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100% Whole Grain Rustic Bread and Pizza Dough

In this formula, the amounts of water and yeast for pizza dough appear after the amounts for bread dough. Note that unlike in the 50% whole grain version opposite, the sugar and oil aren’t optional; they’re definitely needed to counteract the bitter tones of the whole wheat flour and to soften the bran. If you’d like to make a multigrain version, see the variation below.

Recipe information

  • Yield

    makes 2 to 3 rustic loaves or 5 pizzas

Ingredients

5 1/3 cups (24 oz / 680 g) whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons (0.5 oz / 14 g) salt, or 1 tablespoon coarse kosher salt
1 1/4 teaspoons (0.14 oz / 4 g) instant yeast; for pizza use 1 teaspoon (0.11 oz / 3 g)
3 tablespoons (1.5 oz / 43 g) sugar, or 2 tablespoons honey or agave nectar
2 1/3 cups (19 oz / 539 g) water; for pizza, use 2 1/4 cups (18 oz / 510 g)
3 tablespoons (1.5 oz / 43 g) olive oil

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    To make bread using this recipe, follow the instructions for pain à l’ancienne (page 52), adding the sugar at the beginning of the process. To make pizza dough, follow the instructions for neo-Neopolitan pizza dough (page 67), again adding the sugar at the beginning of the process.

  2. Variations

    Step 2

    You can make a multigrain variation using 80 percent whole wheat flour and 20 percent (by weight) other whole grain flours in any combination. Just be sure the total weight still adds up to 24 ounces (680 g). Also, reduce the water by 1 ounce (28.5 g).

"Reprinted with permission from Peter Reinhart's Artisan Breads Every Day: Fast and Easy Recipes for World-Class Breads by Peter Reinhart, copyright © 2009. Published by Ten Speed Press, a division of Random House, Inc." Photo credit: Leo Gong © 2009 Peter Reinhart is a baking instructor and faculty member at Johnson and Wales University in Charlotte, North Carolina. He was the cofounder of Brother Juniper's Bakery in Santa Rosa, California, and is the author of seven books on bread baking, including Crust and Crumb, the 2002 James Beard Cookbook of the Year and IACP Cookbook of the Year, The Bread Baker's Apprentice, and the 2008 James Beard Award-winning Peter Reinhart's Whole Grain Breads.
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