fact because we’ve let all that gluten develop it will feel quite hard to knead. you will really need to push hard to stretch it. Work it for a good 5 minutes. Every now and then dip your fingers in water and smooth it over the dough surface and fold it in to keep it very slightly wet. Nothing should be sticking to your fingers, it’s just strong and elastic.
Stage 3 – Prove
Form the dough into a ball, give the surface one last smoothing of water, put it in a large bowl and cover with a damp cloth. Leave to prove in a warm place for about 90 mins until it has almost doubled in size.
Stage 4 – Shape & Prove
Very gently tip the dough out of the bowl. We do not want to disturb it too much now as we’re not going to do any further rises. It can take some handling but be gentle with it.
Gently, form the dough into your chosen shape and put it in your loaf tin or into a floured banneton. If you want to make light fluffy rolls instead just cut the dough into 8 equal parts. Turn each part upside down then gently start bringing small folds from the edge over and press down into the middle, working around the roll like a clock. This helps stretch the good side of the ball and give it surface tension for a lovely finish. Flip the rolls over and put onto your non-stick or oiled baking tray(s).
Now leave your loaf or rolls for a further 20-30 mins while they rise and prove a little further.
Stage 5 – Slash and Bake
Put your kettle on and boil some water.
Put an empty baking tray (with sides) in the bottom of the oven. Pre-heat your oven on the max setting (about 220 for a fan assisted oven) with the tray in it.
Sprinkle a little flour over your loaf or rolls and slash them with a sharp knife or blade as desired.
Now using a standard water sprayer (like you get from garden centres) spray the top of your loaf/rolls with water. This will help prevent the crust forming too quickly and allow the bread to rise better.
All is now ready. The next bit needs some nifty hands. As fast as you can, open the oven door, put the loaf/rolls in and then pour some of the boiling water from the kettle into the baking tray in the bottom of the oven. It will hiss and steam. Close the oven door immediately and try to keep all that steam inside.
Continue as follows:
Keep the oven at full temperature for 10 mins for a loaf or 5 minutes for rolls, then reduce it to 180 degrees for the remaining baking time (see below).
Full baking time for a loaf is about 30-40 mins start to finish including the 10 mins on full heat.
For rolls it is just 10-20 mins including the 5 mins on full heat.
Allow the bread to cool before cutting it.
If you’ve previously only been able to create heavy dense bread using milled whole wheat flour then you should find that you’ve now produced a lovely soft bread, with a decent top crust and light and fluffy crumb inside which is great for sandwiches. What’s more you did it without any extra ingredients, just the basics. Enjoy !
Comments for Freshly Milled Whole Wheat Bread
Jun 02, 2014
hope this helps
by: Anonymous
Regarding the Autolyse: Everything I have read says that yeast should be added first and worked in then rested for 10 minutes before the salt is added. This affects rising.
Also whole wheat needs at least 70 percent hydration not 60 percent like white, so the dough should be tacky. Not enough water not enough rise.
If it is still not high enough for you add a tablespoon of Honey.
Remember not to over knead whole wheat as the fiber cuts the gluten strands.
Apr 29, 2013
Problems
by: Anonymous
I’ve followed this recipe to the letter, with white hard wheat, red hard wheat, half a dozen combinations and percentages. Autolyse for an hour, 5, 10, up to 22 hours. The bread turns out really tasty, but it is NOT light and fluffy. At all. I’ve set up the steam bath at 550F, gotten it basically to the point of being a sauna… I’ve tried proofing it on it’s own, transferring it to the pan to proof a second time, I’ve proofed it in it’s destination pan, in order to avoid moving it. It PROOFS, but it never rises to look like an actual loaf…Any ideas what I could possibly be doing wrong?
Leave a Reply