Question regarding percent hydration for 100% whole wheat bread dough
Can someone suggest a typical hydration for strictly 100% whole wheat bread, (no refined flour added). Since whole wheat absorbs more water, I assume that for the same weight dough as all-purpose flour, it will require a higher hydration, but how much more?
Best Answer
It depends a bit on how coarse or fine your wheat is ground.
With 75-85% you are in a pretty mainstream range - the equivalent of 65-75% hydration in white flour recipes.
If you work with longer or multi-step preparations (cold rise, bigga/levain/poolish methods, sourdough...), you can push it towards 100%, like for the no-knead-bread here.
As a rule of thumb, go up by 10-15% when switching to whole wheat (less if mixing).
King Arthur flour supports this when writing
The hydration (weight of water compared to flour) is 75% in this1 recipe for No-Knead Crusty White Bread. But since whole wheat flour absorbs more liquid than all-purpose flour, we’re going to increase the hydration in this recipe to 85% to 90% or so.
in their recipe for whole wheat no-knead bread.
(1 the original recipe with refined flour)
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Quick Answer about "Question regarding percent hydration for 100% whole wheat bread dough"
As a rule of thumb, go up by 10-15% when switching to whole wheat (less if mixing). The hydration (weight of water compared to flour) is 75% in this1 recipe for No-Knead Crusty White Bread.How much hydration do you need for whole wheat bread?
Most commercial bakers use at least a 90-percent baker's percentage of water\u2013that is, 14.4 ounces to a pound of whole wheat flour.Does whole wheat flour require more hydration?
Hydration Changes When Using Whole Wheat FlourWhen using whole wheat flour it is necessary to use more water in your dough compared to using only white flour. This is because the germ and bran that are present in whole wheat flour can absorb more liquid than the endosperm.What is the best hydration for bread dough?
Many formulas, such as white sandwich bread, French bread, and challah, use around 57 to 65% hydration. The dough starts to be a bit more tacky, but also more extensible. These doughs can hold their shape well, but also allow for a greater volume in proofing (rising).Why does 100% whole wheat bread have a heavier denser texture than bread made with 100% white bread flour?
The reason why whole wheat loaves end up so dense is because whole wheat flour has very little gluten as compared to white all-purpose flour. Gluten is important for giving the dough \u2013 and final loaves \u2013 structure. Without it, loaves tend to end up flat and dense.Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
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