Friday Bread Baking
A few folks have asked, so here’s my general bread recipe in bakers percentages. In bakers percentages everything is based on a ratio compared to the weight of the flour. The formula for my bread is:
100% Whole wheat flour (I’m a geek, I grind my own)
72% Water (or whey)
2% Salt
1% Yeast
So if I’m using 1000 grams of flour, I need 720 grams of liquid, 20 grams of salt and 10 grams of yeast.
Mix everything together in a bowl. I highly recommend putting the liquid in first; it makes it much easier to do the mixing. Knead the dough until it is elastic and the window pane test works. Cover and let rise until the dough doubles in volume.
Degas the dough, cut and preshape into rough loaves. Be very gentle here. Let rise again. Degas and shape into loaves. Let rise one more time. Preheat oven to between 400 and 450^F (lower temperature for larger loaves) with a cast iron skillet or metal pie plate on the floor of the oven. When the loaves are doubled in volume place them in the oven then pour a 1/4 cup of water into the cast iron skillet. Bake until the interior temperature of the bread is 195F or sounds hollow when you thump the bottom. This will take between 20 and 45 minutes depending on how large your loaves are.
Does type of salt matter? Kosher? table? sea?
@Noob Not really in this case. I can’t recommend table salt because the iodine messes with the flavor. Just make sure whatever you use isn’t super coarse or it may not mix in very well. I use Morton’s Kosher Salt myself.