The Very BEST Whole Wheat Bread
The Very BEST Whole Wheat Bread is the softest, moistest, fluffiest, freshest-staying, homemade, 100% whole wheat bread you've ever tried!
This bread, y'all. This bread. I titled this Whole Wheat Bread recipe "the BEST" and I'm not even exaggerating here. I've baked many a whole wheat bread recipe over the years, and this one is head-and-shoulders above the rest.
Hundreds of raving comments (since I first published this recipe six years ago) can't be wrong...right?! So I decided to update this old post with tons of additional information and tips to help ensure your bread making success!
THE BEST Whole Wheat Bread
Here's the deal...what makes this bread so amazing is that it stays soft and fresh for days after it's been baked.
Just about all homemade bread tastes fabulous fresh out of the oven. But then whatever isn't initially eaten tends to dry out a bit as the days stretch on, particularly in the case of wheat bread.
But this bread is just as good on the third day (if it lasts that long!) as it was on the first. Seriously! I wouldn't believe it if I hadn't experienced it first hand myself. It's like store-bought, stay-soft bread without the preservatives. Forgive me for going all Scarlett O'Hara on you, but as God is my witness, I'll never make another whole wheat bread recipe again!
The Best Whole Wheat Flour for Bread Baking
One of my bread making tricks is that I like to use white whole wheat flour when I make bread. Even though it has the word "white" in its title, this flour is 100% whole wheat.
Traditional whole wheat flour is milled from red wheat; white whole wheat flour is milled from (hard) white wheat. Its lighter grain results in a milder flavor and lighter texture than the whole wheat flour to which most of us are accustomed.
Don't be fooled by the taste, though...white whole wheat flour is unrefined and 100% whole wheat! It's nutritionally the same as its red wheat cousin. I buy King Arthur brand unbleached white whole wheat flour, but I'm sure there are other brands out there that would work just as well.
How to Make the Best Whole Wheat Bread
Not only does this whole wheat bread turn out better than most, but the recipe is actually simpler to make than most! Some of the steps may seem a bit unconventional to an experienced bread maker. But if you give this recipe a chance, I think you'll be pleased with the results.
- Fit your stand mixer with a dough hook. Measure out flour, vital wheat gluten, and instant dry yeast into the bowl and mix until combined.
- Pour in very warm water (between 120°F and 130°F) and mix for one minute. The water needs to be hot enough to activate the yeast but not so hot that it kills it.
Cover with a clean kitchen towel and allow to rest for 10 minutes. - Uncover the bowl.
Beat in salt, oil, honey, and lemon juice. - Add more flour, mixing it in one cup at a time until well incorporated. Allow the dough hook to knead the dough until it becomes smooth instead of sticky and pulls away from the side of the bowl.
This typically takes 10 to 15 minutes but may take as little as 5 minutes. - Grease and/or line your pans and set aside.
- Turn on the oven to 350°F. After exactly one minute, turn it back off. This will preheat the oven to lukewarm...just enough to give your loaves the perfect warm spot to rise!
- Turn the dough out onto a greased surface.
Divide it equally in half and shape it into two loaves.
Transfer the loaves to the prepared bread pans, pressing the dough into the corners.
- Place the pans in the warm oven and allow them to rise for 20 to 40 minutes, or until they are nicely domed and as high as you wish your final whole wheat bread loaves to be.
- Once the loaves have risen to your liking, turn on the oven to 350°F WITHOUT TAKING THE BREAD OUT OF THE OVEN. Set the timer for 30 minutes. I know, I know...sounds weird. But trust me.
- Your bread is done when it's golden brown on top with an internal temperature from 190°F to 200°F on an instant-read thermometer. Turn the hot loaves out onto a rack to cool completely.
And that's it. One step at a time...you can do this!
What's a Bread Sponge?
Let's talk about step #2 for a moment, shall we? I believe that the biggest factor that makes this bread stay so soft and fresh is the step in the recipe calling for you to make a sponge. Now I'm not talking about the kind of sponge you keep by your kitchen sink. In bread making, a sponge is a very moist dough that just begins to rise as it gives the yeast a head start. After it's had some time to do its magic, you add more flour and ingredients and proceed with the recipe. The sponge in this recipe only needs to sit for about 10 minutes. But apparently that's all it takes to achieve this bread's wonderful texture.
Ingredient Substitutions
For optimal results, make this whole wheat bread as directed. However, the recipe will still work (and even turn out great) incorporating a variety of substitutes. Just keep in mind that changing the ingredients may result in a different taste and/or texture in your final loaves. Switching ingredients could also require you to tweak an amount or a step, such as needing to add extra flour and/or kneading a bit longer to achieve the proper dough consistency. But if you're willing to experiment a bit, people have had success with the following substitutions...
(NOTE: Many of the below recipe tweaks have been taken from the comment section. I have not tried all of these substitutes myself.)
- Flour. You can make this recipe with regular (as opposed to "white") whole wheat flour. Or you may substitute all-purpose white flour for around half of the whole wheat flour. You may also use freshly ground whole wheat flour (milled from red wheat or white wheat). Just keep in mind that fresh milled flour is much "airier," so you may need to allow it some time to pack down before measuring it out...or just plan on using extra flour, as necesary. Also, with any flour substitution, you may need to slightly adjust the amount of flour added at the end of the recipe. For example, if the dough seems extra sticky and doesn't start pulling away from the bowl in a timely manner, you can work in additional flour (one spoonful at a time) until the texture seems right.
- Vital Wheat Gluten. This ingredient helps whole wheat bread recipes rise, and it encourages soft and chewy loaves with that stay-fresh quality. That being said, if you don't have any on hand or prefer not to use it, many people report having made this bread successfully while leaving out the vital wheat gluten.
- Yeast. I recommend using instant dry yeast (sometimes called "quick rise" or "rapid rise"), as directed in the recipe. You might have success if trying regular active dry yeast...but then again, maybe not. 😉 If you do decide to gamble on active dry yeast, my research indicates that to substitute it for instant dry yeast, you should multiply the amount by 1.25.
- Lemon Juice. If you don't have any lemon juice on hand, you may substitute another type of acid in its place. Orange juice, white vinegar, or apple cider vinegar would all work.
- Honey. You may reduce the honey, if you wish. Also, maple syrup or agave may be substituted for the honey.
Other Recipe Notes
- The stand mixer pictured in this post is a classic, 5-quart, tilt-head KitchenAid.
- You may halve this recipe to make only one loaf of bread.
- You can also make this bread by hand...just prepare your muscles for all of that kneading.
- People have also reported success in halving the ingredients and making this recipe in a bread maker. But I don't own a bread maker and I'm not sure of the specifics...so you may have to experiment on that one. 😉
Avoiding Sticking
The only difficulty that I ran into the first time I made this bread is that it stuck to my loaf pans, despite the fact that I had generously greased them. Nonstick pans are recommended for this recipe, so if you've got 'em, use 'em! But since I prefer baking in my stoneware pans, I figured out a way around not using nonstick.
I grease my pans with coconut oil and then line them with parchment paper, using the coconut oil to adhere the paper to the pan. I find that if I cut a piece of parchment paper the length of each pan and allow it to somewhat stick out the sides, then I only need to cut two small pieces of paper per pan for the ends that remain uncovered. The key is pressing the parchment paper down and smoothing it as much as possible so you don't end up with a bunch of creases in your bread.
How to Store Your Whole Wheat Bread
This recipe makes two loaves, so I like to keep one wrapped (I use Glad Press 'n Seal) and stored in the pantry for eating. The second loaf I keep wrapped up in the refrigerator until we're ready to enjoy it.
I have a bread box, but I still prefer keeping my loaf wrapped inside of the bread box. And when I cut off the first slice, I store that end piece pressed against the cut end of the loaf as a kind of "cap" to help prevent it from drying out. When we're ready for the second loaf, I take it out of the fridge and store it at room temperature in the bread box.
Since this is fresh homemade bread with no preservatives, it will start to mold after several days. So keeping that second loaf in the fridge until we're ready for it buys us some extra time. You could also successfully freeze the second loaf if you prefer. However, we usually eat it soon/fast enough that refrigerating suffices.
If it takes your family awhile to work through two loaves of bread, another winning alternative would be to give the second loaf away! I mean, who wouldn't love the thoughtful gesture of freshly-baked homemade bread?
If you have never baked homemade bread before, I encourage you to try it. It may seem intimidating at first and the various steps do take a bit of time, but overall, it truly is easy. And if you are already an expert baker, then I hope you'll add this recipe to your repertoire!
Now go forth and make bread!
And psssst...if you happen to love this bread recipe, I actually adapted it to make The Very BEST Whole Wheat Dinner Rolls! Your holiday table won't be the same without 'em. 😉
Whole Wheat Bread Recipe
The Very BEST Whole Wheat Bread
Ingredients
Step 1:
- 3 ½ cups white whole wheat flour
- ⅓ cup vital wheat gluten
- 4 teaspoons instant dry yeast, "quick rise" or "rapid rise"
Step 2:
- 2 ½ cups very warm water, 120°F to 130°F
Step 3:
- 1 tablespoon salt
- ⅓ cup coconut oil, melted and cooled (OR vegetable oil)
- ⅓ cup honey
- 4 teaspoons lemon juice
Step 4:
- 2 ½ cups white whole wheat flour
Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, mix together 3 ½ cups white whole wheat flour, vital wheat gluten, and quick-rise yeast until well combined.
- Add the water and mix for one minute, scraping down bowl halfway through. Cover the bowl with a clean kitchen towel and allow to rest for 10 minutes.
- Uncover the bowl and add the salt, oil, honey, and lemon juice. Beat for 1 minute.
- Add the remaining 2 ½ cups of flour, one cup at a time, mixing well between each cup. Knead the dough in the mixer (still using the dough hook) until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl and feels smooth rather than sticky. This usually takes 10 to 15 minutes, but if your dough pulls away and loses its stickiness sooner, it could take as little as 5 minutes.
- Grease two nonstick bread pans measuring 8 ½" x 4 ½" x 2 ½" to 9" x 5" x 3" each (or grease two regular bread pans and then line them with parchment paper). Preheat the oven to lukewarm by setting it to 350°F and then turning it back off after exactly 1 minute.
- Turn the dough onto a greased surface. Evenly divide it into two loaves. Form and place the dough into the prepared bread pans, gently pressing it into the corners.
- Place the pans in the warm oven and allow them to rise for 20 to 40 minutes, until the dough is nicely domed above the tops of the pans. Without removing the pans from the oven, turn on the oven to 350°F and set the timer for 30 minutes. The bread is done when the tops are golden brown and the internal temperature reaches 190°F to 200°F on an instant-read thermometer. Once the loaves are baked, immediately remove the hot bread from the pans to cool on a rack.
Equipment Needed
Notes
- I use coconut oil in this recipe. It works wonderfully and doesn't make the bread taste like coconut at all. However, you may use sunflower, safflower, or another light-flavored vegetable oil, if you prefer.
- Kneading and rising times are approximate and depend on many different variables. The dough must be kneaded until it pulls away from the bowl and is no longer sticky, even if that takes shorter or longer than 10 to 15 minutes. Also, the dough should be allowed to rise in the pans until it is as high as you want your final bread to be.
- White whole wheat flour is 100% whole wheat flour that yields a lighter taste and texture than regular whole wheat flour.
- Other types of flour (regular whole wheat flour, all-purpose white flour, freshly milled wheat flour, etc.) may be substituted for the white whole wheat flour in this recipe. Just keep in mind that the final flavor and texture of the bread may turn out different. Also, if you use an alternate flour (particularly freshly milled flour, which can be less dense), you may need to slightly adjust the amount of flour added at the end of the recipe. For example, if the dough seems extra sticky and doesn't start pulling away from the bowl, you can work in additional flour, one teaspoon at a time, until the texture seems right.
- If you don't have any lemon juice on hand, you may substitute another type of acid in its place (such as white vinegar or apple cider vinegar).
- Vital wheat gluten helps whole wheat bread recipes rise and yield soft and chewy loaves. That being said, if you don't have any on hand or prefer not to use it, many people report having made this bread successfully leaving out the vital wheat gluten.
Nutrition
Recipe adapted from Deals to Meals.
Post originally published on July 8, 2013.
This is the BEST whole wheat bread recipe. I grind my own flour and this recipe works great! Thank you so much
I just re-started my love of baking bread but I'm griding my own berries instead of using AP flour. It's been quite the struggle to get a loaf that doesn't resemble a brick.
This recipe has some curious techniques but they WORK!!! I used regular yeast (not instant) so I proofed in water before adding my hard white wheatberry flour (on fine grind) and then went through the process exactly as written.
Best. Bread. Ever. Texture, taste and crumb are devine. Try it.
Thank you SO MUCH for this bread recipe!! I feel like it’s changed my life 🙂 Since before I got married a year and a half ago I was making homemade bread using freshly milled whole wheat flour. Over the time we’ve been married my loaves kept getting more and more crumbly and I couldn’t figure out what I was doing wrong. My husband was so patient with me and never complained, even when he had to eat his sandwich with a spoon…. It was healthy, but it wasn’t working and it wasn’t delicious. This bread is DELICIOUS AND AMAZING. After the first lunch I packed for my husband with the new bread I got a text from him telling me he liked it and to keep doing whatever it is that I did. THANK YOU.
I did it just the way it is written. Came out perfect. Will make more.
I made this Wholewheat bread today and it is absolutely fabulous. The recipe is so simple and I shared it with about 10 of my friends. I also took a loaf to my neighbour!!! Absolutely amazing, tomorrow we will mill our own flour and bake it in our outdoor oven. Thank you for sharing!!
Wondering if I may substitute the honey with maple syrup or another alternative to use this bread for BLW? I tried searching comments to see others adjustments, if any, but haven't seen any substitute.
Hi Courtney. I bet that would be fine! 🙂
I would give this recipe 10 stars if I could! I have always struggled to make bread. But this recipe is so clear and turns out absolutely perfect every time. I am so grateful for this recipe I 1.5 times the recipe every other week or so to make three loaves, I eat the first one right away and then store the other two in the freezer until we’re ready to eat them try this recipe you won’t regret it! I buy the vital wheat gluten stuff on Amazon
Best bread recipe EVER! Came out so much better than my last attempt; the single rise and addition of gluten made all the difference. This is my go-to recipe, period now 🙂
I've been using this recipe for a few years now. I've forgotten how to make other loaves, because this has become my go-to. The only adjustments I make is occasionally adding some 10-grain cereal or ground flax seed, which seems to work best if I include it as part of the dry components. We also like our bread to be a little more conditioned so I let it rise at least twice. But I have tried this with the single rise and it was very good that way, as well. Great recipe. Thank you!
This bread is amazing! This was my first time making bread. I used red wheat freshly ground flour and left out the vital wheat gluten because I didn’t have any on hand and it still turned out so well. My family was impressed with me thanks to this recipe!
We love this whole wheat bread recipe. I've been making it for the better part of a year now, and it comes out great every time. Last November, we found a local organic mill and committed to making our own bread instead of buying it. We will never go back. For this recipe, I use a Pullman loaf pan for an amazing loaf of sandwich bread. Thank you so much for this recipe and so many others.
Thanks so much for this recipe! I just wanted to report that active dry yeast worked, at least for me. I did add 25% more per your suggestion, and proofed it in the water (at 110 degrees) with a little of the honey, rather than add it to the dry ingredients initally. I also used regular whole wheat flour. The bread turned out great, rose beautifully, and actually in my case needed less than 10 minutes kneading.
I love this recipe. I am allergic to soy. Unfortunately, all commercial loaves of bread have soy. I have to make my bread. I tried so many different recipes. When I found this recipe, I was a little confused about the lemon. I have been making this recipe for six months. I love the texture, the flavor, and how easy it is to make it. My husband went through a whole loaf of bread the first time I made it. Thank you for the recipe.
Does anyone have the adjustments and method they used to make this in a breadmachine? (I have a Zojirushi bbpac20). I'd really love to make this!! Thanks in advance!
I used this recipe as a guide. The changes I made were minor. The bread came out amazing and it’ll be adding it to my recipe book and baking routine. The things I changed were, sugar instead of honey, a combo of 1/3 all-purpose flour 2/3 whole wheat flour, and I used sourdough starter instead of lemon and dry yeast. The 1/3 white flour was by from the sourdough starter. The bread was so soft and tender. I used 3/4 of the dough to make an extra large sandwich bread loaf and 1/4 the dough for a small dinner roll loaf. This dough would be great for cinnamon raisin bread, cinnamon rolls or dinner rolls. I made this dough by hand in a large glass bowl. I start with a sturdy silicone spatula to mix it and then finish it by hand once the dough is well formed and no longer sticky up touch. Since I didn’t use dry yeast, it was a long process but it would work great as an overnight bulk rise and then a next day form, 2nd rise and bake. I actually made the dough the first day then refrigerated the dough overnight and then took it out and formed, rose and baked it the next day. You could use dry yeast to speed the process up or if it’s hot out, putting it out covered in the sun to rise will also speed up the process. I think this dough could be made a few days and refrigerated before baking if that’s the kind of schedule you wanted to work with. You could bake one loaf one day and a few days later bake the other loaf or double the recipe and make the loafs one day and make cinnamon buns or dinner rolls or cinnamon raisin bread another day. The sourdough starter can be reduced but still use that amount of water and flour that was in it in your final dough. I’d add some dry yeast if I reduced the sourdough starter amount.
Here’s the modified version I made:
500 g sourdough starter (made up of 250 g water + 250 g all-purpose flour)
460 g whole wheat flour
300 g water
85 g sugar
75 g oil
40 g vital wheat gluten
12 g salt
I have tried SO many whole-wheat recipes, and this is by far the best. It's not dry and crumbly. It stays soft while still being able to spread crunchy peanut butter across it! I have seven kids and this had all of their approval. (I did skip the gluten since I didn't have any on hand, and it still worked great!)
I absolutely love this recipe and make it all the time. My only issue is that the tops of the loaves always get too dark. The first batch really burned, so I added a pan of water to the oven. That batch was better but still dark so I tented the loaves with foil after the first 10 minutes in the oven. The foil helped as well but the tops are still browner than I would like. Any suggestions?
Hi Margaret! If your loaves are consistently getting too dark on top, it sounds like your oven is simply too hot. I wonder if your oven runs hot or has hot spots in certain area? Do you have an oven thermometer that you could use to check? You can try baking at a lower temperature if your oven is running hot. It could also be that your oven racks are too high up in the oven, so perhaps try lowering them. Otherwise, I think tenting the tops with foil is probably the best way to avoid an over-browning problem. 🙂
I thought, “That’s a lot of gluten.” Followed by, “That’s a lot of yeast.” And then, “That’s awfully warm water.” Of course I asked, “No second rise?” and “No preheating the oven??” After beating the poor dough to a pulp for ten minutes, and adding 1 T of extra flour and another three minutes before it finaaallly pulled away from the bowl, I was skeptical. When I turned out the dough and it immediately spread out like my stomach after Thanksgiving dinner, I was sure of it. Yeah, right, I said, as I scraped it up and made flaccid loaves and placed the pans in the oven. But then, after 24 minutes of anxious checking, I had domed loaves! I turned on the oven. They rose like rocket ships! Next time, I will know what to look for and maybe add a little more flour, as my flaccid dough made slightly spread-out domes of finished bread, but my gosh this was easy!
Out of oven, they smelled kind of funny; I guess sour would be an apt word (the lemon juice?) but that mostly went away as they cooled. The crust was brown and lovely, but was so soft I couldn’t believe it. The bread is very, very tender. I can’t imagine anyone thinking this is a 100% whole grain loaf.
Note: I use a baking tile in my oven. Since there was no preheating, it didn’t warm enough and the bottoms of the loaves were just a tad underdone. In future, I’ll try baking without the tile, or lower in the oven, to see if that helps.
Great recipe! Please do tell why the lemon juice??
Fantastic recipe!! Simple, straight forward and tuned out so light for a whole wheat and not the least bit dry!!
I have been baking bread for 45 years and this is the best recipe ever. The only alteration I had was that I used 1/3 cup organic unbleached flour instead of the gluten flour. All other ingredients are the same. I live at 6200 feet in elevation so I have issues with breads rising correctly. This is my fourth time making it this month and my husband said it’s the best I’ve ever made. Also, the first three times I mixed the dough in my Cuisinart food processor. The bread was great. Thank you for putting this recipe together.
I’ve hooked so many friends and family in this bread recipe. It’s the best 100% whole wheat one I’ve come across. I double the recipe and use my Bosch mixer. Then I make it into 5 loaves. They really freeze well.