Whole Wheat Simple Bread [Long Fermentation]

Whole Wheat Simple Bread 

[Long Fermentation] 

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Ever wondered where all those carbs in your daily diet come from? In many Western countries, bread takes the cake (pun intended) when it comes to carbohydrate intake. That's why, for health-conscious folks like myself, it's crucial to find bread that's both nutritious and fits our busy schedules. After all, who has hours to spend kneading dough?

As the resident baker in my household, I've embarked on a quest to create the perfect loaf: healthy, flavorful, and minimal-effort. Here's what I've learned so far in this ongoing adventure!

The beauty of this recipe lies in its simplicity. Basic ingredients come together to form a delicious dough, and the secret weapon? A long fermentation period. This extended rise gives the yeast ample time to develop flavor naturally, eliminating the need for extra additives. An added bonus: certain compounds in whole wheat flour, like phytic acid (often called an anti-nutrient), are actually broken down during this process. This makes the bread easier for our bodies to digest and absorb all the good stuff!

The first iteration of this recipe was a true testament to the power of simplicity. Just four basic ingredients, a hands-off approach, and a single overnight rise at room temperature – that's it! It almost makes you wonder if this is how our ancestors made bread back in the early days of agriculture: whole grains, a pinch of salt, and a whole lot of time. There's something undeniably charming about keeping things simple, don't you think? So, ditch the store-bought loaves packed with additives and artificial flavors. This recipe is your gateway to healthy, delicious, and effortless homemade bread!

Equipment

• Measuring cup(s) and spoon(s)
• Medium bowl
• Large spoon
• Dutch/French oven, or:
• Loaf pan, aluminum foil, oven-safe pan or container (see directions below for more detail)

Ingredients

• 4 cups whole wheat flour
• 2 teaspoons salt
• ~1/2 teaspoon active dry yeast
• 2 cups room temperature water

Directions

1. First, mix together the flour and salt in a medium bowl. Dissolve the yeast in ~1/2 cup of the water; once dissolved, add the remaining water and yeast-water mixture to the bowl. Stir until the dough comes together. 
• You are welcome to knead the dough, but I did not find much of a difference. The long rise time makes it work without.
2. Loosely cover the dough and leave to ferment/rise overnight, 12 to 18 hours.
• You may be thinking, "That's a pretty broad range!" You are absolutely correct, and that is a result of the fermentation occurring at ambient room temperature. If the temperature of your space varies throughout the day, or from day to day, you will have inconsistent rise times. This is one of the reasons I worked on making iterations of this recipe that might be more consistent.
3. Check to see if the dough is ready to bake by humanity's most common test: poke it! Press the pad of your finger lightly into the surface dough, about 1 centimeter. If the dimple quickly springs back, it's too soon to bake and the dough could still rise some more (under-fermented). If it the dimple stays and appears to sink in even further, it's been a little too long (over-fermented), but not the end of the world. If it only just stays as is, it's ready to go in the oven.
4. Place your dutch oven in your oven, lid on, and preheat to 450 F.
• If you do not have a dutch oven and are using a loaf pan instead, preheat your oven just the same, but place an oven-safe container half-filled with water at the bottom of the oven instead. Place the dough in a loaf pan lined with baking paper, then cover with aluminum foil; leave enough open space for the loaf to rise, but make sure the edges are tight. Note that you will likely get a different result than with a dutch oven.
5. Once the oven is heated, take out the dutch oven, remove the lid, and place a layer of baking paper and the dough inside. Make sure no paper protrudes from the dutch oven (it will burn!), then replace the lid and put the dutch oven back in the oven. Bake covered for 32 minutes, then uncovered for 15 minutes.
• Follow the same process for the dutch oven substitute covered loaf pan, but keep a closer eye on your nascent bread. The baking time may be longer or shorter than expected with a loaf pan as dutch ovens naturally retain heat.
6. Once baking is complete, remove the bread from your baking vessel and allow it to cool on a wire rack before slicing. 
• Slicing too soon will release water in the form of steam and prematurely dry out your bread. Trust me, it will be worth the wait!

It may not look like much when it comes out of the oven. It's pretty evenly brown and featureless on the top crust. 

However, once you slice it, it looks like a bread that should have taken a lot more time and effort.

This bread was my first experience using a dutch oven and with making those fancy round loafs. I was surprised and very happy with the soft and squishy results. Let me know how this one goes for you in the comments!