100 Percent Whole Wheat Bread Recipes

100% WHOLE WHEAT BREAD

Steps:

• In a small saucepan, heat the water, butter, and molasses over medium heat until butter is melted. Remove from heat and let cool for a few minutes (to 120-130 degrees F).
• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, combine 2 cups of the flour, the salt, and yeast. Add the liquids and mix on low until moistened.
• Continue to mix on low and add the remaining flour 1/4 cup at a time until dough is firm (you might need a little more or less than 4 total cups). Knead with the mixer for 3-5 minutes or by hand for 5-8 minutes until dough is smooth and elastic.
• Place dough in a greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let rise in a warm place until doubled, 1 hour. Punch down the dough, and let sit for 10 minutes.
• On a lightly floured surface, roll dough out into a rough rectangle about 10 inches wide and 12 inches long. Roll up dough and into a greased 9x5-inch loaf pan.
• Cover with plastic wrap and let rise again until doubled again, 30 minutes.
• Bake at 375 degrees F for 30-40 minutes, until loaf is golden brown. Let cool in pan 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to let cool completely.

EASY 100% WHOLE WHEAT BREAD

Steps:

• Mix the warm water, honey, and yeast in a stand-mixer bowl until mixture becomes foamy, about 5 minutes.
• Add half the whole wheat flour, olive oil, and salt to the mixture. Mix with a spatula or wooden spoon until incorporated. Let sit for 1 to 2 minutes.
• Mix with a dough hook attachment on low speed, slowly adding the remaining whole wheat flour, increasing the speed to high. Mix on high until the batter is combined and not sticking to the sides of the bowl, about 7 minutes. Cover the bowl with a towel and let rest for 15 minutes.
• Meanwhile, prepare a 9x5-inch loaf pan with parchment paper. Flour a surface to work the dough.
• Place the dough onto the floured work surface and shape into a loaf. Use more flour if necessary. Place into the prepared loaf pan.
• Let shaped dough sit in a warm place until it has risen over the top of the pan, about 1 hour.
• Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Bake in the preheated oven until top of the loaf sounds hollow when tapped, about 35 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool for 15 to 20 minutes before removing from the pan and transferring to a wire rack. Let cool an additional hour before slicing; otherwise it will feel doughy.

100% WHOLE WHEAT BREAD, PLAIN AND SIMPLE (NO-KNEAD)

Steps:

• Whisk together the flour, yeast, salt and vital wheat gluten in a 5-quart bowl, or a lidded (not airtight) food container.
• Add the water and mix without kneading, using a spoon. (You might need to use wet hands to get the last bit of flour to incorporate.).
• Cover, not airtight, and allow the dough to rest at room temperature until is rises and collapses (or flattens on top), approximately 2 hours.
• The dough can be used immediately after the initial rise, though it is easier to handle when cold. Refrigerate it in a lidded (not airtight) container and use over the next 10 days.
• On baking day, dust the surface of the refrigerated dough with flour and cut off a 1-pound (grapefruit-sized; 450 grams) piece. Dust the piece with flour and quickly shape it into a ball by stretching the surface of the dough around to the bottom on all four sides, rotating the ball a quarter-turn as you go.
• Allow the loaf to rest, loosely covered with plastic wrap, on a pizza peel prepared with cornmeal or lined with parchment paper for 90 minutes (40 minutes if using fresh, unrefrigerated dough). Alternatively, you can rest the loaf on a silicone mat or greased cookie sheet if you don't have a pizza peel.
• Thirty minutes before baking time, preheat oven to 450F (230C). Place a baking stone on the middle rack. Place an empty metal broiler tray on another rack.
• Just before baking, use a pastry brush to paint the top with water. Sprinkle with your favorite seed mixture. Slash the loaf with 1/4-inch deep parallel cuts using a serrated bread knife.
• Slide the loaf directly onto the hot stone. (Or place the silicone mat or cookie sheet on the stone.) Pour one cup hot tap water into the broiler tray and quickly close the oven door.
• Bake for 30-35 minutes, until richly browned and firm. If you used a mat or cookie sheet, remove it and bake the loaf directly on the stone for the last third of the baking time.
• Allow the bread to cool on a rack before slicing and eating.
• Variation: Honey whole wheat sandwich bread.
• Add 1/2 cup honey and decrease the water by 1/2 cup. Bake a 2-pound (900 g) piece of dough in a loaf pan at 350F (180C) for 50-60 minutes.

EVERYDAY 100% WHOLE WHEAT SANDWICH BREAD

Steps:

• In a mixing bowl, whisk the flour, salt, and sugar together (if using honey or agave nectar, dissolve it in the lukewarm water instead). In a separate bowl, whisk the egg and oil together. Separately, combine the water and milk, then whisk in the yeast until dissolved.
• Add the egg mixture and the water mixture to the dry ingredients. If using a mixer, use the paddle attachment and mix on the lowest speed for 1 minute. If mixing by hand, use a large spoon and stir for 1 about minute. The dough should be wet and coarse. Let the dough rest for 5 minutes to fully hydrate the flour.
• Switch to the dough hook and mix on medium-low speed, or continue mixing by hand, for 2 minutes. The dough will firm up slightly and become smoother. If it's still very wet, add more flour; if it's very stiff, add a little more water, 1 tablespoon at a time. The dough should be very supple and slightly sticky. Continue to mix with the dough hook on medium-low speed, or mix by hand for 4 minutes more, increasing the speed to medium-high or stirring more vigorously for the final 20 seconds to develop and organize the gluten. The dough will still be slightly sticky but will also feel stronger and more elastic.
• Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface with a wet bowl scraper and knead by hand for a final few seconds, working in more flour or water as needed so that the dough is very supple and pliable and slightly sticky; then form the dough into a ball. Do a stretch and fold, either on the work surface or in the bowl, reaching under the front end of the dough, stretching it out, then folding it back onto the top of the dough. Do this from the back end and then from each side, then flip the dough over and tuck it into a ball. Cover the dough and let it rest for 10 minutes. Repeat this entire process two more times, completing all repetitions within 30 minutes.
• Place the dough in a clean, lightly oiled bowl large enough to hold the dough when it doubles in size. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap, then immediately refrigerate overnight or for up to 4 days. (If you plan to bake the dough in batches over different days, you can portion the dough and place it into two or more oiled bowls at this stage.)
• Remove the dough from the refrigerator about 3 hours before you plan to bake. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface and divide it into two equal pieces for loaves or small pieces for rolls, about 2 ounces each. Shape the dough into sandwich loaves (see page 23), freestanding loaves (see page 20), or rolls (see page 25). For sandwich loaves, place the dough in greased 4 1/2 by 8 1/2-inch loaf pans. For freestanding loaves or rolls, line a sheet pan with parchment paper or a silicone mat and proof the dough on the pan. Mist the dough with spray oil and cover loosely with plastic wrap, then let the dough rise at room temperature for 2 to 3 hours, until increased to about 1 1/2 times its original size. In loaf pans, the dough should dome about 1 inch above the rim.
• About 15 minutes before baking, preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C). If making rolls, brush the dough with egg wash (see page 135) prior to baking. (This isn't necessary for loaves.)
• Bake loaves for 20 minutes, then rotate; rotate rolls after 10 minutes. The total baking time is 40 to 55 minutes for loaves, and only about 20 minutes for rolls. The bread is done when the top and sides are a deep, rich brown; the loaf sounds hollow when thumped on the bottom; and the internal temperature is above 185°F (85°C) in the center.
• Remove from the pans and cool for at least 20 minutes for rolls and at least 1 hour for loaves before slicing or serving.
• For a stronger, more elastic dough, add 2 tablespoons (0.5 oz / 14 g) of vital wheat gluten (sometimes called pure wheat gluten). This will create a lighter loaf with larger air pockets. Increase the water by 1/4 cup (2 oz / 56.5 g).
• You can also omit the milk and replace it with more water, but milk makes the bread a little more tender and golden. Another option is to substitute soy milk or rice milk.
• You can easily make a multigrain version of this bread. As long as you use whole wheat flour for at least 80 percent of the total flour, there will be enough gluten to support the loaf. This means you can replace up to 20 percent of the whole wheat flour with an equal amount of other grains (by weight), in a variety of forms, including rye flour, multigrain cereal blends, cornmeal, and flaked or rolled grains like oats or triticale flakes. (If using flakes, you can use them in flaked form or grind them into flour in a seed grinder or blender.) You can also use small-seeded "grains" like amaranth, chia seeds, millet, and quinoa. Amaranth and chia are about the only grains that can go into a loaf whole, without being rolled or ground into flakes, meal, or flour. Slightly larger grains, like millet, quinoa, and corn grits, can also be left whole if you like the crunch they provide. If you want to use larger grains like rice, rye, barley, or wheat in their whole form, thoroughly cook them first, as they won't hydrate in the dough and could crack a tooth.
• To win someone over from white bread to 100 percent whole grain bread, it may help to have a transitional version that bridges the gap. You can replace some of the whole wheat flour in this recipe with an equal amount of unbleached bread flour (by weight) to make a lighter loaf. Reduce the amount of water by about 1/2 tablespoon (0.25 oz or 6 g) for every 1 ounce (28.5 g) of bread flour you use.
• Replace up to 5.5 ounces (156 g) of the whole wheat flour with the same weight of any of the following ingredients, in any combination:
• Whole rye flour, rye meal, rye flakes (whole or ground)
• Uncooked cornmeal or cooked grits or polenta
• Oatmeal flakes, whole or ground
• Amaranth
• Uncooked ground quinoa or cooked whole quinoa
• Whole or ground flaxseeds (no more than 1 ounce or 28.5 g)
• Cooked brown rice, bulgur, barley

100 % WHOLE WHEAT BREAD

Steps:

• In saucepan, heat milk not to boiling.
• Remove from heat and add sugar, salt and 1/4 cup butter, stir until blended.
• Cool to lukewarm.
• Sprinkle yeast over water in large bowl.
• Stir to dissolve yeast- stir in lukewarm milk mixture.
• Add 4 cups whole wheat flour, beat vigorously with wooden spoon until smooth.
• Gradually add remainder of whole wheat flour.
• Mix in last of it with hands until dough is stiff Turn dough out onto lightly floured surface.
• Knead dough for about 5 minutes until dough is smooth and has some elasticity.
• Place in greased large bowl.
• Turn dough so greased side is up.
• Cover with towel; let rise in warm place (85F is good), until it doubles in size, about an hour.
• Turn dough again on floured surface.
• Divide into halves.
• Cover about 10 minutes.
• Cut each of the two halves into two pieces.
• Roll each piece into about a 12 inch strip.
• Twist two strips together.
• Repeat the process.
• Roll into a ball to fit into a 9x5x2-3/4 greased pan.
• Mold evenly into pan.
• Repeat process with remaining two pieces.
• Brush tops of two loaves with a little butter, margarine or oil.
• Let the two loaves rise in a warm place until dough rises to tops of pans- about an hour.
• Preheat oven 400F.
• Bake in middle of oven for 35- 40 minutes.
• Turn out pans onto racks, brush top with melted butter.
• Makes 2 loaves.

NO-KNEAD 100% WHOLE WHEAT BREAD

Steps:

• Generously coat an 8-in. x 4-in. loaf pan with cooking spray; set aside. In a large bowl, combine water, orange juice, melted butter, molasses, flour, dry milk, yeast and salt; beat on high for 3 minutes (dough will be sticky). Spoon dough into prepared pan., Cover pan with lightly greased plastic wrap; let rise 60-90 minutes or until dough rises to the top of the pan., Remove plastic wrap. Bake at 350° for 40-45 minutes or until golden brown. Cover loosely with foil if top browns too quickly. Cool in pan 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely. Brush with additional melted butter if desired.,