Basic Whole Wheat Bread
Soft whole wheat bread with a great flavor.
Servings 16 servings
Cost 5
Ingredients
- 2 ¼ cups whole wheat flour, divided use (310 grams)**
- 2 tablespoons honey (or molasses or a combo of both) (40 grams)
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar OR honey (24 grams)
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt
- 2 tablespoon unsalted butter, cut into small chunks
- 1 ¼ cup hot water
- 2 ¼ teaspoons active dry yeast
- 2 tablespoons warm water
- 1 ¼ cups bread flour, divided use (140 plus 35 grams)
Instructions
- Grease a deep loaf pan or a 9x5 inch pan (for a wider loaf).
- Put 1 ½ cups (205 grams) of the whole wheat flour in a mixing bowl and add the honey, sugar, salt and butter. No need to stir yet, just put it all in the bowl.
- Pour 1 ¼ cups hot water over the mixture and stir until butter melts. By hand or using the paddle attachment of a stand mixer, beat for 3 minutes. Let stand for another 7 minutes or so while you dissolve the yeast.
- Dissolve the yeast in exactly 2 tablespoons (1 oz) of warm (110 degrees F) water. Let stand and proof for about 5-7 minutes or until frothy and active. Pour the yeast into the bowl with the flour mixture, then add remaining ¾ cup whole wheat flour along with 1 cup of bread flour. Stir by hand or with the paddle or dough hook until blended. Dough should be a little sticky at this point, so you should have your remaining ¼ cup of flour ready.
- Put a little of the remaining ¼ cup of bread flour on a mat and scrape the dough out onto the floured mat. Flip the dough so it's coated in flour and begin kneading by hand, adding the remainder of the ¼ cup flour as needed to prevent sticking. Alternatively, you can knead with the dough hook on low, adding the extra ¼ cup flour as needed. Whichever method of kneading you choose, knead just until smooth and elastic.
- For the knead, you'll need at least ¼ cup of flour in order for the dough to lose its stickiness. If you need to add more than ¼ cup you can, but the more flour you add the less fluffy the bread will be. That's not always a bad thing if you like firmer bread.
- Shape dough into a ball and put it in a bowl with a little oil. Turn dough ball to coat with oil, then cover and let rise for about 45 minutes or until it has just about doubled in bulk.
- Press the dough into a rectangle, then roll it up into a cylinder, turning down corners as you roll and pushing out air. Shape into a loaf.
- Position the dough in the pan. Cover with greased plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place for 40-45 minutes or until it crests the top of the pan. It could take longer. While dough is rising, preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
- Bake at 375 degrees F. for about 45 minutes or until internal temperature registers around 205-210.
- Let cool in the pan for about 10 minutes, then carefully remove from pan and let cool completely before slicing.