Whole Wheat Bread

4.87 from 160 ratings

from kristineskitchenblog.com

This easy Whole Wheat Bread is perfect for sandwiches, toast, or just enjoying with some softened butter. This bread is soft, with a touch of honey. See the recipe notes for how to use all-purpose flour or bread flour in this bread recipe.

Prep Time30

Cook Time40

Rise Time1 45

Total Time2 55

Servings: slices (one loaf)

Calories: 153kcal

Author: Kristine Rosenblatt

Ingredients

1 cup water
¼ cup milk*
3 tablespoons honey
2 ¼ teaspoons active dry yeast or instant yeast (1 packet)
3 cups (339 grams) whole wheat flour* plus more as needed
1 ½ teaspoons salt
3 tablespoons unsalted butter cut into 6 pieces and softened

Instructions

Combine the water and milk in a microwave-safe liquid measuring cup or bowl. Warm the milk and water to 105-115° F. (If you do not have a microwave, you can warm them in a pan on the stove.)
Pour the milk and water into the bowl of a stand mixer.* Add the honey and yeast and stir to combine. Let stand for 5 to 10 minutes, until the yeast starts to foam or bubble. If nothing happens after 10 minutes, your yeast may be dead and you should start over with new yeast.
Add the flour, salt and butter to the bowl. Mix using the paddle attachment until everything is combined.
Switch to the dough hook. Knead the dough on low speed for about 8 minutes. The dough should feel slightly sticky when you touch it, but a lot of dough shouldn't stick to your finger. If the dough is very sticky, add more flour, 1 to 2 tablespoons at a time. As the dough kneads, stop the mixer every few minutes, as needed, and use a spatula to scrape the dough away from the sides of the bowl. After kneading, the dough will be a little sticky and very soft. It won't hold its shape tightly in a ball, but should hold together when you transfer it to an oiled bowl using your hands or a spatula.
Transfer the dough to a large oiled bowl and turn it once to coat it with oil. Cover the bowl with a clean kitchen towel and let the dough rise for about an hour, or until it has doubled in size.
Grease a 9 x 5-inch metal or glass bread pan. Use your hands to gently punch down the dough, deflating it and popping any air bubbles. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface, shape it into a rough rectangle and use a rolling pin to roll it out into a 9x13-inch rectangle. If the dough is resistant to rolling out, let it rest for about 5 minutes and then try again (the dough will relax as it rests). Starting from the short edge, roll up the rectangle of dough and place it, seam side down, in your greased bread pan.
Cover with a clean kitchen towel and let the dough rise in the bread pan until the top of the loaf is just above the top of the pan. This should take about 30-45 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350° F.
Bake the bread for 35 to 45 minutes, until the inside registers 200° F on an instant-read thermometer. If using a glass baking pan, the bread will take 35 to 40 minutes. It will take 40 to 45 minutes in a metal pan. If desired, rub the top crust with butter as soon as the bread comes out of the oven.
Let the bread cool for 15 minutes in the pan and then remove it to a wire rack to finish cooling. The bread will slice easiest when it is cool. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Notes

You can use a combination of whole wheat flour and bread flour or all-purpose flour. To make this bread recipe with only all-purpose flour or bread flour, you will need to use a little more flour to get a dough that is only slightly sticky. In my tests of this recipe, 3 1/2 cups was the perfect amount for all-purpose flour and bread flour, while 3 to 3 1/4 cups of flour was the perfect amount for whole wheat flour. I recommend starting with 3 cups of whichever flour you choose, and then adding more flour, a little at a time, as needed.
I use a stand mixer to mix and knead the dough. If you don't have a stand mixer, you can mix the dough in a large bowl with a spoon, and knead it by hand on a clean work surface.
To make dairy-free bread, replace the milk with water. Substitute the butter with olive oil or a neutral vegetable oil, such as canola oil.
Recipe updated 1/4/25 with new instructions for shaping the dough. I've found that rolling the dough out into a rectangle and then rolling it into a log produces a loaf with more structure. This should help readers who have had difficulty with a crumbly texture.

Nutrition

Nutrition information is only an estimate.