100% Whole Wheat Malted Sourdough Baguettes

Post Overview

This post covers how to make baguettes using a sourdough starter and a small amount of sprouted wheat (aka wheat malt).

The recipe includes a long overnight autolyse (hydration time) as well as a 24 hour cold bulk fermentation.

Thanks to this long process, the enzymes, yeast and lactic acid bacteria have the proper time to break down the whole wheat flour starch, protein, fiber and fats into easily digestible components.

Introduction

Ever since writing a post about gluten, I have been wanting to update my basic whole wheat sourdough bread recipe to use sprouted wheat malt.

Rather than provide you with just an updated loaf pan recipe, I thought it would be more interesting to share what I have learned so far as an amateur baguette baker.

This way, we can cover another classic bread shape.

Baguette Recipe Inspiration

When I switched to whole grain baking, I naturally wanted to make a whole wheat version of baguettes.

But for a long time, all I could make were dense loaves.

Now, with new found knowledge about malt and long ferments, I wanted to try my hand at baguette making one more time.

Therefore, I scoured the internet for a base recipe and the most promising one I found was the 36 hour whole grain recipe posted by Ying Shi aka txfarmer on the Fresh Loaf.

As noted here, the baguette recipe itself is inspired by several expert bakers including: Philippe Gosselin, Anis Bouabsa and David Snyder.

Ying Shi’s whole grain version uses 15% barley flour and 10% rye flour.

Barley is known to be high in amylase enzymes which break down the starch component of the flour.

Rye is known to be high in phytase enzymes which help break down the phytic acid in the bran layer.

My wheat malted version uses strictly 100% whole wheat because my intuition is that the enzymes in wheat malt are ideally suited for whole wheat flour.

Therefore, I wanted to stick to a more streamlined recipe which essentially only needs four simple ingredients that replicate the natural wheat berry sprouting environment:  wheat berries, water, salt and a few drops of lemon juice.

For this post, I have made many trials and I was delighted with the consistent open crumb of the baguettes.

The secret seems to be the extremely high hydration of the dough (100% in my recipe, 105% in the 36 hour version) combined with the long rest times.

Once you have tried the base recipe, you may decide to tweak the hydration up or down depending on how your whole wheat flour responds.

Ingredient Discussion

While there are very few core ingredients in this recipe, below, we will be doing a deep dive on why they are used and how they make the whole wheat bread highly digestible.

Whole Wheat Flour

For optimal nutrition, you will want to use freshly milled bread flour from your own grain mill.

You can also purchase outstanding stone milled flour from artisan millers.

This post includes over 60 online sources of quality wheat berries and flour.

Store bought whole wheat flour will also work.

Most sourdough breads, including baguettes, are made with mostly all purpose flour milled from hard winter wheat berries.

Hard winter wheat is usually lower in protein than hard spring wheat.

For this recipe, I tested out different variations including hard wheat berries with different protein percentages as well as Sonora soft wheat berries.

They all performed well though my preference was for the lower protein winter wheat (around 11%).

I also tested out using ground flour with larger bran flakes.

In the past, I have used finely ground flour with the finest bran size possible as that is what I typically was seeing recommended.

However, large bran flakes seem to be just fine according to Monica Spiller: “Stone ground whole wheat flour for bread can have large bran flakes in it, but the endosperm of the grain should be very fine.”

Flour for Shaping

When it comes time to shape the baguettes, I like to use either all purpose or rice flour.

You can of course use more whole wheat flour but since my home milled wheat is very precious to me, I prefer to use a more economical organic all purpose flour for the shaping process.

Diastatic Malt

Though used in very small quantities, diastatic malt is an important component of this recipe.

Malt is a standard ingredient added to many European flours and it provides a pleasant and complex underlying sweetness to baguettes.

What Exactly is Wheat Malt?

Wheat malt is wheat that has been sprouted until the shoot is at least one third the length of the wheat berry and at most the same length as the wheat berry.

Typically, up to that point, the shoot is white or barely green.

It is called malt because during the sprouting process, the stored starch in the central endosperm layer of the wheat berry is transformed into maltose – a simpler sugar ( though there are even more simple sugars such as glucose ).

Sprouted wheat is then dehydrated at less than 113 F to preserve all the enzymes.

The resulting dehydrated sprouts are called diastatic malt because of the live enzymes.

The malt can be ground up into flour ahead of time or as needed for each recipe.

You can buy diastatic wheat malt online or make your own using wheat berries – especially if you happen to mill your own flour and have the berries readily available.

A step by step guide to making wheat malt can be found here.

What Exactly Are Enzymes?

A few days ago, I was trying to explain to my husband the benefits of enzymes and he asked me this simple question: what are enzymes?

While I kind of knew what they were, I found it difficult to explain properly.

Below is my best try.

Enzymes are single purpose proteins.

Each enzyme has one job and only one job to do.

For example, the famous enzyme alpha amylase has the job of transforming long chain sugars known as polysaccharides into smaller chain sugars such as maltose.

Alpha amylase accomplishes this task by hydrolyzing what are called alpha bonds of alpha linked polysaccharides.

Essentially, when the enzyme alpha amylase meets an alpha link and a water molecule, it is able to break down that alpha link.

The name of most enzymes ends in “ase” and has a name close to the component it is specialized in.

For example phytase and phytic acid or lipase and lipids.

Enzymes do not reproduce but they are reusable.

I like to visualize an enzyme as a tool on a conveyor belt.

To continue with alpha amylase as our example, it can work on one and only one polysaccharide (starch) at a time.

Depending on environmental conditions – amount of water, temperature, acidity level – the enzyme activity may speed up or slow down.

Given that enzymes do not reproduce, it helps me to understand how time is a key factor in helping enzymes work their magic in bread dough.

How Much Malt Should You Use?

Typical guidelines for using malt range from 0.5% to 1 % of the flour when used with commercial yeast which creates a less acidic dough.

However, according to Monica Spiller, because of higher acidity levels “with a sourdough leavening system we have the possibility to use as much or as little enzyme active malt in bread, as we would like.”

Here, we are using malt at a ratio of 1% of the bread flour as a starting point.

Depending on your taste preferences, you may choose to increase this percentage.

Is Wheat Malt Really Needed with Whole Wheat Flour?

In the past, I had read that wheat malt is typically not necessary when baking with whole wheat flour because the whole wheat has sufficient enzymes in the bran layer.

But according to this scientific research paper wheat enzymes degrade somewhat during storage (even as short as a year) and therefore wheat malt is beneficial to make up for the lost enzymes.

In addition, a 2021 research review found that a long sourdough fermentation combined with the use of malted flour (germinated grains) makes wheat products more tolerable for many individuals suffering from diverse gluten sensitivity issues and irritable bowel symdrome (IBS).

Experienced whole wheat bakers such as Monica Spiller, founder of the Whole Grain Connection, also recommend making whole wheat sourdough bread using a small amount of wheat malt and ascorbic acid.

Therefore, it turns out wheat malt is indeed beneficial to use with whole wheat flour for optimal health.

Water

You will want to use filtered or spring water.

Chlorine is harmful to the yeast and bacteria found in sourdough cultures.

If all you have is chlorinated tap water, then you can let it sit overnight to allow the chlorine to evaporate.

Salt

Any mineral rich salt such as Himalayan sea salt or Real Salt will work well.

Often, for baguettes, French Grey salt is used but it is typically a lot pricier.

You will want to stay away from iodized salt which can give an off flavor to your bread.

Lemon Juice

This recipe calls for using about a tablespoon of lemon juice, preferably organic.

The lemon juice is a substitute for the vitamin C that is naturally generated by the wheat sprouts.

By adding vitamin C, we can better replicate the optimal environment for enzymes to do their work.

You could also use ascorbic acid as suggested by Monica Spiller in this malt recipe.

However, I like using as my starting point a whole food.

These days, any powdered extract, including ascorbic acid, can be grown on a substrate that may be GMO or allergenic to some people.

In addition lemon juice is more easily available.

Sourdough Starter

If you don’t already have a sourdough starter, please check out my discussion about sourdough starters here.

I have also been playing around with using the rinse water from sprouting my wheat berries to make a sourdough starter from scratch.

While this does work, I have not yet been able to tweak this method to ensure the starter rises consistently within a given period of time.

Equipment Discussion

Bread making in general and baguettes do require a few extra tools.

Scale

Baking is very much like chemistry and precise weights will increase your chances of success.

I just recently purchased this basic digital scale which works well.

However, I think I would prefer one with more height such as this one to make it easier to see the reading when using large bowls.

Baking Stone

A ceramic pizza stone helps replicate the environment of a wood oven traditionally used for making bread.

The thermal mass of the stone retains heat more evenly and helps ensure a good bake.

I currently have a circular stone because that is what I found years ago but if I were to buy a new one, I would prefer a rectangular model such as this one so I can bake more bread at one time.

You can usually leave your stone stored right in the oven as it helps with anything else you bake.

A multipurpose affordable alternative to a baking stone is a cast iron pizza pan.

This is because cast iron also retains heat really well.

Baguette Pan

While professional bakers who make large quantities of baguettes use a linen cloth called a couche during the shaping of the baguettes, for the rest of us a baguette pan is a blessing.

This is because the baguette pan is able to more easily provide volume to the baguettes – something that is particularly useful when working with high hydration doughs.

In addition, you can easily transport the baguettes into the oven since they are held in the baguette pan.

Finally, if you use parchment paper on the pan, cleanup is a breeze as well.

I own this baguette pan which I am very happy with.

Note: While looking for the baguette pan on Amazon, I also noticed several baguette making kits.

What you will want to keep in mind is the maximum temperature for the baguette pans.

Some pans max out at 446° F which is below ideal for making baguettes as an initial high heat helps with oven spring (loaf volume).

I know that my Chicago Metallic pan has held up well in the 475° F to 500° F temperature range.

The only kit that might make sense is this kit because the included baguette pan goes up to 466° F – which is quite high and closer to 475° F recommended in this recipe.

Parchment Paper

I highly recommend using parchment paper for easy cleanup – even when using non stick baguette pans.

Parchment paper is usually rated up to 450° F max and the paper will darken at higher temperatures.

Online sources including America’s Test Kitchen all concur with using parchment paper at temperatures up to 500° F.

Lame for Scoring Dough

Typically a razor blade, called a lame, is used to score a baguette dough.

For safety and ease of use, the razor blade is fitted on a stick as shown in this video.

A friend of mine gifted me this bread lame which I love and can recommend.

Shallow Pan for Steaming

Baguettes are known for their crisp crust which is usually enhanced by adding steam to the oven in the beginning of the bake.

I keep in the bottom of my oven an old wide disposable aluminum pan to which I can easily pour some hot water into just before loading my bread loaves.

It is lightweight and therefore easy enough to retrieve mid way through the bake.

Dough Bowl

Any bowl that can hold 3 times the volume of your dough will work as a proofing bowl.

I have a thick glass Pyrex bowl which I like because I can see the bubbling activity of the dough below the surface.

Since it doesn’t have a lid, I reuse a scent free tall kitchen garbage bag to cover it.

Baking professionals often like to use a proofing Cambro container with lid because the container has volume guides to make it is easier to determine how much your dough has risen.

Depending on how much dough I am dealing with at a time, I also like to use the Viking Bowls gifted by a friend because of their convenient lid.

Cookie Sheet Cooling Rack

Bread continues baking once retrieved from the oven.

These high hydration baguettes will continue to bake for 30 minutes or more.

In order to keep the baguettes crisp, you will want to place them on a cookie sheet cooling rack as they let off steam.

Optional Tools

A few other tools are helpful but by no means required.

Silicone Pastry Mat

A silicone pastry mat is a great help to minimize cleanup time.

Just place the pastry mat on your work surface when shaping your dough.

Once done, the pastry mat can be wiped down, folded up and cleaned fully in the sink.

Danish Dough Whisk

A Danish dough whisk is my favorite tool to mix flour and water. 

Of course, a fork or spoon will do in a pinch but the dough whisk just makes the job much faster and easier.

Silicone Bowl Scraper

I use my silicone bowl scraper  to clean up dough from my bowl and also to gently cut dough when working on my silicone pastry mat.

Silicone Spoon Spatula

A silicone spoon spatula such as the one included in this set is also excellent to clean off bowls, fingers and other utensils.

Digital Thermometer

I like to use a digital thermometer to make sure loaves are fully baked at above 206 F.

When working with baguettes, since they are so thin, it is not absolutely essential to have a thermometer but it does simplify things.

Conclusion

Above are tips which will not only help you bake a better whole wheat baguette but also understand how to make any bread more digestible.

Wishing you, as always, a grainlicious experience!

Disclaimer:  I am not a medical professional or a nutritionist.  This post is provided for general educational purposes. For a full disclaimer, please see here. 

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