Wholegrain Tips from Elaine Foodbod

If you would like to add flavour and texture to your bread making, plus getting the added benefits of increasing the goodness and nutrients in your loaves, try adding some wholegrain flour. Wholegrain flours give your breads so many fabulous added extras, and there’s a whole fabulous range to choose from!

Some top tips for adding them to bread doughs:

Start small: start adding wholegrain flours to doughs by replacing 100g of your usual flour with a wholegrain flour and you’ll be able to see and feel the difference it makes to your dough and the taste of baked loaves. You can then start to increase the amount of wholegrain flour you use. You could also mix it up, use a couple of different flours and see what you create.

Add water: the more wholegrain flour you add, the tighter your dough will become. This is normal. Wholegrain flours will soak up more water than white flours so you may find that as you increase the amount of wholegrain flour you use in your dough, you need a little extra water.

Denser loaves: doughs made with 100% wholegrain flours will by their very nature always be denser and heavier than white loaves, and as a result they will be packed with flavour and will provide a very satisfying chew and eating experience! 

Lighter loaves: if you like wholegrain flours but you find a full loaf just too heavy, lighten up the wholegrain flour with some white spelt flour.

Flavour: wholegrain flours add flavour to any bread, and when used in making sourdough they really enhance the flavour of your sourdough, often adding extra sourness to the loaf. When I am asked how to make a loaf more sour, adding some wholegrain flour is always a tip I give.

Starter joy: and if you are a sourdough baker, try making a wholegrain flour starter, they are fabulous; they become really textured, they grow well, and they work really well in your doughs. If you don’t fancy making a new starter, feed a spoonful of your current starter with a new flour and see what happens.

Thank you Elaine for sharing your wisdom! If you’d like to see more from Elaine please visit her on Instagram: @elaine_foodbod

Shop Cotswold Wholegrain Flour: