A beautiful day and lots of wholemeal breads

It was Labour day yesterday and Melbourne was having this beautiful weather for its Moomba festival and this long weekend. The sky was so clear and blue that gives me lots of feel-good feelings... 

I'm searching for an ideal bread recipe. A bread that gives me lots of feel-good feelings just like my clear blue sky...

Being typically health conscious me, these are the aims that I want in my bread:

1) Whole grains

2) all natural products (ie, honey)

3) avoid using bread improver if possible

4) and most importantly, bread with soft, fluffy and moist texture

However, my aims have not been not easily achieved...

Being impatient, I've tried to incorporate my aims all at a go in a honey 50% wholemeal bread, Unfortunately, this bread is not as good as the ones with bread improver.  Thus, from this point onwards, I've decided to work on my aims step by step.

To improve the texture of wholemeal bread, I'm happy to compromise 50% wholemeal by reducing the content to 30% wholemeal and stick to bread improver and use golden syrup instead of honey. This 30% wholemeal bread is a good start of my search as it contrasts from the 50% wholemeal bread very dramatically.

Next, I replaced the golden syrup with honey in my next bake and I was so glad that the 30% wholemeal honey bread is as fantastic as the 30% wholemeal golden syrup bread!

With the rest of my aims in my mind, my next mission is to try water roux method to see if any difference in improving the bread texture without the use of any bread improver.

30% Wholemeal Honey bread

Great texture for the 30% wholemeal golden syrup bread indicating a promising start for my ideal bread search

Great soft texture too for the 30% wholemeal honey bread

The bread has a combined topping of honey and oat on its top...very nice.

Here's the bread recipes that I've tried...

For a 750g loaf:

30% wholemeal golden syrup bread

Water 310ml
Oil 2 tbsp

Golden syrup 1½ tbsp

Salt 1½ tsp
Bread flour 300g / 2 cups
Wholemeal flour 150g / 1 cups
Gluten flour 1 tbsp
Bread improver 3⁄4 tsp
Milk powder 1½ tbsp
Dried yeast 2 tsp

30% wholemeal honey bread

Water 310ml
Oil 1 tbsp
Honey 1/4 cup
Salt 1½ tsp
Bread flour 300g / 2 cups
Wholemeal flour 150g / 1 cups
Gluten flour 1 tbsp
Bread improver 3/4 tsp
Milk powder 1½ tbsp
Dried yeast 2 tsp

1st knead 2 min
2nd knead 28 min
1st rise 20 min
Punch down 15 secs
2nd rise 20 min
Punch down 10 secs
3rd rise 50 min
Bake time 50 min

Total Time 2 hr 50 min
For this bread, normal proving time at the normal setting is sufficient for the bread to rise.

Place all ingredients into the loaf in the above order. Select basic setting for both 30% wholemeal bread and press "start". For the honey bread, after its final prove, drizzle 1-2 tbsp honey on the bread dough and sprinkle 1 tbsp of oat just before baking. Remove the loaf from the machine and from the tin immediately when bake is completed.

Happy Baking.
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