I am so glad I started making bread with sourdough starter. My adventure with sourdough bread continues, I changed the Vermont bread recipe to create a 50 Percent Whole Wheat Sourdough Bread, which turns out to be simply amazing.
Using whole wheat flour and wheat bran makes it healthier and more nutritious not to mention that it tastes even better.
How to make whole wheat sourdough bread
To start, prepare the overnight starter. In the evening, take 19 grams of your 100% hydration sourdough starter and place it in a bowl. Add water and mix well before incorporating the flour. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it rest at room temperature for 12-14 hours overnight.
The next morning, combine the bread flour with whole wheat flour and wheat bran with water and the overnight starter in a large bowl, mixing until well combined. Allow the dough to rest for 30 minutes for autolyse. After the resting period, add salt and knead the dough by hand or mixer for 5-8 minutes.
Prepare a wide bowl by wiping its interior with a little vegetable oil. Place the dough in this bowl to facilitate stretching and folding without removing it from the bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let it ferment at room temperature for 2.5 hours, performing folds at 50-minute intervals.
Once the fermentation is complete, turn the dough out onto a floured surface and shape it into a loaf. Sprinkle the loaf with flour, cover it, and let it rest for 15 minutes. While the dough is resting, prepare a bowl with a kitchen towel sprinkled with flour. Place the dough seam-side-up in the bowl, cover with the edges of the towel, and proof for 2 to 2.5 hours at room temperature. You’ll know it’s ready when pressing the dough with a finger results in a slow return.
How to bake the whole wheat sourdough bread
Preheat your oven to 475°F (240°C) with a baking stone inside, or if you don’t have one, preheat a baking sheet. Place a small pot of water at the base of the oven to create steam. Turn the proofed loaf onto parchment paper and score it. Carefully transfer the loaf to the preheated baking stone or the back of the baking sheet.
Bake with steam for 15 minutes, then remove the pot of water from the oven and continue baking for another 20-25 minutes without steam. Once baked, cool the loaf on a wire rack and let it cool completely for at least 2 hours before slicing.
Hope you will try it out and enjoy your freshly baked sourdough bread! If you do, make sure to share the photos with me on Instagram. I love seeing how it turns out for you.
For more bread ideas check our full collection of Bread Recipes.
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Basic Sourdough Bread – 1-2-3 Method
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Did you make this recipe?
Please let me know how it turned out for you! Leave a comment below and tag @homecookingadventure on Instagram and hashtag it #homecookingadventure.
Your bread looks absolutely amazing. I love the idea of using whole wheat flour in it. It’s just gorgeous.
What a great bread recipe, this looks so delicious! 🙂
Yum! I love sourdough. The fact that this is part whole wheat is even better!
Hi,
I have a question? Should this bread double its size during second rise? I usually bake bread from 2-3 phase sourdough rather than one (they rise slowly and usually they are very sour). My dough rises in proving basket now and it is reaching 2,5 hour time limit. It barely changed the size… Thanks for any tips! Anna
This dough is not very sour probably because I feed the starter 2 days in advance.The bread tastes really good, not too sour but not sweet either.
I wouldn't say it double its size during the second rise. It rises a little bit. I am new to sourdough bread too and to see if it has risen enough I use the finger test by pressing the dough with the finger and if it comes back slowly it means it has proofed enough. If you make this test earlier than 2 hrs you will see how fast the dough comes back that means it's not enough.
 I have 100% hydration starter which I made as shown here https://www.wildyeastblog.com/2007/07/13/raising-a-starter/ . I keep it in the fridge and feed it weekly. Every week , no matter if I want to make bread or not I have to feed my starter to maintain it. I do like this: I take 20 g of the starter and add 60 g of water and 60 g of flour. Mix everything together and let it stand on the countertop at room temperature until doubled or tripled in size. After about 12 hours I feed it again. I take another 20 g from the starter and add 40 g of water and 40 g of flour, mix well and let it stand again on the countertop and wait to increase its volume again -this time it rises faster than first time. When it has risen  to its maximum level you can put it back to the fridge until next week or if you want to make bread take about  19- 22 g from it (the amount required in the recipe)  to make the overnight starter needed for the bread. The rest I put back in the fridge until next week.
Hope my answer helps you. Â If any other questions let me know, I will try to be as clear as possible.Â
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Great bread. Needed a little bit more water, but great!
Glad it turned good for you:) Depends on the flour I guess, good you handled it out.