Sourdough Sandwich Bread With Fresh Milled Flour Made Easy
Sourdough sandwich bread made with fresh milled flour can be easy. We just have to not overthink it! This loaf is perfectly soft, slightly sweet, and tangy at the same time. It holds up nicely to slicing, and spreads to make the perfect sandwich bread, and it is made with 100% fresh milled flour, unsifted, and leavened with a pure sourdough starter, and no yeast.
I actually really have been hesitant on putting this recipe out, along with other sourdough recipes, because sourdough made with fresh milled flour is very different than sourdough made with white flours. But, I decided I am here to help and share my knowledge of the things I have learned by my own experiments. So, here it is, one of the most requested recipes I am finally releasing!
So, there are some things I have learned along the way while experimenting and working with sourdough. Now, I am no professional sourdough baker, and there are many that are probably much better than I am. But, I get asked for sourdough recipes multiple times a day.
Why Does Sourdough Act So Differently With Fresh Milled Flour Than With White Flour?
The reason that sourdough is so different with fresh milled flour than it is with white flour is because freshly milled flour contains the WHOLE raw wheat berry with nothing added. If you do a side by side comparison as I have you will see that sourdough LOVES fresh milled flour so much that this is the very reason so many people are struggling with it when switching to fresh milled flour. The sourdough ferments much quicker! There are no additives, preservatives, or bleach there to slow or inhibit the good bacteria and yeast to be active. Also, Whole grain flours contain more natural yeast and bacteria compared to refined flours.
Why Are My Sourdough Rise Times So Different Than The Recipe?
There are so many variable to think about when we consider bread baking alone, but when you factor in sourdough starter in the mix, that is a whole new ballgame! Sourdough starter doesn’t always like to play by the rules, and sometimes has a mind of it’s own.
What Variables Affect My Sourdough Starter?
Some examples of variable that can affect sourdough starter:
- Water Temperature: The warmer the water, the quicker the sourdough will ferment & grow. BUT, if the water is too hot, it will kill your starter, and then there will be no growth!
- Temperature Of The Flour: When milling flour, it does get warm, so this plays a role in the fermentation of the sourdough. If you pre-milled the flour and it is kept in the freezer or fridge, then this will slightly slow down the growth time.
- Room Temperature: The temperature of your house will play a role in the time, and this can vary from day to day, and even from morning to night.
- Feeding Frequency: How often you refresh or feed the sourdough starter impacts its growth. Regular feedings help maintain its activity and strength. Also, the amount you feed will affect the strength of your starter.
- Starter Health: The balance of yeast and bacteria in the starter, influenced by regular feedings and maintaining a healthy environment, affects its growth rate.
- Air Quality and Environment: Factors like airborne microbes, humidity levels, and the cleanliness of the environment where the sourdough is kept can impact its growth.
- pH Levels: The acidity of the starter can influence the growth of specific microorganisms. A more acidic environment might favor certain bacteria and yeast strains over others.
- Starter Age: Young starters might need more time to develop strength and activity compared to well-established, mature starters.
Balancing these variables is part of the art of maintaining a healthy and active sourdough culture made with fresh milled flour. Small adjustments to any of these factors can impact the growth and performance of the starter.
You Can Do This!
I know this all sounds confusing, but once you start using it, you will start to learn how your starter behaves, and what is normal for it. These points are all just here to reference for troubleshooting and understand why your bake may have not turned out.
It is completely normal to have several failed bakes in the beginning, especially when using fresh milled flour. I came from baking beautiful almost perfect loaves of sourdough made with white flour too. I also thought it would be exactly the same, and I could just swap out my flour… right?
Wrong… I was soooo wrong! I had so many failed fresh milled four sourdough loaves that I actually gave up and threw my beloved sourdough started in the trash! (Please don’t hat me! I have learned from my mistakes!) I soon regretted this, because I missed it! So, I had to start a new one from scratch. And, this was not without difficulty. But, this is exactly how I learned the how’s, and the why’s about sourdough in relation to fresh milled flour. So, now I can share all this knowledge and my recipes with you, possibly saving you from years of anguish! LOL. But, please understand there will be fails, and there may be a lot! It’s ok, you can do this, just keep going!
I Am Here To Help!
So, let me share my recipe and techniques with you in my recipes, and videos. I have so many videos online that I share my tips and tricks. There you can see the texture, and consistency of my doughs, and it may help you visualize what I am saying.
I plan to release a video in the future if you want to create your own sourdough starter in the future from fresh milled flour, so make sure to subscribe to my Youtube Channel HERE so you don’t miss when I release that video this year. (Jan 2024, if you are reading this later, the video may already be released!)
Ingredients To Make Fresh Milled Flour Sourdough Sandwich Bread
- 4 & 1/2 cups Fresh Milled Flour 560g (My favorite is 450g hard white wheat & 110g Kamut)
- 1&1/2 cup room temperature water 360g
- 3 TBSP melted butter OR Olive Oil 42g
- 3 TBSP Sugar 36g OR Honey 60g
- 1&1/2 tsp salt 9g
- 1 egg room temperature
- 1/2 cup Sourdough Starter 115g
- *optional egg wash (1 egg+1 tsp water) for topping bread before baking
Instructions To Make Sourdough Sandwich Bread With Fresh Milled Flour
Preparing The Dough
- Firstly, make sure that you feed your sourdough starter the night before you want to bake with it. (Even if you already fed it in the morning. You want it nice and strong the night before.)
- Then, mill the flour. I like to use mostly hard white wheat with a little Kamut (Khorasan Wheat). Just make sure to use mostly hard wheat of some sort for this recipe. Otherwise, it will not develop the gluten enough to have a nicely risen loaf of bread.
- In a stand mixer, add water, melted butter (or oil), sugar (or honey), salt, and egg. Mix all these ingredients to combine.
- Then, add the freshly milled flour to the stand mixer, and start to mix slowly until all the dry flour is completely incorporated.
- Add the sourdough starter into the dough, and mix until incorporated. (The dough will seem very wet at this stage.)
- Cover, and let the dough sit at room temperature for a minimum of 15 minutes, or up to 1 hour. This resting time is important, It allows the fresh milled to start absorbing the liquid, and the bran to start softening. This is the Autolyse step.
Kneading
- After the dough has had time to Autolyse, then start the kneading process. This kneading process could take anywhere between 7 to 30 minutes. This time varies greatly, so the best way to tell if the dough is done being kneaded is to check the dough itself. You want a nice stretchy dough that wants to stay together. This is a wet dough, so try to resist adding flour to it. See video for the desired texture of dough that you are looking for.
- Once kneaded, cover the dough and let it rise until doubled. This can take anywhere from 2 to 8 hours depending on your sourdough starter, and how warm it is in your kitchen. (Other variables I mentioned above in my blog post can affect this rise time as well.) Mine generally takes about 3- 4 hours for example.
Shaping The Dough
- Prepare bread loaf pans with parchment paper.
- After the dough has doubled in size, then on a lightly oiled surface, cut the dough in half. This will make 2 small 1 pound loafs. See notes for other size bread pans. I use small 4×8 bread pans.
- Press each piece flat, then roll to shape, I show one shaping technique option in my video. But, make sure there is some surface tension, and no air pockets while rolling. it will be sticky so I recommend oiling your hands as well as the work surface.
- Place each loaf in the lined bread tin, and cover. Let rise this second time for 2-3 hours, or until it has risen and looks puffy. (Times may vary greatly, so make sure to check your dough occasionally during this second rise time.)
- During the end of this second rise preheat oven to 375*F.
- Once the loafs have risen and look puffy, you can brush with an egg wash to make the loaf shiny and more browned. This step is optional.
Baking The Loaves
- Bake loaves for 35-40 minutes until the internal temperature of the center of the loaves are 205-210*F. If they are below this temp, the loaves may be gummy.
- Take bread out of the oven when the bread reaches that temp range. Then, remove them from the baking pans to a wire rack to cool. (The parchment papers can be used as handles so you don’t burn yourself.)
- Let the loaves cool completely before cutting into them! If you cut into them before they cool completely, they may be gummy on the inside.
- Once cooled completely, then slice to desired thickness, and enjoy!
Bread Pan Size
*Bread Pan Size Tips: My recipes call for the smaller 4×8 bread loaf pans, because I have a tiny oven! lol. Even the 4.5×8.5 pans are a bit larger, crazy how just that half inch each way can make such a difference! So, if you only have the larger pans, I recommend to x1.5 my recipes (except the sourdough starter, leave that the same) if you are looking for a large high rise loaf of bread. The large pans will definitely still work with this recipe as written, the loafs will just be a bit smaller.
How To Store Sourdough Sandwich Bread Made With Fresh Milled Flour
To store this fresh milled flour sourdough sandwich bread, keep in an airtight container, or bag. You can keep these on the counter for 2-3 days. For longer storage, place in a freezer safe bag and freeze for up to 4 months. (Make sure the loaf has cooled completely before freezing, best results to freeze the same day as it is baked.) To thaw, sit on the counter, and let come to room temperature.
Make Your Own Sourdough Starter From Scratch With Fresh Milled Flour
If you don’t already have a sourdough starter, but are wanting to make one with 100% fresh milled flour from scratch, I am here for you! I have a video resource that goes over how you can make your very own sourdough starter using only freshly milled flour. I also go over troubleshooting issues to help make this process a little easier for you, and I make a brand new sourdough starter right along side you! You can watch that video HERE.
I also have a written blog post that covers this information, if you would like to print it out and have it handy for when you are just getting started. You can do this, it is not as difficult as some on the internet have made it seem! You can checkout my blog post about it HERE.
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Sourdough Sandwich Bread Made With Fresh Milled Flour Printable Recipe
Sourdough Sandwich Bread Made With Fresh Milled Flour
Equipment
- 2 4×8 bread pans
- 1 digital thermometer to check to see when the loaves are done
Ingredients
- 4&1/2 cups Fresh Milled Flour 560g My favorite is 450g hard white wheat & 110g Kamut
- 1&1/2 cup Room temperature water 360g
- 3 TBSP Melted butter OR Olive Oil 42g
- 3 TBSP Sugar 36g OR Honey 60g
- 1&1/2 tsp Salt 9g
- 1 Egg, room temperature
- 1/2 cup Sourdough Starter 115g
- *optional egg wash 1 egg+1 tsp water for topping bread before baking
Instructions
- Firstly, make sure that you feed your sourdough starter the night before you want to bake with it. (Even if you already fed it in the morning. You want it nice and strong the night before.)
- Then, mill the flour. I like to use mostly hard white wheat with a little Kamut (Khorasan Wheat). Just make sure to use mostly hard wheat of some sort for this recipe. Otherwise, it will not develop the gluten enough to have a nicely risen loaf of bread.
- In a stand mixer, add water, melted butter (or oil), sugar (or honey), salt, and egg. Mix all these ingredients to combine.
- Then, add the freshly milled flour to the stand mixer, and start to mix slowly until all the dry flour is completely incorporated.
- Add the sourdough starter into the dough, and mix until incorporated. (The dough will seem very wet at this stage.)
- Cover, and let the dough sit at room temperature for a minimum of 15 minutes, or up to 1 hour. This resting time is important, It allows the fresh milled to start absorbing the liquid, and the bran to start softening. This is the Autolyse step.
- After the dough has had time to Autolyse, then start the kneading process. This kneading process could take anywhere between 7 to 30 minutes. This time varies greatly, so the best way to tell if the dough is done being kneaded is to check the dough itself. You want a nice stretchy dough that wants to stay together. This is a wet dough, so try to resist adding flour to it. See video for the desired texture of dough that you are looking for.
- Once kneaded, cover the dough and let it rise until doubled. This can take anywhere from 2 to 8 hours depending on your sourdough starter, and how warm it is in your kitchen. (Other variables I mentioned above in my blog post can affect this rise time as well.) Mine generally takes about 3- 4 hours for example.
- Prepare bread loaf pans with parchment paper.
- After the dough has doubled in size, then on a lightly oiled surface, cut the dough in half. This will make 2 small 1 pound loafs. See notes for other size bread pans. I use small 4×8 bread pans.
- Press each piece flat, then roll to shape, I show one shaping technique option in my video. But, make sure there is some surface tension, and no air pockets while rolling. it will be sticky so I recommend oiling your hands as well as the work surface.
- Place each loaf in the lined bread tin, and cover. Let rise this second time for 2-3 hours, or until it has risen and looks puffy. (Times may vary greatly, so make sure to check your dough occasionally during this second rise time.)
- During the end of this second rise preheat oven to 375*F.
- Once the loafs have risen and look puffy, you can brush with an egg wash to make the loaf shiny and more browned. This step is optional.
- Bake loaves for 35-40 minutes until the internal temperature of the center of the loaves are 205-210*F. If they are below this temp, the loaves may be gummy.
- Take bread out of the oven when the bread reaches that temp range. Then, remove them from the baking pans to a wire rack to cool. (The parchment papers can be used as handles so you don’t burn yourself.)
- Let the loaves cool completely before cutting into them! If you cut into them before they cool completely, they may be gummy on the inside.
- Once cooled completely, then slice to desired thickness, and enjoy!
Video
Notes
*This post contains affiliate links, which means I make a small commission at no extra cost to you! As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. But, I will only suggest items I actually Love and Have Used!
Fed my starter yesterday and doing the same today so I can make the sourdough sandwich bread tomorrow. Going to 1.5 the recipe for my pans. How do you suggest doing 1.5 x 1 egg? Would you do 1 egg plus one yolk, or 1 egg plus the white? The video was great, can’t wait to try it!
Thank you so much! Yay! Honestly, I would probably just do 2 eggs. Let me know how it goes! Happy Baking!
I did 1 and 1/2 and used 1 egg, it came out yummy
Yay! I am so happy it turned out! Thank you for the update!
happy to see you using the ANK what number are you kneading at? going to make this tomorrow.
I knead somewhere between the 2 and 3 o’clock knob. I just watch my dough, and see where it seems to like it! lol
thank you, I love this recipe, I only ask because I have heard from somewhere to only use low speed. one thing I found out that is handy if you have a large batch of dough in the Ank you can flip the cover upside down while proofing, that way the cover doesn’t stick to the dough..
Yes, the cover can go on either way for proofing!
Can this be done in. Zo bread machine?
I do not have a bread machine, but I would assume it should work, however, the rise times are much longer than with yeast loaves. So, depends on if you can set the rise times longer than the traditional yeast bread times. Let me know how it turns out! Happy Baking!
Very new at this and have not even made a starter!! Do you have a video that starts from scratch using fresh mulled flour as a starter? I will mainly use the zo to knead the bread I think.
I am looking into making a video tutorial for this if there is enough interest.
I would love a video tutorial! I am planning on attempting this recipe tomorrow.
Yay, you are in luck! I do have a video tutorial on this recipe. Here is a link, let me know how it goes! Happy Baking! https://youtu.be/-t-KaIR6CG4
I am ecstatic over how this recipe turned out! I made the 1.5 version since I only have 9×5” tins. I increased all ingredients including starter by one half…I used 1 whole egg plus 1 yolk. Followed instructions exactly as written. Autolyse 15 minutes…mix 15 minutes checking progress at 5 minute intervals in my Bosch universal plus…rose 3 hours in my microwave…shaped and rose in tins 1.5 hours in microwave…baked 40 minutes. Cut when cooled. Both me and hubby love it. Success!!!
Yay! I am so happy to hear this! Thank you so much! Happy Baking!
I’ve been searching for the best method for sourdough with freshly milled flour and I LOOOOVE this recipe (and all your others!!). The first time I did as-is and my bread pans were a bit too big so I had baby loaves, and the second time I did 1.5x and it was PERFECT. I did bake one in a loaf pan and one in a Dutch oven to try it out. Do you think I would need to change anything if I used this recipe for a boule like that and not always a sandwich loaf?
Yay! I am so happy to hear you enjoyed it! Great tip about the pan sizes, yes my oven is small, so my pans are the smaller 4×8 pans. This recipe may not work in a Dutch oven, it is too loose to be freeform. But, I do have a sourdough artisan style loaf recipe as well. Here is a link to that recipe, https://grainsinsmallplaces.net/sourdough-fresh-milled-flour-easy/
The bread turned out wonderful. I don’t have any machines so after autolysis I did 4 stretch and folds. I finally baked it tonight and it turned out beautifully and tastes delicious. I’m so excited about it. I’ve been messing up some bread for a few years now. Thank you for sharing. When I have time I’m trying those sourdough cookies next!
Yay! I am so happy to hear that! Nice job! The cookies are amazing! Here is the link for them. https://grainsinsmallplaces.net/the-greatest-sourdough-discard-cookie/
For the second rise can I shape and put in the refrigerator for about 12 hours? I really like that sourdough flavor.
I don’t recommend an overnight ferment with fresh milled flour, I find it over ferments, and also gets very acidic. You can try a short ferment in the fridge. But, in my experience it just doesn’t do well. I have some info on this on my GISP Method post if interested in reading more about it. https://grainsinsmallplaces.net/gisp-method/
I am a new to sourdough baker. This recipe is so easy to follow, well written, and turns out a FABULOUS sandwich loaf. My husband is not a fan of artisan loaves, so this saved the day! Thank you for perfecting this soft, flavorful bread.
Yay! I am so happy to hear this! My son also doesn’t like the artisan loaves, so this recipe was a labor of love to create! He also loves this one! Thanks so much! Happy Baking!
I made this sourdough bread 2 weeks ago and it was a big success with my friends. I gifted one loaf, and they are asking for more. Baking again tomorrow. Thank you so much for a great easy sourdough sandwich bread recipe.
Yay! I am so happy to hear it is such a success! Great job! Thanks so much!
Just received my starter this week and I haven’t switched it (feeding) to fresh milled quite yet. I assume I can still use a starter that has ” store ” flour used in it until I get brave and switch it over?
Sure you can still use that starter, I would recommend feeding the levain it with half your normal feeding flour kind, and half whatever fresh milled flour you plan to use (I used hard white, and some Kamut. But, all hard white would be fine for feeding.) This should get your starter a bit used to eating something different. Watch your rise times, they do vary greatly, especially with a starter just learning to eat fresh milled flour in a recipe. I hope this helps!
Very helpful! Thank you so much:)
I am so happy it was helpful! Thank you! Happy Baking!
Thank you so much for posting this recipe. I’m new to sourdough as of two days ago and a few months into my 100‰ fresh milled and only whole grains journey. I made this recipe for the first time today and expected something edible, but as a newbie I anticipated having some room for improvement. This turned out fantastic!!! Beautiful rise, great gluten development, so soft when it cooled that I had to be careful cutting it, decent crumb, just beautiful, and most important… It was DELICIOUS! My hubby demanded that I not change a thing. Lol. Thanks for the recipe and accompanying video. Definitely a keeper recipe!!
Yay! I am so happy to hear that! Nice job! Thanks so much!
I’m new to fresh milled flour & I love your recipes! Can you freeze the sourdough and bake it later?
Thank you so much! Freezing the sourdough dough will slow down the sourdough cultures, so when you go to let it rise to bake, it won’t have as good of a rise. I would recommend making the bread, and letting it cool completely, then slicing and freezing the loaf for later that way. Happy Baking!
I’ve made this bread a couple times and absolutely love it!!! My question is: can I refrigerate the dough after the second rise so I can bake the next day? I am used to doing a cold ferment and wondering if it will work with this recipe too.
Yay! I am so happy to here that! In my experiences, overnight ferments with fresh milled flour result in super sour, almost inedible breads. I have had to shy away from the traditional sourdough methods because of this. You can of course give it a try and see if you prefer it that way, but in my family’s experience, it is just too sour almost acidic. Let me know how it turns out! Happy Baking!
If I wanted to use the large Pullman pan, would I just shape and put the whole recipe in the 2 lb Pullman pan and bake? My regular 2 lb yeast loaf bakes for about 40 minutes. Would it be about the same time to bake the 2 lb Sourdough loaf? Thanks.
Yes, this recipe would make two small1 pound loaves, or one 2 pound loaf. I would bake it just a bit longer. But, the best way to tell is to bake until the internal temperature of the center of the loaves are 205-210*F. If they are below this temp, the loaves may be gummy. Hope that helps! Happy Baking!
Thank you so much! Just made this recipe and it’s everything I ever wanted! Going to make the bigger loaf recipe next. How would you suggest I turn this into a jalapeno cheddar bread if possible? Thanks for being awesome!
Yay! I am so happy to hear that! Thank you! I would just shred some cheese, and slice some jalapenos, and fold them in on the last stretch and fold before shaping. Let me know how it turns out! Happy Baking!
I have been looking for a sweet sandwich bread. Exactly like this. I don’t have a mixer, any suggestions??? I’m gonna have my starter ready by tomorrow and gonna give it a try.
This recipe is a very wet and sticky dough, I won’t say it is impossible, but it would be a labor of love to do. If you have a bread machine you could try using that to knead the dough, it may take 2 kneading cycles. But, if you have to do it by hand, I would recommend you let it sit at the soaking stage for a bit longer, and try using oil on your hands and counter so it doesn’t stick as badly. Also, I would recommend a bench scraper to use as well. Let me know how it turns out if you give it a try. Happy Baking!
Love, love, love your yeast sandwich recipe and want to try this. Based on 560 grams of grain and 360 grams of water that would be about 64% hydration which is pretty dry. I noticed in the video the grain weighs only 480 which is 75% hydration which sounds more like the wet dough you describe. Can you verify which is better.
Yes, this is a sourdough sandwich bread, it also has butter, sugar, and eggs. Those all contribute to the liquids as well. This is a soft fluffy bread you make in a bread loaf pan. If you are looking for a traditional sourdough boule loaf, this is my recipe for that. https://grainsinsmallplaces.net/sourdough-fresh-milled-flour-easy/
Hi, I’ve been baking with sourdough over a year now but just got my mill so only have done a couple loaves with freshly milled grain. Even with the autolyse and stretch and folds I’m having trouble developing the gluten to the point where it passes the windowpane test and really holds it shape (I’m able to achieve this with reg bread flour). Any tips?
Also, when I made this recipe it was REALLY wet/slimy. I don’t know if it was the egg or the honey but it never really went away after the stretches, fermenting, rising etc. Any thots? I weight my ingredients and even used 1 less Tbsp of honey.
This is more of an enriched sandwich bread that is risen with the sourdough starter. I have not tried this bread recipe with stretch and folds, I knead it in my mixer, because it is a very wet and stick dough. If you are looking for a more traditional sourdough boule loaf (This one I do stretch and folds, and not a mixer) I have a recipe for that one here. https://grainsinsmallplaces.net/sourdough-fresh-milled-flour-easy/
Everything was going great but when it came time for shaping, it was a sloppy mess that didn’t hold its shape. Any suggestions on what to do next time?
If it was super floppy, sometimes it just needs some surface tension, and fold it all up to make a ball, then shape with the cupping method. If it was like soupy, then the loaf probably over fermented. I hope that helps!
Hi
Will this recipe work with store bought whole wheat flour instead of freshly milled flour? Thank you
It should work, you may need to slightly adjust the flour amount. Let me know how it turns out! Happy Baking!
Can this recipe be made into rolls?
Yes, you could use this to make rolls, I might add just a tad extra flour so it is able to hold it’s shape better. Let me know what you think! Happy Baking!
Thank you for the quick response! Will try it and let you know how it goes! 💜
Welcome! Thanks!
I only have hard white grain. Can I make without Kamut?
Thanks
Yes! You can just use all hard white wheat! Let me know what you think! Happy Baking!
Absolutely delightful! 2nd loaf❤️
I added amaranth 50 grams and increased the water to accommodate! Excellent bread!
Yum! Great addition! Thanks so much!
I’m currently making this recipe and waiting for the rise. I’m a family of 5 and I’d like to make more. What wouldn’t do different if I double it? My pans are larger so I’d make 3 loaves from a doubled recipe. Would I double the starter still or leave it the same and double everything else?
Yes, you can double this recipe, and double the starter as well! Let me know what you think!
Hey Kara! I have someone who wants a 100% spelt sourdough sandwich bread loaf…do you have any tips on adjustments I might need to make if substituting the hard white for all spelt? I know it won’t have the same texture as the hard white, but I want to make it the best I can.
You can try subbing 1 for 1. But, I will say, it won’t form gluten the way hard white will, so it may be fairly dense. I have not played with 100% spelt sourdough yet, so I am not for sure if it would work out. But, if you try that, let me know how it goes! Happy Baking!
I have struggled making the traditional sourdough boule, but this bread came out perfect! I did the recipe x 1.5 since my pans were bigger. Note: I used 2 eggs instead of 1 & 1/2. Thank you for a fantastic video and instructions
Yay! I am so happy to hear that! Yes, that is perfect for the larger pans. Great job! Thanks for sharing.
Love your recipes and all your tips and videos! Super helpful for those of us that are new to FMF. I made this recipe and your yeast version with great success when I got started. At the time, I was using my old KA mixer and borrowing a mill attachment. I was milling the grain twice to get it into a finer consistency. I had good rises, but my KA was taking a beating. Since then, I’ve gotten a Komo mill and a Ankarsrum mixer (both are amazing) but I’m not getting the same rise and my loaves are very dense. I’ve been experimenting with my autolyze, kneading, and rise times but so far nothing is making a difference so I’m starting to wonder if it has to do with how fine I’m milling the grain. Do you have any thoughts here or recommendations on how fine I want the flour? Thanks so much!
I mill my flour fine for the bread, it may just be that you are still getting used to the mixer. Make sure not to add too much flour, that is the biggest reason I see for dense bread. Also, make sure to keep checking on the dough as it kneads, look for nice stretchy dough, once it is nice and stretchy, stop kneading. The 3 main reasons for dense bread that I see are. 1. Too much flour added, 2. under or over kneading the dough 3. rise time. If the second rise is too long, the loafs will bake beautifully, then fall and cause too dense bread.
Also, I suppose it is important to make sure your yeast it still viable. To check your yeast, in a small bowl, add some warm water, and a pinch of sugar with some yeast. After about 10 minutes or so it should get nice and foamy. If not, then I would suggest replacing your yeast. I hope that helps! Let me know! Happy Baking!
I am in the middle of making this bread and I love your simple and clear instructions. It is so helpful that you put things in typical American measurements and in grams! What setting should I use on my NutriMill Artisan Mixer to knead the dough?
Yay! I am so happy it is helpful! I like to knead on lower settings, it is easier on the dough and gluten formation.
Ah! I love you wealth of knowledge! So I don’t have a mixer and am allergic to eggs. Is there a sub for the egg? Can I let autolyze for longer and do stretch and folds instead of kneading? (Total newbie here)
You can sub applesauce, or a flax seed egg for the egg. You can try a longer autolyze period to help form the gluten with stretch and folds, that may not get the bread quite a soft and fluffy as it would with a mixer. But, still very yummy. Let me know how it goes! Happy Baking!
Thank you! I will try that!
😊
is the 4.5 cups of the milled flour or 4.5 cups of wheat berries before milled?
The recipe is for 4.5 cups of the already milled flour. (I like to weigh out the wheat berries, and mill them. The wheat berry weight will be the same as the milled flour weight, so there is no guesswork involved with that method. BUT, that does not work the same for volume, so 1 cup of wheat berries does not equal 1 cup of flour, but 100g of wheat berries does equal 100g of milled flour.) I hope that makes sense!
Hi,
I would like to 1/2 the recipe.
I believe everything has to be 1/2. How about the starter & the egg ?
Should I use 1/2 the starter ?
Should I use 1 egg or beat the egg separately and take 1/2 of it by weight ?
Thank you !
You can half everything except I would just use a whole egg. Half this recipe will make one small 4×8 bread loaf. If you have a 4.5×8.5 OR 5×9 bread pan, you can make this whole recipe and put it in one bread pan. Let me know how it goes! Happy Baking!
Hello! I have two Wilton bread pans… 9.25“ x 5.25“ inches… Will this recipe times 1.5 be good for one pan or good enough to divide it into two for both pans. Thank you 🙂
For that size pan, I would double it for 2 loaves. OR use this recipe as a single loaf. Let me know how it goes! Happy Baking!
Any chance that using buttermilk would work?
Yes! You could sub the liquid for buttermilk! Yum! Let me know how it turns out! Happy Baking!