The Very Best Whole Wheat Bread Recipes

SIMPLE WHOLE WHEAT BREAD

Steps:

• In a large bowl, mix warm water, yeast, and 1/3 cup honey. Add 5 cups white bread flour, and stir to combine. Let set for 30 minutes, or until big and bubbly.
• Mix in 3 tablespoons melted butter, 1/3 cup honey, and salt. Stir in 2 cups whole wheat flour. Flour a flat surface and knead with whole wheat flour until not real sticky - just pulling away from the counter, but still sticky to touch. This may take an additional 2 to 4 cups of whole wheat flour. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to coat the surface of the dough. Cover with a dishtowel. Let rise in a warm place until doubled.
• Punch down, and divide into 3 loaves. Place in greased 9 x 5 inch loaf pans, and allow to rise until dough has topped the pans by one inch.
• Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 25 to 30 minutes; do not overbake. Lightly brush the tops of loaves with 2 tablespoons melted butter or margarine when done to prevent crust from getting hard. Cool completely.

WHOLE WHEAT BREAD

Steps:

• In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in 3/4 cup warm water. Add the oil, sugar, molasses, salt and remaining water. Combine flours; add 4-5 cups flour to mixture. Beat until smooth. Add enough remaining flour to form a firm dough. , Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour., Punch dough down. Turn onto a lightly floured surface; divide in half. Shape each portion into a loaf. Place in 2 greased 9x5-in. loaf pans. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes. , Bake at 350° until golden brown, 40-45 minutes. Remove from pans to cool on wire racks.

VERY BEST 100% WHOLE WHEAT BREAD

Steps:

• Mix water, yeast, oil, honey, and molasses.
• While yeast is proofing (if not instant), grind flour.
• I start adding 10 cups flour, salt, dough enhancer, and wheat gluten, while yeast is proofing (no wait necessary if using instant yeast). Mix until even consistency.
• Add remaining flour minus about 2 cups.
• Mix until the consistency is some what even. Then continue to slowly add flour 1/2 Cup at a time until the dough quits sticking to the sides of the bowl. It should be tacky to the touch. The trick is to have enough consistency to stand up with the least amount of flour so the bread will be fluffy. It will most likely be around 15 cups (I believe it may be less if you are in a lower altitude area). If the dough mixture isn't "cleaning" the sides of the mixer, it is too wet. I sometimes add up to one additional cup -- I think altitude and humidity influence how much is needed, as well as how packed the flour is (if I get my mill full and "packed" the recipe takes less flour -- hence the need to add a l/2 cup at the end of the ingredient addition process.
• Mix on medium speed 5-7 minutes in Bosch or other heavy duty mixer.
• Put dough in a greased bowl to rise for 30 minutes (will get about about double in size).
• Shape loaves and put into 4 greased loaf pans, let rise another 30 minutes (I use a kitchen scale and my loaves are very close to 2 pounds each).
• Put loaves in preheated 350 degree oven and bake 36 minutes.
• I let it cool in the pans for about 10 minutes, then 20 minutes on a rack.
• I wrap in plastic wrap then store in a bread bag. We eat a lot of bread (toast for breakfast, sandwiches for lunch -- family of 6) so I am able to keep a couple of loaves out and a couple in the freezer. It's gone in a week. Enjoy!

THE VERY BEST WHOLE WHEAT BREAD

Steps:

• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, mix together 3 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour, vital wheat gluten, and quick-rise yeast until well combined.
• Add the water and mix for one minute, scraping down bowl halfway through. Cover the bowl with a clean kitchen towel and allow to rest for 10 minutes.
• Uncover the bowl and add the salt, oil, honey, and lemon juice. Beat for 1 minute.
• Add the remaining 2 1/2 cups of flour, one cup at a time, mixing well between each cup. Knead the dough in the mixer (still using the dough hook) until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl and feels smooth rather than sticky. This usually takes 10 to 15 minutes, but if your dough pulls away and loses its stickiness sooner, it could take as little as 5 minutes.
• Grease two nonstick bread pans measuring 8 1/2" x 4 1/2" x 2 1/2" to 9" x 5" x 3" each (or grease two regular bread pans and then line them with parchment paper). Preheat the oven to lukewarm by setting it to 350°F and then turning it back off after exactly 1 minute.
• Turn the dough onto a greased surface. Evenly divide it into two loaves. Form and place the dough into the prepared bread pans, gently pressing it into the corners.
• Place the pans in the warm oven and allow them to rise for 20 to 40 minutes, until the dough is nicely domed above the tops of the pans. Without removing the pans from the oven, turn on the oven to 350°F and set the timer for 30 minutes. The bread is done when the tops are golden brown and the internal temperature reaches 190°F to 200°F on an instant-read thermometer. Once the loaves are baked, immediately remove the hot bread from the pans to cool on a rack.

WHOLE WHEAT SANDWICH BREAD RECIPE BY TASTY

Steps:

• In a large bowl, whisk the water, honey, and yeast. Let sit for 5 minutes, until the yeast has bloomed.
• NOTE: It may be tempting to use all whole wheat flour in this recipe, but, in our testing, that method resulted in dense, tough, squat breads that barely rose when we tried to proof them. Using some all-purpose flour was necessary to give us the rise and soft, pillowy texture we wanted in a good sandwich bread.
• Pour in the wheat flour, all-purpose flour, oil, and salt, and mix until the dough comes together in a ball that does not stick to your fingers.
• NOTE: You can also do the first 2 steps in a standing mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment, mixing on low speed until the dough no longer sticks to the sides.
• On a lightly floured surface, knead the dough a few times until it really starts to form a tight ball.
• Form the dough into a ball shape and transfer to a greased bowl, turning the dough to coat it in grease. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a wet towel and store in a warm place for 1 hour.
• Allow the dough to proof until it has doubled in size. Save the plastic wrap or towel as you'll be using it again.
• Transfer the proofed dough to a lightly floured surface and press the dough - don't stretch - into a 7x7-inch (18x18 cm) square.
• Fold the top 3rd of the square down, and the bottom 3rd up to form an even rectangle. Pinch the top fold to seal the dough.
• Roll the dough over so that the seal faces upward and fold both ends up toward the center, so that the dough has formed an even log shape about the size of your loaf pan.
• Transfer the dough to a greased loaf pan and cover with with the same plastic wrap or towel used before.
• Let the dough rise for 1 hour, until it has poofed over the edge of the loaf pan about 1½ inches (4 cm).
• Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C).
• Remove the plastic wrap or towel and transfer to the oven and bake for 50-55 minutes, until the dough has browned slightly and formed a light brown crust.
• Immediately remove the loaf from the pan and set aside to cool for at least 1 hour before slicing.
• Store in an airtight container or bag. The bread can be stored in freezer up to 6 months.
• Enjoy!

HOMEMADE WHOLE WHEAT BREAD

Steps:

• In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add the brown sugar, butter, salt, whole wheat flour and 1 cup all-purpose flour. Beat until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a firm dough (dough will be sticky)., Turn onto a lightly floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in a bowl coated with cooking spray, turning once to coat the top. Cover and let rise for 1 hour. , Punch dough down and turn onto a floured surface; shape into a loaf. Place in a 9x5-in. loaf pan coated with cooking spay. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 1 hour., Bake at 375° for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pan to a wire rack to cool.

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.

MOIST, LIGHT, & FLUFFY WHOLE WHEAT BREAD

Steps:

• In a medium-sized bowl, put 4 cups of the flour, the yeast, the dough enhancer, the vital wheat gluten, and the salt.
• In the mixer bowl (I mix mine in a Bosch mixer), put water, oil, honey, and lecithin.
• Add the dry ingredients from the bowl to the liquid in the mixer bowl.
• Beat with wire attachment until it forms a smooth batter. (About 3 minutes.)
• Place the dough hook on the mixer.
• Gradually add more flour and mix until it forms a soft dough. Continue mixing for about 10 minutes to knead the dough.
• Remove the dough from the bowl and form it into 3 loaves.
• Place in PAM-sprayed bread pans and spray the top of the loaves with PAM and allow to rise for about one hour.
• Preheat your oven to 350* and Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.
• ** If you don't use all white-wheat flour, cut down on the baking time as it will brown more quickly. **You can use red wheat flour, but it is slightly heavier. I prefer using all white wheat flour or 1/2 white wheat and 1/2 red wheat flour, but any flour will work.