Soft Whole Wheat Bread Recipe
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This soft whole wheat bread recipe is the answer to all those dense, brick-like loaves of whole wheat bread you’ve tried. Healthy bread without the chemicals!
There’s one thing that’s eluded me over these past few years as I’ve tried to feed my family real food. It’s the bread thing. I just couldn’t get my hands on a homemade whole wheat bread recipe that yielded anything other than a brick.
I baked loaf after loaf, and they always tasted good out of the oven. But then as the hours passed, each loaf would turn into a dense mass. It was always edible as toast, but “edible” isn’t exactly what I was going for.
I wanted a soft, 100 percent whole wheat loaf of bread that would stay soft for a few days. I wanted bread that I could freeze and then defrost for sandwiches later in the week. Why couldn’t I make bread that my kids would love?
Yeast for Homemade Bread
Then one day I came across a bread recipe from My Healthy Green Family. Looking at her post, I realized part of the problem with the previous loaves I had made.
She included a photo of the yeast bubbling up in a measuring cup. It was much more active and bubbly than my yeast had ever been, which is part of the reason why my bread hadn’t been rising properly. Letting the yeast activate for 5 minutes, which most recipes advise, isn’t long enough to get the job done correctly.
I tried the recipe from My Healthy Green Family, and it came out great. After adapting it a bit to suit my family’s texture preferences, I’m thrilled to finally have a soft whole wheat bread recipe that everyone in my house likes.
I never thought I’d see the day.
Soft Whole Wheat Bread Tips
I want to share a few important tips about baking bread before I get to the recipe.
Yeast: Make sure your yeast bubbles up nicely. If it doesn’t, throw it away and try another packet. You’re wasting your time if you make a batch of bread with yeast that doesn’t look like this after 20 minutes or so:
Baking Time: Another thing I’ve learned about baking bread is that sometimes the bread looks done before it’s actually cooked through in the middle. Using a thermometer to get an accurate temperature reading is a great way to make sure your soft whole wheat bread won’t come out of the oven with a gummy center. See the recipe below for details.
Texture: Once you get into the habit of making homemade bread, you’ll get a feel for when the dough has reached the proper texture. You can’t always follow a recipe and get the right result by simply adding the exact amount of flour, water, and other ingredients called for in the recipe. Variations among different brands of flour will impact the final product. The dough should be well-hydrated but not sticky.
This is the dough in the loaf pan before the second rise.
And this is the dough after the second rise.
The bread keeps on rising as it bakes in the oven.
Try my whole wheat Irish soda bread for another easy, delicious homemade treat.
Soft Whole Wheat Bread
Recommended Equipment
Ingredients
- 6 cups white whole wheat flour divided (plus more for kneading)
- 1/4 cup whey, lemon juice, or vinegar
- 2 1/2 tsp active dry yeast
- 1/4 cup + 1 tbs. honey divided
- 4 tbs melted butter or coconut oil divided
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp salt
Instructions
- In the evening before baking, mix together 3 cups of whole wheat flour, 1/4 cup whey or other acid (optional), and 2 cups of water in a large bowl. Some people find the bread is easier to digest if the flour is soaked with an acid. Cover and let the dough sit at room temperature overnight. (I use , but you could also use plastic wrap or a warm kitchen towel.)
- In the morning, stir together the yeast, 1 tablespoon of honey, and 1/4 cup warm water (105-115 degrees). Let the mixture get very bubbly. It should take 20 to 30 minutes. If your yeast mixture doesn’t look like the photo above, your bread won’t rise properly.
- Place the soaked flour mixture in the bowl of a stand mixer. Add the yeast mixture. Then add the following: 3 tbs. melted coconut oil or butter (cooled), 1/4 cup honey, 2 eggs, 1 tsp. salt, and 3 additional cups of white whole wheat flour. Mix using the dough hook attachment.
- If the dough is quite sticky, add a little more flour. It should be well hydrated, but not too sticky to handle. You may need to add as much as another cup of flour. If it seems dry, add a bit more water.
- Knead the dough in the stand mixer with the dough hook (or by hand on a floured work surface) for 10 to 15 minutes. I usually start the kneading process in the mixer and then finish it off by hand.
- Transfer the dough to a greased bowl with enough room for it to double in size. Cover the bowl and let it rise for about 2 hours, or until doubled in size. If your room is cooler than 70 degrees, the rise time will be longer.
- Knead the dough for 2 minutes, then divide it into two balls.
- Using a rolling pin, roll out each ball of dough to a thickness of 1 inch. Then roll up each section of dough into a loaf shape. Place the loaves in 2 large, greased loaf pans. Cover with a wet kitchen towel and let the loaves rise again until doubled in size (about 2 hours).
- Score the loaves with a sharp knife by slashing them with a line about 1/4 inch deep down the middle of each loaf (lengthwise).
- Bake at 350 degrees for about 40 minutes. I find it very tricky to determine if a loaf of sandwich bread is done. Even if it’s “nicely browned” and thumps with a hollow sound, the dough may still be gummy in the middle of the loaf. Big disappointment after all that work! The best way to tell if it’s done for sure is to insert a thermometer and see if it’s reached a temperature of 190 to 200 degrees.
- Let the loaves cool for at least 10 minutes before removing them from the pans. Melt the last tablespoon of butter and brush the melted butter on top of the loaves while they’re cooling. This will keep the crust soft.
Notes
Approximate Nutrition Info
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Soft Wholemeal Bread Recipe Price Breakdown
This recipe costs a total of $3.13 to make, or $1.57 per loaf. A loaf of Great Harvest’s Honey Whole Wheat Bread costs $5 where I live, for a savings of $3.43 per loaf. If you go through 2 loaves of bread a week, this comes out to a savings of $356.72 per year. Since my kids won’t even eat the Great Harvest bread, this whole wheat bread recipe has become essential in my house. I hope you’ll try it!
I feel like I am trying to make this from a recipe none of you used. This bread is as dry as a bone and I can’t even get dough out of it. I have so far added 1/2 cup water and it still is dry and doesn’t stick together. I did not soak the flour as you said it was optional. Is that the problem?
I’m sorry the recipe isn’t coming together for you. I don’t think the lack of soaking would cause such an issue. One of two things is probably at play. Either you measured one of the ingredients incorrectly (it happens to all of us!), or the flour you’re using is especially “thirsty.” Keep adding water until you get the described texture, and hopefully it will come out well. Good luck!
Hello Anne Marie,
I was wondering what yeast brand you used. I used the fleischmann’s Active dry yeast but mine does not look like the one in your post.
I’ve used all different kinds of yeast, including Hodgson Mills and Red Star. Sometimes one package will work well and another one won’t, even when it’s the same brand. Be sure to check the expiration date.
After countless WW bread recipe attempts, I tried your’s today and can confidently say it was the best one! It was even way better than Great Harvest’s $5.50 loaf I tried out of desperation! I only soaked the flour mixture for an hour or so and left out the acid. Just curious- is there any benefit to still soaking the flour if not adding an acid? I don’t mind the extra step if so, but I’ll leave it out if it’s unnecessary 🙂 Thank you for ending my search for a great whole wheat bread recipe!
I’m so glad you liked it, Jaclyn! I think the soaking is important with or without the acid, but I haven’t actually tried this recipe without soaking. Let me know if you try it that way.
I made this and it is excellent! I froze most of it as we don’t eat much bread. It was great/soft after even a few days out (I kept in a cast iron Dutch oven with a cotton napkin) and great once thawed. Excited to try the whole wheat biscuits next!!
So glad you liked the bread, Courtney! The biscuits are even easier to make, and very tasty. Enjoy! 🙂
*loud chewing noises* Mmm, this is delicious! I used whole wheat flour, didn’t soak overnight, and it still turned out amazing! Thanks for the great recipe! Definitely going into my recipe book!
So glad you liked it!
This bread looks amazing! I would love to try to make it. Do you know the gram measurements? If not I will be happy to calculate them myself. One important question though: are the “cups” US cups or metric cups?
Hugs from a drooling Norwegian girl 🙂
I don’t have the gram measurements, Cecilia. Sorry about that! The measurements are in U.S. cups. Let me know if you figure out the conversions.
So glad to have come across this recipe! It turned out beautiful and soft! Finally! I think I finally found our bread “not” from the store!!! So so thankful!!!
That’s fantastic! I was so excited when I finally got the recipe right. I’m glad it worked well for you. 🙂
Just tried this. But being a guy with little patience I only soaked the flour for an hour and used half lemon juice and half rice wine vinegar because I was just about out of both, Added one Tbs. sugar for my sweet tooth. I just carved off the first slice 20 minutes after pulling it from the oven and put a scoosh of butter on it, and had to drop you a note. This is the tastiest bread since my Mom made bread in the 70’s. Thanks. So easy even a mechanic can do it.
Fantastic! I’m so glad to hear that you liked it. Thanks for letting me know.
Wow a great, soft wheat bread! So glad to be able to feed my family something healthy that they will enjoy. Great detailed instructions and tips made it fail proof. Thanks so much!
Thanks so much for letting me know, Amanda. I’m so happy to hear that it went well!
I made this yesterday and my family loved it! How do your store your loaves after they are cooked??
I’m glad you all liked it! I slice it once it’s cool, then I transfer what we’ll eat in the next two days into a zipper bag or airtight container. The rest goes in the freezer. I try to bunch the slices in pairs in the freezer (in a zipper bag) so it’s easy to remove two at a time.
Can I switch the eggs for something else?
Emelie, the eggs help the bread to rise and soften, but you can make this recipe without them. It will be slightly less soft, but still very good.
this looks amazing! I love wholesome and hearty bread! Yum!
Do you have any recommendations for soaking all of the flour?
I haven’t had a chance to try it that way yet, Haley, but it’s on my radar. The flour added in the morning does get the benefit of soaking for the 4 hours of rise time.
Ok, thank you. I’m going to try this recipe out right now!
I look forward to hearing how it goes!
Would this recipe work in a bread machine?
Leah, I don’t have a bread machine, so I’m not sure. I think it would, though. Let me know if you try it.
I have whole wheat flour, but it isn’t white whole wheat flour. Do you think that is OK to use?
Yes, Valerie, plain whole wheat flour will work. I find it to be a little heavier than white whole wheat flour, though, which may make the bread a bit more dense. You may want to substitute 1 cup of unbleached white flour for a cup of the whole wheat flour to lighten it up. Let me know if you try it.
I cannot wait to make this! I love making bread and so ready to switch the family off store whole wheat. Thanks for sharing your tips & tricks!
Thanks, Deanna! I hope your family likes it. Let me know how it goes.
Made this today. Started last night with Whey. I do not have a dough hook and had to do it by hand. Perhaps I didn’t knead it enough. Took forever to rise in a warm home. My yeast looked like yours. It doubled in size in the pans but didn’t raise while baking. *sigh*
Maybe it had risen enough before the oven, Gerri? How did it taste, and how was the texture?
Thank You. I make bread and it is exactly as you say. Dense and not as good after it cools done. I am going to try your recipe will all your tips now. Seema
Thanks, Seema! Please let me know how it goes.
I’m just curious: what would happen if you used just whole wheat flour with this recipe. all other things the same?
It should be fine, Diana. Let me know if you try it.