Do you want your bread to be healthier and have a more robust flavour? Or maybe you are tired of constantly baking white bread? Either way, you can consider mixing things up with wholegrain flour. Not only is this flour high in fibre, protein, and minerals, which are essential nutrients the body needs. It also adds a slightly nutty flavour to your baked goods.
To get things started, you may want to consider using whole wheat flour, a type of wholegrain flour, as it is widely available and not too dissimilar to working with white flour. However, you should not expect to substitute white flour with whole wheat flour one to one and expect similar results without making some adjustments.
In fact, there are several essential differences between both types of flour that you must take into account to ensure your bread turns out perfect. Fortunately, we are here to help! Let us share what you need to be aware of when baking with whole wheat flour and the adjustments to make to obtain a spectacular result.
Unlike white flour, which is made up almost entirely of endosperm, whole wheat flour features endosperm, as well as bran and germ. While the latter two contain various vitamins and minerals, they also function like tiny razor blades, shredding the gluten strands and inhibiting gluten development, responsible for bread rising and turning out voluminous. As a result, the more whole wheat flour you use, the more bran and germ present in the dough to shred the gluten, resulting in a distinct lack of volume in the final product.
Nevertheless, do not let this scare you away from baking with whole wheat flour entirely. You can solve this issue by blending whole wheat flour with white flour. Doing so produces flour that is easier to work with, resulting in a lighter-textured loaf with decent volume. We recommend blending when starting with whole wheat flour before gradually increasing the amount of whole wheat with each subsequent bake until you are comfortable using 100% whole wheat.
Another thing to note about the germ and bran in whole wheat flour is that they can absorb more liquid than the endosperm. As a result, you will need to use more water in a dough containing whole wheat flour than its white flour counterpart. If not, you will end up with a significantly drier whole wheat dough. Generally, the more whole wheat flour you use, the more water you need to add to the dough.
Bread doughs made with whole wheat flour tend to tear more easily than those made with white flour during shaping. Therefore, you must handle the dough more gently. We recommend shaping the dough a little more loosely than you would with white bread. The same applies when doing your initial folds. The folds should be a bit looser, as you are unlikely to stretch the dough significantly without accidentally tearing it.
With all things being equal, doughs made with whole wheat flour will ferment faster than those made of white flour, as whole wheat flour contains more nutrients for the yeast to feed on. Many novice bakers baking with whole wheat flour are often unaware of this. As a result, they over-ferment the dough. To compensate for this, you must reduce the dough temperature or shorten your fermentation time.
While baking with whole wheat flour takes some getting used to, it is still well worth making the switch! The drawback of baking with white flour, which only comprises the endosperm, is that you lose out on all the fats, fibre, minerals, and vitamins present in the germ and bran.
By using whole wheat flour or even other types of wholegrain flour, you can produce baked goods packed with nutrition and flavour. So, why not make the switch today? As a leading flour supplier in Singapore, we have a wide selection of wholegrain bread flour for you to choose from. Visit our website to browse our comprehensive range.
Learn More: Encouraging Nationwide Adoption of Wholegrain Flour for Healthier Baking
