Classic 100 Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread Recipes

CLASSIC 100% WHOLE WHEAT SANDWICH BREAD

Steps:

• In the bowl of a standing mixer, combine warm water, yeast, and sugar. Stir until grains dissolve and let sit for 10 to 15 minutes until puffy.
• In a mixing bowl, whisk together flour and salt (and vital wheat gluten). Add flour mixture to standing mixer. Add your butter and egg soon after. Mix on low with a dough hook until dough pulls away from and cleans the sides.
• Turn dough out onto lightly greased surface and shape into a round. Transfer to lightly greased container. Cover and let rise until double, about 1 1/2 hours.
• Turn dough out onto lightly greased surface and punch down dough. Shape into a sandwich loaf and transfer to a lightly greased 9"x 5" bread pan. Cover and let rise until the dough reaches above the edges of the pan.
• Preheat oven to 350° Fahrenheit (176° Celsius).
• Bake for 20 minutes. Remove loaf and tent with aluminum foil.
• Bake for another 20 to 25 minutes. Bottom will sound hollow when thumped. Internal temperature will read 200° Fahrenheit (93° Celsius).
• Turn out onto a wire cooling rack and let cool completely before slicing and serving.

100% WHOLE WHEAT SANDWICH BREAD RECIPE

Steps:

• For the Autolyse: In large bowl, combine whole wheat flour with first addition of water. Stir until water is absorbed; then knead briefly against the sides of the bowl until no floury bits remain. Cover and set aside for 2 hours 30 minutes to hydrate flour.
• For the Dough: Transfer hydrated dough to a 14-cup food processor fitted with the regular metal blade (not the dough blade), along with brown sugar, salt, and instant dry yeast. Process until dough is silky smooth, and a small piece can be stretched into a thin sheet without tearing, about 75 seconds. The exact timing will vary with the power and capacity of a given machine. For smaller machines, the reduced capacity and power will necessitate dividing dough in half to process in stages.
• Once gluten is well developed, drizzle in the remaining water and oil while the processor is running, and continue mixing only until smooth. At this stage, the dough will feel sticky, wet, and elastic.
• First Rise: Transfer dough to large, lightly greased bowl (it's fine to reuse bowl from autolyse, no need to wash). Cover and proof until puffy, light, and roughly doubled in bulk, about 2 hours at 70°F (21°C). In a chilly kitchen, the dough will need more time to rise, and in a warmer kitchen, it will move faster.
• Shaping the Loaf: Turn soft dough out onto clean surface lightly dusted with whole wheat flour. Pat dough into 7-inch square, and form into tight log, sealing dough together with heel of your hand. Nestle into lightly greased 1-pound loaf pan, seam side down; cover loosely as before.
• Second Rise: Let dough proof until puffy, light, and risen about 2 1/2 inches above rim of pan at very center. To test dough, poke it gently with a flour-dusted fingertip; when dough is ready, it will retain a shallow impression that springs back after a minute. If dough is firm and springs back right away, continue proofing until dough retains a shallow impression. This will take about 75 minutes at around 70°F (21°C). Again, timing of the process will vary based on environmental conditions. Near the end of this period, adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and preheat oven to 350°F (177°C).
• Baking the Loaf: After the second rise, uncover dough and bake until well risen, golden brown, and hollow sounding when thumped; about 45 minutes, or to an internal temperature of approximately 200°F (93°C). Immediately turn loaf out onto a wire rack, and cool completely before slicing, at least 90 minutes. Slice with a sharp serrated knife. The loaf will keep up to a week at room temperature in a bread box or paper bag.

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.

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

CLASSIC 100% WHOLE WHEAT BREAD

Steps:

• Mixing: I.
• In a large bowl, combine all of the ingredients and stir till the dough starts to leave the sides of the bowl.
• Transfer the dough to a lightly greased surface, oil your hands, and knead it for 6 to 8 minutes, or until it begins to become smooth and supple. (You may also knead this dough in an electric mixer or food processor, or in a bread machine programmed for "dough" or "manual.")
• Transfer the dough to a lightly greased bowl, cover the bowl, and allow the dough to rise till puffy though not necessarily doubled in bulk, about 60 minutes, depending on the warmth of your kitchen.
• Shaping:
• Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled work surface, and shape it into an 8-inch log.
• Place the log in a lightly greased 8 1/2 x 4 1/2-inch loaf pan, cover the pan loosely with lightly greased plastic wrap, and allow the bread to rise for about 1 hour, or until it's crowned about 1 inch above the edge of the pan. A finger pressed into the dough should leave a mark that rebounds slowly.
• Baking:
• Bake the bread in a preheated 350°F oven for about 40 minutes, tenting it lightly with aluminum foil after 20 minutes.
• Test it for doneness by removing it from the pan and thumping it on the bottom (it should sound hollow), or measuring its interior temperature with an instant-read thermometer (it should register 190°F at the center of the loaf).
• Remove the bread from the oven, and cool it on a wire rack before slicing. Store the bread in a plastic bag at room temperature.