If you are heading down the rabbit trail of eating whole foods, and cooking/ baking from scratch, the very first place I recommend starting is with whole wheat bread! I’ve taken that a step further and use fresh milled whole wheat flour which is what I recommend in this recipe. However, this same recipe can be made with store bought whole wheat flour. So don’t be shy, and try it anyway! Even if you have not yet bought a grain mill.
Tools needed
A bowl* or kitchen aide mixer
Mixing spoon
Measuring cups and liquid measuring cup
Clean flat surface
Rolling pin
Bread pan
Making bread is not complicated! In all actuality, all you need is a little flour, a yeast, water, and salt. It may take practice to have the loaves come out just the way you want them to, but you can do it!
The Process:
Scroll further down this page for a detailed description for making this bread, but to give you an overview so you have an idea of what is entailed here is the process! Mix the water and milk in a liquid measuring cup and warm to a lukewarm temperature; then add the yeast. Combine the yeast mixture with the honey in your stand mixer or a large bowl. Add the flour, salt, and butter, mixing them until it forms a shaggy dough. Knead the dough until it begins to hold its shape. Cover it and let it rise for about 1 hour, and then turn out onto a floured surface to knead and shape. Shape the dough by rolling it out on a flat surface and then rolling it up and placing in a bread pan. Allow to rise until the dough is just over the top of the bread pan and then bake it and enjoy! It’s really that simple!
For the Visual Learner:
What your dough should look like after all the ingredients are mixed in.
After a few minutes of kneading with a stand mixer, you will see the dough begin to wrap around itself. It is gaining structure and developing the gluten.
I like to transfer the dough to an oiled bowl for the first rise.
After an hour of rising, your dough should be (about) doubled in size.
Roll it out!
Roll it up!
Place into an oiled bread pan.
Let it rise until just over the top of the pan.
Bake it and enjoy!
This bread is a staple in our house. I make this recipe at least 2 times per week for my family! With two children under 2 requiring my attention at any given moment, I need it to be easy or it won’t get done. So when I say it’s easy, you better believe it!
I have gotten into my rhythm baking this bread, and now it is about as natural to me as doing the dishes (maybe more so). Once, you bake a recipe like this enough times, you commit it to memory, and it becomes part of the flow in your kitchen. If you are discouraged in your kitchen and overwhelmed learning the skills of cooking and baking from scratch, I encourage you to just keep at it. Pick one thing to practice and get good at. When you master that, move onto the next thing! Trying to throw too many new things into your routine at once, will leave you feeling overwhelmed and burnt out. But steady consistent effort in small areas at a time will increase your capacity and skill until what seemed impossible to master doesn’t even feel hard anymore!
What you need to know about the flour…
Feel free to experiment for yourself with different types of flour. I specifically use fresh milled hard red wheat flour for the directions I have given you with this recipe. However, I have also made this recipe with store bought, hard red, whole wheat flour; store bought, golden, whole wheat flour; and fresh milled, hard white, whole wheat flour. You will find that you will have to make slight changes such as: adding flour or lessening the liquid, adjusting the kneading times, or possibly rise times depending on the type of flour. However, the differences are minor, and if you follow this specific recipe with any of the above varieties, it will likely come out quite good regardless of any adjustments. I have found this particular bread recipe to be quite forgiving.
100% whole wheat vs. All purpose flour:
If you are new to baking with whole wheat flour, you can expect to notice a stark flavor and texture difference when you make the switch to 100% whole wheat flour. I immediately preferred the taste and texture of the whole wheat products over any all purpose breads I’d made before, as did my family, but I know that is not the case for everyone. This loaf will not come out quite as tall or fluffy as some all purpose sandwich breads will be. However, it is still great sandwich bread material. The bread has a hearty, robust flavor, but it is not dense. The different wheat that you use will change the flavor of the bread.
Try this super easy recipe for homemade whole wheat bread. The bread comes out delicious, soft, and great for sandwiches or toast.
Ingredients
3.5 Cups of Fresh Milled Hard red wheat flour
1 cup water
1/2 cup milk
2.5 Tsp Yeast
3 Tbsp Honey
1.5 teaspoons of salt
3 Tbsp softened butter.
Directions
Combine water and milk and warm to room temperature. Add the yeast.
Mix the yeast mixture with the honey in a stand mixer or a bowl, and add 3 cups of the flour and salt.
Divide the softened(not melted) butter into chunks and add to the dough.
Knead on low for 8-10 minutes adding a tablespoon of flour at a time as needed. Then transfer to an oiled bowl and let rise for 1 hour or until doubled in size.
Turn the dough out onto a floured surface, and knead for 1 to 2 minutes as needed to get the dough workable. You can add more flour at this point if needed, but don’t overdo it.
Roll the dough out and shape it to fit in a loaf pan. Let rise for 30-45 minutes.
Bake the loaf in a 375 degree oven for 35-40 minutes, or until golden brown and a knife inserted comes out clean.
Notes
I use my kitchen aid to streamline the process of baking this bread. The machine makes this recipe a breeze! However, I did not want to discourage any readers who may not have a mixer from giving this recipe a try! A bowl and spoon will work just as well!
Step 6 is crucial. The only way I have ever drastically messed up this loaf is by not rolling out the dough, and instead placing it directly into a loaf pan. Your bread may rise nicely but will have no shape, and will sink in the oven when baking. In order to have a loaf of bread that holds its shape, I have found with most any breads, the best practice is to roll it flat and then roll it up to fit in the bread pans.
If you tried this recipe, please let me know what you thought! You can leave a comment, and follow me on Pinterest for more encouragement and family friendly, homecooked meals for the mom that does not like to cook!
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