Top 5 Tips for 100% Whole Grain Sourdough Baking
Hello everyone 👋 I hope you’re doing well in your part of the world.
In my recent audio talk created for Elly’s Everyday Wholegrain Sourdough on YouTube, I shared my top 5 tips for making 100% whole grain sourdough bread, based on the lessons I've learned over the last few years.
In 2018 I purchased a Mockmill 200 from the Mockmill company in Germany, and since that time I have *almost exclusively baked with 100% freshly milled, whole grain flours.
(*There was one moment in 2020 lockdown where I bought some wholemeal flour from the supermarket. Grain was hard to find for a bit there!)
Having a grain mill at home has changed my diet, my health and my bread baking dramatically!
Since that time I’ve found new levels of challenge and enjoyment in my sourdough baking, and have experienced first hand the profound benefits of a truly whole foods diet. It has inspired more creativity in my baking and has energised me to try novel ideas and celebrate and promote simple, ‘everyday’ whole grain sourdough baking for home bakers.
This talk and written post is a short summary of some of my key learnings. I do not present these tips as THE top 5 tips for whole grain sourdough baking, they just represent my perspective from my own experience and what I have learned through sharing and trying to help others.
I could have talked for an hour on each of the ‘tips’ if I let myself, so this talk is just a brief overview of my thoughts.
I hope you find it interesting and helpful. That’s my goal.
Here we go!
My Top 5 Tips for 100% Whole Grain Sourdough
Watch for Overfermentation
Overfermentation is the most common issue that I have come across with whole grain sourdough baking, and it is a particularly common experience (from what I can gather - it happened to me too) with newcomers who start off in summertime.
Whole grain sourdough ferments a lot faster than sourdough made with refined flours (much more nutrition in the flour to feed the fermentation process) and it can really get away from you if you’re not careful! Particularly if the weather is warm.
Commercial yeast risen breads don't suffer this issue to anywhere near the extent that sourdoughs do. The lactic and acetic acids produced through sourdough fermentation eventually start to weaken gluten bonds in wheat based breads, and if a dough is left too long it eventually breaks down into a sticky, gooey mess that is impossible to shape and will give a very flavourful (and probably quite nutritious), but dense loaf of bread, if it rises at all.
There are no hard and fast rules, but you really do need to watch your dough, and not the clock! This can be frustrating for beginners or those who just want to follow a recipe reliably, but unfortunately that’s how it rolls with sourdough. Sourdough bread is alive with yeasts and a range of lactic and acetic acid bacterias and fermentation times can vary quite dramatically depending on a number of factors at play.
Key variables:
Temperature of water, flour and environment
Bear in mind that if you are baking in summertime, the air, flour and water might all be quite a bit warmer than they would otherwise be. Also, for the home millers, how warm is your flour as it comes out of the mill? Do you use it straight away? Do you pre-mill it and store it in the fridge? Do you use warm, cold or room temperature water in your dough? How warm or cool is your kitchen? These factors will all impact the speed of fermentation of your whole grain sourdough.How much starter or prefermented dough is used, and how old it is (Is it really fresh and alive? Half dead after being in the fridge for a few weeks? Very acidic?)
Freshly milled flours tend to ferment faster than store-bought flours due to their freshness. They are also usually a bit warm after milling.
Added ingredients can accelerate fermentation - sugars, malts, milks, honey, syrups, some herbs and spices etc.
Some tips to manage it:
Proof your dough to 1.5 times original volume (about 50% rise) rather than doubled. If you take the dough to a very fermented state (extremely high rise and loads of popping bubbles) then the dough could be close to overfermentation and you will need to take care during the final proofing stage (and consider baking in a tin).
If you find it hard to judge the rise/fermentation level in a bowl, use a clear, parallel sided container or large jug so that you can see the rise and bubbles inside the dough.
Consider the overall fermentation time of your dough. How long is your first ferment (‘bulk ferment’ in baker’s terms) and the final rise/proof combined? Can your dough handle it in your conditions?
If you do a long first ferment, then keep an eye on the final proof - it may be fast, especially in warm weather with warm dough.
If you would like to do the final proof in the fridge (overnight for example), then keep the first ferment a bit shorter, especially if it’s summertime and your dough is warm. The warmer the dough, the longer it will take to cool down in the fridge, which means longer total fermentation time compared to a cooler dough.
*I have overfermented whole grain sourdough in the fridge many times due to extremely long first fermentation before shaping. I suggest doing a long ferment for either the first ferment or the final proof, but not both. There are exceptions, but this is a general guideline that works for me with my simple straight dough recipes.Watch the final proof. Err on the side of caution and aim for slight underproofing rather than overproofing. If your dough has puffed up to double in the banneton or bread tin, unless it is a very well shaped and well structured strong wheat dough, it has likely gone too far and will not achieve a good oven spring. If you want to improve your oven spring, try reducing final proof times and work on shaping techniques to improve the strength/structure of your dough.
Consider not scoring. Scoring can do more harm than good with whole grain sourdough breads, especially if you are baking free form loaves and you are unsure of their gluten strength or whether or not they are overproofed. Scoring an overproofed or weak free-form dough will only encourage it to spread out, rather than spring up. A rustic, bursting crust on an unscored loaf is by far better than a neatly scored pancake!
If you have gluten,
develop and protect it!
If you have 'strong' wheat type flours with high gluten strength, develop the dough to add strength and structure.
There are numerous methods used to achieve this:
Kneading by hand
Kneading with mixer
Stretch and folds
Coil folds
Lamination
Slap and folds etc.
Consider an autolyse (soaking of flour and water first) for very strong flours. This video of mine (my very first 100% whole wheat sourdough video from 2018) employs a unique ‘extended cold autolyse’ method which works wonders for my strong Australian hard white wheat. I demonstrate shorter autolyse methods in this video and this video if you would like to see more examples of the autolyse technique.
Protect gluten network in your dough. Handle your dough carefully when shaping, taking care not to tear or overstretch the dough. If your dough is lower in gluten strength, consider some of these tips from Teresa Greenway to protect weaker gluten bonds.
Don't equate flour protein level with gluten strength. Not all wheat proteins contribute to a good gluten network in wheat based bread doughs. Only one group of glutenin proteins contribute to elasticity and dough strength. Ask your grain or flour supplier if the wheat you are using is ‘strong’ and good for bread making. This will give you some indication of it’s ability to form a strong gluten network. This journal article was an elightening read: The structure and properties of gluten: an elastic protein from wheat grain’
Use Binders with no/low gluten flours
Consider using binders to improve the structure and volume of low/no gluten flour doughs.
My favourite binders are:
Ground linseeds/flax seed
Ground or whole chia seeds
Psyllium husk (I’ve only ever used whole husks)
The amounts needed for different doughs are variable.
I find approximately 2 metric tablespoons (15-20g) each of ground linseed and ground chia seed or psyllium husk (4 tablespoons in total, maximum 2 for the psyllium husk) works quite well with a 500g flour loaf and very high hydration (100% and higher).
Other bakers in the gluten free world use eggs, guar gum, xanthan gum and other binding ingredients, however I have not used these and can’t speak to their qualities or results.
Check out my ‘Gel Method for Wholegrain Sourdough’ video which explores this topic and gives a recipe demonstration and a few examples of my loaves made with this approach.
Hydrate well but be willing
to make adjustments
Hydration of whole grain sourdough bread is a balancing act.
Whole grain flours absorb more water than refined flour, and generally speaking, higher hydration is required for most whole grain sourdough breads (especially with very strong wheat flour or where low/no gluten flours are used with binders).
Over hydration can be an issue too. Potentially strong, well structured doughs can be weakened by too much water (bake in a tin if you suspect you’ve done this with your dough).
Strong whole wheat doughs can achieve a light, open crumb with light handling and high hydration (90-100%).
Low gluten or gluten free loaves made with binders also benefit from high hydration (up to and over 100%). The binders are extremely absorbent.
Learn to adjust water levels for your particular flours. Seasonal, regional and varietal differences in whole grains and flours are far more pronounced than with refined, roller-milled flours which are processed in sophisticated machinery to exacting specifications for uniformity of product.
Adjust your expectations :)
I really encourage people to adjust their expectations (in a few directions) when it comes to what they can expect from homemade 100% whole grain sourdough bread.
A few points to consider:
Your bread may not be as light as those you made with refined flours.
You may find it harder to achieve the same type of ‘beauty’ in your loaves as you would have done using refined flours, but you will find new beauty on many levels, and will most likely appreciate it more and more over time.
You may bake the occasional ‘brick’, but you’ll also find clever ways to enjoy those dense, hearty loaves as much as you do any other loaf of bread (slice thinly and toast!)
Your health will most likely improve (increased nutrition - loads of vitamins, minerals and healthy complex carbohydrates, and lots more fibre for a healthy digestive system and gut microbiome).
Your consumption will most likely have a better impact on the environment - organic and biodynamically grown whole grains/flours are proudced more sustainably (often using restorative agricultural practices) and undergo less processing with more direct supply chains (especially if you’re milling your own flours and look for grain sources in your area).
Increased wellbeing overall due to all of the above :)
Excerpt from the talk:
"I presume that people come to this style of bread baking because they are interested in more than looks. They are interested in health and nutrtition, and the beauty of whole grain sourdough is that it is the most superb fuel for your body, and I don't think you can improve on it really."
I think the most important thing to do is to embrace it for what it is and enjoy it. Food is fuel, and we are fueling our bodies to fuel our lives and the things that we want to be able to do with our life.
Try not to expect brilliant things all the time from your whole grain sourdoughs. The occasional brick won't hurt, and in fact, if you slice them thinly and toast them and put really nice toppings on, bricks can be just the best bread ever.”
Thank you for reading and/or listening. I hope you enjoyed my ‘talk’ and I’d love to hear your feedback in the comments section below or in YouTube.
Until next time, happy baking! 🌾
Looking for more?
Find out about my Mockmill 200 and where you can purchase one from just about anywhere in the world!
(There are discounts available in some locations).See my state-by-state listing of grain suppliers in Australia
Buy me a coffee if you’d like to support my work further in providing these resources 🙂
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