50/50 Golden Wheat Sourdough

Half golden whole wheat, half white — the heartiest loaf in the rotation that still bakes up light. Golden wheat (hard white wheat) has the same bran and germ as red whole wheat but none of its bitter edge, so it carries a 50% share without turning heavy or tannic. A step up from the 30% whole wheat sourdough; same steel-and-steam bake as the everyday sourdough.

Ingredients

500g total flour base — 74% hydration, 50% golden whole wheat

At 50% whole wheat the vital wheat gluten stops being optional — half the flour brings bran that shreds gluten strands as the dough develops. Keep it at 15g — that's 3% of the flour, the standard all-purpose-to-bread-flour conversion, and it puts the white half at true bread-flour protein.

Instructions

  1. Whisk dry: Whisk the 250g golden whole wheat, 235g all-purpose flour, and 15g vital wheat gluten together thoroughly in a large bowl. Whisk the gluten fully in before adding any liquid, or it will clump.

  2. Dissolve starter: In a separate bowl, stir the 100g starter into the water until milky and evenly dispersed.

  3. Combine & rest: Pour the flour mixture into the liquid, holding back the last 20-25g of water. Mix by hand until no dry clumps remain, then cover and rest 60 minutes — a full hour, because at this ratio the bran needs real time to soften and stop cutting the dough. Because the starter went in with the water, this is a fermentolyse rather than a true autolyse — fermentation is already running during the rest, which is why it does in well under an hour what a starter-free autolyse needs 1-2 hours for. If the dough still feels stiff after the rest, work in the reserved water.

  4. Add salt: Sprinkle the 10g salt over the dough and mix it in, pinching and folding until fully incorporated. The dough will feel shaggy and noticeably coarse — that's the bran, and it smooths out over the folds.

  5. Bulk ferment with stretch & folds: Cover and ferment at warm room temperature (~75°F/24°C) for about 3.5-4 hours. Do a set of stretch-and-folds every 30 minutes for the first 2 hours (4 sets total): with a wet hand, grab one side, stretch it up, and fold it over the center; rotate the bowl and repeat on all four sides. Expect the dough to feel slack and a little tacky through the first two sets and to firm up by the fourth. Pull the bulk at a 30-40% rise — less than the white loaf, and err early. Half whole wheat ferments fast and the window is short.

  6. Divide & pre-shape: Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured counter. For a batard, leave it in one piece — a full 500g-flour batch (~950g dough) is exactly one batard-pan loaf. For baguettes, divide into 3. With a bench scraper, fold the edges into the center, flip seam-side down, and drag in small circles to build surface tension. Rest 20-30 minutes, uncovered.

  7. Shape: Flour the top of a piece, flip so the floured side is down, and shape into a batard (or baguette): pat into a rough rectangle, fold the top third down and the bottom third up, then roll up from the top and seal the seam. Rock and taper to length. Shape with a firmer hand than you would a white dough — this crumb needs the tension, and the bran will not hold a lazy seam. Place seam-side down in a floured batard/baguette pan, or seam-side up in a floured couche pleated between loaves.

  8. Cold proof: Cover loosely and refrigerate 12-16 hours (overnight). It is ready when it springs back slowly and leaves a slight indent when poked.

  9. Preheat: About 45 minutes before baking, place the baking steel on a middle rack and preheat to 500°F (260°C). Set up oven steam: place an empty cast-iron pan or metal tray on a lower rack to preheat, and have about 1 cup of boiling water (or a handful of ice cubes) ready.

  10. Score & load: If proofed in a couche, transfer the loaves seam-side down onto parchment; loaves proofed in a pan can go in as-is (set the pan on the steel). Dust with flour and score each loaf — one long slash down a batard, or several diagonal slashes on a baguette — a full ½-inch deep, and commit. A heavy dough opens less on its own, so a timid score gives you a flat top.

  11. Bake with steam: Immediately pour the boiling water into the preheated cast-iron pan (or toss in the ice) and close the door fast. Reduce to 450°F (232°C) and bake 15 minutes. Remove the steam pan, rotate the loaf, and bake another 10-20 minutes until deeply golden — about 35 minutes total for the batard, 25-30 for baguettes. Done at an internal temperature of 205-210°F (96-99°C), or when they sound hollow tapped on the bottom. Golden wheat browns fast — tent the batard with foil if the crust gets ahead of the interior.

  12. Cool: Cool completely on a wire rack — at least 1 hour, for the batard as well as the baguettes — before slicing.

Notes

Tips:

  • Golden wheat is the whole grain, just a milder one — the same bran and germ as red whole wheat, without the tannins that make a heavy whole wheat loaf taste bitter. Expect sweet and nutty rather than sharp.
  • 370g water is the starting point. Golden wheat runs a touch less thirsty than red, so hold back the last 20-25g and add it only if the dough feels stiff after the hour-long rest.
  • The 3.5-4 hour bulk assumes a ~75°F kitchen. Fermentation slows about an hour for every 4-5°F below that — at 70°F expect closer to 4.5-5 hours.
  • Watch the bulk, not the clock. At 50% whole wheat the dough goes from ready to over-proofed quickly; a slightly under-fermented loaf still bakes well, an over-proofed one spreads flat.
  • The crumb will be tighter and more even than the white loaf, with a thicker, chewier crust. That's the ratio, not a mistake.
  • Browning happens faster here from the extra bran sugars. Pull the loaves deep brown, not almost-black.
  • If it comes out denser than you want, drop to 40% golden wheat next time (200g golden / 290g AP, 365g water) rather than adding more water.

Fresh-milled: If the bag is whole berries rather than flour, mill fine and sift out the coarsest bran if you want a lighter crumb. Fresh-milled flour is thirstier and ferments faster still — add 10-15g water and start checking the bulk at 3 hours.

Shaping variations: The boule and mini-boule (bread bowl) variations from the everyday sourdough work here. The 50/50 crumb makes the sturdiest bread bowl of the three.

Make ahead: The overnight cold proof is built in — mix and bulk-ferment one day, bake the next morning.

Storage: Keeps 3-4 days cut-side down on the counter, or slice and freeze for up to 3 months.

Source

Family recipe — 50/50 variation of the whole wheat sourdough

Prep: 50 min active (plus ~3.5-4 hr bulk ferment and overnight cold proof) Cook: 35 min for the batard, 25-30 min for baguettes Servings: 1 large batard or 3 baguettes