The Great Whole Wheat Whey

A friend of mine was making her own cheese and she emailed me to see if I would like her whey. Whey is the byproduct of the cheese making process and can be used many different ways.  See little miss Muffet for more info.  Kidding.

Whey is the liquid remaining after the milk has been curdled and strained.  There are two types: sweet and acid (sour) whey.  Sweet whey happens when you make hard cheeses such as cheddar, and acid whey comes from softer cheeses and yogurt making.  So I received about 1 litre of whey and now I have to figure out what to do with it.

One of the easiest things is to make bread with it.  Whey can be substituted for water or milk in bread making.  As said, it creates a lovely sour environment for yeast to grow.  It has a slightly sour taste so it's great for sourdough recipes.

I decided to experiment with a no-knead recipe which uses whey.  It's a super simple recipe and produced some great results.  You'll need the following:

3 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cups of whey
1 packet of yeast (or 2 1/4 tsp)
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt

Warm the whey until it's warm enough to stick your (clean) finger in and leave there for 5 seconds.  I just microwaved it for one minute on high.  Add the sugar, salt, and yeast to the warm whey.  For this recipe you don't need to wait for the yeast to activate.

Using your stand mixer with the paddle attachment, add the flour to the bowl.  Under low speed add the whey mixture.  I suggest using the paddle because this dough will be very slack so it won't pick it up easily with the hook.  Mix until there isn't any dry flour showing.  You may need to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl to catch any flour hiding on the bottom.  When mixed the dough will be very wet.  Don't worry, it will thicken over time.  Remove the paddle and cover with a damp towel and let it sit for two hours at room temp.  The damp towel will prevent the dough from drying out on the surface and allow any gases to escape.

Now, go watch a movie or read a nice book.  I'll wait.

Two hours later preheat your oven to 450F with a sheet pan warming with parchment or a silicon baking sheet in the oven.  Personally I like using the Silpat baking mats.  They are great for all temperatures and don't require seasoning.  The pan needs to be hot when you transfer your dough because this will prevent the bread from spreading too much.  The two oven racks should be one on the bottom of the oven and one in the middle.  Place a oven proof pan on the bottom and fill with 1 cup of hot water.  This will create steam and give the bread a nice crust.

Meanwhile go check on your dough.  It should have a wonderful, slightly sour smell and have approximately doubled in size.  With a flexible dough scraper move the dough from the
bowl to a well floured surface.  The dough will still be slack, but will hold its form.  Use your scraper to form into a ball.  Take your hot sheet from the oven and place the dough ball in the center of the sheet.  Use a sharp knife to make a small X on the top of the loaf.  Quickly place the dough in the oven and bake at 450F for 20 minutes.

Check your bread after 20 minutes to see if you have a nice brown crust.  If not, bake for another 5 minutes.

This makes a lovely chewy whole wheat loaf with little effort.  Enjoy.