Whole Wheat Bread
for the 6 qt. Professional KitchenAid Mixer
Would you like to see how this is made? Go to Whole Wheat Bread Baking Tutorial (with pictures).
makes 2 large loaves or 3 regular loaves
- 6-2/3 cups whole wheat flour (preferably hard white wheat flour)
- 2-2/3 cups warm water
- 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon SAF yeast
- 1/2 cup vital wheat gluten
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 teaspoons sea salt
- 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon raw agave syrup or raw honey
- 1/4 cup poppy seeds (optional)
- 1/4 cup rolled oats (optional)
Put 3-1/3 cups of the whole wheat flour, all the water and all the yeast in mixing bowl. Use dough hook on “Stir” speed to mix until just blended. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and allow to sit for 15 to 30 minutes, until bubbly and doubled in size.
Punch down by briefly turning on mixer to “Stir.” Add 1-1/3 cup whole wheat flour, vital wheat gluten, extra virgin olive oil, sea salt, agave or honey, poppy seeds and rolled oats. Begin mixing on “Stir” speed. Add 1 cup whole wheat flour, 1/2 cup at a time until dough pulls away from sides of mixing bowl. Increase mixer speed to dough setting (Speed 2) and add approximately 1 cup more whole wheat flour, 1/2 cup at a time, or enough flour so dough is springy but not sticky. Knead for 5 minutes on dough setting or until dough forms a ball around the dough hook.
Remove bowl from mixer. Spray sides and bottom with olive oil spray, or layer with olive oil, while you lift dough up. Rotate dough around so it gets coated on all sides, top and bottom, with the oil in the bowl. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and place in a warm (but turned off) oven*. Let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes.
Punch down dough. Divide into 2 portions (for large loaves) or 3 portions (for regular loaves). Shape loaves and place in oiled loaf pans. Cut into top of each loaf 3 times diagonally with a sharp knife. Put pans in the warm (but turned off) oven to rise for about 30 minutes, or until dough has swelled to fill the pans. Turn oven on to 350 degrees and bake loaves for 30 to 35 minutes, until the tops are nicely browned and the loaves sound hollow when tapped. Turn loaves out onto cooling racks. When just cooled, put in bread bags. Set one out for immediate use and freeze the rest.
Dinner Roll Variation: After the first rise, punch down dough and divide into 2 portions. Divide each of the 2 portions into 16 pieces. Shape rolls into balls by tucking edges underneath and spreading out loosely on 2 greased 9 x 13 inch baking pans. Spray tops of the rolls with olive oil spray or brush with olive oil. Let rise in warm (but turned off) oven until rolls have doubled in size. They should be swelled and touching each other. Take out of the oven and set in a draft-free place. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Put pans back in oven and bake the rolls for 15 minutes, until golden brown. Remove pans from oven. Spray tops of rolls with olive oil spray or brush with olive oil and transfer rolls to cooling racks. Once cool, transfer rolls to bread bags. Freeze any rolls not needed immediately.
*To warm oven, turn on to 400 degrees for 5 minutes, then turn off. Open the oven door and let most of the heat out, until the oven is left comfortably warm.
© Copyright 2006 by Wardeh Harmon
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[...] This tutorial is a basic guide, a starting place, for you to develop your bread baking skills. It follows the recipe for Whole Wheat Bread. Other equipment, such as other brands of grain grinders or mixers, can be used. The bread-making method will be much the same, with the exception of adjustments made for operation of the alternative equipment. [...]
[...] 5. When baking bread, bake enough to last a week. I bake 6 loaves of bread, which is enough to last my family a week. I leave one loaf out to consume that day and I bag the rest of the loaves and freeze them. They require about 4 hours to thaw completely, so I pull a new loaf out of the freezer the night before or the meal before it is needed. For more information, see my favorite bread recipe, Whole Wheat Bread. [...]
Thank you for the recipe, and for being nice and detailed! I’ve just copied it and will try it now!
[...] I would like to mention this variety of wheat, because I’ve had such good results in baking whole wheat bread with flour ground from it. It has a high gluten (or protein) content, making it ideal for bread. The resulting bread is lighter in taste as well as color and texture, compared to bread made from its counterpart variety of hard red wheat. For more information, visit http://www.wheatmontana.com/faqs.php. [...]
I’m so glad I found your website! I am trying this recipe right now (the bread is rising). This recipe is similar to the one I usually use (http://www.thefamilyhomestead.com/wwbreadbosch.htm) except that there’s a lot less oil and honey (which is great because the organic oil I buy is quite expensive and I prefer to use it sparingly). Thanks so much for sharing your recipes…I will be back to try more!!!
My kids and I made this recipe this evening and it’s wonderful! Thanks for posting it.
I’m happy to hear it! Love, Wardeh
Yum! I’ll give your recipe a try, Wardeh. I’ve never added poppy seeds….adding them to my grocery list.
Wardeh,
I am curious how and why you make this wheat bread if you have gluten issues?? A friend of mine says the hard white is supposed to be easier to digest than the red. Do you find this to be the case for yourself???
Thanks Cherie
Hi, Cheri! This recipe is up here from before our gluten-free days. I don’t make it anymore, but I sure do miss it! I never found that the white was easier to digest than the white. I can’t say I ever paid attention to that, though. We just liked the milder flavor, although we also really liked the hearty flavor of red wheat too. Love, Wardeh
Wardeh, what if you don’t have a mixer that big? Is this managable by hand or do you have a smaller version? Could this same dough be used for pizza dough?
Hello, Elena! I would suggest you halve the recipe to do it by hand. You can use this dough for pizza, too. Love, Wardeh
I made this bread with the oats and poppy seeds, and used agave. I am a brittle diabetic, so I am always trying to find good recipes with whole grains and very little, if any, sugar. This is a most beautiful loaf of bread with a perfect texture and rich, nutty flavor. My lunch today was a slice of this bread warm from the oven with natural peanut butter and it was so satisfying and delicious! Thank you! I will make this often!
A question rather than a comment.
Could the rolled up logs be frozen and then taken out to thaw, slice and bake as needed?
Yes! You’d want to freeze them before allowing them to rise. Then thaw, let rise in a warm area, bake them and slice them as you desire. Love, Wardeh