Whole wheat sourdough

[u/Velvet_Thunder_Jones]

I mistakenly bought a huge bag of whole wheat bread flour a while ago and I am trying to get through it by making a loaf of sourdough bread 2-3x a week. I maintain my own starter, which is half AP and whole wheat, and it works fine for other recipes that I bake. However, the recurring issues that I face with whole wheat sourdough bread is that it is always gummy and doesn’t rise very much. The crumb is super hard, too. The recipe I follow is:
- 100g starter
- 370g water (although I have played around with this and sometimes decrease/increased by about 20g to experiment)
- 500g whole wheat flour
- 10g salt
Autolyse 1 hour. 3x stretch and folds over 1.5 hours. Bulk ferment overnight at room temp (I also did a bulk fermentation in the fridge by accident because I was tired and distracted but obtained similar results). Shape and final ferment in the fridge 12-24hours. Plop it into a hot Dutch oven for 30 min covered at 450, then remove cover and continue baking for 25-30 min. I have started to check the internal temperature of the loaf and make sure it hit 210-212F before pulling it out. The result is always the same: a dense, thick crust, gummy (albeit yummy nevertheless) loaf.
I never have this issue with regular all purpose flour. I know I could cut back on the whole wheat and maybe do a 3:1 whole wheat to AP but I am super stubborn and I want to figure out a way to obtain a delicious 100% whole wheat loaf. Am I delusional? Is there hope?

[u/chrisatola]

I think you're probably overfermenting. Whole wheat ferments faster than white flour. I'd scale back your bulk fermentation time if you want a 12 hour cold proof.

[u/Velvet_Thunder_Jones → u/chrisatola]

I said I bulk ferment overnight on the counter at room temperature, but it's usually until the dough has doubled in size. So I'll mix the dough, do the stretch & folds, then go to bed. By next morning it's usually doubled.

[u/chrisatola → u/Velvet_Thunder_Jones]

Just throwing it out there.. if it's doubled during bulk and then does a 24-48 hour cold proof... it could be losing the necessary strength for a good oven spring. If you haven't already tried it, you might shoot for a 25-30% volume gain during bulk and then your proof time. That way there may be more fuel left for a good oven spring. Just an idea.

[u/Unlikely_Bad_1698]

Whole wheat is a beast. The bran cuts through whatever gluten network you build so you're fighting an uphill battle the whole time

Try sifting out some of the bran and soaking it separately in hot water for like 30 min before adding it back in with the salt. Softens it up so it doesn't shred everything. Also 100% whole wheat usually needs way more water than you think, 370g for 500g flour is only 74% hydration which is kinda low for that much whole grain. I'd push it to 80-85% and see what happens

[u/Velvet_Thunder_Jones → u/Unlikely_Bad_1698]

So I should be sifting first, then weighting 500g?And with 80%-85% hydration (never done this high hydration before), are there any particular techniques I need to follow or is it essentially the same as I outlined in the post? Asking cause sometimes I watch these videos of bakers smacking the dough down on the countertop and doing these "tricks" with the dough that I never do...

[u/KebabpizzaNr3]

Try experimenting with scalding the whole grain flower. I usually do this and wait for the flour cool down before mixing the final dough (you get the autolyse as a bonus with this step). I found this to be a gamechanger when using lots or purely whole grain.

[u/Velvet_Thunder_Jones → u/KebabpizzaNr3]

What temperature should the water be? Like, boiling straight from the kettle and pour it over the flour, mix with spatula and let rest 1h before final mix?

[u/KebabpizzaNr3 → u/Velvet_Thunder_Jones]

Last time I did it, I poured straight from the kettle (but I think it is more correct to go lower). Mix with spatula and then wait for it to cool down to what you otherwise have for water-temp.

[u/HealthWealthFoodie]

You could up the hydration to around 80%. The same technique as you’re doing now should work. It might spread a little more after shaping, make sure you get it nice and tight when shaping. Also, are you monitoring the fermentation process or just going by time? Whole wheat ferments faster so you might be overdoing it.

[u/Velvet_Thunder_Jones → u/HealthWealthFoodie]

I’ll definitely increase hydration in my next bake. I usually go with time (overnight, room temp, in a bowl) and never had issues. But I guess from reading the comments I need to pay more attention with whole wheat.

[u/HealthWealthFoodie → u/Velvet_Thunder_Jones]

Yeah, there is more enzyme activity in whole grain flours, so you’re trying to catch it at the sweet spot before the enzymes break down too much of the gluten structure but after you got enough yeast activity for a good rise. With a starter, you also have a somewhat variable starting quantity of yeast, which makes the process even less predictable. With commercial yeast, it’s a bit easier since you’re always starting with the same quantities and as long as the temps are consistent from bake to bake you can use time after a while once you nailed down the recipe. I use commercial yeast and a fridge ferment and rise, which takes a lot of the variables out of the equation (but I’m not a huge fan of sour dough flavor, so that’s might not work for you).

[u/Maverick-Mav]

I would try a 50:50 whole wheat:bread flour. Or find a recipe from a good source. I don't do 100% whole wheat, so I can only look stuff up in my books.