A baking question. Does the sugar, honey or molasses have any

dawn_mo

dawn_mo

Well-known member
reason to be in whole wheat breads other than to make them taste better? I wanted to make some whole wheat, whole grain, rye and multi-grain breads. Almost all of the recipes have some kind of sweetener in them. Why? If you have any good bread recipes I would appreciate them. I am paying $3.50 a loaf for the multi-grain bread I buy and would rather start making it myself in my breadmaker. Thanks!

 
Thanks Traca, I had a feeling it did,

but I wanted to make the bread sugar-free.
I guess that I won't be able to do that. Thanks!

 
Something else too...

In order to get a decent texture in your loaf, start with a high gluten bread flour in your initial mixing. You know...that 3 cups or so that most recipes start out with? Gluten = elasticity; which means it will stretch and let those small air-holes develop. For the rest of the dry additions, you can make your load heavier and more dense by using more whole grain flour than white or unbleached flour. Whole grain flours have less gluten than white/unbleached flours. I've soaked a cup of wheat berries overnight and tossed them into the mix after about 6 cups of flour are incorporated. While it's still doughy but not like glue. I'll pull some recipes out from a bread baking class I took...I'm in trouble now...all those yummy aromas...

 
REC: Old World Rye Bread

Old World Rye Bread

This bead is moist and dari with lots of flavor. It is easily doubled, and if desired you man add 1/2 cup brown sugar and 1 cup each of raisins and walnuts.

2 cups rye flour
1/4 cup cocoa
2 cakes (envelopes) yeast
1-1/2 cups warm water (105º-110ºF)
1/2 cup light molasses
2 teaspoons salt
2 Tablespoons caraway seed
2 Tablespoons butter
2-1/2 cups white or whole wheat flour (half of this must be white flour)

Combine the rye flour and cocoa. Do not sift. Dissolve the yeast in 1/2 cup of the warm water. Combine the molasses, the remaining 1 cup warm water, the salt and the caraway seed in a large bowl. Add the rye flour and cocoa, the yeast mixture, the butter and 1 cup white flour. Beat until dough is smooth. Add more flour as necessary to make a firm dough that is smooth and elastic. Place in a buttered bowl, cover and let rise. It will double in size in about 2 hours. Punch cough down, shape into a round load, and place on a buttered cookie sheet that has been sprinkled with coarse corn meal (polenta may be used). Let rise about 50 minutes. Bake in a 375ºF oven 35 to 40 minutes.

 
Thanks Glennis, this sounds wonderful and we love rye bread and pumpernickle

bread. I made a loaf yesterday that called for
1 1/2 c whole wheat flour, 3/4c rye flour, 1 1/2c bread flour, to that I added some chopped white onion, poppy seeds, a little dried onion, some grated orange peel and some dill weed. It turned out pretty good. I used to buy a bread like that from a now defunct market that was out of this world. The one I made turned out really good. Thanks for posting your recipe.

 
Mo Dawn, the sugar also mitigates the inherent bitterness some whole grains can impart.

Some people are sensitive to the underlying bitter note that can come from whole grain flours, and a sweetner effectively masks that taste.

My preference is honey.

Michael

 
Any bread, being mostly grain, has a tendency to dry out. Sugar attracts moisture

(hygroscopic is the fancy word). Some sugars, such as honey, are more hygroscopic than granulated sugar. They attract more moisture from the air and hold on to it longer, meaning bread sweetened with honey stays fresher longer than bread sweetened with sugar.

 
Dawn, here's a 100 percent whole wheat bread from the fleischmann's site

It makes a 2 pound loaf, and I have trouble with my machine when making such a big loaf---it always rises up to the very top and then falls, so I would try this on the dough only cycle and then shape and bake in the oven. Anyway, it gives a recipe using only whole wheat.

http://www.breadworld.com/Recipe.aspx?id=443

 
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