Classic 100% Whole Wheat Bread
Who says whole wheat bread has to be dense, dry, and tasteless? This 100% whole wheat recipe features the delightfully nutty taste of wheat in a fine-grained, moist loaf.
2 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast, or 1 packet active dry yeast dissolved in 2 tablespoons water
1 1/3 cups (10 1/2 ounces) water
1/4 cup (1 3/4 ounces) vegetable oil
1/4 cup (3 ounces) honey, molasses, or maple syrup
3 1/2 cups (14 ounces) King Arthur Traditional Whole Wheat Flour
1/4 cup (1 ounce) nonfat dried milk
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
Mixing: In a large bowl, combine all of the ingredients and stir till the dough starts to leave the sides of the bowl. Transfer the dough to a lightly greased surface, oil your hands, and knead it for 6 to 8 minutes, or until it begins to become smooth and supple. (You may also knead this dough in an electric mixer or food processor, or in a bread machine programmed for "dough" or "manual.") Transfer the dough to a lightly greased bowl, cover the bowl, and allow the dough to rise till puffy though not necessarily doubled in bulk, about 60 minutes, depending on the warmth of your kitchen.
Shaping: Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled work surface, and shape it into an 8-inch log. Place the log in a lightly greased 8 1/2 x 4 1/2-inch loaf pan, cover the pan loosely with lightly greased plastic wrap, and allow the bread to rise for about 1 hour, or until it's crowned about 1 inch above the edge of the pan. A finger pressed into the dough should leave a mark that rebounds slowly.
Baking: Bake the bread in a preheated 350°F oven for about 40 minutes, tenting it lightly with aluminum foil after 20 minutes. Test it for doneness by removing it from the pan and thumping it on the bottom (it should sound hollow), or measuring its interior temperature with an instant-read thermometer (it should register 190°F at the center of the loaf). Remove the bread from the oven, and cool it on a wire rack before slicing. Store the bread in a plastic bag at room temperature. Yield: 1 loaf, 16 slices.
Nutrition per serving (1 slice, 51g): 150 cal, 3.5g fat, 5g protein, 24g total carbohydrate, 5g sugar, 3g dietary fiber, 0mg cholesterol, 200mg sodium.
Reviews
01/28/2009
I love this recipe. I bought KAF Whole Wheat Flour to bake a pie crust and I noticed the recipe on the back of the bag. Now I've made five loaves and people are raving about it. This recipe got me started and now I'm trying some other bread recipes.
01/28/2009
I started baking bread a couple of months ago. To date, I've made eight loaves. Today I made this recipe and I am absolutely thrilled with the way it turned out. I got a little nervous after mixing the ingredients because the dough was extremely wet. In fact, it was virtually impossible to shape it into anything resembling a log after its first rise. (I almost threw it out because of this... thinking I had really messed us the recipe.) Anyway, I finally "poured" the dough into my baking pan, let it rise for about an hour, and then popped it into the oven. Thirty-five minutes later, the internal temperature of the bread had reached 190 degrees and I removed it from the oven. I let it cool for a couple of hours and then sliced it. The taste, texture, crumb, etc., were all wonderful. You MUST try this recipe. It is absolutely fantastic. (By the way, I used 1/3 traditional KAF whole wheat flour and 2/3 KAF WHITE whole wheat flour.)
01/19/2009
This recipe has been fail-safe for me. Have prepared it numerous times in the desert with only my eye as a measuring spoon and made it with little variation from 500 ft to 5,500 feet in altitude. I always use honey, always canola oil and sometimes add flax seed and or shredded cheddar in the shaping stage. The cheddar and honey together are a great mix of sweet and savory! Favorite whole wheat bread recipe ever.
01/19/2009
I'm a beginner bread baker and I used this recipe for my 2nd try at whole wheat bread. I, too, used olive oil, and I added 1/4 cup of sunflower seeds. The pan was too big, so the bread was flat, but boy was it ever good! I also got brave and made a loaf of white bread for my husband that also came out great!
01/17/2009
I have used this recipe several times. The flavor is wonderful, but it can sometimes be surprising just how sticky the dough is. It is tempting to add too much flour to the dough. It is our favorite recipe so far...however, I will try adding 1/2 KA unbleached bread flour to see if it makes this bread even more fantastic.
12/27/2008
I've used this recipe a few times now. It's a good basic recipe. I do make two adjustments to it. 1) I use olive oil as opposed to vegetable oil (personal thing, I've just stopped using vegetable oil.) 2) I've started using the following flour combination: 3 cups of the whole wheat and 1/2 cup of the unbleached bread flour. I think that it gives it a little bit of a smoother/softer texture. I should say that I'm kind of new to baking bread. I'd gotten pretty good at pie crusts and cakes already. Another reason that I started baking bread is because I want to stop buying it in the grocery store, and I grew up on homemade bread. Thankfully, my local Safeway carries your flour.
12/24/2008
This recipe is great I have been using it for years. A few years back my dad was diagnosed with diabetes.... he never ate a whole wheat thing in his life. I made this bread for him and he was hooked. Thanks for making my dad a healthier person
02/03/2009
I loved not having to clean-up flour off my counters. I also put my 4 yr. old to work kneading the dough while I mixed up another batch. My husband raves about it. Thank you for the awesome wheat bread. I'm also sharing it with everyone I know.
02/15/2009
I have made this recipe several times. It is wonderful! My husband was recently diagnosed with type 2 diabetes so I tried sugar-free maple syrup to save a few carbs. It even turned out wonderful with that. It is a no fail recipe!
03/03/2009
This recipe is delicious, very moist, and very easy to prepare! It's soft and most enough that you could probably slice it thin and use it for sandwiches, although I haven't tried that yet. I'll definitely be making this recipe again!
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