Yesterday, I took out some leftover starter and decided to make "healthy"
bread. Just flying blind, I added
1 cup rye flour
1 one cup whole wheat flour
2 cups of bread flour
1/2 cup oatmeal
1 1/4 cup hot water with 1 1/2 Tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon yeast
and mixed it all together. Then started hand kneading it. Decided to add
some sunflower seeds, and a little kosher salt. The first rise went well,
but the second rise didn't get as high as I had hoped. After reading
today's messages, I'm wondering if I had put it into a cold oven, would I
have gotten a better second rise while it was coming up to the 475 F
temperature at which I wanted to bake it.
My questions are as follows: Is there a formula as to how much bread flour
one needs, or could I use all whole wheat, rye and maybe barley or other
flours?
I added enough moisture only to get a dough I could knead by hand, but is
there a formula for how much water to dry products one needs. What about
temperature? Should I have done it at 350, or 500 or was 475 F okay?
Actually, I had a piece toasted for breakfast this morning and it was quite
good. A meal unto itself, and before toasting the bread had a hard crust
and soft interior. I like to experiment, but are there some guidelines I
should follow?