In our fast-paced society, making homemade wholemeal bread is a luxury. But even those pressed for time and aspiring bakers can appreciate the homemade bread. Here we’ll see how to make tasty homemade wholemeal bread that surpasses any store-bought white bread. But before you get started, here are ten tips to consider:
Ten Tips Before Making Your Homemade Wholemeal Bread
- Please do not skimp on the ingredients; they are the key to success. Choose whole wheat flour (type 110). This flour has a lot of protein that turns into gluten when mixed with liquid. The elastic gluten stretches as the bread puffs up.
- Buy dehydrated yeast available in supermarkets.
- Also, remember that butter will produce lighter bread than oil, so use butter.
- To obtain a dough that rises well, use the cooking water from your potatoes instead of plain water. Many seasoned bakers use this trick.
- Don’t try to eliminate salt from the recipe. Know that it gives flavor to the dough, keeps the yeast under control, and prevents the bread from sagging.
- Beat the dough well (before adding all the flour) and let it rise. This step gives the yeast more time to develop and the bran to absorb the liquid, reducing the flour needed to form a ball with the dough. You have added too much if you add the rest of the flour before the bran is saturated. This gives, in the end, something thick. And that means you’ll need help getting light bread.
- Knead the dough vigorously. Go ahead and smack her. Proper kneading of bread dough develops gluten which needs to expand as the bread rises and bakes. Good gluten development means good bread rising.
- Don’t try to rush the process. This is not possible with baking bread. Let the dough rise slowly to give the wheat flavor time to develop.
- If you get impatient, fold the dough back. This operation is performed on a dough that has fallen. To do this, stretch it and fold it in half to make it firmer. You can rehash the activity a few times.
- Consider letting the bread rise in the refrigerator overnight if the temperature is four °C or lower.
All you have to do is form baguettes the following day.
Ingredients For Homemade Wholemeal Bread
Ingredients for four baguettes:
- 1300 ml potato cooking water
- 1 Vt. tbsp. teaspoon dried yeast
- 25g sugar or honey
- 30g of salt
- 110g butter, softened
- 1.2 kg whole wheat flour
Preparation Of Homemade Wholemeal Bread Step By Step
In a large saucepan, heat the water to 45°C. Add yeast, sugar, or honey. Wait for the yeast to bubble. Boiling will be light, given the high water ratio to yeast, and it may not be readily apparent at first glance. You can see tiny bubbles on the surface if you observe the mixture with a flashlight.
- After the yeast has boiled, add the salt and butter.
- Pour 750 g of flour and beat for 2 minutes (or beat 200 times with a large wooden spoon).
- Add another 250g flour and continue beating for 2 mins (or beat the dough 200 times).
- Cover and let rise for 1½ hours. Mix, then start incorporating the remaining 250 g.
- Be careful not to add too much flour, resulting in heavy bread.
If the dough kneads well but sticks to your hands, grease them with butter and the work surface. Play the batter energetically for 10 minutes. Cover it in a greased bowl with a clean, damp kitchen towel. Allow the batter to ascend until it has multiplied in volume. The rising time can vary between 1h30 and three h depending on the ambient temperature. Roll out the dough and form baguettes, buns, braids, etc.
Place the loaves on a greased baking sheet and cover them with a damp towel. Let rise again between 1h30 and three h until the dough has doubled in volume. Make a few diagonal incisions with a knife blade on top of the buns. Bake them at 190°C (th. 6). Count 35 min for standard baguettes and 20 to 25 min for rolls. (The bread is done if a hollow sound is heard when tapping the underside with your finger.) Eliminate the bread from the stove and let it cool on a wire rack. Store the bread in the fridge or freeze it for an extraordinary event.
Also Read: Three Best Bread Recipes You Should Try Out