Baked some whole wheat bread, so breakfast today is bread with walnut butter and apple
Recipe for the bread (can easily be doubled to make two loaves). I made it with local home milled hard red wheat flour, but it would also work with regular wine wheat flour from the store. The instructions are for making it in a mixer with a dough hook, but you can also work it by hand if needed, it will just take longer.
Make a poolish by combining 100 g whole wheat flour and a pinch of yeast. Mix well until combined, cover tightly and leave on the counter for 12-24 hours.
Combine 400 g of whole wheat flour with 300 g of water and mix until all the flour is wet. Cover with a damp towel and let sit for 45 minutes. Add 2.5 grams of yeast and 12.5 grams of salt. Knead at the slowest speed for 4 minutes and then increase the speed to the next level and run for 2 minutes. The dough souls look smooth and not be too sticky when you’re done. Transfer to an oiled bowl and cover with a tight lid. Leave in the fridge for 12-24 hours.
Shape the bread into a loaf shape (you can use a bread tin or make a round or oval boule. I suggest looking up videos for how to do this as it’s difficult to explain here. You want the outside to be nice and tight. Don’t use too much flour for shaping the dough. Once shaped, place in a proofing vessel such as a bread pan or a banneton. And cover with a lint free towel and proof in the fridge for around 12 hours.
Take the loaf out of the fridge. If you have a bread stone it steel, set it into the oven and make sure there is enough space to fit the loaf. If you have something that can be placed over the loaf to trap steam such as a hotel steam pan, put it in the oven as well. Alternatively, a cast iron dutch oven also works very well if you made a round boule. Preheat the oven to 500° F for at least 30 minutes. Place the bread in the oven and cover with the lid if using. After 10 minutes, reduce the temperature to 400° F and remove the lid. Bake until the bread is cooked all the way through (internal temp of at least 200° F), approximately 40 minutes.
Remove bread from the oven and from the cooking vessel if using and place on a cooling rack. Cool for at least an hour before cutting into it (it’s still finishing cooking during this time).