Homemade Whole Wheat Bread {A picture tutorial}

3/1/13 New Update
America's Test Kitchen makes a much better loaf that I've had more consistent success with. See other post for that recipe.

****Update: I've made this bread a few more times now and I am not having good luck with the completely whole wheat version for some reason. Like I said, it's hit and miss with no real reason behind it. I have the most continued success if I use a few cups of white flour with the whole wheat and I have found the oven becomes too hot if I preheat it and turn it off for the first raising process, so I just have the oven light on and it gets nice
and warm in there. My mom has great success with the completely whole wheat recipe and she says she does not let the yeast sit with the water first, she just mixes it all together, so that might be helpful.


Here is my mom's whole wheat bread recipe that I've revised slightly.

whole wheat without vital wheat gluten.

I used 3/4 of the below recipe to fill 2 large loaf pans. 

More details below.

Mix in a mixer (or by hand) & let it sit for 10 minutes until frothy:
4 1/2 cups hot tap water (I've also used leftover whey {warmed up} from making cheese, yogurt, or yogurt cheese. It is high in protein)
3 TBSP yeast

Add and mix:
1/3 cup vegetable, canola, or olive oil (I use olive oil since it's healthier)
2/3 cup honey

Add and mix:
8 cups whole wheat flour * (see below)  {Make sure it's not packed. I usually scoop & dump it a few times until it's light and fluffy then use that measurement}
2 TBSP salt

Add and mix:
5-8 cups whole wheat flour * (Add it cup by cup and see how much you'll need. It varies each time)

At this point in the picture, I stop stirring it by hand (my KitchenAid broke) 

and knead it on the counter as I add more flour.

Instructions:
Knead with a mixer or by hand until smooth and elastic. Don't add too much flour or the bread will be dry. My dough's usually a little sticky.

Done kneading 

Oil a large bowl (or use cooking spray) and put dough into bowl, turn dough over to oil other side. Cover with a light towel and put in a oven with the light on (or in a warm place).

(Make sure your oven is OFF!!! Or you can preheat your oven to the lowest temp possible and let it cool off while you prep your dough. Do this at your own risk in case you forget to turn the oven off. I find that having a very warm atmosphere for this first rising is what gives my loaf the soft, light texture).

Let rise until double (usually 30 minutes for me). Dough is ready when finger imprint remains. It was still pretty sticky at this point.

This batch ended up being 1/3 whole wheat, 1/3 oat, 1/3 white (I ran out of whole wheat flour - boo)

Punch down dough. Spray loaf pans with cooking spray. Shape into four loaves (** see below!!!!) and put one shaped loaf in each pan (*** see below). Brush loaf with melted butter. Set pans on folded bath towel (or on top of the warm oven). Cover with light towel and let rise in a warm place until double in size (again, about 30 minutes).

Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes. Remove bread from pans. Cool on wire racks. Brush tops of loaves with butter. Cool completely for easier slicing.



Keep reading for tips, tricks, and things I've learned. 

PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT: I have been making bread for over a decade now and it seems that each time the bread turns out a bit different, so don't give up on yourself if it doesn't turn out just right. I find that it's so important that my water is hot enough to activate the yeast, but not so hot that it kills it and then making sure it is nice and warm in your kitchen (or use the oven) to let it raise the first time.

*FLOUR OPTIONS: Of course whole wheat flour is much better for you than white flour, but some people don't like pure whole wheat bread (although this is pretty amazing, you must try it). You can substitute all the flour, or part of the flour for white instead. I have also made oat flour (using my blender and old fashioned oats) and substituted some of the flour of that. It does make it very soft using the oat flour, but just beware that using too much oat flour ruins your batch. I have found that 2-3 cups for this recipe works well.

**SHAPING A PERFECT LOAF: Okay, so getting a perfectly shaped loaf that doesn't separate and isn't too dry on top was always hard for me, but the past couple months when I followed this new technique, my bread has been SO much better and has looked amazing. So click HERE and see for yourself. It's awesome!!! I can tell you that one of the secrets is to use water on your surface instead of more flour!! Extremely simple, but so amazing!!

***SIZE OF YOUR PAN: I have found that the size of your bread pan really does matter. My mom has a smaller type of standard loaf pan, but when I bought mine from Walmart it seemed that the only option was a wider, deeper pan, so because of this, the above recipe, once divided into four creates a pretty short loaf (this was before using the vital wheat gluten as discussed below). So if not using the extra gluten, about 3/4 of this recipe made 2 good sized loaves for me. Sorry if that is confusing, but just wanted to make you aware. Next time I'll divide it normally with using my gluten and it might have enough rise to fit properly. I'll let you know.

****VITAL WHEAT GLUTEN: I also researched and found that vital wheat gluten really helps with a finer crumb, fluffier loaf, increases the protein, and increases the shelf life of your bread. I bought it online and used it the last time I made bread and it was AMAZING!!! My loaves raised so much it was almost a joke. (The box recommended 4 tsp per loaf and that was too much. I then tried 2 tsp per loaf and that worked perfectly)

 The giant, comical bread

Enjoy!!! Let me know if you try it and what variations you use.

******************************************

Whole Wheat Bread

Mix in a mixer (or by hand) & let it sit for 10 minutes until frothy:

4 1/2 cups hot tap water

3 TBSP yeast

Add and mix:

1/3 cup vegetable, canola, or olive oil 

2/3 cup honey

Add and mix:

8 cups whole wheat flour 

2 TBSP salt

Add and mix:

5-8 cups whole wheat flour 

Instructions:

Knead with a mixer or by hand until smooth and elastic. Don't add too much flour or the bread will be dry. My dough's usually a little sticky.

Oil a large bowl (or use cooking spray) and put dough into bowl, turn dough over to oil other side. Cover with a light towel and put in a oven with the light on (or in a warm place)

Let rise until double (usually 30 minutes for me). Dough is ready when finger imprint remains. It was still pretty sticky at this point.

Punch down dough. Spray loaf pans with cooking spray. Shape into four loaves and put one shaped loaf in each pan. Brush loaf with melted butter. Set pans on folded bath towel (or on top of the warm oven). Cover with light towel and let rise in a warm place until double in size (again, about 30 minutes).

Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes. Remove bread from pans. Cool on wire racks. Brush tops of loaves with butter. Cool completely for easier slicing.