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50% Whole Grain Rustic Bread and Pizza Dough

The main difference between the bread and pizza dough is the amount of hydration and the amount of yeast; pizza dough has less water and less yeast than the bread. This formula offers both options, with the amounts of water and yeast for pizza dough appearing after the amounts for bread dough. The sugar and oil are optional, but highly recommended to counteract the bitter tones of the whole wheat flour and to soften the bran

Recipe information

  • Yield

    makes 2 to 3 rustic loaves or 5 pizzas

Ingredients

2 1/4 cups (10 oz / 283 g) whole wheat flour
2 1/4 cups (10 oz / 283 g) unbleached bread flour
1 3/4 teaspoons (0.4 oz / 11 g) salt, or 2 1/2 teaspoons coarse kosher salt
1 1/4 teaspoons (0.14 oz / 4 g) instant yeast; for pizza, use 1 teaspoon (0.11 oz / 3 g)
2 tablespoons (1 oz / 28.5 g) sugar, or 1 1/2 tablespoons honey or agave nectar (optional)
2 cups (16 oz / 454 g) water; for pizza, use 1 3/4 cups plus 1 tablespoon (14.5 oz / 411 g)
2 tablespoons (1 oz / 28.5 g) olive oil (optional)

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    To make bread using this recipe, follow the instructions for pain à l’ancienne (page 52), adding the sugar at the beginning of the process. To make pizza dough, follow the instructions for neo-Neopolitan pizza dough (page 67), again adding the sugar at the beginning.

  2. Variations

    Step 2

    Any whole wheat dough can be turned into a multigrain dough by substituting any combination of flour or meal from other grains for up to 20 percent of the whole wheat flour (by weight). Also, reduce the water by 1 ounce (28.5 g). For instance, you could add a multigrain cereal blend to replace an equal amount of whole wheat flour. If you use more than 20 percent alternate grains, there may not be enough gluten to achieve the necessary structural strength. That said, some people do enjoy experimenting with larger amounts. One solution is to add vital wheat gluten to provide the extra structure. If you do this, don’t use more than 2 percent (again, by weight) of the total amount of flour, as it can have a negative impact on both flavor and texture.

"Reprinted with permission from Peter Reinhart's Artisan Breads Every Day: Fast and Easy Recipes for World-Class Breads by Peter Reinhart, copyright © 2009. Published by Ten Speed Press, a division of Random House, Inc." Photo credit: Leo Gong © 2009 Peter Reinhart is a baking instructor and faculty member at Johnson and Wales University in Charlotte, North Carolina. He was the cofounder of Brother Juniper's Bakery in Santa Rosa, California, and is the author of seven books on bread baking, including Crust and Crumb, the 2002 James Beard Cookbook of the Year and IACP Cookbook of the Year, The Bread Baker's Apprentice, and the 2008 James Beard Award-winning Peter Reinhart's Whole Grain Breads.
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