It seems like we’re always getting requests for an awesome whole wheat bread recipe. We (okay, I) have put this off for a long, long time and I haven’t been entirely sure why. After some careful self-analysis, here is my list of potential reasons why I haven’t jumped straight onto the homemade whole wheat bread bandwagon:
1) I am lazy.
2) Committing to making my own bread and not buying it at the store gives me hives.
3) Even though homemade whole wheat bread tastes better than what you’d find at your average grocery store, I’ve had a hard time finding a recipe where the taste made it worth eschewing my laziness or risking commitment-induced hives.
4) When I lived in Utah, it was easy to find ingredients to make homemade whole wheat bread. Now I have to order wheat (and dough enhancer if I want to use it, but I’ve weaseled my way around that one) and vital wheat gluten can be expensive and it’s only available at one grocery store where I live.
5) Even though I truly think grinding my own wheat makes the bread taste better, grinding wheat can be messy (and, when I am involved, usually is). I don’t like cleaning up wheat dust. Therefore, the thought of dragging out my wheat grinder also has the potential to give me hives. I think I may need therapy.
However, we recently were invited to try Bosch’s Universal Plus mixer and I decided that I needed to get over my issues. It’s been a long time coming. I’m making progress (although I’m still not prepared to commit to making my own bread 100% of the time).
I really, really wanted to give you guys an awesome whole wheat bread recipe. Here were my requirements:
1) The recipe makes a lot of loaves. Given my propensity toward hive-iness, I figure the less I have to make bread the better.
2) It has to be big enough for a sandwich or toast. None of this namby pamby 3″ tall bread.
3) Whole wheat bread can be dense and heavy. I didn’t want mine to be dense and heavy.
4) Homemade whole wheat bread can be bland. I wanted mine to taste awesome.
5) I didn’t want this recipe to take all fricking day. Because, let’s face it–pretty much all of us have better things to do.
I ended up adapting a whole wheat recipe from Bosch for a few reasons. First, I had made different variations of it before and I liked it (it’s kind of the go-to recipe for people who make their own whole wheat bread exclusively). Second, it only has one rise; it goes straight from the mixer into the bread pans, where it rises, and then goes into the oven. That shaves off a good hour right there.
However. Because I’m neurotic and a meddler and can’t leave things alone, I made quite a few tweaks. And I think they’re awesome tweaks, so I’m going to share them with y’all.
One thing about whole wheat flour–you don’t need to grind your own wheat. I have a WonderMill and, like my gym membership, I feel a lot of guilt when it goes unused for long periods of time. Plus, I really do think you wind up with better-tasting (and supposedly more healthful) wheat. Like I said, there’s nowhere for me to buy wheat berries locally, so I order hard white wheat (in spite of the pretty packaging, I’ve found it to be the best price online for hard white wheat). Why hard white wheat? I think it’s milder and softer than red wheat. I don’t like red wheat. I think bread made with red wheat is heavy and it makes me feel deprived and like I need Wonder Bread to balance it all out.
Speaking of products, I’m talking about a lot of specific brands in this recipe and I just want to disclaim (can I say that?) that we did receive Bosch mixers and attachments to try out (and this is a girl who owns 2, count ’em, t-w-o KitchenAid mixers), but everything else I mention is stuff I’ve bought my very own self. Just so you know I’m coming from an honest place. We might have a little giveaway going on tomorrow, and I’ll talk a little more about my feelings on Bosch mixers, but I will say here and now that if your husband wants to buy you either one for Mother’s Day/birthday/Christmas/for being awesome, he can’t go wrong. They’re both awesome and both have different strengths and weaknesses (although you’ll find rabid fans of both).
Anyway. I bet you just wish I’d shut up and share with you my recipe. And so I will.
Place 9 cups of whole wheat flour (freshly ground, if possible) into the bowl of a heavy-duty mixer. Enter the KitchenAid/Bosch debate. This is a LOT of flour, and you’ll be adding more, so if you’re using a KitchenAid, double check the maximum amount of stuff your machine can handle.
Add 2 1/2 tablespoons of bread machine yeast.
In case you didn’t know, I love bread machine yeast.
If you don’t want to use bread machine yeast, just make sure you’re using instant or fast-acting yeast.
Mix the flour and yeast together. Add 5 3/4 cups warm (about 105-115 degrees F) water…
Mix together until smooth. Cover and let it rise for 15-20 minutes or until light and spongey.
Add 2 tablespoons table salt, 1/2 cup (1 stick) melted unsalted butter, 2/3 cup honey, and 1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt.
You’ll also need 2 heaping tablespoons of vital wheat gluten.
Before you start sending me emails, yes, you need it. No, this recipe is not gluten-free. Yes, I did just tell you to add gluten to your bread. Can we all be friends? Vital wheat gluten is really necessary in whole wheat breads because the whole wheat tends to be so heavy that the dough needs a boost to rise and not be like those brick-like whole wheat monstrosities we were often forced to eat as children when our mothers were figuring out this whole whole wheat bread thing. So yeah, add that, too.
Mix the added ingredients into the yeast/flour mixture until smooth. Add an additional 3-6 cups of flour, 1 cup at a time (until you start thinking you might be getting close, then reduce it by 1/2 cup). It’s hard, nay, impossible to give you an exact flour measurement because it can vary day by day, even in the same location. However, watch for the dough to start pulling together, away from the sides of the bowl. When it barely sticks to your finger (turn off the mixer first, silly!), you’re good to go. Let the mixer knead the dough for 5 minutes.
Spray 4 heavy-duty 9×5″ bread pans with non-stick cooking spray. I use and love, love, love these pans:
I bought them on Amazon and yes, they are a little spendier than your average bread pans. But if you’re serious about making you’re own bread, they are fabulous at retaining heat, giving you a nice, smooth, evenly-browned loaf of bread .
Transfer the dough from the mixer to a surface lightly sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Spray your hands, too (it’ll make your life easier, I promise). Press into an even circle and then divide the dough into equal fourths. The dough should be very easy to work with, especially with the non-stick cooking spray. Press each dough segment into a rectangle about 8 1/2-9″ long and then roll it up. Place each “log” into the prepared pans.
Cover with a clean towel and allow to rise until it is over the top of the pan (about 45-60 minutes).
Carefully place all the pans on the middle rack of an unheated oven. Turn the oven on to 350 and bake for 32-40 minutes or until golden brown on top and sound hollow-ish when you knock on them. If you have an instant-read thermometer, it should read about 200 degrees F.
Remove the loaves from the oven and run a stick of cold butter over the tops of the bread.
Allow to cool and then remove from the pans.
These loaves freeze beautifully. You can use gallon-sized Ziploc bags (you may have to cut the ends off), or you can buy bread bags. Again, if you live somewhere where lots of people make their own bread, you might be able to buy them locally. Otherwise, these bags from King Arthur Flour are fabulous.
Just be sure and save one loaf of bread for sandwiches. And snacks. And bread and butter and jam.
Makes 4 9×5″ loaves.
Okay, peeps, I knew there would be lots of questions on this post, so I’ll do my best to answer the most prevalent ones I’ve seen so far. Feel free to bring any more to my attention (nicely…please… 🙂 )
Q: Do you REALLY need vital wheat gluten?
A: Some people are successful at making whole wheat bread without it. However…part of our job is making our recipes something that beginners to experts can make, and can make well on a consistent basis. Because of variations in bread-making experience, wheat quality, different types of wheat, whether you grind it yourself or buy the flour at the store, elevation, and about a million other factors, there’s lots and lots of potential for this recipe to fail. Vital wheat gluten helps with that. It’s not going to hurt you or your bread (unless, like a commenter mentioned, you’re allergic or have Celiac Disease), but it can help level out some of those problematic factors, so I guess my thing is why not add it, you know?
Q: What’s with the Greek yogurt?
A: It adds flavor, moisture, and, like adding buttermilk or sour cream to baked goods, it improves the texture of the finished product. I’m using it in place of dough enhancer here.
Q: I have a KitchenAid. Can I use it to make bread?
A: Yes, especially if you have a pro-series mixer. That said, you’ll want to keep an eye on your machine, especially near the end of the kneading cycle. If it smells “machiney” or appears to be straining or overheating, turn it off and finish kneading it by hand.
Q: I don’t have a heavy-duty mixer. Can I make it by hand?
A: Yes, absolutely! During the final kneading, just double the kneading time. Also, there’s a tendency when making bread without a mixer to add too much flour because you can really feel the moisture of the dough. Just realize that as time goes on and the longer the bread is kneaded, it will become less and less sticky, so try and be patient before adding too much flour.
Q: You’re paying way too much for your wheat! Why don’t you get it at an LDS Cannery?
A: Our closest cannery is over 4 hours away, so it would cost me over $150 in gas, plus food and the cost of a hotel (I’ve done the there-and-back-in-a-day trip twice and both of those were very, very bad days), so $45 for a bucket of wheat is WAY more affordable for me.
Honey Whole Wheat Bread
Ingredients
- 12-15 cups whole wheat flour preferably hard white wheat
- 5 3/4 cups warm 105-115 F water
- 2 1/2 tablespoons bread machine or instant yeast
- 2 tablespoons table salt
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter melted
- 2/3 cup honey
- 1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt
- 2 heaping tablespoons vital wheat gluten
Instructions
- Mix 9 cups wheat flour and yeast in the bowl of a heavy-duty mixer. Add 5 3/4 cup warm water and mix well. Cover and allow to rise for 15 minutes.
- Add salt, honey, melted butter, yogurt, and vital wheat gluten. Mix well. Add remaining 3-6 cups of flour, mixing the dough at low speed, until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl and the dough barely sticks to your finger. Allow the mixer to knead the dough for an additional 5 minutes.
- While the dough is kneading, spray 4 9x5" bread pans with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside. Spray a work surface and your hands with non-stick cooking spray.
- Turn the dough onto the prepared work surface. It should be very easy to work with. Press the dough into an even circle or square and divide the dough into 4 equal pieces. Press the dough into a rectangle that is about 8 1/2-9" on the long side. Roll it into a smooth log and place into a prepared pan. Repeat with remaining dough pieces. Cover and let rise for 45-60 minutes or until the dough is rounding over the tops of the pans.
- Carefully place the pans onto the middle rack of a cold oven. Turn oven onto 350 degrees and bake for 32-40 minutes or until the tops are golden brown and, if you're feeling awesome, an instant-read thermometer reads 200 degrees. Remove from oven and run a stick of cold butter over the tops of the bread. When cool, remove from pans. Use immediately or freeze loaves for future use.
Questions & Reviews
Girl, did you realize you would get soooo MANY comments when posting about the holy mecca of all Mormondom–wheat bread!!?? Everybody has an opinion.
I have been using this same Bosch recipe for a few years and love it. (I add 3 T. of salt as I think only makes it flat. And 1 cup honey. Maybe others will love it now thanks to you.) I use the exact same amount of flour as you do but get six loaves in my 8×4 pans. My kids eat smaller sandwiches better. See? I have an opinion too. You ladies rock!
Ummm, the secret #1 reason why I’ve put off posting a whole wheat bread recipe was because I was sure at least 50% of the comments would be people tellig me I was doing it wrong, haha!
How did you know? You must be feeling extra close to the Spirit (GC was wonderful, yes?), because I have become disenchanted with my current bread recipe and need a good new one by this weekend. I will finally buckle and get that gluten stuff, just because I trust you. THANKS!
So, let’s just say that a girl was Bosch-less. How hard/possible would it be to make this recipe by hand? I currently make my white bread by and and it works fine, but it sounds like wheat bread dough has a different consistency. Would the old hand-mixed/kneaded method work?
You can definitely make it by hand! 🙂 It’s just going to take a little more elbow grease, especially in the final kneading (knead it twice as long as you would with the machine). Also…stay tuned for a little g-i-v-e-a-w-a-y tomorrow… 🙂
Yeah! I have plenty of elbow grease! But, I wouldn’t say no to a giveaway, either…
Tara D. I have never had a Bosch and my Kitchen Aid is too small to make bread. I have a large stainless steel bowl that I have been making wheat bread in for 20 years. It works great!! Give it a try.
We are fans of Red wheat at my house because we like its nutty flavor best, and find the white wheat to be kind of bland, but I have found that we are the exception here. . . most people that have used both seem to like white wheat best. Also, I have had really crappy wheat for about a year, and I just ordered Hard Red Spring wheat (read: Not Winter) that had a guaranteed protein content of 15.5%, and I have found that if your protein content is high, which spring wheat tends towards, your bread will develop the gluten it needs without adding extra gluten flour. My crappy wheat had a really low protein content, and I caved and bought gluten flour, and even adding a full cup of it to a bosch-full of dough, my dough never seemed to develop enough gluten, and would come out of the oven lumpy and weird. Anyway, my awesome wheat now is baking up 4 huge, light, beautiful and soft loaves right now in my oven:)
Can you use whole wheat pastry flour instead of whole wheat and the gluten?
Nope- pastry flour is from soft wheat, instead of the hard winter wheats and has less protein and less gluten. It would not rise well or have a typical bread texture. Maybe you could use pastry flour with EXTRA gluten, but I don’t know.
I have been making bread for a while now and I absolutely LOVE your 7 grain recipe. I have been meaning to try it with 100% whole wheat. It is probably my favorite bread recipe. I also grind my own wheat, but usually grind at least twice as much as I need for the recipe so that I don’t have to do it the next time because that makes me more motivated to actually make the bread the next time instead of running to the store. I just keep the wheat flour in the freezer to keep it fresh. Also, my mom has been making bread for years and always uses hard red wheat. I like hard white better but my mom’s bread is amazing with hard red. She usually adds some canned pumpkin to make it more moist. It’s probably the best bread I have ever tasted. And one more thing, kneading the bread a bit longer helps to release the gluten in the flour. I usually let my kitchen aid mix it for 5-10 minutes after all the flour is incorporated.
Kristine, could we get a copy of your 7 grain recipe and your mom’s with the pumpkin? Thanks
I have had a Bosch mixer forever. When I first got married, my mother gave me hers- which I passed on to my daughter when I found a red Bosch mixer in my local Bosch store in Arizona and couldn’t resist (because it was red and I really did deserve a red Bosch mixer). Both mixers- the one that is 40 years old and the one that is 5 years old work perfectly and I wouldn’t have anything else. For making bread, as far as I am concerned, there is nothing better. The Bosch makes it so easy that there is no reason to not make homemade bread! My 21 year old college senior daughter who has custody of the older Bosch mixer makes her own cracked wheat bread all the time now. I will be giving this recipe a try too. Thanks!
Re: Amanda about the greek yogurt: greek-style yogurt has more fat and less water. My very similar recipe calls for regular (PLAIN) yogurt or alternately, buttermilk. Probably not quite the same texture, but the point is the acidity to produce a more tender crumb in the bread and a bit of a different flavor (not as much as sourdough, which I don’t care for). I even use powdered buttermilk or powdered milk and a bit of vinegar at times.
I lived overseas for years and had trouble getting some ingredients for bread. I found that if I replaced half the oil(my recipe called for 2/3cup oil not butter) with flax seed meal(1cup) it really helped to give the bread a nice chewy texture and not the overly dense bread that comes with whole wheat. I never used the gluten because I couldn’t get it. I still make my bread with the flaxseed meal now that I am state side. I am curious as to what the yogurt does for the bread?
I grind my wheat and make all of our bread. My family really prefers it to store bought bread and it is much healthier. I do use my Kitchen aid but I have the Pro610 so it is able to handle the heavier load. Would love to have a Bosch also because I agree that both mixers have their strengths but until I have a larger kitchen that just won’t happen darn it.
The vital wheat gluten it definitely needed. I make a VERY wet dough and allow it to set for about 20 minutes to absorb the liquid but it still needs a little help with extra gluten. Unlike white flour, whole wheat includes the bran and germ which cut the gluten strands and inhibit it’s development. The development of gluten is what gives you a fluffy, soft and chewy bread. Gluten is only a bad thing if you have Celiac disease or an allergy to it. It is not the evil that so many have grown to believe. It is high in protein and iron and is used in making some meat substitutes. Can you get soft whole wheat bread without it, temporarily yes (very temporary), but I prefer my bread to be just as good the next day or two after I make it (even about a week depending on the weather) as it was fresh out of the oven….well after it has cooled. This way we have fresh healthy bread and I only have to do it once a week.
Thank you! 🙂
If you work with hydrated dough, you don’t need the vital wheat gluten. The bread I’ve baked every 10 days for the past 6 years is this way – no vital wheat gluten, no dough enhancers and it is amazing!
But, it is time consuming – you have to actually start the bread the day before and then the day you are making it it isn’t a lot of hands on time, but even if I get my pre-doughs (what I’ve made the day before and let sit to hydrate) out of the fridge at 7am, I don’t actually have bread until 3 or 4 in the afternoon. But – it is hands down the best bread ever and that’s why I do it.
That’s why I actually looked up this recipe – I forgot that I needed to start making bread yesterday and I’m not going to have enough for the kid’s school lunches for tomorrow. Whoops!