This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
Deliciously wholesome whole wheat bread is soft, fluffy, and always better than store-bought! It is perfect for beginner bread makers.
Tender whole wheat bread is perfect with a spread of Cinnamon Butter, or for making homemade sandwiches with. If you love homemade bread as much as us, you’ll love these other bread recipes: Homemade Bread and Quick + Easy Homemade Bread.
That Fresh baked bread aroma
Who else loves the smell of fresh baking bread?
When that aroma fills our house it seems like we’re all in a good mood. There is something just so homey and comforting about it.
Making whole wheat bread from scratch may seem a bit daunting… especially since whole wheat bread can often be dry or too dense. With these simple steps you can whip up a fresh loaf of soft tasty whole wheat bread to share and enjoy!
You are sure to become a master bread maker in no time. Believe me, I never thought this would be a skill I could master. But now I’m confident that I can whip up a few loaves when ever I’m wanting to have some delicious bread.
These make great gifts for sharing as well. I like to pair them with a small jar of homemade jam or some locally sourced honey! Yum.
How to make Whole Wheat Bread
YEAST MIXTURE. In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, stir together the warm water, yeast, and honey. Mix in the 5 cups of bread flour and stir to combine. Let sit for 30 minutes, until bubbly.
DOUGH. Add the butter, honey, salt, and 2 cups of whole wheat flour to the sponge and mix to combine. Add the remaining whole wheat flour, 1/2 cup at a time, until the dough comes together and pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Knead until smooth and pliable.
DIVIDE + RISE. Place the dough in a greased bowl, cover, and let rise until doubled, about 1 hour. Divide the dough into three equal pieces and roll each piece into a 9 x 13 rectangle. Roll the dough up into a log starting at the short end. Place each log seam side down in a greased bread pan. Cover and let rise for 1 hour.
BAKE. Toward the end of the rise time, preheat the oven to 350. Bake 25-30 minutes, until golden brown and hollow sounding when tapped. Brush the loaves with melted butter and let cool completely on a cooling rack.
bread flour 101
Homemade whole wheat bread definitely has a bad reputation. I have definitely tasted my fair share of dry and heavy whole wheat breads, BUT this recipe is AMAZING!
I think the use of bread flour makes a huge difference. Bread flour has a higher amount of protein than all purpose flour. The protein produces gluten and gluten is what makes the south stretchy and the baked bread chewy.
Bread Flour comes in both all purpose-white and wheat. If you plan to make a lot of wheat bread, and are not used to eating whole wheat bread, then I suggest using the all purpose white bread flour. Once your digestive system gets used to wheat, then switch to wheat bread flour.
Make your own Bread Flour: You can make your own bread flour as well. You can either use all purpose flour, or wheat flour.
- Place 1 ½ tsp (5 grams) of wheat gluten into a 1 cup measuring cup.
- Fill the measuring cup the rest of the way up with the flour of your choice.
- Pour the contents of the cup into a sieve and sift them together.
Whole WHITE Wheat Flour: A long time ago I attended a bread making class taught by a seasoned homemaker from church. She made the BEST bread and her secret was to use whole white wheat.
Traditional whole wheat flour is milled from red wheat, but if you purchase white whole wheat flour it just means that it is milled from white wheat. So white wheat is still 100% whole wheat. It has a more mild flavor and lighter texture than the red wheat counterpart. Look for “unbleached whole white wheat flour”.
You can use this to make your own bread flour (this recipe needs 5 cups) as well as use it for the 3 ½ cups of whole wheat flour that this recipe calls for.
Recipe Tips
How long to knead dough: I just add a bread hook to my kitchen aid and let that lovely machine do all the work. You will need to knead for about 6-8 minutes at low speed. Doing it by hand takes about the same amount of time, but a lot more arm strength. The dough is ready when it is smooth and elastic.
Speed up rise time: You need to let this bread rise twice. This can easily take 90-120 minutes of the day. I will often use a warm oven to proof the dough faster. Heat the oven to 200°F. Turn the oven OFF. Be sure the dough is in an oven safe bowl. Place a damp tea towel over the bowl and put it in the oven. The dough will double in size in only 20-30 minutes.
Use the same method when you are ready to proof the dough in the bread pans.
Storing Info
STORE in a plastic bag. Since this is homemade bread it will not last as long as store bought bread. It can last for 3-4 days on the counter and up to 1 week in the refrigerator. You can also wrap the cooled loaves with plastic wrap and then again with foil and FREEZE them for up to 6 months.
- Pre-slice the bread before freezing. That way you can remove the amount of slices you are going to use and keep the rest in the freezer.
If your bread becomes stale before you are able to eat it, you can still use it to make other recipes such as french toast, Bread Pudding, Croutons, or bread crumbs.
For more Bread recipes, check out:
- Bread Bowls
- Easy Bread Recipe
- French Bread
- Focaccia Bread
- Sourdough Bread
- Sandwich Bread
- Cinnamon Bread
Whole Wheat Bread Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
Sponge
- 3 cups warm water
- ⅓ cup honey
- 4½ teaspoons rapid rise yeast (2 packets)
- 5 cups bread flour
Dough
- ⅓ cup honey
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter melted, plus 2 tablespoons for brushing loaves
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 3½ cups whole wheat flour
Instructions
- Make the sponge: In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, stir warm water, honey and yeast together.
- Mix in bread flour and stir to combine. Let sponge sit for 30 minutes, until bubbly.
- To make the dough: Add honey, butter, salt and 2 cups of whole wheat flour to sponge and mix with a wooden spoon or the dough hook mixer attachment. Add remaining whole wheat flour ½ cup at a time until the dough comes together and pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Knead until smooth and pliable. NOTE: If making in your stand mixer, use the bread hook and knead for 6–8 minutes on low speed.
- Place the dough in a greased bowl, cover, and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
- Divide the dough into three equal pieces and roll each piece into a 9-x-13-inch rectangle on a silicone mat. Roll each dough rectangle up into a log starting at the short end. Place each log seam side down in a greased 5-x-9-inch loaf pan. Cover and let rise in a warm place for 1 hour.
- Toward the end of the rise time, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Bake 25–30 minutes, or until golden brown and hollow sounding when tapped. Brush the loaves with melted butter and let cool completely on a cooling rack.
Video
Notes
Quicker Rise: You need to let this bread rise twice, which can easily take 90–120 minutes. I will often use a warm oven to proof the dough faster. Heat the oven to 200 degrees F, then turn the oven off. Be sure the dough is in an oven-safe bowl. Place a damp tea towel over the bowl and put it in the oven. The dough will double in size in only 20–30 minutes.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
If I only have one loaf pan, what can I do with the rest of the dough while I wait for each loaf to cook? Does the lag plan need to cool completely between loaves?
If both loaves have risen, then you can put one in the fridge while the other cooks. That will slow the rise time. If it needs to rise more, you can leave it rising while the first loaf cooks. And once you take the cooked loaf out of the pan, you may want to let it cool for a bit, but you could quite quickly could put the other dough in. Hope that helps!
Will this recipe work with all purpose flour in place of the bread flour?
Yes!
I typically don’t like whole wheat bread, but after reading your post and the suggested ideas such as using bread flour and whole white wheat flour I gave it a go and was happy with the result. It was the best whole wheat bread I’ve had.
This makes my house smell so good!! We have been making a ton of bread lately & this is one of our go-to’s.
There’s really not a bread out there that we don’t like. This wheat bread is not your typical thick dense bread. It’s lighter in texture, healthy and very good.