Whole Wheat Bread

This is a living document. As I discover more about my bread I’ll tweak the instructions and recipes here.

My first loaf of bread from this method. Preservative and weird chemical free.

I’ve adjusted the salt in the recipe below. The original called for 1 Tbsp of salt. I found 1 Tbsp of salt to be way too little and I’ve bumping it up for 1.5 Tbsp for my next batch (and I’ll keep adjusting until I get it “right”)

Whole Grain Bread

Original from Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day

Makes 4 loaves

5 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 1/2 Tbsp Kosher salt (adjust to taste)
1 1/2 Tbsp granulated yeast
1/4 cup vital wheat gluten

Mix dry ingredients.

Add to that:
4 cups lukewarm water.

Mix well with a spoon. Let rise for 2 hours on the counter. Refrigerate 24 hours.

Preheat oven to 450 F. Pull a loaf out(1.5 lbs of dough). Stretch top and form into an oval. Position loaf on a piece of parchment paper and let rest on counter for 90 minutes. Brush with water and sprinkle with seed topping and slash loaf. Place loaf on parchment paper on a pizza stone on the middle rack. Add 1 cup of hot water to a metal pan below the loaf to steam. Bake for 30-35 minutes.

Put on a cooling rack and peel off the parchment paper.

For “sandwich bread” make the following adjustments:

Weigh out 2 lbs of dough and place it in a well greased non-stick 8 1/2 x 4 1/2- inch Loaf Pan.
Cover with plastic wrap and let it raise for 1 hour 40 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375 F.
Do not add water to the oven.
Bake for 60 minutes.

For “Grilled Pizza”:

Pull off ~1 lb of dough (grapefruit sized).
On a floured surface, roll it out to 1/8″ thickness (12-16″ across).
Place flattened dough directly on a pre-heated medium gas grill for 2-4 minutes.
Flip dough and immediately add cooked toppings(sauce, meat, cheese, veggies, fruit (for you weirdos)).
With the cover down, cook for 4-5 more minutes until cheese is melted. You may need to lower the heat so you don’t burn the crust.