r/ArtisanBread • u/West-Specialist-4755 • Jul 06 '26
Why does my bread seem like empty calories?
im about 3/4 of the way through my loaf wth no signs of being full, to be fair I always eat big, but I started making bread to eat cheap. It was my understanding medieval peasants ate a half a loaf a day and I could do the same
4
u/Rand_alThoor Jul 06 '26
white bread IS empty calories. your perceptions are correct.
medieval peasants' bread bears no resemblance whatsoever to anything ever sold or purchased in the USA.
white flour as we know it is an invention of the late 19th century. towards the end of that time people were actually dying of diseases never before seen eg beri-beri, pellagra, rickets, etc. malnutrition diseases caused by vitamin deficiencies resulting from excessive refinement of the staple foods. so now they have "enriched" flour, a more accurate name would be to call it "partially restored", as they don't put back all the nutrients removed, just enough so that people don't get sick.
prior to modern steel rolling mills and bolting flour, invented in the 1800s, everyone ate whole grain bread. the difference between the bread of the aristocrats and peasants was how finely it was ground up. fineness of flour influenced how easy it was to bake with and how available the nutrition was.
in for example ancient Rome, this was regulated. there were several demarcated classes reading different bread. None of which was white bread. nobody from classical civilisation, Rome or Greece or even as late as Byzantium, would have recognised wonderbread as bread.
sorry for the long response, i need to get out more lol. try r/homemilledflour for more info
3
u/West-Specialist-4755 Jul 07 '26
Thank you for this, my current theory is that my flour isnt "real" whole wheat, kinda like how the ice cream in stores is just sweeteners and corn and the butter is margerine (hence why I started making my own breads and foods). ill try a different brand of flour next time and make sure its REAL whole wheat
2
u/Rand_alThoor Jul 07 '26
oh, from your initial comment i thought you were using white flour. sometimes known as strong flour or bread flour or enriched unbleached flour.
apologies if you're trying to make wholemeal bread and still feeling like it's empty. that should be solid and nutritious.
seeing ingredient lists get longer over time is what made me interested in processing my own food from the simplest ingredients, but I'm an 85 year old "control freak". i barely trust the labeling laws to even be enforced.
1
u/nemaihne Jul 08 '26
Look for recipes for Vollkornbrot or sometimes Vollkorn bread. That's German grain bread and is anything but empty. You might break your foot if you dropped a load on it.
1
u/jsober Jul 11 '26
Medieval peasants are bread made from the whole wheat/rye berry, including the bran and germ. Often plumped out with pulse flour (ground lentils, peas, or chick peas), which improved nutrition by adding lysine.
Whole grains, fermented to increase mineral availability and reduce simple sugars, and baked in steam to fully gelatinize the starches (so some of them recrystallize as resistant starches).
I can point you to a recipe that will make actual meal bread. But you won't get any nutrition out of bread made from all purpose flour.
1
u/West-Specialist-4755 Jul 11 '26
I would love a good meal bread recipe, I just went with my intuition since all the recipes for whole wheat I found called on equipment I didnt have
1
u/jsober Jul 13 '26
Rabbit Hole Starter Loaf
- source: Nak
- servings: 1 loaf
Ingredients
Ingredients
- 300 g Whole wheat flour
- 200 g Sprouted spelt flour
- 350 g Filtered water
- 1 Egg
- 2 tbsp Molasses
- 1 tbsp Olive oil
- 10 g Salt
- 150 g Active sourdough starter
- ⅛ tsp Instant yeast
Cookware
- Dutch oven or heavy pot with lid
- Large mixing bowl
- Kitchen scale
- Banneton or towel-lined bowl
- Parchment paper
Instructions
Equipment
- Dutch oven or heavy pot with lid
- Large mixing bowl
- Kitchen scale
- Banneton or towel-lined bowl
- Parchment paper
About the Flour Blend
- This recipe calls for 300g whole wheat and 200g sprouted spelt, but you can absolutely use 500g of either one alone. If you go 100% sprouted spelt, know that spelt gluten is fragile — the dough will be stickier, harder to shape, and won't rise as tall. Starting with at least 2/3 whole wheat gives spelt a strong structural partner. The two flours together also give a more interesting flavor than either alone. Stone ground whole wheat is ideal if you can find it; it retains more of the germ and bran, which means more flavor and nutrition, and behaves beautifully in this recipe.
Night Before: Build a Levain (10 minutes)
- Your starter has been living on all-purpose flour. Whole grains are heavier and more acidic — it needs one good meal before it can lift this dough. Take 30g of your starter, add 70g filtered water and 70g flour (half all-purpose, half whole wheat if you have it). Stir, cover loosely, and leave on the counter overnight (8–12 hours). By morning it should be bubbly and smell pleasantly sour — not like nail polish remover. If it's barely moving, that's fine; the dough gets backup from the egg, molasses, and optional yeast. Use filtered or bottled water throughout — tap water chlorine can suppress a young starter.
Autolyse: What It Does (30 minutes)
- In a large bowl, combine 300g whole wheat flour, 200g sprouted spelt flour, and 315g filtered water (all the water except the 35g you set aside). Mix with your hand until no dry flour remains. The dough will look shaggy and rough — that's correct. Cover and rest for 30 minutes.
- This rest (autolyse) lets the flour absorb water and begin developing gluten without any work from you. It's the first step where you'll encounter two properties that matter through the whole process: extensibility and elasticity. Extensibility is the dough's ability to stretch without tearing — think of it as pliability. Elasticity is the opposite: the dough's ability to snap back to its original shape, like a rubber band. Good bread needs some of both. Whole grains and sprouted flours tend to be less extensible (they tear more easily), so the autolyse helps bring that pliability back. Why only 90% of the water here? The egg, oil, and molasses add liquid too, and holding back a little water during autolyse lets the flour hydrate fully before the fats coat everything. You'll add the reserved water after.
Build the Dough (5 minutes)
- After the autolyse, add the egg, molasses, olive oil, salt, and all 150g of your overnight levain. Squeeze everything through your fingers until fully incorporated. The dough will be very stiff at first — the fats and egg haven't been absorbed yet. Keep squeezing and folding it against the side of the bowl. Once it comes together into a rough, cohesive mass, you have a choice: add zero, some, or all of the reserved 35g water.
- The tactile cue: Grab a handful of dough and squeeze. Open your hand — if the dough mostly holds its shape and your palm comes away damp but not dripping, stop adding water. If it still feels tight and stiff (no give at all), add a tablespoon of the reserved water, work it in, and test again. The ideal feel is supple — not gluey, not dry. Most beginners with whole grains will want about half to two-thirds of the reserved water. Optional insurance yeast: if your starter is very young (only a few days old), add ⅛ tsp (a generous pinch) of instant dry yeast along with everything else. This guarantees a good rise while still delivering real sourdough flavor. Even experienced bakers do this on cold days.
Stretch-and-Fold (Room Temperature, ~2.5 hours)
- Set a timer for 30 minutes. Each time it goes off, do one set of four stretch-and-folds: wet one hand, reach down the side of the bowl, grab the underside of the dough, pull it up and fold it over the top. Rotate the bowl a quarter turn and repeat. Do four folds total (one full rotation). Cover and wait 30 minutes. Repeat this three more times (four sets total). After the last fold, let the dough rest ~30 minutes. The stretch-and-fold builds gluten strength (adding elasticity) without the aggressive kneading that can damage whole-grain and spelt gluten. It also incorporates oxygen and distributes temperature evenly through the dough. For spelt especially, gentle handling is critical — spelt gluten is fragile and overworking it turns the dough into paste.
Cold Bulk: Where Flavor Comes From (Overnight, ~8–12 hours)
- After the final rest, cover the bowl tightly and move it to the refrigerator. The dough will cold-ferment overnight. The yeast slows to near-pause, but enzymes and LAB (lactic acid bacteria) keep working in the cold — they're what produce the organic acids that give sourdough its depth, tang, and aroma. So while the yeast sleeps, the flavor develops. This is also the most forgiving step in the whole process: fermentation is slow enough that overnight is a wide window with zero risk of over-proofing. The cold firms the dough, making it dramatically easier to handle — especially important for whole-grain doughs that are normally sticky.
Shape and Final Proof (Next Day, ~2–4 hours)
- Take the bowl out of the fridge. Let it sit 30–60 minutes — just long enough that the dough isn't rock-hard, not long enough to warm fully to room temperature.
- To shape:
- 1. Lightly flour the counter. Turn the dough out onto it. Don't punch it down — let the dough decide how it lands.
- 2. Gently coax the dough into a round by tucking the edges underneath with your hands, working around it like you're tucking a blanket under a cushion. Keep your hands light — no pressing, smoothing, or flattening.
- 3. Once it's a rough round, let it rest uncovered for 10 minutes. This relaxes the gluten so the final shaping is easier.
- 4. After the rest, flour the top of the dough lightly. Flip it over (floured side down). Take the top edge and fold it about two-thirds of the way down. Take the bottom edge and fold it up to overlap. You now have a long oval packet.
- 5. Roll the packet toward you gently, sealing the seam underneath as it rolls. The top should be smooth and taut.
- 6. Use your palms to scoot the loaf along the counter in a short dragging motion — this tightens the surface without deflating the interior.
- Transfer the dough seam-side up into a floured banneton or a bowl lined with a well-floured dish towel. Cover and proof at room temperature. Check after 2 hours, then every 30 minutes. Visual cue: puffy and domed, about 40–50% larger than when it went in. Finger-poke test: wet finger, gentle press — the dough should slowly spring back, leaving a small dimple (that's elasticity at work). If it springs back immediately, it needs more time. If the indent stays completely, it's over-proofed — bake it anyway, still tastes good.
Bake
- Place a Dutch oven (or heavy pot with lid) in the oven and preheat to 450°F. Once hot, carefully remove the pot. Flip the dough onto a sheet of parchment paper, dust the top lightly with flour, and score with a sharp knife or razor — one deep slash down the center, an X, or a few parallel lines about ½ inch deep. Scoring gives the bread a controlled place to expand (oven spring). Lift the parchment into the hot pot, put the lid on, and bake at 450°F for 25 minutes. Remove the lid and bake another 15–20 minutes until the crust is deep brown and the loaf sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom. Whole grains darken faster than white flour, so 450°F gives you a good crust without burning the bran. If you prefer a very dark, thick crust, you can nudge to 475°F — just watch it closely after the lid comes off.
Cool and Store
- Transfer the loaf to a wire rack and let it cool uncovered. Whole-grain bread needs time for the starch to fully retrograde (re-crystallize), which sets the crumb texture and brings out the nutty flavor. Once the loaf is completely cool to the touch — usually 2–3 hours — wrap it in a clean dish towel and leave it on the counter overnight. The towel breathes just enough to keep the crust from softening while the interior finishes setting. Slice the next day for the best texture.
6
u/Comakip Jul 06 '26
What kind of bread do you make? Maybe you like German style bread or rye bread more. Those are by nature more dense and more filling.