Whole Wheat Sourdough Bread

At last, an excuse to use my sourdough starter. I admit, I'm truly a Carb Fiend...give me a loaf of bread and I'll melt in your arms. Unfortunately, I know that eating so much white flour has negative health consequences (my mom reminds me every time I go home), so I usually try to balance my bread intake with whole wheat.

I actually got this recipe from WildYeastBlog with some modifications. First, I wanted to save my valuable rye flour (all the way from Philadelphia!), so I substituted whole wheat. Second, I actually don't have a kitchen scale (yes, I know, shame on me), so I had to convert the measurements by ratios. I realized that the ratio of white flour, whole wheat flour, water, and starter is roughly 4.3 : 1 : 3 : 2.67. Very roughly. So yea...I actually started this recipe with a lot of potential risks and disasters. But it actually came out pretty well, surprisingly.

Whole Wheat Sourdough Bread (1 loaf)

Ingredients:

-1 cup bread flour (+ more for dusting)
- 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
-3/4 cup water
-1/2 cup + 8 tsp starter
-1 tsp salt

1. Combine flours, water, and starter and mix until combined (~2 minutes).
2. Let the dough rest for 30 minutes
3. Add salt and knead for about 5-8 minutes.
4. Transfer dough to an oiled container, cover with saran wrap, and let rise at room temperature for 2.5 hours. Fold it over at 1 hour 15 minutes.
5. Turn the dough onto floured counter and shape into whatever shape you want it to be. I tried to do a braid, but it got a little bit messy... -->
6. Cover with saran wrap and either allow to rise at room temperature for 2.5 hours or allow to rise at room temperature for 1 hour 45 minutes, then put in fridge for 2-16 hours
7. Preheat oven to 475F.
8. Slash the loaves and cover with aluminum foil so that NO air can get in! You're going to try to lift them up via steam. So seal 'em in!
9. Right before putting it in the oven, turn the temperature down to 450F. Bake covered for 8 minutes, then uncovered for about 20 minutes (more or less). Check the bread occasionally; it's done when the crust is a deep golden brown - NOT before and NOT after!
10. Wait (I know it's hard) for about 10-15 minutes before eating.




<-- Check out the gluten work there! I say not bad at all for a first time :)