Best thing since wonderbread
If you’re like me, you like fresh bread. The smell, the taste, the texture, and the quality are unparalleled to things that have been sitting on the shelf for days and days. I love spending a Saturday morning making fresh buns, French loaves, or ciabatta. However, I have become more concerned with the type of flour I use. I read all labels but only recently noticed that my favorite flour says “enriched”. It kind of left a sour note in my heart. So, I wanted to see if I could use something that’s 100% whole grain wheat. I picked up this flour by King Arthur flour. I learned that King Arthur doesn’t bleach their flour which made me wonder how it could also be white but it just is the species of grain that’s being used. It’s just got different genes! In actuality it’s still not “white” like typical white flour it’s definitely brown but does have a softer texture than the other wheat flour. Wheat breads are infamous for making really dense breads. But we want fluffy! Can we have both health and fluffy?
I baked off some ciabatta and it was still pretty dense. I really thought I had an understanding of gluten and wheat breads and things but something made me do a little research. I read an article and understood a new bit of information I hadn’t really gotten before I guess. The fact that there are more components of the seed compared to white flour gives less space for gluten thus decreasing its ratio in the flour. Less gluten = less air trapped. My culinary mind went off. How can I create extra air in my doughs. First thought was baking soda but I wanted something that didn’t necessarily need acids to activate so baking powder was my solution. Here’s the recipe and results:
420 g white whole wheat flour
36 g butter (unsalted)
240 mL plus 2 tbsp traditional buttermilk not the thick store-bought stuff (you can sub with a recipe using milk like this or just replace with water and a tablespoon or 2 of vinegar)
2 eggs
30 g demerara sugar about 2 tbsp
½ tsp kosher salt
2 ½ tsp active dry yeast
1 tbsp baking powder
Preheat your oven to 385F
· To your bowl add in the flour, baking powder and salt and gently stir to incorporate
· Next add in the yeast
· Measure out your milk or traditional buttermilk (traditional buttermilk is used because of its ability to react with the baking powder and it’s a good way to get rid of this byproduct from making butter) in a measuring cup and add in 1 egg and sugar gently beat
· Add the liquids to the flour mixture
· If you are kneading by hand go ahead and add in your butter and begin to stir to form a shaggy dough and turn out onto a floured surface and knead until very supple and smooth and elastic
· If you use a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook start the mixer on medium speed until it comes together
· Increase the speed to medium high for about 7 minutes or until it starts to pull away from the bowl. You may need to add flour a tbsp at a time depending on the humidity. Once it begins to come together slapping the sides as a uniform dough add in the butter.
· With the butter fully incorporated you’re done
· Place in a clean buttered bowl and Cover with plastic wrap or a clean kitchen towel and let rise for an hour
· Beat your last egg
· Now punch it down and oil your hands. It will be sticky and you need to avoid adding in begin to form rolls or little balls by pulling the down in on itself to the center of your palm and pinch to create a seal
· Place on a baking sheet and brush all the buns with the last beaten egg and cover with plastic wrap to allow them to rise again
· Allow the rolls to rise for about 45 minutes to an hour
· Bake for 20-23 minutes. What you want is a golden top and the bread to sound hollow when tapped.
· Allow to cool for at least 30 minutes before cutting (This is the hardest part)
You’ve now created fluffy, brioche-style 100% whole wheat buns. Just keep them fresh by wrapping them and storing them in the fridge.