It is important to understand the special techniques in making whole wheat bread. The whole wheat bread that you make at home has a very specific taste and texture and importantly it contains all the nutrients helping you to stay fit and slim. Some people use only pure whole wheat flour - but still, they do not achieve the essential firmness. You may end up with a very hard loaf if you do not follow the guidelines strictly.. Here I present some tips proven by the experts.
Basics
For the best 100% whole wheat bread, you are going to need following 3 things. Firstly, always use the right amount of protein flour for making your bread. As an alternative to that, you can put vital wheat gluten in to your bread dough. Secondly, avoid putting flour in for a long time before it is needed. Third, kneading the dough has to be consistent and done non-stop. It is helpful to use a food processor, as it saves you effort and time. You can also use your hands or a mixer with a dough hook to get the job done.
Whole wheat flour is heavier compared to white flour, so you need to develop good strong gluten to make a soft crumb and pleasing texture. The higher protein content you have, the more gluten available. Make sure you don´t add too much flour - you would be risking your loaves being too tough. Kneading continuously leads to gluten forming a consistent and strong matrix.
Now For The Recipe
To make a full loaf, you will need 2 tablespoons of vital wheat gluten, 3.5 cups of 100% whole wheat flour, 2 to 3 tablespoons of sugar, 1 1/4 teaspoons of salt, 1 package of dry yeast, 1 tablespoon of oil, 1 tablespoon of liquid lecithin and warm water. If you are using food processors to do the kneading for you, always use ice water. Once you have mastered the making procedure, be free to start adding new ingedients, for instance seeds or nuts.
When baked inside an 8.5 x 4.5 inch pan, these ingredients are enough to make a loaf weigh about 1 1/4 pounds. It is better to use this pan than using glass or metal. The metal can create an ideal exterior crust along the sides, baking the loaf evenly throughout. This pan also cleans up very easily.
Understanding the Process
There are a number of processes to be followed to make 100% whole wheat bread that has a soft and crumb texture. The process is basically the same, no matter if you use your own hands or a food processor. Simply, the four processes are: the mixing process, the kneading process, the rising process and the baking process.
You Can Use Bread Machines
You can also use bread machines that help you with the exact amount of every ingredient added in a certain order. You can have the machine operate independently to do the four processes. This certainly works great with white flour dough. But perhaps it is not too great for dough using only 100% whole wheat flour. Whole wheat bread generally requires more rising and kneading times. However, do check the capabilities of bread machines, as they have improved massively and can help so much.
Disclaimer: Dime-Co.Com is an online information article and video article network. All articles, video articles, comments, and other features herein are for informational purposes only and are provided "as is" without warranties, representations or guarantees of any kind. The views and opinions expressed in an article, comments, links or blogs are the author's own, and not necessarily those of dime-co.com's owners. For full disclaimer, please read our TOS.