Bread maker 50% wholemeal loaf Beginner by davetcc

This hearty 50% wholemeal bread tastes fantastic and can be made on the regular setting in the bread-maker. Using a good strong white flour it will raise well producing a nice and light loaf.

Wholemeal flour still contains more of the bran/outer shell, and as a result it has a lot less gluten than white flour. Given this, the bread-maker has a special mode for wholemeal flour that allows more proving time. If this mode is used with white bread flour (even 50%) then the dough will over-prove and often collapse during cooking.

In this case we are using only 50% wholemeal flour, so we should use the regular setting.

I normally add a handful (about 25g) of mixed seeds in this recipe, but it is probably just as good without. For this recipe, it is baked on the regular setting, just about any bread-maker can bake this loaf.

{{< figure src="/img/breads/breadmaker-50pc-wholemeal-sliced.jpg" alt="Bread-maker 50% wholemeal bread on grille to cool, sliced" title="Bread-maker 50 percent wholemeal sliced" >}}

Ingredients

Method

Most bread makers suggest that you add the liquid ingredients first, so I've structured the ingredient list that way. If you're using fresh yeast instead of dried powdered yeast, warm up the water slightly and crumble the yeast into the water along with the sugar for a few minutes before anything else.

Once you've put the liquids into the machine, then add both flours followed by other ingredients. Measure it in carefully. Don't let the salt and yeast come into contact until the mixing starts.

Set the bread-maker to the regular setting, and I tend to use the darker/longer baking option. If you're not that used to your bread-maker, probably start on the medium setting.

Once the bread is ready, take it out of the basket as soon as possible and put onto a wire rack. The basket will be very hot, take care when removing it. If the base is soft, I normally turn the loaf upside down for a few minutes once it is removed. It makes the base more crispy. Just remember after a few minutes turn it back the regular way around.

{{< figure src="/img/breads/pumpernickel-lite-upside-down.jpg" alt="Loaf turned upside down on metal grille" title="Loaf turned upside down" >}}

Always wait for the bread to cool before eating it, when it's hot it is still cooking!