I love the flavor combination of buttermilk and brown sugar in this loaf of bread. This is a simple loaf with just a few ingredients.
Before making this or any other yeast bread recipe
on this site may I suggest reading the
"Making Yeast Breads" section of this site.
Buttermilk Whole Wheat Loaf
Pre-heat oven to 425
Bake at 325 35-40 minutes
Biga 2 Cups Whole Wheat Flour 266 grams
1/4 tsp Instant Yeast
3/4 Cup Cool Water 180 grams
Mix biga ingredients together and knead until incorporated, about 1 minute. Allow the dough to rest for five minutes. Knead for an additonal minute. Store the pre-dough in an air tight container and refrigetate 8 - 12 hours. Use anytime within the next 72 hours. I make mine before I go to bed. It does its thing while I'm sleeping. Make sure that you allow the biga to warm to room temperature before using.
Soaker 2 Cup Whole Wheat Flour 266 grams
1/2 tsp Salt -
3/4 Cup + 2 Tbsp Buttermilk 214 grams
Mix the soaker while the biga is resting. Combine the flour and salt in a bowl, add the buttermilk. Knead until incorporated. Store in an airtight container. You can keep the soaker on the counter, but I throw mine in the fridge. Allow it to warm up to room temperature before using.
Final Dough All of Biga
All of Soaker
1 1/2 tsp Active Dry Yeast
3/4 tsp Salt
1/4 Cup Brown Sugar Firmly Packed
2 Tbsp Butter
Cut the Biga and the Soaker in to pieces and add to the bowl. Sprinkle the yeast over the pre-doughs, add the brown sugar, salt, and butter. Knead together to thoroughly incorporate, four to five minutes. Knead an additional 10 minutes, or until the dough begins to form into a ball and stick to itself rather than the counter top. The dough will become more elastic and smooth.
*Note- the dough will go through a series of changes. It will seem somewhat firm at first and very quickly turn wet and shaggy. DO NOT ADD MORE FLOUR. You are working with a hydrated dough, it will be wet and soft. Use a bowl scraper to lift the dough and bring it back to you. The dough will become more organized as the gluten becomes organized. Trust me on this.
Autolyse -Allow the dough to rest for no less than twenty minutes. If you can afford the time, a 30 minute autolyse will be beneficial. The gluten will relax and the dough will soak in more moisture. You will notice an extreme difference in the texture of your dough after this resting period.
Knead the dough a second time. Although the dough will be sticky and shaggy it will not be as extreme as the first kneading cycle. Knead for about ten minutes. The dough will come together into a springy ball.
Slightly wet your fingers and perform the window pane test to make sure the gluten is completely developed. If the dough does not hold together, knead it for an additional three minutes and test again.
Fermentation - Allow the dough to rest and rise double as it ferments. This is an important step that helps flavor and gives the final loaf great texture.
Shape and proof.
I use my microwave as a proofing box, it works great. Bring a small bowl of water to a boil in the microwave. Once the water has come to a boil and the microwave is warm and humid, place the shaped loaf of bread in the microwave with the water and close the door. The warm moist enviornment mimicks a proofing box found in a bakery. Allow the loaf to rise until double.
Preheat your oven to 425 degrees while the bread is proofing in the microwave. Allow your oven to preheat for a full hour to get good and hot. If you have a baking stone place it in the oven as well. A baking stone will help the oven maintain its heat while transferring the loaf into the oven.
Bake at 425 for five minutes with steam. You can create steam in your oven by adding a little water to the floor of the oven when you bake your bread. After five minutes, turn the oven down to 325 and bake an additional 30 minutes. The bread is done when the internal temperature is 195 degrees. You can also test the doneness of your loaf by tapping the top, it will sound hollow.
Allow the bread to cool in the pan on a cooling rack three to five minutes. Turn out onto a cooling rack and cool to room temperature.
* I like to butter the top of my bread when it comes out of the oven.