Whole Wheat Bread Recipes

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.

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:

• 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.

WHOLE-WHEAT BREAD

Steps:

• The day before making the bread, make the soaker and the poolish. For the soaker, mix together the coarse whole-wheat flour and the water in a bowl, cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and leave it at room temperature until the next day. For the poolish, mix together the whole-wheat flour and yeast, then stir in the water to make a thick paste. Stir only until all the flour is hydrated, then cover the bowl with plastic wrap and allow to ferment at room temperature for 2 to 4 hours, or until it just begins to bubble. Then put it in the refrigerator overnight.
• The next day remove the poolish from the refrigerator 1 hour before making the dough to take off the chill. In a mixing bowl (or in the bowl of an electric mixer), stir together the whole-wheat flour, salt, and yeast. Then add the poolish and the soaker, as well as the honey, oil, and egg. Stir with a large metal spoon (or mix on low speed for about 1 minute with the paddle attachment) until the dough forms a ball, adding more water or flour if needed.
• Sprinkle whole-wheat flour on the counter, transfer the dough to the counter, and begin kneading (or mix on medium speed with the dough hook). Add flour if necessary and knead until the dough forms a firm, supple dough. This will take 10 to 15 minutes by hand, slightly less by machine. The dough should be tacky but not sticky. It should pass the windowpane test (page 58) and register 77° to 81°F. Lightly oil a large bowl and transfer the dough to the bowl, rolling it around to coat it with oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap.
• Ferment at room temperature for approximately 2 hours, or until the dough doubles in size.
• Divide the dough into 2 equal pieces (they should weigh about 18 ounces each). Shape them into sandwich loaves, as shown on page 81. Lightly oil two 8 1/2 by 4 1/2-inch loaf pans and place the loaves in the pans. Mist the tops with spray oil and loosely cover with plastic wrap.
• Proof at room temperature for about 90 minutes, or until the dough nearly doubles in size and is cresting above the lip of the pans.
• Preheat the oven to 350°F with the oven rack in the middle of the oven. Just before baking, you may choose to garnish the loaves by misting the tops with water and sprinkling on sesame seeds.
• Bake the loaves for about 30 minutes, then rotate them 180 degrees, if necessary, for even baking. Continue baking for 15 to 30 minutes longer. The finished bread should register between 185° and 190°F at the center and should sound hollow when thumped on the bottom. The loaves should be golden brown all around and firm on the sides as well as on the top and bottom. If they are soft and squishy on the sides, return them to the pans and continue baking until done.
• When the loaves have finished baking, remove them immediately from the pans and cool on a rack for at least 1 hour, preferably 2 hours, before slicing or serving.
• BREAD PROFILE
• Enriched, standard dough; indirect method; commercial yeast
• DAYS TO MAKE: 2
• Day 1: 2 to 4 hours soaker and poolish
• Day 2: 1 hour to de-chill poolish; 15 minutes mixing; 3 1/2 hours fermentation, shaping, and proofing; 45 to 60 minutes baking
• Commentary
• Coarse flour weighs slightly less per cup than regular grind flour because it doesn't pack as tightly and contains more air. This explains why the coarse flour is only 4.25 ounces, while the regular whole-wheat flour used in the rest of the formula weighs 4.5 ounces per cup.
• The bread will develop a more open crumb if the flour is high in protein. The strongest flour comes from hard spring wheat, which can often be found at natural food markets that offer a variety of flours (see also Resources, page 291). You may also substitute regular whole-wheat flour from the supermarket.
• The use of oil and/or egg is offered as an option to tenderize the bread. If you use either of them, you will need to add additional flour during the final mixing. Let the dough determine how much flour to add, as you knead it to a firm, slightly tacky consistency. Another way to tenderize the dough is to use milk or buttermilk instead of water when making the poolish.
• BAKER'S PERCENTAGE FORMULA
• Whole-Wheat Bread %
• (Soaker)
• Whole-wheat flour: 100%
• Water: 141%
• Total: 241%
• WHOLE-WHEAT POOLISH
• Whole-wheat flour: 100%
• Instant yeast: .41%
• Water: 88.9%
• Total: 189.3%
• (Dough)
• Soaker: 114%
• Whole-wheat poolish: 142%
• Whole-wheat flour: 100%
• Salt: 3.7%
• Instant yeast: 1.2%
• Honey: 16.7%
• Vegetable oil: 5.6%
• Egg: 18.3%
• Total: 401.5%

HONEY WHOLE-WHEAT BREAD

Steps:

• In a small bowl, stir honey into warm water, then sprinkle with yeast. Let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes.
• Stir together flour and salt in a medium bowl, then stir in yeast mixture and melted butter just until a dough forms. Knead on a lightly floured surface until smooth, 5 to 10 minutes. Transfer to a large buttered bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let rise in a warm spot until doubled in bulk, about 45 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Punch down dough. Shape into an 8-inch square, about 1 inch thick. Fold in two opposite sides of dough to meet in middle, slightly overlapping. Press seam to seal. Place dough, seam-side down, in a buttered 9-by-5-inch loaf pan. Sprinkle with flour. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in warm spot until dough is about 3/4 inch above top of pan, 30 to 45 minutes.
• Transfer pan to oven and immediately reduce heat to 350 degrees. Bake, rotating pan halfway through, until top is golden brown and bottom sounds hollow when tapped, 35 to 40 minutes. Let cool in pan on wire rack 20 minutes, then turn out bread onto rack and let cool completely. Bread can be stored, tightly wrapped, at room temperature up to 3 days or frozen up to 3 months.

100% WHOLE GRAIN WHEAT BREAD

Steps:

• Place the first five ingredients in the bowl and mix.
• Add: 2 Cups 100% Whole Grain Wheat Flour. (to cool the water and end up with warm dough) Mix then add 2 Tbs of Dry Active Yeast. If your not sure about your yeast proof it in a little warm water first.
• Add: 4 Cups of 100% Whole Grain Wheat Flour.
• 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 6 1/2 cups but in any case do not exceed 7 1/2 cups of wheat flour. You can trade one cup of wheat flour for one cup of all purpose white if you wish. Don't over mix or the bread will be tough.
• When your dough is finished, leave it in the mixer, cover the bowl and let it rise for about 30-45 minutes. The dough will be larger but it doesn't need to double.
• Grease two bread pans with Crisco. You can also flour the pans to reduce sticking.
• Mix the dough again just enough to knock it down at least close to the original size.
• Drop the dough on a floured surface so you can work the dough and shape it. Shape it with your hands to make a nice ball getting enough flour on it so it isn't sticky. Divide the ball in half and do it again. Shape the loaves by turning the dough under it's self over and over. When the dough is shaped the sides and ends will be sealed and all you will see is a nice oblong shaped loaf with smooth sides and top. Drop the loaves in your bread pans and let them rise until almost doubled. Bake in a preheated oven at 350 for 36 minutes. If you forgot to preheat 41 minutes. (gas oven).
• When done turn the bread out of the pan to a rack to cool. You can eat it right away (a great time for real butter) don't wrap it until completely cooled. (Condensation will make it soggy) Put in tinfoil to store on the counter. If you put it in the refrigerator it will turn into a brick. Enjoy.

HONEY-WHOLE WHEAT BREAD

Steps:

• In large bowl, dissolve yeast in 1/4 cup warm water. Add honey, butter, salt, 2 1/2 cups very warm water and 3 cups of the whole wheat flour. Beat with electric mixer on low speed 1 minute, scraping bowl frequently. Beat on medium speed 2 minutes, scraping bowl frequently. Beat in remaining 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour.
• With spoon, stir in 2 1/4 to 2 3/4 cups of the all-purpose flour until dough pulls cleanly away from side of bowl.
• On lightly floured surface, knead in remaining 1/2 to 1 cup all-purpose flour; continue kneading 5 to 10 minutes or until dough is smooth and springy. Grease large bowl with shortening or cooking spray; place dough in bowl, turning dough to grease all sides. Cover; let rise in warm place 30 to 45 minutes or until doubled in size.
• Generously grease 2 (8x4- or 9x5-inch) loaf pans with shortening or cooking spray. Gently push fist into dough to deflate; divide in half. Shape dough into loaves; place in pans. Cover; let rise in warm place 30 to 45 minutes or until doubled in size.
• Heat oven to 375°F. Uncover dough; bake 30 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350°F; bake 10 to 15 minutes longer or until loaves sound hollow when lightly tapped. Immediately remove from pans to cooling racks. Cool completely, about 1 hour.

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.