Artisan Breads Every Day - Whole Wheat Sourdough Hearth Bread

Still working through the recipes in Peter Reinhart's book...

100% Whole Wheat Sourdough Hearth Bread

I made this recipe way back in November- and I'm just now writing about it. There is a good reason. I hate to talk about my failures. I'd much rather pretend that I never have cooking disasters. Ed is good at not reminding me about past mistakes. But I said I would work through this cookbook and report the outcomes. So here is my honest dismal report.

I've had lots of bread baking failures. But of all the many recipes that I've tried in this book, both when I was recipe testing last spring, and now since the book came out this fall, every one was successful.

Until now. I'm sure it is my fault and not the recipe. Sourdough baking is new to me. I can make 100% whole wheat bread with yeast and I can make sourdough bread with white flour but I can not make 100% whole wheat sourdough bread.

At least not yet. I'm not giving up.

I'm sure there is some way to get the results I'm searching for. One of my problems is by the time I get the loaf baked to the center, the bottom is burnt. This dough felt wonderful. It was soft and pliable and a joy to work with, but once baked, it was hardly edible.

I did a little bit of reading on the forum dedicated to bakers using Peter Reinhart's book and think that part of my problem may be that my sourdough starter is young and may not be potent enough. I may need to give it some time to mature. My starter is languishing in the bottom of the fridge. It appears to still have some life in it and I plan to tackle the challenge in the near future.

Which means, you'll probably be reading about whole wheat sourdough bread again!