Fascinating piece of debunking. However, I have an oblique question about wholemeal sourdough i.e loaves with 70% or higher wholemeal flour. Over here in the UK I've come across some home sourdough bakers 'boil' ten per cent of the wholemeal flour in these loaves; make a Tangzhong in other words. I've tried it and the results were marginal; maybe softer, maybe not. Have you attempted this? I agree that Tangzhong is irrelevant to longevity but I can see how it might soften a dense wholemeal loaf. Btw, 'sift and scald' is a technique promoted by the Norwegian bakers Casper André Lugg & Martin Ivar Hveem Fjeld in their book 'Sourdough'. And this technique definitely changes wholemeal loaf taste and texture. Worth a try, at least. Anyhow, thanks again for a great article.

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