100% Whole Wheat Bread
The Holy Grail of 100% Whole Wheat Breads?
All too often, a discussion of home made 100% whole wheat bread also includes some reference to a door stop, a shot put or an anvil. It’s challenging to make an all whole grain bread that is palatable.
This recipe from King Arthur’s Whole Grain Baking not only produces amazingly light, tender and moist bread, but is fairly simple and quick to make and has a unique flavor all its own. King Arthur calls it “the Holy Grail of 100% whole wheat breads”. I’m not sure I would go quite that far, but then this is the lightest one of its kind I’ve yet to bake, so who am I to criticize?
This recipe yields one 8 ½ x 4 ½ inch loaf.
2 tablespoons (1 ounce) orange juice
1 cup (8 ounces) lukewarm water
4 tablespoons (½ stick, 2 ounces) unsalted butter; cut into 6 pieces
3 cups (12 ounces) traditional whole wheat flour
3 tablespoons (1 ¼ ounces) sugar
Heaping ½ cup (1 ¼ ounces) dried potato flakes or 3 tablespoons (1 ¼ ounces) potato flour
¼ cup (1 ounce) nonfat dry milk
1 ¼ teaspoon salt
2 ½ teaspoons instant yeast
Note: I neglected to mention in the video that the bread pan should be lightly greased before placing the dough in it. Also, you’ll probably want to mix and knead it more than I did. For this loaf, I didn’t knead at all; I just mixed with my dough whisk. The bread was a little crumbly and should have been kneaded some to develop the elasticity of the gluten. This happens automatically during the long wet fermentation of the no-knead method, but this bread recipe needs more human intervention in the form of good old fashioned kneading. A few therapeutic minutes aught to do it.
► For another 100% whole grain bread recipe, see Rick’s Whole Wheat & Rolled Oats No Knead.
Here’s a particularly nice result from Breadtopia reader, Allan Castine:
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Hi Marilyn,
Good question. Maybe we don’t read much about whole wheat no knead bread just because it’s difficult to make any all whole wheat bread that isn’t a rock. This all spelt sourdough bread recipe, that I’m particularly fond of and bake a lot, is pretty close to no knead, proofs overnight, and comes out great for me.
I notice that all the 100% whole wheat recipes seem to require kneading and are not used as ANK (overnight rise) breads. From “Tammy’s Recipes” website I got some neat additions to the whole wheat sandwich bread I have been making (out of freshly ground hard white wheat), which make it more the texture of store-bought, which is what I was after. It’s not too difficult to knead, but sometimes the overnight rise business would work out better depending on my schedule. SO…what is it about 100% whole wheat that might not work as an ANK bread? We really don’t want to use white flour.
Thanks.
Marilyn B.
I’ve had poor luck with this recipe, though I’m still a beginner bread baker. Both times, my dough has turned out very dry, even after adding additional 2T water and the dough getting tacky. From the video, it looks like the dough should be very pliable even before the first rise — mine is a dense, heavy ball. After the first rise, the video looks like is almost pours out of the bowl — mine is still a slightly risen yet dense, heavy ball.
Is this just a matter of adding more liquid? Keeping the dough warmer during the risings?
Sorry for the rookie-type questions, but I figured someone here might be able to give me some guidance.
Eric
I’m 85 and I used to bake some bread after I retired but I quit after a year or two. I ran onto your website about two weeka ago and I really enjoyed your videos and recipes. So I took it up again. I have baked about 4 or 5 loaves since and it is so easy using the no knead method and I think I’m driving my wife crazy getting bakery supplies, etc.
Thanks very much for teaching me this method.
Bill
Eric Whole wheat versus stone ground wheat
All the enzymes are supposed to be removed in making whole wheat bread using steel cylinders because it’s supposed to get the temperature up to 115 degrees, where as stone ground wheat doesn’t destroy them. I was wondering which is better? I would think heating the oven to 450 degrees would also kill the enzymes plus stone ground costs a little more.
Thank you
Bill
I made this recipe with the following variations. Did not have potatoe flakes so I just boiled a small potatoe and mashed it. Did not have dry milk, used a little sour cream instead. All seemed to work okay and it was yummy. A little moister dough than I am used to (probably due to the use of the sour cream) but turned out great.
Hi Eric, I am a vegan, I tried the King Arthur’s recipe, the texture and the color where fantastic, but the taste of the yeas was overwhelming. I have ommitted the potato flour because it does not exist in Pakistan, where I live, substituted with a quarter cup of gluten, used 0.4 ounces of oil , no dry skimmed milk, some aniseed and “Hilbe” a spice we use in Lebanon, my birth country, which is sweet. Next time I am going to try to substitute apple sauce for the orange juice and coconut milk for the water, to replace the moisture that the powder milk gives along with the butter, maybe cut down 1/2 spoon on the yeast and let it rise for a little longer. Thanks for the videos, they make my day , or whatever is left of it whenever I watch them. Gina
Absolutely gorgeous bread, Alice. Nice going.
Ok! I made the bread with addition of whole ground flax seeds, as I said. In my first attempt I used ¼ cup of flax (no seeds) and I had to add more than a ¼ of cup of water because the dough was very dry. The result was good, as you can see in the picture but I think the taste was a bit too nutty. Last time I baked a new loaf (today) I used just 1/8 cup of ground and I didn’t use seeds again. I also had to add more water but less than 1/4 cup. The taste of flax was not so sharp and the texture was just amazing. Thanks Eric, thanks Saintdennis! Great advices!!
PS.: Any nice tip for pita bread and challah?
*Click to enlarge
Thanks Eric,
I was just wondering what would be the right amount of ground flax seeds to use… I am baking a loaf today and I will let you know how it came out.
Thanks again!
Hi Alice,
for more flavor you can ground half and half whole. But do not put there too much (for four cups flour use 1/8 cup ground and 1/8 cup whole flax seed.
Saintdennis
Hi Alice.
Sounds great! I’ve followed recipes where they have you putting whole flax seed in with the dough when you first mix it up so it has time (maybe) to absorb some moisture before baking and I’ve also ground them to an oily pump in a mill before adding to the dough. While the later seems more likely to be assimilated by your body, either one would surely add an extra health component.
Hi Eric,
I have been making this bread for quite a while now (2 loaves per week) and everybody here just love it. The result is always the same: a great tasty and beautiful bread. I have sent you a picture before, remember? But now I have a question for you: How could I add some whole ground flax seeds in this recipe? I am just trying to make it even more healthier…
Thanks again for sharing your expertise with us.
Ok, here is a picture of the whole wheat bread made from starter (I hope). Not too bad in spite of turning the oven off.
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At least it works in most browsers on most computer (I think). Please use the comments tab at the top of the page to let me know if you’re still having problems. Thanks.
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Hi Judy (and others).
The image uploading feature has been fixed. Please try again.
Another attempt to include a picture. If it doesn’t work, I give up.
I baked the loaf today that I had used sour dough starter instead of yeast. The dough doubled in 12 hours. I kneaded it for about 5 minutes and put it in the loaf pan to proof for another 2 hours. In this time it raised just over the top of the pan. It had tremendous oven spring in spite of a few self-inflicted problems. I meant to turn on the oven light to check it, and accidentally hit the buttom to shut off the oven. By the time I realized what I did, the temp had dropped to 260 degrees. I turned the oven back on, but opening the oven caused the front of the oven to be cooler than the back. This caused the side of the loaf to the back of the oven to raise more than the front. I had to determine doneness by internal temperature and not bake time.
The crumb looks dense, but it is soft and moist. The flavor is very good, and the gritty feel of the flour and dough is not evident in the bread. I am going to try the sour dough version again, but next time I’ll try not to turn the oven off.
I had to try this recipe with sour dough starter, and just mixed it up tonight. I weighed all the ingredients, and used fresh milled hard white wheat. The only changes I made to the recipe were to use 3 tbsp of corn starch instead of pototo flour or flakes which I don’t have on hand. Corn starch must weigh less than potato flour because 3 tbsp didn’t come to even one oz. So I used 3 tbsp. I used about 3/4 starter instead of yeast. My starter is on the thick side, but not as thick as Eric’s. So I needed to add a bit more flour to get the dough past being tacky. It’s a little sticky, but didn’t really stick to my hands. The dough will now be left to raise until tomorrow, probably around 12 hours. I’ll post a follow up when I see how it works out.
I do have one question, though. I used my flour mill for the first time and set it on the setting for bread. The flour seemed a lot more grainy than store bought flour, and so the dough feels grainy. Is this normal for milled wheat flour?
Hi,
I made his bread and i agree it is really great bread. The problem i’m having is that both my girls and my wife loved this bread too so i need a way to speed up the process a little. Would you be able to give us a no need method recipe for this bread?
John, what town on Long Island you live??? My email>:dennisokula@yahoo.com
Saintdennis
Hola! Well, i live in long island, n.y. I have not yet tried traditional rye bread recipes, but I look to try one sometime this summer. I have only been baking for about a year, and still have much to learn. I try to bake atleast a loaf a week, and I prefer kneed recipies. Though no kneed recipies and even batter recipies are fun too! And I prefer to use 50/50 whole wheat recipies that call for all sorts of wonderful fillings and spices. Oh yeah, and I am a vegan, so I use a lot of dairy substitutes (that work wonders). Kindly provide me with an email adress so I can contact you about future bread baking projects, If you don’t mind. Auf Wiedersehen!
Hi John,
I’m very happy to help you and if you have any questions ,please just ask. What state you living?? What the bread you are making???? Do you make rye breads with starter???
Saintdennis
Thank you saintdennis
For whatever reason, my computer will not allow me to load pictures. However, I assure you my last loaf was almost a total success! It rose about an inch above the pan, and the crust was soft and supple. And the inside was cooked to perfection. However, the braid migrated to the side, but that is purley asthetic. I used all of the advice you have given me, and I thank you very much! Happy bread baking!
John
Hi John,
I’m sorry I had my computer in the shop for whole the week and I pick it that today. Instant yeast you mix withe flour and Active dry yeast you mix one pack with .25 cup of water but not hoter than 95 F,if is too hot you will kill yeast and in room temperature 70 F – 80 F about 10-15 minutes,you will see it fommy on the top.How your bread coming a lone??? Any picks???
Saintdennis
Ah, so I have to alter the amount of flour, not the amount of water. This explains alot. One more question (sorry): I have some Active Dry Yeast that I would like to use instead of the Instant Yeast called for in the recipe. How would I go about proofing it for this recipe exactly? Perhaps create a sponge? And should I add more yeast? Much obliged.
Hi John,
# 1)I do not know what recipe you are doing, but let’s say recipe call for 2.5 cup of water and 5 cup of flour. You put 2.5 cup of water in the bowl ( if you using yeast you put only 2.25 cup and save .25 for yeast). When yeast is ready about 10 minutes or instant you can mix with flour.Then you measure 5 cup of flour and put it to another bowl and mix it just handful at the time very well. The reason is you control the flour. Sometime you use more and sametime you use less. Before you start put .5 cup flour aside and save it when you knead the on the table. Remeber,you are working with just 5 cups of flour,any more flour then that is not part of the recipe if you want to make the bread light. Never dump all flour once. When you bake you use 350 F and bake it 60-70 minutes or your termometer show temperature inside the bread is 190-195 F. Remember when you take the bread out from the oven that the temperature rise 10 more grease and you reach 205F (when you take bread out from yhe oven the bread is still baking) if you pass that then your bread will be to dry.
Lot’s luck
Saintdennis
Sorry for the “less-than” high quality photos. This would have been a perfect loaf, but I did not add enough water. The dough was too thick, and the loaf did not rise to it’s full potential. This may be in part due to the fact that it was a very dry day. Or possibly the wheat gluten absorbed too much water. None the less, the loaf is delicious and a bit heavier than intended, but still fairly light for whole wheat. I will try again next week!
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