Name: Whole Wheat Bread
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 75 min
Ingredients: 3 cups water; ⅓ cup (3.65 ounces) canola or other vegetable oil (see note); ⅓ cup (2.5 ounces) brown sugar; 1 tablespoon salt; ½ cup (2.5 ounces) gluten flour (see note); ½ cup (1.75 ounces) ground flax seed (optional, see note); ½ cup (1.75 ounces) rolled or quick oats (optional); 5 ½ cups (27.5 ounces) white wheat flour (see note); 2 tablespoons instant yeast (see note)

This whole wheat bread is by far the most often baked bread in my house. Wholesome but delicious, this tried and true recipe is a long-standing favorite recipe for whole wheat bread.

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I love bread.

Always have.

My mom faithfully made ALL of our homemade bread when I was growing up. Because there were eight of us she’d have to bake it multiple times a week.

I remember coming home from school and smelling homemade bread cooking as we walked halfway up the long driveway to our house. There was nothing quite like a thick slice of the stuff, smothered in butter.

All my friends were jealous when they came to my house that I had a Mom who made homemade bread. I didn’t really recognize it at the time as a gift that my Mom gave us. But looking back I can see that it was.

Now that I have a family of my own, I make homemade bread for them.

It’s a labor of love.

And I hope that someday they’ll look back and remember the smell of homemade bread and feel loved too.

Tips for successful bread making:

Always use hot, hot water (hot as in water from the tap usually isn’t hot enough). I try to use water between 110 and 130 degrees F. I heat mine up in the microwave but you can heat it on the stove too. Yeast likes warm temperatures and will activate faster if the dough is warm. Having said that you do not want to use water that is too hot. Using a cooking thermometer to measure the water temperature is always a great idea.
Because this recipe uses such hot water do not let the yeast directly touch the hot water or it will kill the yeast and then you will have no rising agent. Follow the directions for adding ingredients in the proper order, making sure the yeast does not hit the hot water.
Salt slows down the yeast action so never let the salt come into contact with the yeast. That will retard the yeast and the dough may not rise properly.
Knead the bread dough well. This develops the gluten in the bread. Gluten is the elasticity (think of a balloon) that holds the air in when the yeast gives off air. If you don’t develop the gluten enough, the dough will not be able to stretch property to retain the air given off by the yeast. If the dough is not worked enough to develop the gluten it will be like a leaky balloon that will pop when the air tries to stretch it and you will not have a good rise. I use a stand mixer to knead the dough in this recipe. If you don’t have a stand mixer, you can still make it by hand with a few changes that I will discuss further down in this post.
I use freshly ground white wheat flour that I grind in my grain mill (this is the grain mill I have, aff. link) at home. If you do not have a grain mill you may be able to find white wheat flour in the grocery store. It will say white wheat on it otherwise just assume that it comes from red wheat. Red wheat flour will make for a denser loaf of bread, which is not as tasty. If red wheat flour is all you can find I would experiment with about half red wheat and half a good quality white flour.
Use the right amount of flour. With this recipe, there is no exact measured amount of flour. I gave a suggested amount for what has worked for me, but for best results do not use it as a hard, fast rule. This is because the amount depends on the humidity of your kitchen. Use just enough flour until the dough is still sticky to the touch, but not so sticky that it is not able to be worked. If the bread dough is over floured, the dough will be stiff and have a hard time rising. If it is under floured, it will also not rise properly. Using the proper amount of flour takes a little practice so if you don’t get it perfectly right the first time, don’t give up.
I use Bob’s Red Mill Vital Wheat Gluten Flour in this recipe. I buy mine in a 25 pound bag at WinCo, but they also sell it in their bulk bins in whatever quantity you want. If you don’t have a WinCo you may be able to find it in smaller quantities at Walmart or another local grocery store or buy it online (Amazon carries gluten flour, aff. link). Gluten flour is wonderful because it allows you to make the bread with all white wheat flour and it sticks together well and is light and fluffy. You can still make it successfully by leaving it out, but you will end up with denser bread that is crumbly, doesn’t have as long of a shelf life and really is not as enjoyable to eat. If you can’t find gluten flour, you can still make this recipe, but I would not suggest making it whole wheat. Instead use a good quality, high gluten white flour in place of some of the white wheat flour. You will need to experiment with how much – maybe 2 cups or more in place of the white wheat flour to get it to a good stick-together consistency.

How to make homemade bread {step-by-step}

I use a stand mixer to make this bread (a Bosch mixer like this one from Amazon, aff. link) and it works great. First heat the water in the microwave or on the stovetop until it reaches between 110 and 130 degrees F. I usually use the microwave and heat it for 2 to 3 minutes on high. While the water is heating, add the oil, sugar, and salt to the stand mixer. When the water is hot enough, add it to the mixer. Then add the gluten flour, flax seed, quick oats, and 3 cups of white wheat flour. Put the yeast on top, making sure that it does not touch the hot water or the salt.

Turn on the mixer and let it mix for a few minutes. Add additional white wheat flour (I used about 2 1/2 cups) until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl and begins to pull away from the center. The exact amount of flour will depend on your cooking environment (the humidity in your kitchen, etc.).

Don’t worry if the dough still sticks to the center a little bit (the picture above on the bottom left shows what my dough looked like as soon as I added enough flour). Let the mixer mix it for 6 additional minutes. At the end of the six minutes it should look like the picture above on the bottom right. It should stick together well, but still be sticky enough that it sticks to your hands when you touch it.

Oil your hands and remove dough from the bowl. Using a bench scraper (this is the bench scraper I use, aff. link) divide the dough into 3 sections. Form each section into a loaf by rolling quickly and tucking under with your hands. Slap the dough on the counter a few times to remove any air bubbles and put into greased loaf pans. Cover bread pans with a thin dish towel and let rise for about 30 minutes. The exact time will depend on the warmth of your kitchen. The picture above on the top right shows what my loaves looked like before rising. The picture above on the bottom right shows what my loaves looked like after they were completely risen.

While the bread dough is rising preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. When it is ready, place it in the oven and bake for 5 minutes at 400 and then turn down to 350 and bake for an additional 25 minutes. Remove bread from the pans immediately (otherwise the bread may sag a little from the humidity). For the best looking slices, cool before slicing (if you can stand to wait).

Benefits of using a mixer to make bread

One additional (perhaps surprising) benefit to using a stand mixer is that in many cases you can get away with only proofing the dough once (like this recipe). Using the mixer develops the gluten enough that you can get a really great rise with just a single proof. One of my favorite things about this recipe is the fact that I can make homemade bread from start to finish in less than an hour and a half.

How to make bread without a mixer

If you don’t have a stand mixer, you can make this bread by hand with a few changes. Stick with the amount of flour I suggest in the recipe and then add a little more if it keeps sticking to your hands as you knead it. You can oil your hands a bit to help with that too. Knead the dough for 8-10 minutes by hand. Then let it rise in a large greased bowl until doubled (this is the additional rise you need). Then form the bread loaves in the pans and let it rise a second time until doubled before baking as directed in the recipe.

My go-to bread recipe

This whole wheat bread is my go-to bread recipe that I make regularly for my family. It is soft and holds together well, a great sandwich bread. I feel good about feeding it to them because it’s wholesome, with 100% white wheat flour. Not only that, it’s easy to make. An hour and a half from start to finish and the mixer does the hard part. This bread freezes great. It will work best if the loaves are frozen the same day as they are made. Wait until the loaves are completely cool then pack them in a large freezer bag. They will freeze well for up to a month.

The best part about this bread is that it is delicious. We eat it almost every day and still love it.

Until next time, my friends.

Happy bread making to you!

Recipe Updates:

Update 5 Feb 2018: I updated the recipe to note that this recipe uses instant yeast and to include the brand of yeast that I use.

Update 1/18/2019: You may need to adjust the oven temperature slightly (up or down 25 degrees) depending on how hot or cool your oven cooks. Also it’s helpful to go by color to determine when bread loaves are done. If the loaves are golden brown and look done, pull them out.

Update (5/21/2020): If you are new to breadmaking (or just looking to up your breadmaking game), I wrote up a super detailed guide to baking with yeast. It will walk you through a lot of common breadmaking pitfalls and help you become a breadmaking expert.

4.5 from 2 votes

Whole Wheat Bread

Wholesome but delicious, this tried and true recipe is a long-standing favorite recipe for whole wheat bread.

Course Bread

Cuisine American

Keyword Bread, Whole Wheat Bread

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Rising Time 30 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 15 minutes

Servings 3 loaves

Author Heather @ thecookstreat.com

Ingredients

3 cups water
⅓ cup (3.65 ounces) canola or other vegetable oil see note
⅓ cup (2.5 ounces) brown sugar
1 tablespoon salt
½ cup (2.5 ounces) gluten flour see note
½ cup (1.75 ounces) ground flax seed optional, see note
½ cup (1.75 ounces) rolled or quick oats optional
5 ½ cups (27.5 ounces) white wheat flour see note
2 tablespoons instant yeast see note

Instructions

Grease 3 standard sized bread loaves well or spray with cooking spray and set aside.
Heat water in the microwave on high for 1 to 2 minutes or on the stove until it is between 110 and 130 degrees F.
Meanwhile in the bowl of a stand mixer with dough hook attachment add the oil, sugar and salt. Add the heated water to the stand mixer. Then add the gluten flour, flax seed, quick oats, and 3 cups of white wheat flour. Put the yeast on top of the flour, making sure that it does not directly touch the salt or the hot water.
Turn on mixer and mix, adding additional flour until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl and starts to pull away from the center. Stop adding flour at this point even if you have not added the full amount listed in the recipe. Then let the mixer mix for an additional six minutes.
Divide dough into 3 loaves (the dough will still be VERY sticky – so sticky that you won’t be able to form your loaves without putting oil on your hands). Put dough in prepared pans and cover with a thin, lightweight dish towel.
Let the bread dough rise in the pans until the bread is doubled and fills the pans. This should take about a half an hour, but it may take a little longer if your kitchen isn’t warm enough.
While bread is rising, preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. When the bread has risen, bake it at 400 degrees F for 5 minutes. Then turn down the heat to 350 degrees F (leaving the loaves in the oven the entire time) and continue baking for 20-25 min or until loaves are golden brown. Remove bread from the pans immediately and let it cool on a cooling rack.

Recipe Notes

1. I usually use canola oil but any oil with a mild flavor will work in this recipe.

2. I use Bob’s Red Mill Vital Wheat Gluten Flour in this recipe. I buy mine in a 25 pound bag at WinCo, but they also sell it in their bulk bins. If you don’t have a WinCo you may be able to find it in smaller quantities at Walmart or another local grocery store or buy it online (Amazon carries gluten flour, aff. link). If you can’t find gluten flour you can use a good quality, high gluten white flour instead of all white wheat flour. You will need to experiment with how much – maybe 2 cups or more in place of the white wheat flour to get it to a good stick-together consistency.

3. Adding the ground flax seed and oats is optional, but I love the flavor and texture that they add to the recipe. I usually grind whole flax seeds in a high powered blender because they have too much oil to grind them in a grain mill. The oats do not need to be ground.

4. I use freshly ground white wheat flour that I grind in my grain mill (this is the grain mill I have, aff. link) at home. If you do not have a grain mill you may be able to find white wheat flour in the grocery store. It will say white wheat on it otherwise just assume that it comes from red wheat. Red wheat flour will make for a denser loaf of bread, which is not as tasty. If red wheat flour is all you can find I would experiment with about half red wheat and half a good quality white flour.

5. I use the SAF brand of instant yeast that I buy in a large block and keep in the freezer in a sealed container.

6. INSTRUCTIONS FOR NO MIXER: If you don’t have a stand mixer, you can make this bread by hand with a few changes. Stick with the amount of flour I suggest and then add a little more if it keeps sticking to your hands as you knead it. You can oil your hands a bit to help with that too. Knead the dough for 8-10 minutes by hand. Then let it rise in a large greased bowl until doubled. Then form the bread loaves in the pans and let it rise a second time until doubled before baking as directed in the recipe.

Recipe Source: Heather @ The Cook’s Treat

Disclaimer: post contains affiliate links for items on Amazon.

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