Here is my favorite everyday recipe for whole wheat bread. The bread can be made start-to-finish in less than two hours and is very easy to put together. It makes two full loaves but you can easily cut the recipe in half. The bread is best right out of the oven with a nice slab of butter.
Makes 2 loaves
1/3 cup unsalted butter (optional)
2 1/2 cups warm water (not above 120°F)
7 cups whole wheat flour (freshly ground preferred), divided
1/3 cup honey
1 1/2 tablespoons active-dry yeast (make sure to check the date on the yeast!)
1 Tablespoon Celtic sea salt
Melt the butter over low heat in a small saucepan. In a large bowl stir melted butter, warm water, 3 cups flour, honey and yeast. Cover the bowl with a clean towel and set in a warm, draft-free area for 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 350°F and adjust rack to middle position. Uncover the bowl with the flour mixture in it and add remaining 4 cups flour and sea salt. Stir until just combined and then pour mixture on to a floured flat surface. Knead the dough for one minute (if the dough is a bit sticky, add a tablespoon or two of flour). Cut the dough in half. Roll first half to a 12×9-inch (approximate) rectangle and then roll it up to form a loaf. Place the loaf seam side down on baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Repeat with second half of dough. After both pieces of loaves are formed, place a clean dish towel over the loaves and let them rise again in a warm, draft-free area for about 30 minutes or until they double in size. After dough has risen, remove towel, and bake in the oven for 20 minutes until golden brown. Another way to tell if the bread is ready is to thump the bread with your finger. If it makes a hollow sound, the dough is ready. Cool for 5 minutes before serving.
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I rave about myself every night at the dinner table, “Honey, can you believe I made this??” And it’s all thanks to you!! (and teaching me that organic butter is welcomed and embraced! No more fat free, yay!!
{ 71 comments… read them below or add one }
Should we soak the wheat overnight?
Elizabeth: The flour mixed with coconut oil is soaked for 30 minutes. I posted this recipe before I began soaking my grains and this recipe wouldn't work if you left the entire mixture to soak overnight. I hope to post a soaked bread recipe soon!
Can this be made in loaf pans rather that freely shaped?
I haven’t ever baked them in loaf pans, but you could divide the dough into 3 sections and then bake them in 3 different loaf pans.
Sarah, did you try this in the loaf pan? How did it turn out?
I’ve made it in loaf pans a couple of times — split it into two pans. Sometimes I have to bake it a couple extra minutes, but works great.
I made this bread as directed, but I used 100% Stone Ground Whole Wheat Flour. I had it in the oven for about 20 mins and the bread was smoking a lot. It wasn’t burned at all, but set off smoke detectors. What would have caused the bread to steam or smoke like it did?
If the bread wasn’t burned to a char (to cause all of the smoke), there was probably something in the bottom of your oven – such as butter that had dripped last time you baked, or crumbs of some sort. I had some butter drip off of a baking pan a few weeks ago, forgot about it, and turned on the oven a few days later and smoked up the entire house!
If I don’t use the optional butter and leave it out should I sub something for it?
If you choose not to use the butter, then you don’t need to substitute anything in it’s place.
This turned out AMAZING!!! The girls went through half the loaf already! (I have 5 girls so that might not be saying much) They LOVE it!! Thanks so much for great recipes! Next on my list.. The Coffee Creamer:)
Yay! Thanks for the feedback.
Hi! I made this yesterday and it doesn’t seem to be done in the middle! I left out the butter, made it in a loaf pan, had no problems rising and got golden brown.
Thanks
Hmm…My first thought is to check and make sure your oven is calibrated correctly. Also, was it a very humid day? Humidity can affect baking quite a bit. Also, this recipe has been tested as a free-form loaf. I’ve never tested it in a loaf pan, so that could affect the baking time. Did you divide it into 2 loaves or put it all in one? Sorry for all of the questions, but I truly want to help figure out what
happened.
Sounds delish. Have you tried this is a bread machine? I’m thinking about it. It will definitely save on “hands-on” time. What do you think?
I haven’t tried it in a bread machine. If you do, let me know how it turns out!
It turned out wonderful. Only did half the recipe. It’s so delish! Thanks for the recipe!
Can you share your soaked bread recipe? I’d love to try it. Also, have you tried to use sourdough starter? I am interested in learning how to use sourdough instead of yeast for more nutritional benefits.
My friend Nicole recently did a whole month devoted to sourdough. I recommend reading her posts and following her recipes. Also, the Tartine book is fabulous and teaches to old school method of making our own starter and not using any yeast! http://pinchmysalt.com/welcome-to-doughvember/
My dough didn’t rise. I have only made one successful bread before and I used bread flour in it. It was of course delicious, but I don’t want to eat white flour. I am not sure what I did. Maybe I killed the yeast? Is there a specific yeast I should buy. I used the dry active yeast. Was I supposed to let it sit on top of warm water before mixing with flour, butter, and honey? Thanks and I love your site!
I also use active dry yeast. The yeast was supposed to sit in the warm water, milk and honey mixture for 30 minutes. If you didn’t notice bubbles or that it rose at all during this stage, then the yeast might have been “dead”. Also, if the water wasn’t warm, that could affect how well the yeast reacted with the honey and other ingredients to rise.
I made this bread and it did not rise at all the second time I let it sit? The taste was good but the bread ended up being 2 inches tall. I was trying to go for more of a sandwich bread.
I see on the post above the yeast is supposed to sit in the warm water, milk and honey mixture…I do not see milk in the recipe and it says to add 3 cups of flour to that mixture in the recipe. I am confused.
I cannot find a reference to milk in the instructions. Can you please elaborate?
The post on June 15th 2012 at 11:41 am.
Hmmm…If it didn’t rise, then it sounds like the yeast didn’t work properly. Do you mind telling me what brand of flour you used?
King Author 100% whole wheat
Trying this today..thanks for posting as this is one recipe I have all the makings for in advance!
Thanks for getting back to me! I tried it again today and it’s in the oven now
It did rise today and I can’t wait to eat it!
Which way do you roll it, hamburger or hot dog? haha
Has anyone ever added cinnamon to this recipe before? I just did and I’m waiting for it to be done. Wanted it to have a little sweeter taste.
I haven’t tried it, but that’s a great idea! If you’d like a bit more sweetness you can increase the honey by a few tablespoons.
Looks like a great recipe! You don’t specify what type of yeast you used. Was it quick-rising or active dry?
I use active-dry. I’ll make the edit. Thanks for pointing that out.
I’m so happy to have found this recipe for whole wheat bread! However, I’ve tried it twice and cannot get it to rise. I’m not sure what I’m doing wrong–I’m following the directions exactly. Any tips?!
I’m sorry to hear it didn’t rise. Hmmm….Here are a few ideas: I would check and make sure your yeast isn’t “dead” or expired. Yeast is very sensitive to temperature, so make sure the water isn’t too hot (or too cold). Also, the yeast needs to feed off the sugar, so I wouldn’t cut out the honey or decrease it in this recipe. Also, after the first stage, you should see little bubbles on top of the surface – this tells you the yeast is working properly. If you have any more questions, please feel free to write!
Could you please elaborate on how we roll the dough after we have spread it out into a rectangle, thank you. The taste of the bread is beautiful, however the fluffyness not so much. It turned out heavy, what could be going wrong. Its not the yeast, im pretty sure its the technique.
Please explain how you knead and roll the dough. How come its only a 1 minute knead i thought kneading took atleast 10 minutes.
I use this technique to knead the dough: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dWj8oHMPFm0 To roll the dough I gently, pick up one end and gently roll the entire mass of dough to form what looks like a cylinder. I then gently tuck the ends underneath.
In our testing for my cookbook, we found that Bob’s Red Mill whole wheat flour lended a very dense and heavy dough compared to other brands. I’m not sure what flour you are using, but that could also be a factor.
For how long do you knead it. My dough is very sticky when the time comes to knead it. It looks nothing like the one in the video.
If the dough is tacky, then add a bit more flour. The dough needs to be kneaded for 1 minute.
I made this about once every week or so depending on how fast we go through it. I also make the hamburger buns which are amazing. I have had some complaints about how dense the bread is. I follow the recipe and even when I serve the hamburger buns immediately my husband thinks it is too dense. Is there something I can do to make it a little more light? I know cooking with whole wheat flour is different but I experiment with mixing the whole wheat with all purpose whole wheat and that was a little bit of a mess! The buns spread everywhere and were hard to get apart. If you have any suggestions about either the bread or buns that would be great!
I just saw the comment about my previous one about kneading which could be possible for the bread but I’m not sure about the buns since I do use a dough hook. I’m using King Arthur flour would that be causing it?
It could be the amount of protein in the flour, so yes, the brand you are using could be causing the bread to be dense. I grind my own flour and use the hard wheat flour from http://www.breadbeckers.com. This bread is a little dense for hamburger buns, but I do have a whole wheat hamburger bun recipe that is wonderful! http://deliciouslyorganic.net/organic-real-food-on-a-budget-homemade-hamburger-buns/
Can I use white whole wheat for the flour? (King Arthur)
I haven’t tested this recipe with that flour, but I think it should work just fine.
This recipe is easy and sooooo delicious! Will be using again and again. My mom and 1year old both loved. Thank you!
I think my dough was too dry – do you ever have to add more water while kneading? It rose fine the first time but not enough the second so it’s way too dense and didn’t cook through even after half an hour. The flavor is good though so I will try again!
Yes, sometimes I have to add a bit more water when kneading. Dough can be a temperamental thing and the humidity and air temperature can play a huge part in the final outcome. I would try adding a bit more water next time. I’m glad you enjoyed the flavor! Maybe you could use the second, more dense loaf for croutons.
Just made this and it turned out beautifully! I don’t have a bread machine so here’s what I did differently for those who want to adapt for making by hand:
- I always “proof” my yeast first just to make sure it’s active (For years I couldn’t get bread to turn out but read this from some bread “experts” and it has definitely helped me out). Mix just the yeast, warm water, and honey in the same bowl you are going to mix the flour in. Let it sit for 5-10 minutes until it is “foamy” – the yeast kind of starts fizzing up from the bottom. Then you know it is active.
- Proceed with adding flour and letting it sit/rise for 30 mins.
- Then, I added the flour and salt per the recipe but I put it in my Kitchen Aid on level 2 (to mix slowly) and mixed with dough hook attachment until it turned into a good dough ball (about 5 mins). I turned it out onto the floured table and rolled it out per the recipe. Then put it into 2 loaf pans, rose and baked per the recipe (did have to bake 3-5 extra minutes though).
So good – my husband LOVED it! He instantly said, “we are keeping this recipe”. Yes, we are!
I misspoke – I meant for those who wanted to make these in a loaf pan or with a stand mixer. TGIF
Thanks for the tips!
I have been wanting to try making my own bread for a long time and just didn;t know where to start. Since getting my Vitamix, I have been grinding my own wheat for other recipes so I decided to give this recipe a try. It came out wonderful! I did make a few changes. I was fearful that it would come out very heavy so I added the vital wheat gluten and baked it in bread pans (added 10 minutes to the cooking time). It came out with a wonderful light texture and an amazing flavor! I am hoping that these 2 loaves last all week for school lunches. Thanks!
This was delicious!! I’ve been searching for a homemade bread recipe that isn’t too heavy, too ‘yeast-y’, too thick, etc….I found it!!
I just let our three girls (ages 5, 10 & 13) try it and they all agree this is the best whole wheat bread we’ve made – THANK YOU, Carrie, for this, and so many other, wonderful recipes!!
…now, how to prevent eating both loaves before dinner…
Thanks for the feedback, Colleen! I’m so glad you all enjoyed it!
Colleen, I agree…who needs dinner when you have fresh bread?!
I have made this recipe twice and while the bread is delicious, it has been very dense both times. I read in several places that whole wheat dough needs to be kneaded longer than white dough. Why is this dough only kneaded for one minute? What would happen if I kneaded it longer? Thanks for the recipe!
I don’t know if kneading more (in this recipe) would get the results you’re looking for. Kneading develops the gluten, so extra kneading would mean a more dense bread. What flour are you using? I’ve found that Bob’s Red Mill whole wheat flour yields a very dense bread/cake/muffin. We found this when we were testing the recipes for my cookbook. If you are using Bob’s Red Mill I recommend using another brand. I think you’ll find the bread won’t be quite as dense.
This recipe is FABULOUS! I use King Arthur White Whole Wheat. I personally would decrease the salt and increase the honey a tad, but that’s just my taste (and memories from childhood). It rose beautifully and tasted wonderful. I can’t find my bread maker paddle, so I had to do this recipe and I’m so glad I did. I’ll be making this again…it was pretty easy.
How do you recommend storing?
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! I like to wrap my bread in a large piece of parchment paper and then put it in an airtight container. This way the moisture is absorbed by the parchment and the bread doesn’t get too moist.
The recipe says to knead the dough for one minute, but the video you linked too says to knead for 10 minutes so I was just wondering if you really meant one minute? Thanks for the recipe and the help
I am just trying this recipe for the first time. I read all the comments first just in case because I have never made bread before. My bread is currently rising, but I definitely did something wrong. There is nothing light or elastic about my dough. Somehow, I think I messed it up while adding the 4 cups of flour and salt. It looked beautiful and fluffy with little bubbles when I removed the towel. Then, I had a lot of trouble adding the rest of the flour. It was so dry, I couldn’t get it all into the dough. So, I added a little water and then a little more and so on. I probably ended up adding half a cup. But then, I knew all hope was lost. The dough was like a rock! I tried to kneed it, but it wouldn’t stretch at all. I just set it out to rise to see what happened. I just checked on it and 30 minutes later it hasn’t budged. I measured the flour very carefully. Could there have been too much somehow? Has anyone else had this trouble? Should I have folded the flour in or is there some trick I don’t know?
Hmmm..I’m not quite sure what happened. What brand/kind of flour are you using?
It was Wheat Montana, Bronze Chief Premium 100% whole wheat. It says “traditional whole wheat”
I just looked up that brand and it should have worked just fine. I’ve always used hard winter wheat (not hard spring wheat) but I can’t see how that would make a huge difference. Adding the water should have helped it become more soft and supple – not stiff. I would leave it in a warm area for a while and see if it rises. If it doesn’t, I could cut it in half, bake it and then use it for bread crumbs or croutons. Sorry I don’t have the answer!
Certainly not your fault! Just hoping it could be salvaged. Croutons sound great! Thanks for the idea! I’m glad it won’t all go to waste. I’ll have to give it try again. I’ll let you know if I have different results. Thanks for your help!
I wondered if you have developed a recipe where you soak the flour. I know you are grain free now so I wasn’t sure you were tackling that anymore. If not…do u know a link to a food recipe? Thanks
Since I can’t eat wheat right now, I haven’t tackled this recipe, but this one looks like a great recipe: http://theelliotthomestead.com/2012/08/traditional-soaked-whole-wheat-bread/
thanks so much! can’t wait to try this out…new to bread making! here goes nothing!
I baked two loaves today and it turned out beautifully! I’m going to use for my children’s sandwiches.
Thank you
Thanks for the feedback! Enjoy!
I just made this bread for the first time tonight. I baked it in a loaf pan. It was a little heavier than I would like, but so yummy! I think next time I will let it rise a little longer (I let it rise for 45 minutes on the 2nd rise). The family was already in bed by the time it was ready, so I am excited to get their opinion in the morning!
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