Best Traditional 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.

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.

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.

WHOLE WHEAT BREAD

Steps:

• 1. Combine yeast, honey, and 1¼ cups (300 ml) warm water and set aside to proof, about 5 minutes.
• 2. When starting with whole kernel wheat: Place wheat, and if desired, salt into the Vitamix Dry Grains Container and secure lid. Select Variable 1. Turn machine on and slowly increase speed to Variable 10, then to High. Grind wheat for 1 minute. (Do not over process) Stop the machine and allow the flour to cool for a few minutes.
• 3. When starting with whole wheat flour: Place flour and, if desired, salt into the Vitamix Dry Grains or Standard Container and secure lid.
• 4. Select Variable 1.
• 5. Turn machine on and slowly increase speed to Variable 6. Blend until a hole forms in the center of the mixture, about 5 seconds. Turn machine off and remove the lid.
• 6. Pour oil, lemon juice, and yeast mixture into the hole in the flour. Secure the lid.
• 7. To mix the dough, turn the machine on High for 1 second. Stop the machine. Remove lid.
• 8. While the dough rests, lightly coat a loaf pan with vegetable cooking spray or shortening.
• 9. To knead dough, two steps are required: Step 1: Use a nylon spatula to scrape the sides of the container. Pull the dough away from the container sides and into the center of the mixture. Step 2: With the switch on High, quickly turn the machine on and off five times.
• 10. Repeat the above two-step process five times, or until the dough binds together in a soft elastic mixture.
• 11. To remove the dough from the container, turn the machine on and off five times (to lift the dough up and away from the blades). Invert the container over the prepared pan and let the dough fall into the pan. Use a wet nylon spatula to remove any remaining dough.
• 12. Use a wet (or oiled) nylon spatula to shape the loaf. Allow the dough to rise until the top of it reaches the top of the pan, about 15 to 20 minutes.
• 13. Bake at 350°F for 35 minutes. Makes one loaf.

EASY WHOLE WHEAT BREAD

Steps:

• Grease one or two loaf pans.
• In a large mixing bowl combine 1 1/2 cups flour, sugar, salt, and yeast.
• Heat the oil, milk, and water to 100-110 degrees.
• Add the warmed ingredients and egg to the bowl and blend at low speed until everything is evenly moistened. Beat 3 minutes more at medium speed. Using a dough hook stir in 2 1/2 - 3 cups flour.
• If you choose to make 2 loaves, divide the dough and let it rise in the greased pans,otherwise leave it in the bowl to rise and put the dough in the greased pan when your oven is preheated.
• Cover with plastic wrap or towel and place in a warm place (80-85 degrees), or put the covered dough on a rack over a pan of very hot water in the oven. The dough should double in about one hour.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
• Bake for 30- 40 minutes. Remove it from the pans and cool on a baker's rack.

TRADITIONAL WHEAT BREAD

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine 2 cups bread flour, 1 cup whole wheat flour, yeast and salt. In a small saucepan, heat the water, milk, honey and butter to 120°-130°. Add to dry ingredients; beat just until moistened. Add eggs; beat until smooth. Stir into the remaining whole wheat flour and enough remaining bread flour to form a stiff dough., Turn onto a surface lightly dusted with all-purpose flour; knead until smooth and elastic, about 8-10 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; let rest for 10 minutes. Turn onto a lightly floured surface; divide into thirds. Shape each into a loaf. Place in three greased 9x5-in. loaf pans. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 45 minutes. , Bake at 350° for 35-40 minutes or until golden brown. Cover loosely with foil if tops brown too quickly. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool.

BASIC WHOLE WHEAT BREAD

Steps:

• Proof yeast in half a cup of the water, with about a teaspoon of flour- let it sit, covered, until it becomes bubbly& active.
• Combine the rest of the water with the yeast/water in a large bowl, and gradually add about half of the flour.
• Stir the mixture about 100 times in the same direction, until it is well-mixed and strands are beginning to form.
• Stir in the salt and oil.
• Add the remaining flour half a cup at a time, stirring well, until it is too stiff to stir with a spoon.
• Turn out onto a lightly floured board and knead for about 20 minutes, adding flour as nescessary to keep the dough from sticking to the board.
• The dough should be springy and nice to work with.
• When it has been sufficiently kneaded, cover it with a damp cloth for about 10 minutes and wash and grease the bowl lightly.
• After it has rested, knead the dough a few more times (it should feel really nice by now!) and place it in the bowl, covered with the damp cloth, a plastic bag, and maybe a plate.
• Let the dough rise until it springs back when you stick your finger in it, and it is about twice the size as it was before (this takes about 2 hours; longer or shorter depending on the room temperature- I prefer a longer (cooler) rise, because it allows the flavour to develop more... but sometimes you just don't have time for that sort of thing).
• Deflate the dough by punching or kneading it a few times, and let it rise again- this time, it should take about half the amount of time as it did before.
• When the dough has risen twice, deflate it again and cover it with the damp cloth again for about 10 minutes (to let the gluten relax, apparently.. it makes it easier to manage if you do this), then divide it into and shape it into loaves, buns, etc.
• Let the shaped dough rise on a baking sheet or in a loaf-pan for about an hour maybe- it will rise a bit more in the oven.
• Slash the top of the bread if you want, so that it doesn't bust open in the oven.
• Bake at 400º for 20 minutes, and then turn the oven down to 350º and bake for 20-30 minutes longer, until the loaf is a lovely brown and sounds hollow when you thump it on the bottom.
• (Buns and smaller loaves take a shorter time).
• Try to let the loaf cool (out side of the loaf pan, or it will get a bit soggy) before you tear into it.

EASY WHOLE WHEAT BREAD

Steps:

• Dissolve egg substitute in warm water. Place all ingredients in the pan of the bread machine in the order recommended by the manufacturer. Select Whole Wheat cycle and Regular bake time; press Start.
• After 5 minutes, check how the dough is kneading, it may need either 1 tablespoon of flour or 1 tablespoon of water, depending on the consistency. Once the bread is done, allow it time to cool on a wire rack before cutting.