Breads (Yeast) - Loaves
Soft and Fluffy Wholemeal Bread
July 19, 2017
| Recipe by Bake with Paws
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This is another very soft and fluffy wholemeal loaf. I went to a bakery ingredients store in Kepong and found some very good quality wholemeal flour. I played around with the Wholemeal Bread recipe from my sister and the result is very satisfying. Highly recommended:)
This Wholemeal Bread is very fluffy, soft and moist. I never thought that straight dough method will produce this soft bread and stay fresh quite well too.
If you like to try Sourdough version, please click here to try. Wholemeal Soft Sourdough Bread recipe.
If you have any questions regarding this recipe or any other post, please leave me a comment in the “LEAVE A COMMENT” link and I will reply you as soon as possible. Do tag me on Instagram @Bakewithpaws if you attempt on this recipe.
How To Make Soft and Fluffy Wholemeal Bread
Yields: 1 loaf
INGREDIENTS
260g bread flour (I used Japan High Gluten Flour)
90g wholemeal flour
1 1/4 tsp instant yeast
20g milk powder (optional)
20g brown Sugar
1 tsp salt
15g butter
15g olive oil or any vegetable oil, can be replaced with butter
140g water (reserve 10g, add in later if the dough is dry)
90g fresh milk or full cream milk (Please reserve 10g to use later if dough too dry)
Utensil:
450g loaf pan (21.3 X 12.2 X 11.5 cm / 8.4" X 4.8" X 4.5")
METHOD:
- Kneading:
- Add all ingredients (except butter and olive oil) into the bowl of stand mixer. Using the dough hook on a stand mixer, knead for 3 - 5 minutes until the dough comes together. Add in butter and oil, continue kneading for 10 - 12 minutes till the dough come together, become elastic and tacky but not sticky. During the whole kneading process, I stopped few times to scrape down the dough from the hook to be sure it is evenly kneaded and also to prevent the motor from overheating.
- 1st Proofing:
- Shape the dough into a ball. Place back in the same mixing bowl and cover with cling film or lid. Let the dough complete the first round of proofing, about 45 - 60 minutes until doubled in size at the room temperature around 29C - 30C.
- You may also retard the dough in the fridge. Cover the bowl and transfer dough to the fridge to retard overnight for about 8 – 12 hours.
- Shaping:
- Punch down the dough to release the air. Transfer the dough to a clean floured surface then divide into 2 or 3 equal portions. Please use a kitchen scale if you want to be exact.
- Form each portion to a ball. Flatten with rolling pin. Fold right to centre and fold left overlap it. Roll out with rolling pin into long rectangle shape. Roll up the dough like Swiss Roll until a log is formed.
- Place all dough in a loaf pan lined with parchment paper. Cover with cling film.
- You can also just shape it into a long loaf too.
- Final Proofing:
- Let it rise at warm place (my room temperature around 30C) for another 45 - 90 minutes, until dough rises slightly below the rim of the pan.
- Baking:
- Preheat oven at 190C (top & bottom heat) 170C (fan-forced) for 15 minutes.
- Brush with egg wash (optional
- Bake in a preheated oven for about 30 minutes, or until golden brown.
- Remove bread from oven and pan, let it cool on rack completely before slicing.
GENERAL NOTES
KNEADING TIME
For kneading, please regard the timing provided as an indication only. It is only meant as a guide. Timing may differ depending on the brand of flour and electric mixer used. The protein content may vary from one brand of flour to another.
OVER KNEADING
Some have experienced the dough breaking during the second proofing. If that happens it is due to over kneading. Please stop the machine and check your dough during the final cycle of kneading to ensure that you don't over knead. Every machine is different and there is always a chance of over-kneading when using a machine. You may need to adjust this timing and stop as soon as you reach the window pane stage.
FLOUR
The right flour plays a very important role in bread making. Usually bread flour content around 11.5 - 13.5% protein, while high gluten flour is around 13.5 - 14.5%. All purpose flour content less protein around 9 - 11%. To achieve fluffy, soft and light bread, I used Japan High Gluten Flour in most of my bread baking. Sources from here and here.
HYDRATION
The liquid measurement given is also a guide. It is advisable to always reserve some liquid and not add it all in one go. This would give you the opportunity to adjust if necessary. If dough is too dry, add the reserve liquid one tablespoon at a time until the right consistency. This is because each flour absorbs water and hydrates differently.
PROOFING
Please note that the proofing timing may also vary depending on your climate and environment. The humidity and temperature at your place will influence how dough rises.
If you are unable to judge by just looking at the dough, you can do the finger poke test:
If you are unable to judge by just looking at the dough, you can do the finger poke test:
- First Proofing:
- Lightly flour or oil your finger or knuckle, gently poke in the centre of the dough then remove your finger. If it bounces back immediately without any indentation then it needs more time.
- If the indentation stays and it doesn’t bounce back or if the dough collapses, then the it is over proved.
- If it bounces back just a little, then the dough is ready to be punched down and shaping.
- Second Proofing:
- Lightly press the side of the proved dough with your finger. If it bounces back immediately without any indentation, it means the dough is under proved and needs more time before baking.
- If the indentation stays and it doesn’t bounce back, it means it has been over proved.
- If the indentation slowly bounces back and leave a small indentation, it is ready to bake.
- There will be a final burst of rising once the bread is placed to bake in the oven and it is called oven spring.
If your bread collapses or gets wrinkled on top after removing from oven, it could be because your dough over proved during the second proofing. Please proof your dough until it just reaches or is slightly below the rim of the pan.
BAKING
Do also note that the baking temperature and timing provided are what works for my oven and should also be regarded as a guide only. Every oven behaves a little differently, so please adjust accordingly for your oven.
Labels:
Breads (Yeast) - Loaves,
The dough was so soft and easy to handle. It rose beautifully and the smell was heavenly! Excellent recipe! Thank you for sharing!!
ReplyDeleteHi there,
DeleteThank you for your comment and trying this recipe. I am happy to hear that you like this bread. This is one of my favourite bread that I always bake for my family.
Cheers and happy baking:)
hi Yeanley. if i have stoneground wholewheat flour would i be able to use it on a 1:1 ratio with wholemeal flour?
ReplyDeleteHi there,
DeleteThank you for dropping by. You may replace 140g of wholemeal flour with your stoneground wholewheat flour. I never tried bake with stoneground wholewheat flour before.
Cheers & happy baking...
Thanks yeanley ! Will try it one of these weekend and let you know if it turns out more dense
DeleteMy pleasure:) Happy baking...
DeleteHi Yeanley
DeleteJust tried it using the stoneground wholewheat. The bread didn't rise in the oven oddly. It raised nicely in both the fermentation. Not too sure if I should cut down a bit more of the wholemeal.
Hi, Thank you for your feedback. To be honest, I never tried using stoneground wholewheat before. I will not be able to provide you the correct answer. Maybe, you should increase the bread flour and cut down the stoneground wholewheat flour accordingly.
DeleteYou can take this recipe as a guidance and adjust accordingly to the type of flour you will be using.
Again, thanks :)
Hi Yeanley,
ReplyDeleteI hv balance of wholegrain flour, can it be substitute with the 140g of wholemeal flour? Im interested in baking this bread.
Hi Irene,
DeleteThank you for your question. Yes, I am sure you can. But, the result may be slightly difference. Anyhow, it is still a bread..
Cheers & happy baking:)
This was a yummy bread recipe. I split it into two larger loaves. The only thing is, my bread didn't rise anywhere near as high as the picture. Do you think it's a problem with the yeast I used?
ReplyDeleteHi there,
DeleteThank you for trying this recipe. It could be your yeast and make sure it is not expired. You may want to consider let the bread proof in a warm and dark place. I normally rest the dough in oven with a bowl of hot water and door closed.
Cheers :)
Hi YeanLey,
ReplyDeleteWould like to ask if I dont have stand mixer, can I use my hand to knead? If yes, what should I take note and how long should I be kneading for please.
Thank you in advance.
Hi Samantha,
DeleteThank you for asking. All my bread dough are machine knead. I never knead by hand. But, of course you can knead by hand. Normally, I see people knead until thin membrane form (window pane stage). You may want to watch Youtube.
Cheers :)
Can I ask, can I add yudane to this dough? If yes how to adjust it?
ReplyDeleteYes, you can. Here you are. But, I have not tried not sure it works.
DeleteYudane:
108g bread flour
108g boiling water
Bread dough:
292g bread flour
140 g wholemeal flour
1 ½ tsp instant yeast
2 tbsp milk powder
30g brown Sugar
1 ½ tsp Salt
20g butter
20g corn oil or olive oil
92g water
100g fresh milk
Hi, is bread flour the same with high protein flour?
ReplyDeleteThanks
Yes, the same. The protein content should be 11 - 13 %.
DeleteCheers :)
Shall i use half the recipe for 450g loaf tin?
ReplyDeleteThank you.
Hi, I afraid the amount will be too small for 450g loaf pan. Why don't reduce to 65% instead.
DeleteCheers :)
Hi Yeanley, can i know how to adjust and calculate the ingredients to fit into a 450g loaf pan? I would really love to try and bake this bread. Thank you in advance. :)
ReplyDeletePlease use 350g total flour.. 260g of bread flour + 90g wholemeal flour
Delete350/540 = 0.648
please reduce the rest of the ingredients by 0.648
Cheers :)
Thank you! :)
DeleteMost welcome.. Happy baking :)
DeleteThanks for sharing this yummy recipe, the bread , the bread came out soft and smell good ! Thanks again!
ReplyDeleteHi, thank you for trying this recipe and your kind feedback. Happy to hear that you like it. Cheers :)
DeleteHi dear, would it affect the texture of the bread if I made it into bun shaped rather than in loaf?
ReplyDeleteHi dear, thank you for asking. I tried this recipe in bun before and turned out a bit dry. Unless you make into bigger bun and bake shorter period. Please monitor during baking as we don't want the bun to be dried.
DeleteCheers :)
Hi,
ReplyDeleteI tried the recipe with yudane baked in a 450 gm loaf pan. I reduced the ingredients by 0.645 as suggested. The loaf came out light, soft and airy. Will use this recipe again.
Thank you.
Hi, Thanks for trying and sharing your feedback. Glad to hear that it turned out soft and airy. By the way, this recipe is very soft and fluffy even without yudane method.
DeleteCheers :)
I tried your recipe and it worked the first time however when I tried to change the wholemeal and bread flour ratio to 50:50, it didn't work. May I know what should I adjust if I wanted to add more wholemeal flour to the bread? Thank you so much. I tried a lot of your recipes and they all are really good. Thanks for sharing them with the whole world.
ReplyDeleteHi, thanks for trying my recipes and your kind feedback. If you want your bread to be fluffy and soft, then you need to keep the wholemeal flour at low percentage. The more wholemeal flour used, the less fluffy and soft the texture will turn out. The above recipe is used about 26% of wholemeal flour. You can increase probably to 30 - 35% if you prefer more wholemeal.
DeleteCheers and happy baking :)
Hi! May I change the olive oil to butter? Does it make big difference?
ReplyDeleteHi, Yes of course you can. Actually butter give better fragrant to the bread. It is not going to change the texture.
DeleteCheers :)
May I change the olive oil to butter? Does it make big difference?
ReplyDeleteHi, you can use all butter. Actually butter yields more flavourful bread. The texture going to be the same. I mixed because I don't want to use so much butter.
DeleteCheers :)
Hi, I don't have milk powder. Is it ok to omit ? Or adjust other ingredients ? Thanks a lot. BTW, I made your Sweet Potato loaf with hand. Very successful !
ReplyDeleteHi, thanks for reading and trying my sweet potato loaf. You can omit milk powder is fine. You may also use more milk and less water if you prefer.
DeleteHappy to hear that your sweet potato bread is successful.
Cheers :)
Hi thank you for your recipes. I have tried your wholemeal bread and also white bread, both turned out perfect. I love them.
ReplyDeleteI would like to ask if I want to bake in a 900gm loaf pan, should I double up your 450gm loaf pan ingredients?
Hi, thank you for trying this recipe and so glad to hear that it turned out perfect for you. Yes, please double up the recipe of 450g loaf pan.
DeleteThanks, again and happy baking :)
Hi Yeanley
ReplyDeleteCan make this into buns n add dried cranberries, toasted sunflower seeds n toasted sesame seeds? Also can use unsalted butter instead of olive oil?
Thanks🌷
Hi, of course you can. But please don't add too much of inclusions as it will make your bread dense and not rise very high. You can use all butter instead of mixture of butter and olive oil.
DeleteCheers :)
Hi Yeanley
DeleteI made the Soft Wholemeal Bread into 9 big buns n added a total of 30g dried cranberries, toasted sunflower seeds n toasted black n white sesame seeds. Also egg wash n sprinkled some rolled oats before baking. The buns came out soft n aroma!
Thank you very much for sharing this 👍👍👍recipe!
God bless🌷
Hi Lilyn,
DeleteThank you for trying this recipe and your kind feedback. Glad to hear that it works for you.
Cheers and Have a nice day :)