My first attempt at baking Artisan Whole-Grain Bread ended in FAILURE!
But KEY POINT: I learned a lot! How yeast reacts and what each step should look like.
The challenge with Whole-Grain bread is probably that it does not rise as well as white flour or any other high-gluten flour. I attempted to balance that with using some Vital High Gluten Flour but I definitely did not add enough. In addition to that, I added WAY too much flour so the bread turned out dense and heavy– with little gluten to help the air bubbles created by yeast to hold its shape.
If anyone has some suggestions on how to tweak my initial recipe, please let me know. Attempt #2 will be here soon enough… as soon as I finish this dense, dense bread. (Think soft biscotti) I AM WEEPING. 
hehe!
Sponge: 1 c. Rye, 2 c. WW Flour, 4 tsp yeast, 2 c. H2O (rise 1 hr), 2 tsp honey
Dough: Add 1 c. WW 1/2 c. Rye, Roll, 1 tbsp vital wheat gluten rise (4 hrs)
Bake: 400F, reduce 350F (2nd loaf; 350F for 30min)
Bah!
