Hello!  I am very new to the science/art of baking bread!  I has been a lot of fun and even after a very short time - we are becoming spoiled by homemade bread.  The Bread Bible has become a great “go-to” resource and there are many recipes I’ve marked to try!

I have a couple questions re: whole grain breads…....

I have practicing with Peter Reinhart’s Multi-Grain Extraordinare.  The first time, flavor was good but the loaf was not pretty.  Second time, flavor was better - but the loaf completely fell.  The third try resulted in a very pretty loaf that was dry and crumbly.  Not sure what happened with the first loaf - but I was happy.  I think my problem with #2 was that the second rise got away from me (it was basically over-flowing from the pan when it went into the oven).  I am stumped on what I might have done on #3 (I “MIGHT” - LOL -have put in only 1 tsp yeast instead of the 1TBSP listed - could that be the cause?).  Any suggestions?

I would like to try Rose’s Struan Bread but am not ready to get into Sourdough Starter….  any suggestions on an alternate approach?

Thanks for your help….

JD

Sounds like you are spot on with loaf no. 3 when you suspected overproofing.  The dry crumbly loaf I’m not sure about- overbaking, or too little water?  Perhaps other members have ideas as well.

Not sure about the right sort of substitution of commercial yeast for sourdough, but Rose has a lovely 100% whole wheat walnut bread on her blog.  It’s here:  http://www.realbakingwithrose.com/2006/11/rose_levy_beranbaums_100_whole.html

The long duration of Reinhardts recipes make them susceptible to temp differences and timing.
I can’t say what happened the first time “ugly” is too vague.
Second attempt was obviously over proofed. You would have been better reforming the loaf and letting it rise again.
Dry and crumbly sounds like not enough water/too much flour.
Rose1107 has great directions for judging final rise.
http://simplyafoodblog.wordpress.com/2012/04/28/adventure-to-the-mysterious-banh-mi-land-episode-22/

Experience can carry you a long way so keep baking.

brown_9ft4x - 01 May 2012 08:50 PM

I have practicing with Peter Reinhart’s Multi-Grain Extraordinare.

I’ve made this bread many times.  Too little yeast isn’t a problem as long as you’re able to recognize when the dough is ready.  It wouldn’t have the effect you described on the resulting bread.  The key skills in making any bread recipe work for you are 1) recognizing when the dough has developed enough in the mixing bowl, and 2) recognizing when the dough is proofed enough.  If you attempt merely to follow the directions as written, you will have quite variable results, since the conditions in your own kitchen will never match those of the recipe author.

Thanks all for the speedy response and sharing your insights - it is very much appreciated!

Julie - I actually already have marked the Walnut Bread and even bought the nuts and walnut oil to give it a try. 

Gene - thanks for the link.  I referred to it last night making another loaf of Reinhart’s bread and this loaf came out much better!  I thought one of my earlier problems might be too much flour but wasn’t sure (I did add flour to get a firmer dough as it seemed a little sticky & soupy - I probably did add too much).  Also, thanks for suggestion to re-form the loaf that was too big - I wasn’t sure what to do with it so I just baked it.  I will give this a try next time.

Charles - thanks for the encouragement to use the recipe as a starting point   Since this is all very new to me - I am trying to follow the recipe since it “should” work (in my mind anyways) and I am learning new things each time I make a loaf.