Jeff Miller wrote:

> Anyone with experience making lofty 100% whole wheat sourdough
> loaves, I'd love to hear your tips.

Well... you won't achieve big hole, high loft bread, but you can avoid
really dense loaves. You may be doing these things, they are pretty
general, and widely practiced.

1) Do not knead. Mix well and let the dough ripen on it's own. It will
form gluten and the gluten will be of better quality. Kneading whole
grain doughs macerates the gluten due to the presence of grain husks
(bran).

2) Read Mike Avery's posts on stretch-and-fold. This technique gently
laminates the gluten strands and distributes gas pockets. The laminated
gluten layers are stronger, hold gas better. This translates to higher
loft during the final proof.

3) consider amending your dough with a portion of cooked flour. I often
use 15% rye, barley, or oats but wheat will do. The cooked portion is
softer. Rye, barley and oats are soft grains and the bran turns to
mucilage. You are gaining denatured bran (and some interesting flavor)
but losing some gluten. I think it's worth it, others may disagree.

4) You can manage the "sour" flavor, by controlling your sponge. A
large, 90% hydration, wet sponge will make a mild bread. A smaller,
denser sponge that is diluted with water when the dough is made will
make a sharper bread. This is because the initial flour density buffers
your early acid build and water added going into the dough stage
dilutes it further. The net effect is to allow your culture to
generate more acid (and your dough to accept it without getting flabby)
before the pH window closes.

5) This one will generate protests but... after the dough is well
ripened and you are at final proof... pick up the pace... push the
scaled, shaped dough with gentle heat. I use a hot pad in a plastic
Rubbermaid container. By working with heat, you drive more gas into the
emerging crumb structure and you want to do that before the gluten
begins degrading. CO2, acetic acid and ethyl alcohol, the main
volatiles of fermentation, age and eventually degrade dough. (So does
lactic acid, but it is not volatile). As the loaf is rising, the gluten
is stretching. Time and stretch weaken gluten. Here is where laminated
gluten (via stretch and fold) and reduced time (via heat at the end)
help.

To recap... your best shot at good whole grain bread comes from a well
considered sponge strategy, gluten is laminated not kneaded, is ripened
slowly via a cool retard, is pushed during final proof to optimise gas
and minimize structural degradation.

Will