? on adding dry stuff to bread....

suziquzie

New member
I got my hands on some 8-grain mix from work..... and going to get some sourdough.... powder I guess you would call it. They don't have flour in them.

If I want to add it to an existing recipe, would I just place it measure for measure taking out the same amount of flour, or just add some, leaving the flour amount alone and increase the water to make ithe dough feel right?
 

Phiddlechik

New member
When I bake bread or cookies and want to add other flour, I usually replace only half of the white flour with the other. I don't have gluten on hand, and I never really got a 100% whole wheat flour baked product to turn out well. But, that's just me. Others have.
and yes, go by feel...
 

JoeV

Dough Boy
Site Supporter
Suzi, I don't know how I missed this question back in October, but I'm sorry I did, and I think I can help you right now. This is a 2-part question, so I'll deal with the grain first.

The 8-grain mix is bone dry, and therefore will take moisture from the dough. The way around this problem is to take the grain you want to add to the formula and soak it in HOT water for at least 30 minutes. Hopefully the grain is already cracked. If not, run it through your food processor to break it up so the water can be effective. You hydrate the cracked grain with equal WEIGHTS of grain and hot water, and after 30 minutes press out as much remaining liquid as possible in a wire sieve. For a 2-loaf formula I recommend no more than 3-4 oz. of dry grain, and 3-4 oz. of hot water. The hydrated grain is added to the standard dough during the last 1 minute of mixing. If the dough becomes too sticky, you add a little flour 1T at a time to get it where you want it. The rest of the formula stays the same. Do not overwork the dough at this point. the cracked grain has sharp edges, and the more you knead or mix the dough, the more damage you will do to the gluten development by cutting the gluten strings.

The Sourdough Starter...

I have never worked with a sourdough powder, so you are going to have to educate me how you are using it at work. When I make sourdough bread I use about 1/4-1/2C of 100% hydrated active starter. This is my sole leavening agent, so my proof times are somewhat extended to almost twice the normal time. BUT, the flavor from the extended fermentation is worth the wait, IMHO. If you add 100% hydrated starter, just reduce teh flour and water accordingly. If you add 5 oz of starter, reduce the flour and water by 2-1/2 oz each. This is where working with a scale is most beneficial.

I send people dried starter from my personal cache if they send me a SASE. I also include complete instruction as to re-hydrating the starter and how to care for it. Just PM me if you (or anyone else here) would like some, and I'll give you my address to send the SASE to.

I hope this helps you get the multi-grain bread going. If I missed anything just let me know.
 

JoeV

Dough Boy
Site Supporter
When I bake bread or cookies and want to add other flour, I usually replace only half of the white flour with the other. I don't have gluten on hand, and I never really got a 100% whole wheat flour baked product to turn out well. But, that's just me. Others have.
and yes, go by feel...
When substituting white flour for wheat or rye, I never exchange more than 25-30% of the flour without also adding 1t of vital wheat gluten (VWG) per cup of coarse grain flour. Some bakers try adding additional yeast instead of VWG, but they end up with a finished product that has a yeasty odor. I suggest buying a small box of VWG in the baking aisle of your grocery store, and you'll be very happy with the results.

I have a wonderful formula for 100% whole wheat bread that has a fine crumb and an excellent flavor without being heavy. Just click here and check it out.
 

Adillo303

*****
Gold Site Supporter
How appropriate is this? For about a year, I baked all of the bread in the house. AQbout the time that JoeV started baking. I fell off because of "Stuff" going on. I want to make a sincere effort to getting back to it.

Thank you Suzi for asking and bumping. Thank you Joe for giving me a few starters.
 

JoeV

Dough Boy
Site Supporter
You are very welcome. Now that you mention it, I remember that we used to converse about bread baking at that other place. There were more bread bakers over there (at least more that talked about bread baking) than we have here. That's the only thing I miss about the other place. I stop in once in awhile using my alt IP addy, but it's not the same there anymore. I actually see incorrect information being given at times because they drove away so many good people. Oh, well, life goes on.
 
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