100% whole wheat sandwich bread: Searching for the perfect loaf.
The customer service folks here at King Arthur Flour field requests from customers all day long. Many begin with the words “My mother [grandmother] used to make this thing, it was like a cake, only it had a lot of thin layers of…” Or, “Do you still sell that little twisty whisk thing…?” Or “Can you tell me if you’re giving any classes in Dallas [Des Moines, Decatur, Dothan…] soon?”
And then there are the baking questions. “Why do my cookies burn on the bottom?” “Why does my banana bread sink in the center?” And, perhaps the all-time most-asked question of all: “Why didn’t my bread rise?”
Talk about a loaded question—one fraught with mysterious side paths and dark twists and turns—that has to be it. “Why didn’t my bread rise?” Well, how long do you have? It could be the ingredients; it could be the way it was kneaded; it could be where you set the bowl; it could be whether it’s raining or sunny, for crying out loud. Yeast is a living thing; and when it gets together with flour and liquid and salt (and sugar and whatever else you want in your loaf), it acts like any other living thing, humans included: capriciously. Unpredictably. With a mind of its own.
Luckily, with practice you can become friends with yeast. Become familiar with it, understand its likes and dislikes, its quirky foibles (doesn’t like cinnamon; doesn’t like garlic; who knew?). And, with very little practice, you can become a good yeast bread baker. So long as you don’t insist on baking 100% whole wheat sandwich bread.
Ah, my bête noir… Would that it were as easy to make a soft, moist, nicely sliceable 100% whole wheat bread as it is to attain the same goal using all-purpose flour. Or even half whole wheat, half AP. But 100% whole wheat bread—wow, have I struggled with it over the years. And the struggle continued last week, as I sought The Perfect 100% Whole Wheat Sandwich Loaf for a new section on our recipe site, Guaranteed Classics, due to launch in a few months.
I’d spent two weeks trudging through loaf after loaf of 100% whole wheat bread. I knew the goal; I saw the prize out there on the horizon. But, like a mirage in the desert, the harder I struggled toward it, the more it receded. That high-rising, fine-grained, supple loaf, the one that slices like a dream without crumbling, the one that tastes like the best parts of whole wheat—nicely earthy, “nutty,” rich—had been eluding me. I’d made dry loaves; dense loaves; over-risen loaves, flabby with air and collapsing at the sidewalls. I’d made loaves whose overriding flavor was a tannic bitterness. Loaves that tasted like… well, like nothing much at all. I’d come close to despairing.
But as any bread baker knows, hope springs eternal. So long as there’s flour in the canister and yeast in the freezer, salt on the counter and water flowing from the tap, there’ll be bread. And yesterday, I came as close as I’ve come to my Holy Grail, 100% Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread.
And the secret is… I went back to my tried-and-true methods and ingredients. I’d been experimenting with different ways of kneading, different types of yeast, and different varieties of flour. So, like we all do sometimes when our computers go blooey, I went back to all my original whole wheat bread defaults: King Arthur White Whole Wheat Flour; SAF instant yeast; and a Zo bread machine, for kneading.
The result? Not unexpectedly, the dough kneaded up gnarly and clay-like, rather than smooth and supple. Whole wheat flour, with its tiny, sharp little bran particles, does an effective job of shredding its developing gluten as you knead. But said dough also showed adequate vigor during its first rise, and was even more cooperative during its second rise, crowning a perfect 1” over the rim of the pan. Thank you, my dear yeast… as you grow and prosper, your mere numbers help overcome the deleterious effects of the bran.
The loaves (I made three) showed good oven-spring as they baked, rising into smooth domes. When I pulled them out of the oven, they didn’t stick in the pans, instead sliding out “slick as a smelt,” as they’d say in Maine. A gilding of melted butter on the crust was a lovely final touch.
And the taste? Surprisingly delicious. Me, I’m a white bread fan at heart. But I can totally see enjoying this whole wheat bread—spread with peanut butter and jelly, toasted and sprinkled with cinnamon-sugar, as part of a BLT.
So here it is, my current state-of-the-baking-art 100% Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread. I’m sure the recipe will continue to evolve; but this is a good snapshot of a moment in time, a stopping place along the path. And hey, fellow bread bakers: if you have a 100% whole wheat sandwich bread recipe you love, one that bakes in a loaf pan and has all the attributes sandwich loaves need—easy to slice, moist and non-crumbly, tasty—let’s compare notes, OK?
Once I’d finally settled on a whole wheat bread recipe I thought was pretty good, I decided to test it with our three King Arthur whole wheat flours. And now, introducing our contestants: organic white whole wheat flour; traditional (red) whole wheat flour; and white whole wheat flour. All are unbleached 100% whole wheat; white whole wheat is simply a different strain than red, a lighter-colored, less assertively flavored flour. By the way, the “bandage” on the bag on the right is simply to keep its contents safely inside; we often get punctured bags from our warehouse to use here in the test kitchen.
You can see the slightly different colors of these three flours; the traditional whole wheat (right) is both darker, and more coarsely ground. The speckles are bits of bran.
Even though I prefer to knead bread in the bread machine, I thought I’d show you a version made in a KitchenAid stand mixer. Notice how “gnarly” the dough is when you first start to knead it…
…and how it smooths out—though not as nicely as yeast dough made with all-purpose flour. This is a different kind of dough indeed.
Here are the three types of whole wheat (l to r)—organic white wheat, white wheat, and traditional—kneaded into dough in the bread machine.
And here they are an hour later. As you can see, they’ve become puffy; but they haven’t come anywhere near doubling in bulk.
Here they are, shaped and in their greased 9”x 5” loaf pans.
And here they are, 75 minutes later, nicely risen. The organic white wheat loaf (l) had risen to 1 1/2” above the rim of the pan; the white wheat loaf, to 1” above the rim; and the traditional loaf to 3/4” above the rim.
Lovely! Forty-five minutes in the oven resulted in three golden loaves. Here I’m running a stick of butter over the hot loaves; it gives them a soft, buttery crust.
Surprisingly, the organic white wheat (l) didn’t have nearly as much oven spring as the white wheat (center), which had slightly more than the traditional (r). Nevertheless, I’d call them all good loaves: nice texture, moist, easy to slice.
AND tasty! As much as I always say I don’t like whole wheat bread, when these loaves came out of the oven I couldn’t resist. They really did taste divine, even without the peanut butter and jelly. We were in the midst of a meeting and I brought everyone a warm slice. As Tom, our marketing manager, said, “This is wonderful—it doesn’t even need butter!”
So—I guess I’ll eat my words, right along with this delicious bread! Maybe I DO like whole wheat bread…
Here’s the complete recipe: 100% Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread.
When you bake whole wheat bread at home, not only are you treating yourself to something fresh, delicious, and hot from the oven; you’re saving money. The chart below shows a typical price for three different baked goods you might purchase at the supermarket, and the ingredients cost for you to make them at home.
| Cost of ingredients at the supermarket |
|
|---|---|
| Butter | $2.39/lb. |
| Sugar | $2.69/5 lb. |
| Blueberries | $3.29/lb. frozen |
| Yogurt | $2.39/quart |
| Large eggs | $2.69/dozen |
| KA AP flour | $5.39/5 lb. |
| KA bread flour | $5.29/5 lb. |
| KA whole wheat flour | $4.89/5 lb. |
| Instant mashed potatoes | $1.99/13 ¾ oz. |
| Dry milk | $5/lb. |
| Yeast bulk | $5.50/lb. |
| Vanilla | $2.59/2 oz. |
| Baking powder | $1.79/10 oz. |
| Baking soda | 69¢/lb. |
| Salt | 69¢/lb. |
| Milk | $3.59/gallon |
| Orange juice | $2.69/1/2 gallon |
| Cost of baked goods at the supermarket |
|
| Bagels | 72¢ each |
| Blueberry muffins | 99¢ each (supermarket bakery) or $3.99 (18-ounce package of 6) |
| Whole wheat bread | $3.49/24-oz. loaf |
| Cost of ingredients to make your own blueberry muffins |
|
| 4 ounces butter | 60¢ |
| ¾ cup (5 ¼ ounces) sugar | 17¢ |
| 2 large eggs | 45¢ |
| 2 teaspoons (1/6 oz.) vanilla extract | 43¢ |
| 1 ½ teaspoons (7g) baking powder | 4¢ |
| ½ teaspoon (2.2g) baking soda | 1/6¢ |
| ½ teaspoon (3g) salt | 1/6¢ |
| 2 ¼ cups (9 ½ ounces) KA AP Flour | 69¢ |
| blueberries | $1.65 |
| TOTAL | $4.04 for 33 oz. blueberry muffins averaging 2 ¾ ounces each |
| Cost of ingredients to make your own bagels |
|
| 4 ½ cups (19 ounces) bread flour | $1.26 |
| 1 5/8 teaspoons yeast | 6¢ |
| 1 ¾ teaspoons salt | 2/3¢ |
| TOTAL | $1.33/12 bagels |
| Cost of ingredients to make your own whole wheat bread |
|
| 2 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast | 13¢ |
| 1/2 cup (4 ounces) lukewarm water | |
| 1/2 cup (4 ounces) lukewarm milk | 11¢ |
| 1/3 cup (2 ounces) orange juice | 8¢ |
| 5 tablespoons (2 1/2 ounces) melted butter | 37¢ |
| 1 1/2 teaspoons salt | ½¢ |
| 3 tablespoons (1 ¼ ounces) sugar | 4¢ |
| 1/4 cup (5/8 ounce) nonfat dry milk | 20¢ |
| 3/4 cup (1 5/8 ounces) dried potato flakes | 24¢ |
| 3 3/4 cups (15 ounces) King Arthur White Whole Wheat Flour | 92¢ |
| TOTAL | $2.09/28-oz. loaf; $1.19/lb. |
April 16th, 2008 at 8:26 am
All that gorgeous bread is starting to make me hungry! It’s really a pity that we can’t find such a great variety of flours here…
All three loaves look delicious!
Cheers,
Rosa
April 16th, 2008 at 9:03 am
Rosa, where do you live that you don’t have a good variety of flours? I feel your pain! You can always order any flour you like from us at kingarthurflour.com. We have all kinds of great flours, for sure-
April 16th, 2008 at 12:44 pm
Thanks for the calculations. I’ve wondered how much we really save by baking ourselves.
Is there any way to substitute fresh or cooked potato for the potato flour or flakes? Also, is potato starch (often available around Passover) the same as potato flour?
Sarah
April 16th, 2008 at 1:05 pm
Rosa,
After introducing the liquid into the flour and mixing together, let the dough rest for 20-30 minutes. This should help soften the bran.
Also, I notice you used the beater instead of the dough hook - any particular reason?
April 16th, 2008 at 2:16 pm
Badotz, I used the beater just to bring the ingredients together, then used the dough hook to knead for 5 minutes at low speed.
Sarah, you could probably substitute mashed potatoes, so long as they were unseasoned. You’d have to do some experimenting to know how to adjust the liquid; it would depend on how moist your mashed potatoes were.
Potato starch is JUST the starch from the potato; potato flour is its starch and fiber.
April 16th, 2008 at 4:13 pm
Wow, you guys can get butter in the supermarket @ $2.39/lb.? Here in NYC, it’s often close to $5 lb and I wait for a “two-fer” @$2.50 each! This contributes to my stand as a baker that I bake ’cause it’s better, not necessarily cheaper (although sometimes it is)…my favorite comparison is not the cost differential between my great home-made and supermarket brands, but between mine and the high-end temptations in a “yuppie” bakery here in Brooklyn. There’s a place nearby selling 9″ cakes for $45 and “designer” cupcakes for $5. They’re great. So are mine!!
April 16th, 2008 at 4:38 pm
Right on, Brenda! No need to pay $5 for a cupcake, when your own are fabulous… Admittedly $2.39 for butter isn’t our everyday price, but on sale it goes down as low as $1.99, at which point we snatch up as much as we can. And if I’d done the price comparison with fancy bakeries or other high-end retail places, rather than the supermarket, then the differential would have been even greater. So—baking at home yields oven-fresh treats, not stuffed with weird additives and chemicals, that’s often less expensive than buying something ready-made… AND baking is fun… what part of this don’t people understand? (I know, it’s the “my time is valuable and I don’t like to bake” part. More’s the pity!)
April 16th, 2008 at 6:41 pm
Thanks for the information about the white whole wheat flour. You have convinced me to try, once again, to make my own whole wheat bread. I buy King Arthur products at my local grocery (Stop and Shop or Roche Bros)
April 16th, 2008 at 7:03 pm
From: “Michele Pryse”
Download (untitled) [text/plain 457b] PJ,
Thank you for sharing this recipe–it’s exactly what I was looking for.
Grocery store bread prices have risen exponentially! I can’t wait to try
it. I purchased my Magic Mill DLX from you 11 1/2 years ago (it’s still
going strong), so I can bake 6 to 8 loaves at a time and freeze the extras,
pre-sliced! What could more more convenient than that? And I won’t be
paying $2.99 per loaf, either.
–
Sincerely,
Michele Pryse
Central Point, Oregon
April 16th, 2008 at 7:22 pm
Any idea how much for the electricity for the oven adds to the cost of baked goods.
Is it that much more efficient to bake several things in the oven at the same time?
I’ve been baking with King Arthur flour since the 1970s!
April 16th, 2008 at 8:17 pm
I do not know where to post this question, so I decided to post it in this comment section. Can you show us step by step how to make macaroons? I don’t mean the normal coconut macaroons that can be found everywhere, more like the french/italian chocolate or almond macaroons. I’d really appreciate it. Thank you.
April 16th, 2008 at 8:35 pm
Glad your Magic Mill is still going strong, Michele - those were excellent machines. Have you frozen bread pre-sliced before? I’m wondering if it gets stale, being sliced ahead of time…
Jane, the types of ovens (gas, electric, brand) and the cost for energy vary so widely I wouldn’t hazard a guess how much it costs to run an oven. However, yes, it’s certainly cost-effective to bake more than one thing at once - or at least in sequence, so you’re not heating the oven up more times than you have to.
April 16th, 2008 at 8:38 pm
Emily, I’ll put macaroons on my ever-growing request list… thanks for the suggestion.
April 16th, 2008 at 9:01 pm
PJ - I have to smirk when I see your price of flour. The SuperTargets in my area (Minneapolis) have raised the price of regular KAF All-purpose flour to $7.09 for 5 pounds!
April 16th, 2008 at 11:02 pm
I always freeze my bread pre-sliced and it works fiine. I wait until it’s fully cooled before slicing it then package it in about 8 to 10 slice packages since there are only two of us in the family. Even if I forget to take it out for toast in the morning it toasts up just fine frozen and if it’s on the counter during the day the sandwichs are great - no stale taste and I don’t have to worry about keeping it out too long.
April 16th, 2008 at 11:25 pm
PJ I saw your flour price comparisons and $5.29 for AP, and Bread flour seem to be the norm in our supermarkets as well.
Today I was shopping in Walmart, and low and behold saw all King Arthur flours under $3.oo for a 5lb bag. Needless to say I scooped up several bags.
Just thought I’d pass it on.
Donny C
Fort Myers, Fl
April 17th, 2008 at 6:54 am
I can’t wait to try this wheat bread recipe, but could you use oil instead of butter? My doctor said my cholesterol is “not ideal” and I am trying to lower it.
April 17th, 2008 at 7:40 am
Mary Ellen, try substituting 4 tablespoons oil for the butter - that should work out just fine.
April 17th, 2008 at 1:37 pm
Hi,
I just stocked up on KA flour. It was on sale for 2.49 a bag(Meijer’s in MI).
April 17th, 2008 at 4:07 pm
In my humble opinion, it doesn’t matter too much whether baking at home is cheaper or not. It’s the satisfaction of creating something from the most basic of ingredients and knowing exactly what you are eating. I even bake dog biscuits for seven dogs on a weekly basis. I’m going to keep doing it until I’m just too old to do it anymore!
April 17th, 2008 at 5:39 pm
PJ, when you folks calculated the cost of whole wheat bread vs. store-bought, did you include the energy costs for running the oven, or just the cost of materials? (re: the email that went out to subscribers)
April 17th, 2008 at 8:02 pm
Pat, it was just the ingredients. The types of ovens (gas, electric, brand) and the cost for energy vary so widely I wouldn’t hazard a guess how much it costs to run an oven. Also makes a difference if you’re baking more than one thing at once, etc. And, if you already have the ingredients at home and don’t have to go to the store, you’re saving gas money there, too.
April 18th, 2008 at 12:12 am
Made your whole wheat sandwich bread today. I was intrigued about using orange juice in making bread. I did add 3T vital wheat gluten and dough enhancer to the recipe and used the Gold instant yeast because of acid of the
orange juice. I also used a little less flour so the dough was a little sticky. Anyway my friends loved it! I turn out very moist,
April 18th, 2008 at 10:44 am
what does the orange juice do to the bread and could you add a different kind of juice such as pineapple or orange pineapple
thanks
April 18th, 2008 at 3:43 pm
Wow. Your local market charges an arm and a leg for the KA flour. I pay about half that at my regular chain (Ingles) in Western North Carolina, and if I get it when it goes on the once-every-six-weeks special that gets a discount with the store card, I get it for less than $2.50 for 5 pounds–I’ve been known to get 35 pounds at a time when it’s on special (I can’t get the commercial bakery suppliers to talk to me cause I’m not a business, so I can’t get the 50-lb wholesale bags, and I have to order the SAF yeast from y’all so I’ve got shipping to add) . Of course, if I was using butter, my butter is almost $5.00 a pound down here. {ouchie}. I use the big Zo bread maker that I got from y’all as a gift for my last-year’s birthday, but my recipe is only vaguely like yours because I’ve got to work around food allergies (no oil or milk products, and citrus is iffy) and sensitivities (no potatoes cause I’m sensitive to nightshade-family foods {my spinal pain dropped sharply when I stripped them out of my diet}).
I use a variation of the WW recipe in the Zo manual: 2 c. water, 1 tsp. salt, 5.5 c. KA WW flour (red), and 1 yeast spoon (2.25 tsp) SAF yeast. I use the normal white bread cycle and let the Zo bake it Comes to the top of the Zo’s pan and is very light. In fact it’s so light, I’ve been contemplating cutting the yeast to 1 tsp. since the SAF is *so* very energetic, and I actually like a bit denser loaf since I put the bread under soft, soupy beans for supper {breakfast is oatmeal with miso}. I use the Dean Ornish diet which is whole grains, beans, etc., under 10 percent fat, and I’ve lost around 100 lbs. so far.
April 18th, 2008 at 3:59 pm
Bobbi, I read in a baking magazine that orange juice reacts with the tannic taste of whole wheat and “tames” it - and it seems to work. Not sure if other citrus juices do the same - give it a try and report back! Certainly wouldn’t hurt anything with the recipe…
April 19th, 2008 at 10:18 pm
What is the nutritional info for this bread recipe? Calories, fiber etc?
April 20th, 2008 at 8:52 am
Sorry, JP, no nutritional info. yet. We’re working on that project. Eventually all of our online recipes will have it, but it’s going to take awhile.
April 20th, 2008 at 2:27 pm
I made this recipe twice this morning in my Zoj and both loaves did not rise at all. I used the basic white cycle. I’ve been baking bread for over 5 years now and usually only make the dough in the machine and then bake in the oven. But since I had errands to run I thought I’d let the machine bake it today. Any thoughts or ideas as to why it didn’t rise?
By the way, this is by far my favorite blog and I always have such great success with KA recipes.
April 20th, 2008 at 5:57 pm
Melissa, this bread isn’t meant to be baked in the bread machine. It needs the finer touch you can give it with your eyes, your hands, and watching it rise. 100% whole wheat bread can be very finicky; each time I do it, I don’t go so much by the clock as by what the dough looks like, letting it rise to where it needs to rise, rather than cutting it off once a certain time has been reached. Your bread machine isn’t able to make those assessments. So, while it’s good for baking many loaves, in this case it’s good only for kneading, at which point you should take the dough out and shape, etc. yourself.
Thanks for your nice comments about the blog and our recipes!
April 21st, 2008 at 2:07 pm
I would like to bake this bread in a bread machine, but the recipes I use in my machine use up to 3 cups flour. This recipe calls for 3-3/4 cups flour. Is it possible for you to refigure the ingredients to go along with 3 cups flour? My bread machine has a whole wheat setting and gives a longer time for rising - usually works well. Is this possible?
April 21st, 2008 at 2:57 pm
I tried the recipe this week and it was great!! I think the citric acid in the OJ is what is also helping. I remember reading that someplace. I don’t use butter - used a soybean margarine and used maple syrup instead of sugar. I use my bread machine only to mix and rise my dough. You need to be sure you set it to the Whole Wheat selection. That lets it sit for a bit before mixing and kneading. I plan to try this out on the KAF oatmeal bread recipe that is on the white flour label. I usually mix 50/50 but would prefer it to be all whole wheat. Thanks again!!
April 21st, 2008 at 3:08 pm
Pat, I’m not sure this bread is a good candidate for baking in the bread machine. I suggest you make the dough using your bread machine’s dough cycle, then finish it off by baking it in your regular oven.
April 21st, 2008 at 3:46 pm
I found it. The ascorbic acid in fruits like lemons, oranges, etc. helps the yeast to work longer and harder. One site suggested using vitamin C. I like the orange juice though.
April 21st, 2008 at 4:47 pm
Those loaves look fantastic!
I started baking with yeast about 3 years ago when my husband purchased a Bosch mixer and NutriMill for me. I have not purchased a loaf of bread since. I have a simple 100% whole wheat bread recipe that WORKS. I have used it from day 1 when I had no idea what kneading was. PJ, can I share the recipe with you, as you asked in the blog?
April 21st, 2008 at 4:54 pm
I am enjoying the whole wheat bread I recently made using your recipe. I would, however, like to know agood way to store it so that it stays fresh for a week , if it lasts that long.
April 21st, 2008 at 6:10 pm
Received the spring Baking Sheet today and just learned of the Bakers Banter. This will be my first experience with a blog so I’m excited. I plan to make the whole wheat bread soon and will report on it. We visit our daughter in Hanover, N.H. several times a year(from IN) and a trip (or two) to King Arthur is always on the agenda. Looking forward to visiting you in May.
April 21st, 2008 at 8:04 pm
Kristy, I’d love you to share the recipe - would you like to do it right here in comments? If not, just email me: pj.hamel@kingarthurflour.com. Thanks!
Sandra, the best way to keep this bread fresh is to wrap it VERY tightly in plastic wrap and leave it at room temperature. Now, this won’t work in VERY hot and humid conditions, but it’s your best bet most of the time. Refrigeration makes bread get stale VERY quickly. If you feel you can’t eat it fast enough, freeze half - don’t slice, wrap well in plastic, then in aluminum foil.
April 24th, 2008 at 11:39 am
When Mark Bittman wrote about no kneading for baking bread, his recipe was for white bread. I have been experimenting with this using white whole wheat flour. I’ve had to modify his recipe a bit since it didn’t seem to work as well with the whole wheat flour. My current modification: 1 1/3 c water, 1 t salt, 2 t yeast (although smaller amounts of yeast can be used), 3 c white whole wheat flour, 1 T canola oil and 3 T honey: mix (no kneading), let rise twice, then bake in a covered stoneware dish for 35 min at 400 covered, then 10 min uncovered. It seems with the whole wheat flour that the rise during baking is actually better if the dough is a little stiffer (i.e, less water). I have not yet tried the orange juice. Also, I am not clear why dry milk is used. Of course, I would be interested to hear if the King Arthur group has experimented with whole wheat bread using the technique Mark Bittman described and any modifications required.
April 24th, 2008 at 12:27 pm
Lance I haven’t tried the Mark Bittman method for 100% whole wheat bread yet. What I was after here was a soft, sliceable whole wheat sandwich loaf - thus the dry milk, which adds to its soft texture. But now I’ll try your method, see how it works out - thanks a lot for sharing!
May 1st, 2008 at 12:01 pm
The whole wheat bread looks wonderful. Problem: my husband can’t have either orange juice or potato flakes. Any thoughts on substitutes?
May 1st, 2008 at 4:59 pm
Deanna, just substitute water for the OJ. And you can leave out the potato flakes - they give the bread a nice, moist texture, but aren’t critical to the bread rising or anything like that. If he can have fresh potatoes, you could try adding 1/2 cup mashed potatoes and leaving out some of the water - you’d have to experiment to see how much. Or you could reduce both sugar and water a bit, and add 1/2 cup applesauce…
May 7th, 2008 at 1:50 pm
You were not kidding when you called it the Holy Grail. I have tried easy 100 recipes for whole grain this is by far the very best. I have used red wheat and white wheat. To day I am trying Kamut. Thank you for the excellent recipes.. Brenda Fla
May 8th, 2008 at 2:18 pm
Recipe calls for “milk.” I’m just starting baking & would appreciate advice on the type of milk. Whole? 2%? Or will skim milk work as well?
May 8th, 2008 at 3:00 pm
Any type of milk, Mark - the higher-fat the milk, the softer/more tender your bread.
May 9th, 2008 at 12:20 pm
Your bread looked amazing!
I baked this bread bought the extras that it needed, the maze. It did rise in a regular loaf pan. I couldnt get it to rise in the french pan that has a lid and is long. The idea was to give a good crust all the way around. I for sure thought that this recipe would have been a good recipe for that. I couldnt have been more then wrong. Then the other loaf came out “heavy”. Any suggetstions or recommendations.
Thank you,
Renee
Edmond, OK
May 14th, 2008 at 11:29 pm
I have had problems with the tops of my whole wheat loaves settling when I put them in the oven. I have tried tweaking different steps to try and isolate the problem, but can’t seem to get around the flat tops. Any suggestions?
June 9th, 2008 at 2:58 pm
The last time I made WW bread it was a crumbly mess only good for toast. I tried this recipe with high hopes and wasn’t disappointed at all! It was the soft, sandwichy bread that I’d been craving. Thanks!
June 27th, 2008 at 12:06 pm
I am a new baker. A 5 pound bad of King James All-Purpose flour was selling for $9.99 at my local natural foods store. Has the price really jumped that high? From $5.39 to 9.99 in less than three months?
Hi Dawn,
Unfortunately, our global economy is suffering from a world wide wheat shortage now, and the prices of flour have risen quite a bit. You can check out the blog post on this significant issue by typing ‘tough times’ in the search window.
MaryJane @ The Baker’s Hotline
Hey, King James is giving us some competition! Just kidding… Actually, $9.99 is EXTREMELY high; I’d go shop somewhere else. Most places, it’s just around $5.00 now… Are you in the U.S.? - PJH
July 3rd, 2008 at 11:14 am
Thanks MaryJane. I am well aware of the economic issues affecting our food prices however the jump in price seemd extremed. Especially since other organic flours such as Arrowhead Mills were selling for 5 and change.
Thanks PJH. Glad to hear that is not necessarily the price everywhere. I am in a more expensive area (Baltimore- Washington DC metro area) but I couldn’t bring myself to pay that much. I wanted to try the King James flour since I had been hearing so much about it but I went with the other brand. I will keep my eyes open for it selling at a lower price but I’m not holding my breath.
July 11th, 2008 at 10:25 pm
I am new to bread making… I just got a Bread Machine. I’ve only made one pizza dough that freezed yesterday and was searching for a sandwish bread recipe when I came across this one. Today I bought some of the ingredients, when I got them all, I will give it a try. Does anyone else have whole wheat sandwish bread recipes that can share?
July 24th, 2008 at 9:00 am
Has anyone made a crusty hearth bread with the white whole wheat? Using a levain?