Reinhart's Whole Wheat Hearth Bread

I've decided to take a bit of a break from my adventures with the rye and put Reinhart's Whole Grain Breads to use. I constantly thumb through the book when I can't sleep but never found anything I was in the mood to make. I love the look of the whole wheat boule, so I finally decided to make that one and cross it off the list of things to make in my baking career. It's pretty straightfoward to make, with the exception that all the breads in this book are made with a soaker and a starter that must be prepared the night before. They come together in just a few minutes so that's no worry. The soaker and starters blended easily and the dough handled nicely; it was soft and tacky but not sticky. It rose perfectly through all of its rises. I omitted the oil in the dough and opted to use honey. The resulting crust was nice and dark and beautiful, although the dough had negligible oven spring. The crumb was dark and even and the flavor was that of a simple, rustic whole wheat loaf. As with all the breads I've been turning out lately, this paired well with cream cheese. All in all, it was an impressive and attractive loaf- I'm glad this is another thing checked off my list.

Reinhart's Whole Wheat Hearth Bread

Soaker:
227 grams whole wheat flour
4 grams salt
170 grams water

Biga:
227 grams whole wheat flour
1 gram instant yeast
170 grams water

Final Dough:
Soaker
Starter
28.5 grams whole wheat flour
5 grams salt
7 grams yeast
14 grams honey

The night before baking, prepare the soaker and starter.Combine all of the soaker ingredients in a bowl and mix until all the flour is hydrated. Cover and set aside at room temperature overnight.Repeat the same process for the biga. Cover and refrigerate overnight.Here is the risen biga.The next day, when you are ready to bake, place the soaker and starter into a large bowl.Add the remaining ingredients and stir until a shaggy dough forms.Knead until a smooth, tacky but not sticky dough forms. Place in a greased bowl until the dough doubles its volume. Here it is.

Turn the dough out and shape into a boule.Place the boule onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Set aside to proof. When the dough is almost finished proofing, preheat the oven to 500 degrees with a baking stone inside; prepare for steam baking.Here is the proofed boule. Slash as desired. Place into the oven and steam. Turn down the oven to 450 degrees. Bake until a lovely brown and a thermometer inserted registers at least 200 degrees. Remove from the oven and cool on a rack.

Slice and enjoy!