Deliciously Organic

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Everyday Whole Wheat Bread

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.

Everyday Whole Wheat Bread via DeliciouslyOrganic.net

 

Serves: Makes 2 loaves

Everyday Whole Wheat Bread

I found that Bob's Red Mill whole wheat flour lends a very dense and tough loaf so I don't recommend using that brand of flour. King Arthur whole wheat flour or freshly milled flour is a good choice for this bread. Also, it's very important to make sure your yeast hasn't expired.

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Ingredients

  • 1/3 cup unsalted butter (optional)
  • 2 1/2 cups warm water (not above 120°F)
  • 7 cups [white whole wheat flour]https://www.kingarthurflour.com/shop/items/king-arthur-white-whole-wheat-flour-5-lb] (made from white wheat berries as opposed to red), 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

Instructions

  1. 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.
  2. 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 12x9-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.
  3. NOTE: This recipe was posted before I began a grain-free diet. If you'd like a grain-free bread recipe, click here .
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https://deliciouslyorganic.net/everyday-whole-wheat-bread/

 

 

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159 Comments

  10. Stephanie

    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!
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    • Deliciously Organic

      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! ;)
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  17. 13yoyo

    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.
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  18. Taryn

    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!
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  23. Jill Tanzer

    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!
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  24. Leslie

    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!
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  25. Colleen

    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...
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  27. Alissabeth

    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?
    to Alissabeth" aria-label='Reply to this comment to Alissabeth'>Reply to this comment

  29. Nicole

    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?
    to Nicole" aria-label='Reply to this comment to Nicole'>Reply to this comment

  33. Amanda Raymond

    Finally! A simple, delicious bread recipe that our whole family can enjoy! Since finding out that our daughter was allergic to eggs, peanuts, and soy, we've been paying nearly $6 a loaf for a bread that doesn't contain those allergens. Multiply that by 3-4 loaves a week, and one could understand why it was critical that I find a less expensive alternative! My daughter loved this bread, and it makes my heart so happy to have found one more recipe to add to my file to be able to provide her with food that is safe for her :). Thank you so very much!
    to Amanda Raymond" aria-label='Reply to this comment to Amanda Raymond'>Reply to this comment

  36. Angela

    I absolutely love this recipe! I kept reading on other sites how hard it was to make 100% whole wheat bread, especially if you have never tried to make homemade bread before (like me). This looked so simple, though, I decided to give it a try. I have now made three batches, and every loaf has been delicious. The only change I made from the instructions was to put the loaves in bread pans and cook an extra 5 minutes. thank you so much for a healthy recipe that even I can follow!!
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  37. Mandy

    I made this yesterday, and I wish I had read the comments first before making it because it was the first bread I'd ever made. I had a really hard time when it came time to knead. It was really floury and dry. I did add a few drops of water to my hands eventually. I ended up "kneading" for about 15 minutes (I say it like that because the dough was so tough I could hardly knead at all). I didn't want it to go to waste so I just stuck it in the oven and hoped for the best. The middle turned out really moist, but the crust is so hard. I'm kinda frustrated with it. I wanna try again, but in loaf pans so I can use it for sandwiches. I just hope I'll be a little more successful next time. Any awesome tips?
    to Mandy" aria-label='Reply to this comment to Mandy'>Reply to this comment

    • Deliciously Organic

      No problem! I've found that Bob's Red Mill lends a very crumbly and coarse baked bread so that's why I was asking. Every time someone has said the bread was dense, they were using Bob's Red mill ww flour. Next time you try it, I would try replacing 1 cup of the ww flour with 1 cup ww pastry flour. This will lend a more tender crumb. And don't be afraid to add more water if needed. 15 minutes of kneading will also make the bread tough, so next time try kneading it for the recommended time. Bread making can be quite a challenge, but once you have that tender loaf come out it's like magic! :)
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  42. Adrienne

    I made this bread for the first time Sunday but it didn't turn out great, I think the water was too hot and killed the yeast. It tasted good but didn't rise and was still too dense/moist in the middle. Also my loaves were ugly as sin lol. Today I tried it again with some changes...I used white whole wheat flour. The water temp was just over 100, I melted the butter in the microwave, instead of kneading mixed everything in my kitchen aid mixing bowl and then used the dough hook to knead the bread on 1/2 setting for a few minutes until well formed. I did have to add a tablespoon of water to the mix. Then I divided the dough in half and put into my two greased loaf pans and pushed it down so that when cooked it would form to the pan. I placed the pans on top of my preheated oven since heat was coming off and added 5 minutes to the cook time. They turned out beautiful and taste amazing. Even though the loaves I made Sunday weren't perfect my husband and 5 year old loved the taste and texture and frankly if I can make that picky eater like something it is a real winner! I'm going to freeze one of the loaves after it cools since I doubt it will last until next week. Thanks so much for this recipe!!
    to Adrienne" aria-label='Reply to this comment to Adrienne'>Reply to this comment

  44. Dawn Reber

    Thank you so much for posting this recipe! I've been using my bread maker and I think it's on it's last leg. I've been searching for a good, healthy scratch recipe. I just made it today, and although I mixed in some sprouted whole wheat flour and some sprouted spelt flour, it was okay. I think there is something about this sprouted flour that I'm not getting. The bread is dense. But, I'm so happy that I found this and will be making it again!
    to Dawn Reber" aria-label='Reply to this comment to Dawn Reber'>Reply to this comment

  46. Kelly

    Hi! I am going to be trying this recipe this week, but seeing as how our family goes through a ton of bread, I was wondering if it ok to make several of just the dough and freeze them. That way I can bake as needed and can always have the dough on hand. What are your thoughts? We do have a stand-alone freezer, which keeps things longer. On a side note, I have been making your coffee creamers for a few weeks now and LOVE them! Thank you so much for the healthy alternative to coffe-mate!!
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  47. Mike D

    So this was my first time baking bread. My wife and I decided that we were going to start eating healthier, Non-GMO, and mostly if not all organic. I found a recipe asking for wheat bran which we didn't have so I searched again and found this one... no wheat bran needed. So I think cool, I could do this. I follow the directions and have a positive first reaction (flour, yeast mixture). I add the second batch of flour, cut it, roll it, form it, and place it on a sheet, covered like it said for 30 minutes. This time, no reaction... no rise. I baked it anyway and it came out dense, crumbly, and doughy in the middle. I am guessing something went wrong in the second addition of flour or maybe the initial reaction wasn't as good as I thought it was. Any suggestions for fixing the issue? Is 20 minutes really long enough to bake this bread? I did the first in a loaf pan and the second on the sheet, but both needed more time.
    to Mike D" aria-label='Reply to this comment to Mike D'>Reply to this comment

  49. Tara

    i am just trying this recipe for the first time, i am new to making bread and just freshly ground up soft white wheat for the recipe, i followed the recipe exactly , i know the yeast is active rose with lots of bubbles, after reading many other comments of people saying there was too much flour or too dry but mine surprised me when i had to keep adding more flour it was way too sticky and moist for me to be able to knead, i ended up adding around 3 cups more then i was able to roll it out and shape into the loaves.... i really hope this turns out... is it because i used fresh flour?
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  50. Megan S

    I have tried this recipe 3 times and my loafs end up fairly short (almost like french bread height) and really dense. I am brand new to bread baking - is this how this recipe is supposed to be or should it be lighter/fluffier? The first time I did one half "loose" and the other half in a loaf pan. The 2nd 2 attempts all were in loaf pans. I have tried 2 different whole wheat flours (one was King Arthur) and the third time was using King Arthur's Bread Flour. I usually have to let the 2nd rise go for quite a bit longer than noted to get any height at all. Should I be letting the 1st rise go longer?? The first 2 times I used my stand mixer, the 3rd time I mixed by hand thinking it was over mixed by the stand mixer?? - not sure if that matters? I really hope to make this recipe work since it is so simple! Thanks from the novice ;)
    to Megan S" aria-label='Reply to this comment to Megan S'>Reply to this comment

    • Deliciously Organic

      I've never tried bread flour with this recipe, so I'm not quite sure how it would turn out. If you're not getting any rise, then I would try a different yeast. Are you making any substitutions? For example, the yeast needs the sugars from the honey, so if you omit the honey or use less than what's called for in the recipe it will create a dense, flat loaf. I've never made this recipe in the standing mixer, so over mixing could have been an issue. Over mixing can cause too much gluten to form creating a dense loaf. Baking bread can be tricky, but once you master it it's great!
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      • Megan S

        I think I got it!! I timed the kneading in the mixer to 8 minutes, changed to SAF Gold Label yeast, did 1/2 King Arthur's Bread Flour and 1/2 KA WW flour, then I put the dough in the oven with just the light AND a pan of boiling water. I really think the humidity was an issue - it has been so, so dry this winter! Horray! I now have two HUGE fluffy loaves! I will try with 100% WW next time and see if there is a difference! Teehee, so happy :)
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  51. Dory

    I have been looking for a homemade bread recipe that I can make sandwiches with and decided to try this - I am very pleased with the results. I have had mixed results with bread recipes in the past, so as usual I was a little worried. I also decided to make this at the last minute and so did not have enough white whole wheat flour on hand, so I used half white whole wheat flour and half bread flour. Otherwise I followed the recipe exactly. I also weighed my flour instead of measuring to make sure my ratios were correct. My bread rose well on both the first and second rise, and the bread came out light and not too dense, in part I'm sure to the bread flour. My only issue was the cooking time. I split the bread into two loaves as the recipe says, however my cooking time was much longer, about 35 minutes, for the bread to be done. I regularly test my oven temperature and it actually runs a few degrees hot, so I'm not sure what the difference was but the loaves would have been far undercooked at 20 minutes for me. I used a thermometer to check the internal temperature and removed the loaves at 180 degrees. I will definitely keep this recipe in my collection! I'm so glad to have bread in my house that has only real ingredients!
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  55. Lyndsey

    Yes I followed it exactly except I did use King Arthur's bread flour. And I let it rise an extra 10 minutes the second time. It seemed to turn out perfectly except it wouldn't get done in the middle and the outside got really hard because I kept it in trying to get the middle done. I was going to try regular organic flour today to see if that would make a difference. I'm new to this bread making thing, so I'm clueless :)
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  60. Melissa

    I've made this recipe several times and it has always turned out wonderful and my kids love it. Before this recipe, I had never made bread before, it was so easy. Because of the time you have to allocate to making bread, I thought it would be easier to get a bread machine. I bought the Cuisinart and have been trying the recipes they recommend, and am so disappointed. Not as good as yours! I would love to make your recipe in my bread machine. Do you know how to convert it so that it will work in a bread machine?
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  67. TheOther

    I halved your recipe and bake in my bread machine. It turns out to be very best who!e wheat bread I have tried so far. I skip the instruction no. 1, just put all the ingredients in the bread pan at once, select the whole wheat cycle before goto bed. The bread is ready for me in the morning. The bread also risen well at about 5" tall. Happy yummy. Thank you very much for the recipe.
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