The window pane test doesn't seem to work for whole wheat doughs, at least
not in my hands. My father theorized that the bran will tend to "cut" the
gluten strands as you stretch it out for the test. I don't know if that
really makes sense or not, but it seemed a reasonable enough explanation
that I stopped worrying about the windowpane test and went back to baking
bread. But out of curiousity, since this thread popped up and reminded me
about it......what do my fellow whole-wheat bread bakers use in place of
the windowpane test?
I don't consciously try to compare it with anything, but just stop the
processor and check that it feels "right", which varies by whether I'm
making a slack flatbread dough or a stiffer sandwich loaf. But that
doesn't help at all if I'm trying to tell someone else what I do.
Diane Brown in St. Louis