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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Have I ruined my starter? I had a good working starter, producing bread not parrticularly pretty, but good to eat…I made too much bread so at long last, I refrigerated my starter & my bread didn’t taste as wonderful…I took it out of the fridge, set it on the counter & either used or fed it daily UNTIL…the holidays came & I neglected it for one reason or another…anyway, now although it is not molded, it smells yucky. (It has not been refrigerated in forever…) Do I just need to toss it & begin again? Is there any hope for it?
Thanks.
Other than becoming a whole wheat short bread and a bit dense it was really good. I’ll try it again without getting the oven too warm for the 2nd rise. Thanks for the help.
Ed,
How your bread came out??? If you have any problems about baking just ask and I will help you.
Saintdennis
Dennis,
I made the dough in the bread machine then finished it in my oven after letting it rise in the pan for 1.5 hours.
Dear Lisa McD,
why you can’t find potato flour???? 1) potato flour is potato starch,2)cook potato in jacket (with skin)let it cool take the skin of and mash it very fine and use it replace potato flakes and it is cheaper.
Saintdennis
Dear Ed,
why your bread collapsed:1)liquid/dry ratio not balanced,2)salt omitted,causing bread to overrise then collapse,3)dough exeeds pan capacity,does not bake through and collapses,4)machine opened during rising or baking,5)warm weather and high humidity may cause dough to rise too fast,then collapse before baking begins,6)bread left in machine too long after baking,7)overheated liquids used.
Saintdennis
I guess I should be more clear, it deflated in the oven during the 1st 15 minutes. I noticed it when I went to tent the loaf with tin foil. Also I put the dough in the pan into a warm oven to finish rising and maybe the oven was too warm for it.
My first attempt and mine deflated. It was about 1″ above the top of the pan and now it is about 1″ below. I mixed the dough in a bread machine with the dough setting,substituted 2 ounces of Olive oil for the butter and didn’t use the orange juice. Any thoughts on what went wrong?
It’s 15 3/4″ long.
How long is that Fiddle Bow knife? I don’t want to order one if it won’t fit my kitchen drawers. Although I could probably drill a hole in the handle and hang it up in the pantry.
Excellent!
Sure
Could you substitute Canola or Olive oil for the butter?
Hi Lisa,
I’m glad you like the site.
Even though you use a good mixer, I would still stick to the amount of flour in the recipe at least the first time you try it. Maybe just mix a little less time if you’re concerned about developing too much gluten.
I can’t tell why it sunk more than mine but I doubt if it’s because the braid is too heavy.
The foil just keeps the top of the loaf from getting over done. It’s naturally a very “brown” loaf. Not sure there’s much you can do about that.
Potato flour isn’t all that common and I actually forget what it does. Maybe it conditions the dough or helps bind it. I think grinding the flakes in your bullet sounds like a great idea.
Let me start by saying THANK YOU for the videos and your web site, it’s wonderful!!!! I first found you on U Tube.
I am totally new to bread baking and also take in mind that I use a DLX to mix this dough so I usually need less flour than any receipe calls for, (because gluten development is suspose to be so good)… I only used a little less than 2.5 cups per loaf.
4 questions I have about this loaf….
1. Taste is good, & it’s not a door stop, but the middle is all “sunk in” similar to your picture, but worse. Was the braid too heavy? (I used less than 1/3 of dough) or maybe when I took temp it deflated?
2. Also when taking the temp it WAS 190 on the outsides, but the inside not as hot, so I put it back in for more time until done, made outsides too brown for my liking.
3. Why use tent foil after 15min? is that so it’s not too brown (I did, but it’s still very brown)
4. I couldn’t find potato flour, so I used flakes, is this a normal flour I should be able to find? I thought about taking the flakes & grinding it to make a powder (like in a coffee grinder thing, I have soemthing called “the bullet”)
Any help you can offer is taken with a big smile!!
I have found that my bread rises better when I feed my starter a day or two,or more, before I want to use it and letting it have a rest in the fridge before using it. I don’t feed my starters that often, sometimes weeks or months go by but I store them in the fridge full time except when I revitalize them. Most of my starters are several years old but I found Carl’s 1847 starter to be the hardiest and one called Egypt sometimes is super fast rising.
Beth you must use rye flour for the starter,and must very strong.I have my starter in the kitchen on counter 24/7.I do not put my starter to the fridge.I feeding that starter
every day.
Saintdennis
Hi everybody,
Beth you could use sourdough starter for the Russian breads.Good starter work same as yeast but take more time,and room temperature about 75F- 90F.Before yeast was
dicovered that starter was used for everything.
Saintdennis
Sounds good to me
.
my bread smells like yeast/beer what could be the problem
I don’t think it would hurt anything. Typically, dairy and oils soften the dough so the crust is more suitable for sandwich bread. But I would substitute an equal portion of flour to maintain approximately the same hydration level.
The way King Arthur measures flour, 3 cups would equal 12 oz. They fill cups very lightly. The above measurements come straight out of their Whole Grain cookbook, so I’d go with the 12 oz.
ps. thanks for the pics earlier, I’ll be posting them for sure.
Eric, what do you think the effect would be if you omitted the milk powder? I would also plan to substitute Soy Garden spread for the butter (I’m vegan).
Is 3 cups of whole wheat flour really only 12 ounces? That seems awfully light to me.
This will probably be my next attempt; I like the 18 hour proof, but I plan to use my KA to knead it.
Hi Kay.
Bread flour is just regular all purpose flour with a higher protein content. The higher protein comes from more gluten in the flour. It comes labeled in stores as bread flour so you can tell it from the others. I don’t think I’ve ever seen the actual protein content marked on the packaging, but bread flour has around a 14% protein content and AP flour is around 11%. Most bread bakers prefer baking with bread flour for the extra elasticity of the dough, making a nice texture for bread plus it’s a little easier to achieve a more open crumb (bigger holes). For pie crusts, cookies, pastries, typically AP flour is preferred.
You can definitely use whole wheat flour to feed to your starter. You just have to feed it more often than using white flour because the oil in the germ (which is not in AP flour) will go rancid at some point.
It’s challenging to make a 100% whole wheat bread that is not a brick. That’s why so many “whole wheat” bread recipes actually call for as much or more white flour as WW. What happens is the sharp edged bran flakes in the whole wheat flour cut the gluten stands which would otherwise create air pockets to give you a more airy bread.
Making a whole wheat sourdough bread that is not a brick is even more challenging. You might want to consider buying a copy of Ed Wood’s “Classic Sourdoughs”. I think it’s well worth the effort to get good at making sourdough leavened breads vs. regular yeast breads for the flavor difference. And the term “sourdough” is kind of a misnomer because the bread isn’t necessarily more sour tasting.
Yes, you can use the dough hook attachment on your KA to do the heavy kneading usually called for in bread recipes.
Good luck, Kay.
Hi Eric, No knead seems right for some but I can’t handle the heavy, hot equipment in & out of the oven. So I’m going for sourdough. But my question is what is “bread flour?” I have ww flour made from hard red 100% whole grain winter wheat professional grade – contains the bran, germ and endosperm; protein 4g; from Kerrville TX. Is this “bread flour” If yes, do you think I could feed it to my/your starter? Do you think I can use the KA to make a loaf of sour dough. I made a brick over the weekend. Need to proof for hours? So much to learn, so little time. – Kay
Hi Beth,
If that 17 hours is for a no knead recipe, then it was at room temperature. The few stretch and folds would be in place of kneading all together. Even before no-knead became the rage, a lot of people were happily and successfully baking along using the stretch and fold technique to develop gluten and bread strength without kneading.
As far as how long you should wait to bake after feeding your starter. If you’re leaving at room temperature after feeding and the room is not very cool/cold, I would say at least several hours. I just try to remember to feed my starter the day or evening before I’m going to bake. If it’s the day before, the starter can go back into the fridge and still be ready the next day.
Hi there-
I am delighted to have found your website. I recently became convicted to begin making bread for my family and was intriqued by your whole grain sourdough video. Well, I now have a very bubbly whole wheat sourdough starter, thanks to that video, and am really interested in trying the King Arthur recipe you converted to sourdough.
I was reading how you proofed it for 17 hours. Was that in the refrigerator? And when you say you gave it a few “stretch and folds”, does that mean you kneaded it for only a short time? Also, after I feed my starter, how long should I wait to make bread with it?
Incidentally, I gave another recipe a try before trying this one because I was lacking the dry milk and potato flour and it called for an entire CUP of sourdough starter. It also suggested only an hour rise….and that in the pan. Well, it came out like a doorstop. I was disappointed but my family liked it anyway, eating the whole loaf! But what a fun, therapeutic process. So, onward I go with a better recipe, I’m sure.
I really appreciate your site. It’s very enjoyable and informative! Thank you for your time. And your help!
Thank you, Betty. Let us know how the bread baking goes.
Hi,
I have just moved to Mississippi from the big city of Houston, Texas. I am in the country now and I am loving it. However cable is not on my side of the street now. I have been surfing the web a lot. Your site is a blessing. I have not been a very good bread maker but I have more time to practice now. Thanks for the video and thanks for the blog.
Txbetty
I have a hungry family of 6 (4 kids). I do 1 loaf a week for other people I know, and I pay for my piano lessons with 1 loaf! Plus, I LOVE bread making. It’s my therapy!
Cool. The possibilities are limitless. I bought some citric acid a while back and never used it. Maybe I will now.
Beth – how is it that you bake 6-8 loaves per week? Or I guess I should ask why is it?
FANTASTIC!!! I’ll have to try the 18 hour proof BEFORE the rise in the pan. Mine was essentially a sponge to rise first (abt. 4 hrs) with half of the flours. Then the rest went in and it rose in the pan. I wish I could try yours for texture. They look very similar. My technique is on http://www.recipezaar.com . The recipe is called “Beth’s 100% Whole Wheat Sourdough Bread”. See what you think.
On Saturday afternoon I followed the same "Holy Grail" King Arthur recipe as above, minus the braid. Only I substituted 1/4 cup of firm sourdough starter for the 2 1/2 tsp. of instant yeast. I also left out the 2 Tbs. of orange juice. I didn’t substitute water for the o.j. since the water in the starter about makes up for it.
I let it proof overnight, about 17 hours, then gave it a few "stretch and folds" in the morning and into the pan for the final rise. After about two hours I had what you see in the first picture below. The rise was even more vigorous than the yeasted version. It required an extra 10 minutes of bake time too.
The final results were the best yet for this recipe. Even lighter than before, but also better flavor thanks to the long proofing.
I really love sourdough starter. I think it’s the cat’s pajamas. Sometimes I wonder if my starter is a particularly vigorous variety. Or maybe it’s just that I live in Iowa. You can grow anything here. So if you’re having any trouble getting your bread to rise well, you might want to consider moving here. Just an idea.
That’s exactly what I wanted to know. Thanks for the information.
That’s why we bought the Fiddle Bow knife – to see if it’s easier to cut the crustier loaves. Denyce says she gets enough exercise already without struggling to slice a piece of bread. We’re fairly impressed with it.
We’re conducting extensive field testing to see if we want to add it to our product line. The blade is super sharp and supposedly stays that way. It’s also easier to cut a uniform toaster width slice. It does take some practice to uniformly cut big slices from the middle of the round loaves and you still need another bread knife to cut those slices in half to fit in a toaster. But overall it’s definitely easier.
Love this site thanks to No-Knead bread and your excellent videos! On your new Holy Grail bread I noticed you were using a Fiddle Bow Knife to cut the bread. Will that knife cut the original No-Knead recipe with it’s hard crust?
Thanks, Eileen
This is very encouraging. A little denser is to be expected. Even coming close on your first attempt is awesome. I can’t wait to get the final recipe!
They are a little denser than the traditional style, but NOT a door stop. The gluten developed nicely. It isn’t crumbly at all. I think I rushed it a little. I’ll have to tweak it a few times, but I’m very encouraged.
It worked!!!
Well, I just converted it. It started as one large loaf, but with the starter and the extra flour I had to use because of it, it will probably make two big-ish loaves. It’s overnight rising in the pans. If all goes well, it will be beautiful tomorrow.
Great idea, I’m in. I should be able to give it a go this weekend.
So, here’s what I’m thinking (hope it isn’t too rebellious!!). I think I will do my recipe first. I am VERY familiar with what the texture should be like (I’ve been making 6-8 loaves of it a week for a few years) and then I’ll have a good comparison. I don’t want to spend the time trying a new one first and THEN sourdoughing it. Since you’ve done King Arthur’s, maybe you could do that one and we can compare notes. What do you think?
I would think any good (non-anvil like) 100% WW (or 100% whole any grain) bread is a worthwhile goal, but since King Arthur already put their time and expertise into this recipe to achieve this result, we might as well piggy back onto it and just see if substituting the instant yeast for sourdough can approach the same end. At least that’s my thinking.
Great! The next question (hee hee sorry!!): Is the goal to see if this particular recipe will work or just any 100% WW recipe? I have a starter feeding right now. I am hopeful that I can make the bread this evening.
If I understand your question, no, I don’t think there’s any reason why you can’t use the same ingredients with sourdough starter as you would with commercial yeast. Different strains of yeast, but still yeast.
Some ingredients inhibit yeast growth, like cinnamon, but nothing in this recipe will be a problem. Salt does too, but you have to have some and 1 1/4 tsp is not too much.
Is there any reason not to use standard bread ingredients with a starter (i.e. oils)? I think I have a recipe to start with…
I’ll try it tonight.
Wow, that would be nice. Maybe we can go for no knead later, if and when sourdough shows some promise.
Sure!! Don’t know how long it will be, we home school, but I was going to make bread anyway. Do you want it to attempt to be a no knead, or is that just wishful thinking?!?!
That is a great question, Beth. My guess is that by the time you adjusted everything in order for the recipe to work with a sourdough starter instead of instant yeast, you would end with a substantially different recipe. If nothing else, you would surely have to lengthen times given as sourdough is much slower acting.
Now that you have me thinking about it, I sure am tempted to experiment. Do you have time to play around with this? Maybe between the two of us, we can come up with an acceptable sourdough equivalent.
Could you use sourdough for this recipe if you have one (i.e. Russian) that claims to be good with heavier breads?
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