Soaked flour bread question.

[chaoticzenmom]

So, I soaked my flour in kefir and it turned into a big, hard, glob. Does yours? I soaked whole wheat in kefir for pancakes and it was hard too, but with enough water, it turned out some decent (sour) pancakes.

What's your soaking secret? NT doesn't really give enough details to address expectations or potential problems.

Also, I'm getting a Kitchenaid professional 6qt. mixer for Christmas. Will this help with the bread or will I kill my mixer with this heavy stuff?

Thanks
Lisa

[rhiandmoi]

Are you stirring it up?

[chaoticzenmom]

How can you stir something that resembles Playdough?

The pancake stuff was all whole wheat and while it was pretty thick, adding lots of water got it to mix. It climbed my mixer all the way up to the top in a big blob at first. But the bread was like playdough and I just tried to punch it to see what it felt like and then just threw it away. It was whole wheat and white flour.

Also, do you use only soaked whole wheat flour and then add more flour when you knead the dough?

[rhiandmoi]

Originally Posted by chaoticzenmom

How can you stir something that resembles Playdough?

The pancake stuff was all whole wheat and while it was pretty thick, adding lots of water got it to mix. It climbed my mixer all the way up to the top in a big blob at first. But the bread was like playdough and I just tried to punch it to see what it felt like and then just threw it away. It was whole wheat and white flour.

Also, do you use only soaked whole wheat flour and then add more flour when you knead the dough?

It is possible that the "skin" of the dough is drying out. For breads, I oil the boil and cover with a damp towel. This helps keep it from drying out. Also, you might need more liquid at the soaking phase.

[SuburbanHippie]

The outer "skin" of mine gets a little dry, but once I add melted butter and egg it is nice and soft again.

[Carlyle]

I wonder if it would work better with a larger grind? I find that whole wheat PASTRY flour acts a lot different from normal finely ground whole wheat flour. I would imagine that that pastry flour would absorb the liquids faster and maybe be more stiff. I make pancakes with 1 cup of ww (non-pastry) flour (plus 1/2 cup of cooked grains like rice/quinoa/millet whatever's in the fridge) and 1.5 cups of yogurt and it works great.