Blending flour just out of curiosity…
You can probably tell I alway use 1200g total flour in my batches of dough and I usually use 20% inoculation… but I’m very flexible with the blend of flour and the hydration percentage. I was sitting having my morning coffee and some sourdough toast with peanut butter thinking… hmmm, what should I make today. I got to wondering what would happen if I mix my cheap high gluten flour with my cheap all purpose flour and threw in some expensive King Arthur whole wheat flour. Then I got to thinking what if I made the blend as close to 33% each… remember my buddy Hank has some Dark Rye flour he brings to the party too, so I can’t be exactly 33% each but I could get close. 👨🍳 it’s an interesting formula… Flour blend - 340g High Gluten = 31.5% - 370g AP = 34.3% - 370g WW = 34.3% - plus Hank contributing: 60g HG 30g WW 30g Rye Total flour: - HG = 400g - AP = 370g - WW = 400g - Rye = 30g So the final blend is approximately: - 33% High Gluten - 31% AP - 33% Whole Wheat - 3% Rye That’s actually a very balanced flour blend. I reached: 33% rise in 3 hours 15 minutes with: - 20% inoculation - 78% hydration - dough temperatures in the low 80s - Hank was absolutely loaded for bear today. 🐻 The whole wheat and rye also contributed extra enzyme activity and fermentation speed. What I expect tomorrow Based on the photos from my recent 50% WW experiment… ✅ darker crust ✅ stronger aroma ✅ slightly more acidity ✅ slightly smaller average cell size than my white loaves ✅ excellent oven spring ✅ very even crumb ✅ outstanding sandwich bread ✅ outstanding toast What I’m really watching for… Not the ears. Not the spring. The crumb. This blend may end up sitting in a very sweet spot between: - My highly structured 50/50 HG/AP loaves and - My 50% WW loaves The AP should lighten the crumb. The HG should provide strength. The WW should provide flavor. The rye should quietly help fermentation. 33% HG / 33% AP / 33% WW + a little rye is an intriguing blend that needs to be tested. It