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Dick Margulis Dick Margulis is offline
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Default whole wheat bread

engv9q2ghqa wrote:
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> I think the problem is that it rises too fast and I just need to use less
> yeast and get my oven pre-heated before the dough rises too far. Does anyone
> have experience with this?


Yes. In addition to the two adjustments you've listed (less yeast and
solid oven heat), start with cold water. If you use instant yeast (the
kind you mix with the flour rather than dissolving), you can start with
icewater in the summer and 60 to 70 F water in the winter. This will
help slow down the fermentation and give you a little more time for
flavor to develop. However, without salt you are still going to have to
keep an eagle eye on the dough so it doesn't get away from you.

Work it on the young side. That is, if the fermentation gets to the
point that the dough collapses when you slap it, you've waited too long
and you're going to have awful bread. Instead, let it start to rise and
get soft, but don't let it go so far. Remember, the dough is ready when
it's ready, not when the clock says it's ready.


> Can I get this to work with less yeast and
> shorter rising times? Is there a better way? I'd like to get a yeasty
> flavor through long rise times. Is there anyway to get that? The recipe
> calls for kneading once, and after the first rise, shaping the loaves and
> letting them rise in the pan. Would it do any harm to knead again after the
> first rise and do a second rise before shaping the loaves etc?


No, you don't want to do that. Take the dough young, as I said, and then
when you're proofing it in the pans, do the same thing again: take it
younger than you normally would. When you dimple the side of the loaf
with your pinkie, instead of the indentation staying put, it should
spring back slightly, and the loaf should not be as high above the pan
as it can possibly get.

Remember, you're working against nature here, so you have to make some
adjustments in your normal technique.

Good luck, and let us know how it turns out.

Dick
http://ampersandvirgule.blogspot.com/


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