Peter Reinhart’s 100 % Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread

Peter Reinhart’s 100 % Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread Ok, so I am in a bread baking mood as of late. I really have come to LOVE bread baking...and the more I bake, the better I get at it. Of course, I am still learning... I can still remember how scared I was of making bread. Actually, I avoided any recipe that listed yeast as an ingredient. I just didn't want to mess around with it....didn't want to be disappointed. So for the longest time, I stayed away from those little packets of yeast. I always figured it was meant for those who were professionals.... or like my mom, who always used yeast as if it was no big deal. My mom made wonderful pizza dough, cozonac, gogosi (Romanian version of doughnuts) and various other doughs. I would see her making the dough, adjusting amounts as she went along. She would add more flour if she felt the dough needed it, or maybe adjust the amount of liquid, and so on. So, when I first started using yeast, I wanted spectacular results...sort of like my mom's:). I mean, I wanted the final product to be perfect! Oh, believe me, it wasn't perfect by any means...but I slowly learned how the dough should feel. I also found out that certain factors can affect the final result ...such as the humidity on that particular day, the right temp. of the liquid(not too hot, not too cold) and the need for the dough to rise in a WARM environment. I also learned that properly mixing the dough was just as important. I started out kneading the dough by hand. That was fun ...for a while. But then my hand would get too tired ...and that wasn't fun. Even though I gained valuable experience kneading the dough by hand, I didn't want it to become a chore, or even worse, disliking it. I wanted to enjoy it. I was thrilled when my husband eventually bought me a Kitchen-Aid mixer. From then on, it was a piece of cake:)!! Well, almost...at least the kneading part was. I am still learning about bread baking to this day. I really like to try a different bread recipe every so often....it just helps me practice my bread making skills.

This post was inspired by Peter Reinhart, a genius at bread baking. Well, I consider him a genius because he came up with a 100% WHOLE WHEAT bread that's TASTY, FLUFFY and TENDER! It slices beautifully. 100% whole wheat?...yes! Trust me, this bread is really good....DELICIOUS! We love it, and the recipe is definitely a keeper. I originally saw this recipe HERE and took the challenge to make it myself. Ok, so the recipe may look long and tedious. It really does involve two days!...yes, two days. But, you really don't have to do too much. The dough just needs to rest and get hydrated. This in fact is what makes the bread so soft and tender vs. other 100% whole wheat breads. It also gets better flavor as it rests... and since I like to bring in whole grains into our diet, I was up for the challenge. The bread was fantastic. Worth the time. Of course, since I was going through all that trouble, I decided to make 2 loaves. Glad I did. Hope you enjoy...

YOU WILL NEED: Just a note, I did measure my ingredients using the scale this time around. I didn't need to adjust anything... Oh yes, I finally got a kitchen scale!:)

~~~~~~~~~~~STEP 1~~~~~~~~~~~~~

For the Biga (Pre-fermented Dough):

1 3/4 cups (227 grams)whole wheat flour
1/4 tsp instant yeast
3/4 cup (170 grams)water, at room temperature

Biga (Pre-fermented Dough) Directions:

1. Mix the biga ingredients until a shaggy ball of dough is formed. Knead the biga for about 2 minutes or until the ingredients are evenly distributed.
2. Place the biga in a bowl and cover.

3. Refrigerate for at least 8 hours and up to 3 days. Let the biga sit at room temperature for about 2 hours before using in the final dough.

~~~~~~~~~~~~STEP 2~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

For the Soaker:

1 3/4 cups( 227 grams) whole wheat flour
1 tsp (4 grams) kosher salt
3/4 cup + 2 TBS (198 grams) whole milk

Soaker Directions:

1. Mix the soaker ingredients until evenly hydrated. Cover and leave at room temperature for 12 to 24 hours.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~STEP3~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Final Dough Formula:

all of the biga (Step 1), cut into small pieces
all of the soaker (Step 2), cut into small pieces
7 TBS (57 grams) whole wheat flour
1/2 TBS (5 grams) kosher salt
2 1/4 tsp (7 grams) instant yeast
2 1/4 TBS (43 grams) honey
1 TBS (14 grams) unsalted butter, melted

Final Dough Instructions:

1.Mix all of the ingredients until evenly incorporated.

2. Knead 8 to 10 minutes I kneaded mine for 8 using my Kitchen-Aid mixer

3. Rest 5 minutes.

4. Knead 1 minute to further strengthen the gluten.

5. Let rise for 45 to 60 minutes at room temperature, in a lightly oiled bowl, or until 1 1/2 times its size.

6. Shape loaf and place in a greased 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 loaf pan ( I like to use parchment paper on the bottom.).... you can also use a 9x5 loaf pan, though it probably won't get such a high rise. The smaller pan works a bit better.

7. Roll bread dough similarly to a jelly roll style.

8. Pinch the seam so that the dough won't unravel and place seam side down in a parchment lined(or greased) loaf pan/s.

9. Preheat Oven 425ºF/218ºC...you will only need to pre-heat the oven at 425 deg F.... you will bake the bread at 350 deg. F.

10. Final Proof: Let dough rise for 45 to 60 minutes, at room temperature, or until 1 1/2 times its size.

Before baking: Lower the oven temp immediately to 350 deg.

11. Place the loaf on the middle rack and bake for 20 minutes. Rotate pans and bake for another 20 minutes ( I like to loosely cover my loaves with aluminum foil to prevent overbrowning in the last 10 minutes or so). OR until the loaf is a rich brown on all sides and registers at least 195 deg.F in the center. I like to brush my bread with a bit with melted butter...that's why the loaf is so shiny. It won't stay shiny...just softens the crust a bit.

12. Transfer the bread to a cooling rack and allow it to cool for at least 1 hour before serving.

You can definitely freeze the bread....actually, I recommend it. Just wrap it well.