My first whole wheat loaf

[kldickinson1]

Actually, it's my second. My first one was made ten years ago when I decided that I could just substitute whole wheat flour for white flour in any bread recipe.

So I followed Karen's instructions in the post "Trouble making whole wheat bread" as best I could, and here are the questions that have since ensued:

1. Is the sponge supposed to more or less look just like bread dough, but only a tad moister? I was surprised by how not wet it was
2. I have a stand mixer with a dough hook, which is what I used to add flour. Karen recommends adding 2 1/4 cups to the sponge; my dough was only able to take 1 1/2 cups before the mixer couldn't handle it. What gives?
3. Wet ingredients: I just added them to the sponge, one by one. I beat the egg beforehand. Is that kosher?
4. The salt: I mixed my dough and then tried to add the salt. I just found most of the salt in one of the rolls I ended up making. Better suggestions?
5. What size loaf pan should I use?
6. How long should I let the dough proof once I've formed it into its final shape?
7. What would happen if I were to add more honey?

I made a baguette and eight dinner rolls. For a first time, they honestly weren't bad, but I can tell there's a lot of room for improvement. Thanks!

[Klapton]

I did a combination of that recipe and the "Moomies famous buns" recipe. Basically, Moomies recipe uses twice the sugar and yeast.

I added all the Agave nectar / honey (i've used both, np) to the water in the bowl, and added half the yeast, waiting to add the other half after the sponge.

For the sponge, just use a 1:1 ratio with the water. So, two cups of water = two cups for flour for the sponge. Cover and wait however long. It ends up looking like a cow pie with bubbles in it.

When I get ready to do the rest of the mix, I added all the other soggy ingredients first: chia seed gel (this was an additional cup of water content), the beaten egg, the butter, and some dry milk and dry buttermilk.

Add the other half of the yeast, and keep mixing.

While that is mixing, I gradually add flour until it starts to pull away from the sides of the bowl, but still sticks to the bottom. I add the salt while it's still sticking to the sides, but starting to pull away. The salt does seem to accellerate the solidifying of the dough.

I dump it out, and kngead it with oiled hands just enough to get it into a cohesive blob.

Put into whatever doubling container you will use, and wait. I wait until it's not quiite double.

Dump out and punch down. Knead slightly to form a ball again, and wait five minutes for it to settle.

I use an ice cream scoop to "measure" balls that I make into rolls. I usually have just enough left after that to roll out and roll into a loaf that fills my 4.5 X 8.5 inch loaf pan about two-thirds of the way.

I let this rise until it's poking half and inch or so above the top. (This probably isn't exactly double, but I've had problems with overproofing -- deflating -- if I wait too long.)

Bake at 325 for about 25 minutes. The rolls get done first, so when I take them out, I put foil over the loaf to keep it from over-browning. About 10-15 minutes longer, and it's done.

I also have a problem with being impatient about taking the bread out, and I sometimes get a doughey spot in the middle. But I'm getting better about this.

I've also been going kind of crazy with my grains, lol. My last loaf had 20 different grains, beans, and seeds in it, including whatever I most recently sprouted. My last one had sprouted Kemut, soft white wheat, and mung beans. I add about a quarter cup of vital wheat gluten, and they seem to come out ok.

I'm sorry if my post doesn't give you very precise advice. I'm sure Karen will come along and give you much better help, lol. I've kind of figured out that winging it a bit actually works better for me than being precise. I've also found that making a larger batch seems more forgiving too? I could just be getting lucky though, lol.