Basic Whole Wheat Bread

“This is quite a nice recipe! I made it twice, the first time I followed the directions exactly. The next time I found that I did need to do a longer rise, to let the flavor develop (otherwise it was a bit bland, so I had to add a bit extra salt, too) and so that it would rise to a good height (whole wheat flour takes FOREVER to rise!). So all in all, I about doubled the rising time, added a little extra salt for some oomph and it was absolutely lovely! I used EVOO as well instead of regular vegetable oil and it was simply to die for!”

“I keep trying new whole wheat bread recipes and they’ve all been good, but this one is by far the easiest and so good.I like that it makes two loaves.I did add about a teaspoon of sugar to the yeast to proof it and also used 2 1/4 teaspoons of yeast.I didn’t think 3/4 tsp would be enough.I always add about of tablespoon of vital wheat gluten for each loaf of bread to all my bread recipes.It helps the bread rise better and also acts as a preservative.Thanks for a great recipe.I will be making this often (I never buy store bought bread).”

“This is a great basic bread recipe!I ended up adding 1T of honey, I let it rise twice 90 minutes each time and it was perfect!!Thank you ;)”

“Wow, I wish I had found this recipe years ago. I’ve been making bread off and on for many years. The way I was taught was to use several different additives and dough conditioners. It had been a few years, and my mother had gifted me a few pounds of wheat kernels, but I didn’t have all the various ‘extra’ ingredients, so I looked for a simple recipe. Well, after trying this recipe, I now see that the other ingredients were completely unnecessary.Here is how I altered the recipe. First, I upped the recipe to 5 cups of water and added the commensurate additional yeast, oil and salt. I used about a third of a cup of honey while blooming the yeast. I didn’t knead this by hand. I have a good bread mixer and let it do the work. I also noticed that it was ready to be punched down in less than half an hour, and was ready for bread pans in less than 60 mins. Once in the pans, I let the loaves rise for about 30 mins before putting into the oven (next time I’ll allow another 15-30 mins). This made three beautiful loaves. Check the pics I posted… yummy!”

“By far the best and easiest wheat bread I’ve ever made! I melted butter & mixed it with honey to put on the crust foregoing the second cooking time… Fabulous!”

“Made recipe as written, this afternoon.Unfortunately, my bread didn’t rise much.I went back over it to make sure I did nothing wrong, and realized that the lack of sugar, could be the problem.As I understand it yeast needs sugar to grow – even when you proof yeast, you use sugar….. so that’s my guess.Of course it doesn’t have to be plain white sugar, you could use honey, brown sugar, molasses etc. I think there’s info on the yeast label.Since I think there is an error, I’m going to give it any stars, in hopes of not affecting their rating.”

“Did the initial proof actually work for anybody?I got *no* response from the yeast.I ended up using a full packet of yeast, as others suggested (2 1/4 teaspoons) on my second try, from a different pack of 3 packets.That didn’t do anything either.Both batches finally eventually started growing after I added a teaspoon of sugar.I was even measuring the temperature of my water, and keeping my oven at the recommended (measured) ambient temperature (always taking my stuff out of the oven when turning the element on).Is it possible to get an initial proof with just whole wheat flour in anything resembling a reasonable period of time?I used King Arthur Flour Whole Wheat Flour (the one they had at my grocery store).After all that, I was afraid the dough would give me trouble rising, but it didn’t.All right on schedule, about doubled in two hours, then again in about an hour.(In an ambient temperature around 80°.)This is my first ever attempt at baking, so maybe I missed something, but it seemed pretty straight forward to me.Is the photo with this recipe dark enough bread to actually be whole wheat?Mine is significantly darker.”

“Thank you for the thorough instructions. This was my first time ever trying to bake bread. It came out very well, although I think I will increase the yeast next time. The first loaf was gone straight from the oven and the second loaf was lunch the next day!”

“Outstanding!!These directions are written very well and easy to follow.The bread turned out great, easy to slice, and soft yet dense on the inside.I did throw in some ground flax and I had some laying around from another recipe.We will be making this again & again…maybe adding in some agave or other add ins just to experiment.Thank a lot for this one!!”

“Excellent bread, so soft and perfect for sandwiches or those of us who simply love great bread! My family loved it!!! (even the ones who normally only eat white bread) I recommend increasing the yeast to 2 1/4 teaspoons as well (Thanks, Connie Lea)”

“Great!I added a bit of dry milk powder just for the fun of it.I put it in my bread machine until it formed a nice ball then took it out to rise.It took about and hour and I could have left it for longer.I love home made bread.”

“Something went wrong with my yeast.My dough just didn’t rise.No worries – I ended up making (count ’em) 36 little pita pockets appox.4″ in diameter.I flattened a 2″ ball of dough and baked at 450o for 4 minutes, flipped them over and baked an additional 2 minutes.They made perfect little pockets that would be a good brunch, snack or lunchbox adddition, just to name a few excuses to eat one or two!On some I sprayed olive oil spray and sprinkled w/onion powder.On some it wasa spritz of butter spray topped with cinnamon & splenda.Some I left plain. I will also do some with poppy or sesame seeds or garlic.That is how versitil this recipe turned out to be.I can also see blending in some herbs and using as a pizza base.The fillings are endless:peanut butter and banana; egg, crab or tuna salad; vegetarian,etc.I did want to add that this recipe is healthy for your muscles, too.Stirring 100 times was a challenge, let alone 20 minutes kneading time.I didn’t make it the full 20 which may explain why it didn’t rise properly.This would be fun to make with a friend or kids.Love that you posted this. I will try again but be a good girl and knead properly.Also will make sure my yeast indeed does bubble if it’s loaves of bread I want.”

“Great whole wheat recipe, but I’m a tinkerer, love to change things up a bit just to see what comes of em.during the course of making this recipe 4 times I finially came up with what I think is the ultimate end result. I add 2 teaspoons of vital gluten (helps it rise a bit better) and 1/4 cup organic honey, then just prior to final rise I mix 2 parts water and one part honey together and paint the top of the loaf with it, then sprinkle on some quick oats. Maybe it’s time for me to write my own recipe????LOL Enjoy! Tom”

“This was really good. I used 2 cups of white flour and 6 cups of whole wheat flour.”

“I like how simple the recipe is! I doubled the recipe (16 cups of flour) and subsituted 4 cups with white for a lighter bread. Salt should never be added directly to yeast, it can “burn” the yeast and cause bread to “flop” in the rising stage. Add to a small bit of flour and then add into the dough, the flour creates a buffer.I got 6 med size loaves and a dozen small buns. I make bread twice a week for our large family and although it took longer to make, the taste was uncomparable. I’ve traded my old recipe for this one.”

“This is a great hearty and tasty bread with a great texture. I only made half the recipe, now I wish I had made two loaves. I did use the food processor to “stir it 100 times” otherwise proceeded accordingly. I think the instructions are really great too! Thanks!”

“Just took this out of the oven. Two beautiful loaves!! I added some wheat berries to this recipe; otherwise I followed it exactly. I just tasted a piece and it is true comfort food–thick, hearty, heavy, gorgeous dark brown bread with wonderful texture. Thank you!!! “

“Tasted great, 5 minutes out of the oven, with margarine and a touch of honey. I only ended up using approx 7 cups of flour since the dough ball would not absorb anymore. Things worked out great anyway. Still produced 2 large loafs.”

“I was looking for a sugarfree wheat bread recipe and this one is great. We couldn’t stop eating it, with just a little butter on it.We will be making another loaf today. Thank You for the great recipe.”