Whole Wheat Bread from my Starter. Also BEER Bread!

[BuyLowSellHigh]

I think getting a tad more oven spring will help.  If I recall correctly you bake this at 350.  If that's right I would use metal,  preheat to 400, then dial it down right away to 350 after loading.  That should give you better heat transfer to the pan and better spring, which will resolve that lower bit at the bottom and give you the full loaf expansion without trying to get it all in the proof.

[deb415611]

I think getting a tad more oven spring will help.  If I recall correctly you bake this at 350.  If that's right I would use metal,  preheat to 400, then dial it down right away to 350 after loading.  That should give you better heat transfer to the pan and better spring, which will resolve that lower bit at the bottom and give you the full loaf expansion without trying to get it all in the proof.

until you get used to it you might want to try testing temp of the bread to see if it's done.    I think it should be in 190-195 range for loaf bread (BLSH -- you must know off the top of your head? )  I usually stick my thermapen in where the top & bottom meet but I think some people take out of the pan and do it from the bottom. 

[BuyLowSellHigh]

Getting an IT is a very good idea.  I do it by sticking an instant read thermometer in the bottom of the loaf.  But then I am pretty strictly a hearth baker (I use a mit to pick up and hold a loaf while I stick it).  Not sure how I would do it in a pan, but I like deb's idea of in the side.  You want to go for the center of the loaf.

Two numbers - one for the crunchy crusty lean breads (baguettes, ciabatta, etc.) and another for the soft, enriched breads:
For the crusty lean breads 200 - 210 °F
For the soft breads you want to get over 180°F; how far above that depends on the bread and result desired.  I think on CRG's breads I would start with looking for 190-195 as deb suggests.

[classicrockgriller]

Thanks Deb and Eric for the great info.

I will switch to metal and check the IT over the next couple of loafs.

I will also ramp the oven temp.

Since I have recieved this starter I have given it to at least a dozen people and

if I can dial in some better numbers for them that would be great.

But I also don't it to be not fun.

So far not one person has complained but most are like me, not a true Baker.

[Sailor]

I just talked to Sonny about the wheat bread and he pointed me to this thread.  I am going to try my hand at doing the whole wheat bread and wanted to bump this just in case anyone else that has the started wanted to make it. 

[classicrockgriller]

I have made adjustments to the whole wheat bread and they can be seen here:

http://forum.bradleysmoker.com/index.php?topic=31750.msg373438#new