* 150g starter * 11g salt * 250g whole wheat flour * 250g bread flour * 325g water
total hydration – 70%
* stretch & fold until i got a nice window pane * bulk fermentation until it increased in volume by 50% * cold fermentation for about 36 hours
* preheat oven with baking stone to 260c (500f) * baked for 20 minutes with steam * lowered oven temp to 230c (446f), removed steam and baked for another 20 minutes
ALJJ2006
That is damn near a perfect loaf. Fantastic distribution of holes in your crumb and nicely fermented. Why do you want a more “open crumb”?
The rule of thumb is higher hydration = more open crumb aka bigger holes, so maybe try 75%, then 80%. Rule #4 — everything is an experiment.
MeringueFalse495
Some people just want everything!
musicistabarista
That looks like a great crumb to me!
Just some thoughts, but as far as I can tell, you’ve made a great loaf there!
I personally love wholemeal flour, but using more white will definitely help to achieve a lighter, more open crumb. 50/50 is quite a high proportion of wholemeal flour, many recipes call for 9:1.
Also, considering the high proportion of wholemeal flour, I think you could possibly increase the hydration a little (or maybe a lot!). Wholemeal flour can absorb more water than white, especially if it’s wholemeal bread flour.
You’re using 30% starter, I personally use 20%. Using more starter does produce faster results, but from my experience, using less starter results in stronger gluten networks.
You could try stretching cold ferment to 48 or even 72 hours.
Finally, I remember seeing videos and reading stuff that suggests that having oven temperature too high can actually end up hindering oven spring. You want to preheat to as hot as you can, but when the bread actually goes in, having the temperature too high can set the crust before all of the rise can happen. Try heating to 260°C, and drop to 230°C when the bread goes in and see what happens.
Noobsaibot123
Dont expect a very open crumb while using 50% whole qheat, this is perfect.
2N5457JFET
Less wholemeal flour, high hydration. I’m taking this loaf over the open crumb though.
Emergency-Idea3969
As somebody else mentioned this looks great. The color is nice and you can’t go wrong with an injection of whole wheat flour. Whole wheat flour is thirsty and 70% hydration is on the low end. Up it incrementally until you get a feel for the dough but for reference if I’m making bread using 100% whole grains my hydration is often sitting around 90-100%.
7 Comments
* 150g starter
* 11g salt
* 250g whole wheat flour
* 250g bread flour
* 325g water
total hydration – 70%
* stretch & fold until i got a nice window pane
* bulk fermentation until it increased in volume by 50%
* cold fermentation for about 36 hours
* preheat oven with baking stone to 260c (500f)
* baked for 20 minutes with steam
* lowered oven temp to 230c (446f), removed steam and baked for another 20 minutes
That is damn near a perfect loaf. Fantastic distribution of holes in your crumb and nicely fermented. Why do you want a more “open crumb”?
The rule of thumb is higher hydration = more open crumb aka bigger holes, so maybe try 75%, then 80%. Rule #4 — everything is an experiment.
Some people just want everything!
That looks like a great crumb to me!
Just some thoughts, but as far as I can tell, you’ve made a great loaf there!
I personally love wholemeal flour, but using more white will definitely help to achieve a lighter, more open crumb. 50/50 is quite a high proportion of wholemeal flour, many recipes call for 9:1.
Also, considering the high proportion of wholemeal flour, I think you could possibly increase the hydration a little (or maybe a lot!). Wholemeal flour can absorb more water than white, especially if it’s wholemeal bread flour.
You’re using 30% starter, I personally use 20%. Using more starter does produce faster results, but from my experience, using less starter results in stronger gluten networks.
You could try stretching cold ferment to 48 or even 72 hours.
Finally, I remember seeing videos and reading stuff that suggests that having oven temperature too high can actually end up hindering oven spring. You want to preheat to as hot as you can, but when the bread actually goes in, having the temperature too high can set the crust before all of the rise can happen. Try heating to 260°C, and drop to 230°C when the bread goes in and see what happens.
Dont expect a very open crumb while using 50% whole qheat, this is perfect.
Less wholemeal flour, high hydration. I’m taking this loaf over the open crumb though.
As somebody else mentioned this looks great. The color is nice and you can’t go wrong with an injection of whole wheat flour. Whole wheat flour is thirsty and 70% hydration is on the low end. Up it incrementally until you get a feel for the dough but for reference if I’m making bread using 100% whole grains my hydration is often sitting around 90-100%.