Empirical Baker

I stopped counting. :)

I promised to break up with my Whole Foods Whole Wheat Flour. It is apparently super protein based (like 14%)!. (To compare, regular bread flour is about 12%, and specially marked “high gluten” flours are 14%. The Whole Foods brand was their Whole Wheat All Purpose flour.)

One of my first attempts was with unbleached white flour, which has far too low of a protein content. The dough was very watery. Still baked up a semi decent loaf, it just would not come off the parchment paper.

Using unbleached white flour (which is what you are supposed to use) makes a great dough. I do not really like the sourdough taste of the aged dough, so I try to use it quickly.

This attempt was my attempt to rescue my whole wheat flour. I used a mix of whole wheat (2.5 cups) to white flour (4 cups). I had to add an extra 1/2 of a cup to the recipe for it to work. (Check out the original recipe at Artisan Bread in Five.)

I cooked it in a loaf pan, without the rack, and it turned out great! The loaf pan leaves a less crispy crust, which is what I was looking for in this loaf (as I wanted to make PB&J and Grilled Cheese Sandwiches.)

I am looking forward to trying other breads from their book(Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day), to see if I can find one that does not taste as sourdough after a few days.