The Best Easy Whole Wheat Bread Recipe AND only has six ingredients and it is delicious! You will want to try this easy recipe.
I am excited to share my whole grain bread recipe because I use it as a basis for many more recipes I will be sharing here in the future!
Many bread recipes call for all kinds of ingredients however, this homemade whole wheat bread requires few ingredients, the best part you probably have most if not all of them in your home already.
If you are in a pinch this recipe is the best way to get a loaf of bread made quickly. Honestly, if I am in a big hurry I will just shape them into rolls so they bake faster.
What Kind Of Whole Grains To Use?
Anything goes for this EXCEPT soft white wheat for this homemade bread… I just haven’t had success using soft white wheat anyway.
If you use hard red or einkorn wheat, you won’t get as high of a rise, if I am completely honest I still have not figured out why that it is. However, it is a problem I am hopeful to solve one day.
For all my bread baking, I currently use hard white wheat. For muffins, we will use einkorn, hard red wheat, and hard white wheat. And for baked goods, we use soft white wheat as soft wheat is similar to the texture of all purpose flour, without giving up all the nutrients of fresh soft wheat.
Best Whole Wheat Bread Recipe
Ingredients
- Ingredients:
- 3 c. warm water
- 1 Tbs. active dry yeast
- 2 Tbs honey if you want it sweeter do add 1/4 cup honey
- 3 Tbs Olive Oil
- 1 Tbs. salt
- 4-6 cups whole wheat flour
Instructions
- Your oven temperature should be set to 400Fº I usually start it on the last
- In a large mixing bowl add warm water, instant yeast, and honey, or your sweetener of choice.
- Set in a warm place and let that rest for 10 minutes covered.
- Now that the first rest is over, you will want to add in your olive oil, salt, and enough whole grain flour to make a pancake batter texture.
- Cover and let rest for another 10 minutes.
- Now, this is where your dough reading skills will come into play. You are going to add a half cup of flour at a time until your dough starts to come away from the sides of the bowl.
- Next, you will turn the dough out onto your lightly floured work surface…
- You continue to knead, please understand working with whole wheat is going to be a more sticky dough so add as much flour as you need to, but don’t overdo it at all.
- If you reach the point where your dough has enough flour but still needs to be kneaded, switch to lightly oiling your hands and continue kneading that way.
- When you think the dough is done, do the window pane test.
- Once the dough is ready, it is time for the first dough rise, you will shape the dough into a ball, and set it in a greased bowl
- Cover with a towel and let rest for 30 minutes, the first rise will be the longest
- Now, it is time to push your fist into the center of the dough and knead quickly into another ball.
- Cut in half and shape into two loaves or 24 dinner rolls: When you shape the loaf of bread, drop it on table four to five times to make sure air pockets are out.
- Place the loaf of bread into your well-oiled bread pan, cover it with a towel
- Now it is time for the second rise, this one will only need 15 minutes
- Bake for 30-35 minutes until fully cooked, browned, and smells amazing.
Notes
Can You Use Alternative Sweeteners?
Yes, absolutely!
When I make this bread recipe, I use our local raw honey. However, you can certainly use any sweetener.
I have substituted it with coconut sugar, molasses, syrup, raw dehydrated cane sugar, and maple syrup.
You name a whole food sweetener, it will probably work in this recipe.
Since I use this recipe for more than just bread… If I am making something like cinnamon rolls or sweet dinner rolls, I will add double the sweetener.
What Kind Of Oil To Use
I have pretty much always used olive oil however if I am out of olive oil avocado oil works equally as well.
You can get pretty creative and this is a pretty forgiving recipe, I personally won’t use vegetable oils or any processed oil…
Well, because then it causes it not to be as healthy as it could be!
No matter what oil you choose though, this whole wheat bread recipe is great for beginner bread bakers, so if that is you, you have come to the right place!
The BIGGEST Mistake Bread Bakers Make
The first time I started getting into bread baking, I followed the recipe to an absolute T. The problem with this is one day, you are over the moon happy with how it turned out. Only to turn around the next time you make it and have a complete mess.
Here is the secret! You cannot read the recipe, you have to LEARN TO READ THE DOUGH. If you can learn to read the dough you will end up with FAR more amazing loaves of bread.
So why am I giving you a recipe then if it is useless? Well, it is certainly not useless, your recipe is a guide…
You can follow all the directions on the recipe however… When you get to the flour this is where you will learn “to read your dough.”
You see, every day the temperature in your home can change, the humidity levels is it rainy or sunny outside. So much of your atmosphere from day to day can affect how your bread turns out.
All that being said, I am going to put an amount of flour to use, but it is very loose, something like 4 to 6 cups of whole wheat flour.
Then it’s up to you as you knead your bread to add as your dough becomes the right texture. I promise it gets easier as you continue to make bread. I’ll explain more in detail in the actual recipe.
To Use The Bread Mixer Or Not To Use The Bread Mixer
Ok, it may seem easier to grab the bowl of a stand mixer or your bread machine and just throw your ingredients inside and go for it. While this is a great way to make bread, I feel like when you are just starting out, it is REALLY important to get your hands in the dough.
Get to know the feeling of bread dough! What bread dough feels right and what bread dough feels off?
As you learn to make your own bread, doing it by hand will give you a feel for how much flour the bread needs. You will be able to feel whether it is too dry or too wet.
So, don’t go throwing your awesome bread mixer out just yet, just try starting with a large bowl and get to know your bread recipe. This next test will make help you make sure that your dough is
Window Pane Test
This is one of the best ways to see if your dough is done.
For the whole wheat dough, you want to be gentle with the process.
When you think you are done kneading, grab a little bubble of dough just a little bigger than a golf ball. Then gently twirl it and spread it up until you can see sunlight or regular light coming through.
If the dough doesn’t just tear open when you are gently doing this, then it is ready to rest. As you can see, there is a tear in this, however this is what I look for when I say you can see light coming through.
See the image below:
Best Whole Wheat Bread Recipe
Ingredients:
3 c. warm water
1 Tbs. active dry yeast
2 Tbs honey (if you want it sweeter do add 1/4 cup honey)
3 Tbs Olive Oil
1 Tbs. salt
4-6 cups whole wheat flour
Directions:
Your oven temperature should be set to 400Fº I usually start it on the last
- In a large mixing bowl add warm water, instant yeast, and honey, or your sweetener of choice.
- Set in a warm place and let that rest for 10 minutes covered.
- Now that the first rest is over, you will want to add in your olive oil, salt, and enough whole grain flour to make a pancake batter texture.
- Cover and let rest for another 10 minutes.
- Now, this is where your dough reading skills will come into play. You are going to add a half cup of flour at a time until your dough starts to come away from the sides of the bowl.
- Next, you will turn the dough out onto your lightly floured work surface…
- You continue to knead, please understand working with whole wheat is going to be a more sticky dough so add as much flour as you need to, but don’t overdo it at all.
- If you reach the point where your dough has enough flour but still needs to be kneaded, switch to lightly oiling your hands and continue kneading that way.
- When you think the dough is done, do the window pane test.
- Once the dough is ready, it is time for the first dough rise, you will shape the dough into a ball, and set it in a greased bowl
- Cover with a towel and let rest for 30 minutes, the first rise will be the longest
- Now, it is time to push your fist into the center of the dough and knead quickly into another ball.
- Cut in half and shape into two loaves or 24 dinner rolls: When you shape the loaf of bread, drop it on table four to five times to make sure air pockets are out.
- Place the loaf of bread into your well-oiled bread pan, cover it with a towel
- Now it is time for the second rise, this one will only need 15 minutes
- Bake for 30-35 minutes until fully cooked, browned, and smells amazing.
Lastly, if you desire spread some melted butter on top of your hot bread and then wait for about 20-30 minutes to let it cool before you enjoy your fresh bread!
If you enjoyed this recipe you may also want to check out these:
Best Healthy Cheese And Herb Savory Muffins
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