Whole wheat bread in a bread machine, why so long??

[marinecopper]

I have recently become interested in my old Breadman machine. I have lost the original book, but still basically know how to work the machine and the order to add ingredients. What I don't understand is why Whole Wheat has a completely different cycle. And, what if I use 1/2 white flour, 1/2 whole wheat? I tried it once and used the rapid white cycle, the bread came out dense. In general, should I add more yeast to whole wheat, is the flour just heavier and needs more yeast to rise? I can make white bread all day long, it's the whole wheat I can't master. Help!

[duonyte]

Whole wheat flour has the bran still in it - the exterior covering of the wheat grain. That is harder than the inside part and it requires more time to fully hydrate. Further, the bran grinds up with sharp edges that tend to cut the gluten strands. So the bread needs a bit longer to rise. So the whole wheat cycle is longer to accomodate those issues.

Rapid cycle is not a good one for whole wheat. If you use vital wheat gluten with your part white part whole wheat bread, you can try the white bread cycle. Otherwise, unless the whole wheat is just incidental, stick with the whole wheat cycle.

[duonyte]

If you are using whole wheat instead of all or part of white flour, you probably need to increase the liquid a bit - open the machine and check the texture. Because of the bran, it needs more liquid than the same quantity of regular flour.

[marinecopper]

Thanks. I knew there was an expert how there who could describe it for me. And a very clear explanation. I love Food.com

[marinecopper]

The recipe I used called for 3 cups of 50/50 flour and only 1 and 1/3 cup water. I was wondering about that. The bread came out rather dry on top of being flat. I'll keep trying, I think it is worth to effort to become a good bread baker. I probably need to invest in a KitchenAid counter top mixer and give up on the machine all together. Thanks for the hints.

[duonyte]

I like using my bread machine, less cleanup. Do not be afraid to open the top and test the texture of the dough, 10 or so minutes into the cycle. As you make white bread successfully, you know what to look for. A little soft is better than too hard.

[JoeV]

marinecopper wrote:
The recipe I used called for 3 cups of 50/50 flour and only 1 and 1/3 cup water. I was wondering about that. The bread came out rather dry on top of being flat. I'll keep trying, I think it is worth to effort to become a good bread baker. I probably need to invest in a KitchenAid counter top mixer and give up on the machine all together. Thanks for the hints.

I make a Honey Whole Wheat bread all the time, and use the same recipe for making sandwich thins. The recipe uses 1/3 stone ground whole wheat flour and 2/3 bread flour. Vital wheat gluten is not needed at this 1/3 2/3 ratio. I started baking bread with a bread machine, and very soon went to the KitchenAid mixer. I have rwo machines; one standard and the Pro 600 that I use 99% of the time. Bread machines limit you to one loaf at a time, where the standard KA recipe gives two loaves. You're welcome to try my recipe, just cut the ingredients in half for the machine. It's on my website at http://flyfishohio.us/Butter%20Top%20Honey%20Whole%20Wheat.htm The ingredients are sized by weight, by volume and by Baker's Percentages, so anyone can use it even if they don't have a scale, and it makes a nice sandwich loaf that is soft. Here's what it looks like...



Regarding the amount of water, MOST bread formulas call for 52-58% hydration (liquid ratio to flour weight). If you have 32oz. of flour, you need 17.6 oz of liquid if the formulas calls for 55% hydration. For whole wheat formulas I like to be at 57-58% hydration to make up for the bran as was described earlier. For a look at how professional bakers work with dough ingredients, I wrote a tutorial explaining it at http://flyfishohio.us/Bakers%20Percentages%20Revealed.htm

Stick with it and you will get it dialed in. It's worth it! Good Luck.

[marinecopper]

That recipe sounds quite doable. I bookmarked the page, and will make that my next attempt. I think if it doesn't work in the machine I will then go ahead and purchase the counter top mixer. I like that your recipe has milk and water, don't see how it can be dry. The photo of your bread looks light and fluffy, while still containing whole wheat, which is my aim. My mother in law thinks it is a sin to eat white bread, and I like the WW bread better myself, especially now that I have churned amish butter since I moved to Western Pennsylvania.

Thanks.

[JoeV]

You're welcome. You can go up to 50% mild if you like (I use 2% milk) for a softer crumb, as long as you meet the volume requirement for hydration.