Best Whole Wheat Bread (6 Loaves!)

About fifteen years ago, as a young mother of five, I found myself buying more and more bread as the kids grew. Whether it was in the form of toast, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, grilled cheese, or French toast, bread consumption was huge! Sometimes bread is the main food a picky child eats! I wanted to do the best I could for their nutrition, and since they were eating so much of it, bread was a place I could really make a difference. This is the best whole wheat bread recipe out there, and I can’t wait to share it with you!

Discovering the Best Whole Wheat Bread

First, I searched the grocery for a healthy whole wheat bread and found many options. To my dismay, the taste failed the kid-test. Back to the drawing board.

Next, I began exploring making my own. The internet was not what it is today, and so I asked friends if they had any thoughts. To my surprise, there was a local lady who agreed to teach me how she made whole wheat bread that was healthy AND delicious. Skeptically, I spent the morning with Deloris, my new bread-making mentor, baking whole wheat bread (seriously, 100% whole wheat). When the kitchen was filled with the aroma of fresh bread, my doubts began to disappear, and when I tasted it, I was sold! I asked her if I could take a few pieces home for the family to taste, and she gave me a whole loaf. I’ve learned since, that her generosity went deeper than the bread, but that’s a story for another day.

I went home that day with bread in hand, nervously wondering if the ultimate judges would approve, and they overwhelmingly gave it a thumbs up! I have never turned back. For sure, the best part about the bread is that it tastes wonderful! Guests often ask, “Where did you get this bread?” No kidding, it makes the BEST toast I have ever had. To this day, my grown children still prefer it. That one generous loaf Deloris gave me has turned into hundreds and hundreds of loaves over the years!

The Investment

To be honest, in order to make six loaves of whole wheat bread at one time–which was important for me because I wanted to get the most from my time and effort–I had to make several purchases. First, I bought a grain mill, because we grind the wheat right before mixing the bread dough–talk about fresh! I also bought a large mixer called a Bosch Universal Kitchen Machine. It mixes and kneads the bread dough. Gladly, the only other supplies I needed were the bread pans. I remember the day I brought it all home and nervously made my first six-loaf batch of whole wheat bread. I wondered if the bread would turn out like Deloris’s. Would it be worth the investment? Truly, it was SO worth it.

It was worth it for so many reasons. First, I haven’t bought loaf bread in 16 years. Second, my children watched, and participated in the process of making our daily bread all these years. In addition, it changed the way our family thought about food. Pretty soon, we were making our own pizza crusts, and that led to something else, and something else…

Only Two Hours for Six Loaves of the Best Whole Wheat Bread

All of this might sound overwhelming, and it was right at first, but it became as easy as going to the grocery to buy bread. The whole process takes me two hours, and that includes rising time! (I can also do a lot of other things while the bread is rising, or baking:) It may take a little longer the first few times you bake, but as you get the hang of it, it will become second nature.

Nutritional Benefits

In addition to the great taste, this whole wheat bread is packed with nutrition. Because I grind the wheat myself, (well, the grain mill really does all the work:) all the components of the wheat berry are in my bread, including the bran and the germ, which are so good for our bellies and our hearts. Sometimes, “whole wheat” bread from the store has components removed from it to use in other products. I always know exactly what is in my bread. More importantly, I know what is NOT in my bread, like preservatives. However, the nutritional value wouldn’t matter if my family didn’t love it, so I’m so glad they do!

Slicing and Freezing

You’re probably wondering why I would want that much bread at one time. After all, without preservatives, six loaves might go bad before you could use it! No worries! I slice the bread with an electric knife and freeze it. When I need it, I just pull it from the freezer. (My husband likes to do the slicing so he can slice it thick for toast!) This recipe freezes so well, and the bread is good for up to 3 months in the freezer. When my children were school age and packing their lunches, I baked this batch every 10 days! Now, I only bake it about every 4 to 6 weeks, with just the two of us at home.

When I was packing lunches, I made their cold cut sandwiches as well as their peanut butter and jelly on the bread, frozen, and by the time lunch came around, the bread was perfectly thawed. If I know I’m having guests, I take the bread out the night before. In a pinch, I’ll microwave it to thaw and that works well also. If I have a freezer full of good bread, I can always come up with a good breakfast or dinner on the fly.

Ways to Use Homemade Whole Wheat Bread

This bread is so good for French toast, just a little heartier than brioche or traditional white bread. Plus, I feel good about eating it. In addition, it makes a wonderful bread for Roast Beef Manhattans (Bread topped with beef, mashed potatoes, and gravy). With cold cuts, peanut butter and jelly, or grilled cheese, this whole wheat bread just elevates these humble sandwiches to a whole new level. My favorite way to eat this bread is TOAST–topped with butter and preserves, of course!

Ingredients

Wheat berries: I get my wheat berries from a small local store, but I’ve noticed that in recent years they are much easier to come by, even online! There are several different kinds of wheat berries, and I have always used hard white wheat for my bread.

Unbleached bread flour: I always add a little bit of white flour to increase the gluten content of my bread dough. Because my ground wheat flour includes all the bran and germ, the end result actually has less gluten than some store-bought wheat flours. To “fix” that, (because plenty of gluten is necessary for whole wheat bread to rise adequately) I add a little bit of white flour.

Vegetable oil: You could use a light tasting olive oil or a vegetable oil. I prefer a neutral tasting oil, so I always use avocado oil.

Honey: I love to use honey because it has health benefits as well as naturally preserving benefits.

Instant yeast: I use SAF instant yeast, and it never fails me.

Salt: I generally use the noniodized fine salt for bread.

Equipment

The Bosch Universal Kitchen Machine is just made for whole wheat dough. The motor has the power to knead it, and the mixer bowl material allows the user to really identify when the dough is cleaning the sides. It was so user friendly from the very beginning. I use this mixer for so many things besides bread. It’s wonderful for mashed potatoes, especially when I need to make a large batch. Doubling and tripling cookie recipes is no problem for this machine.

The NutriMill grain mill is just a rock star, but if you have a different grinder I’m sure that will work very well. My daughter uses a KoMo Mill, and she loves it as well. The bread pans I use are 8 x 4 Norpro bread pans. I’ve had them forever and they just work well. Having six pans that are the same size obviously makes dividing your dough for six loaves much easier and straight forward.

A A A Thermapen for testing the internal temperature of the bread for doneness. Having a thermometer just takes the guess work out of knowing if the bread is done. If it goes too far, it could be too dry. If not far enough, the bread can be doughy or have reduced shelf life. At 190 degrees, it’s just perfect. Here is an amazon version of this product.

Bread bags are just perfect for freezing these loaves, and they really keep them fresh!

Making the Bread

I like to begin by assembling all my ingredients so I can add them when I’m ready. Next, grind the wheat berries. I grind my wheat with the NutriMill on the medium grind setting (both dials straight up). To the Bosch mixer bowl, add the water, oil, and honey and mix just to combine. To that, add 7 cups of your freshly ground whole wheat flour and the yeast. Mix for about 30 seconds on low speed just to combine. Place the cover on the Bosch mixer bowl and allow to sit at least 20 minutes until the mixture is good and bubbly. Keep an eye on it from time to time as it can grow pretty quickly!

This stage is called the “sponge” stage. Could you skip it if you’re in a pinch for time? Yes, but you don’t want to because a lot of good things happen during this time. First, you get some flavor development as with all pre-ferments (bigas, poolishes, sourdough, levains). In addition, you get a softer, fluffier bread which is particularly desirable when making whole wheat bread! I’ll do another post on preferments, but for now, just know that if you do a sponge, you are already an advanced baker!

Next, with mixer on speed 2, begin adding remaining ingredients, starting with the unbleached bread flour and salt. We aren’t going to add an exact amount of whole wheat flour. Instead, we’re going to add flour until it cleans the sides of the bowl. So, we want to add the unbleached flour, salt, and dough enhancer first because they are fixed amounts. After that, we’ll just add whole wheat flour until the dough cleans the sides of the bowl. In the end, I generally use between 18 cups and 21 cups of total flour (that includes the white).

Begin adding whole wheat flour, a cup at a time, fairly quickly, until the dough begins to clean the sides of the bowl. When you think you’re getting close, add flour 1/2 cup at a time. I’ve included a video of what it should look like when it’s ready.

Now we simply set the timer for 10 minutes with the mixer on speed 3 and let the Bosch mixer do the work of kneading. During this time, I usually get my six Norpro bread pans ready by spraying them with a nonstick cooking spray. You can also butter them, but I find the bakery spray works better for a clean release of the baked loaves.

Shaping the Dough

When the dough is done kneading, you can begin shaping the dough and putting it into the bread pans. Begin by preparing the counter/bread board with a small amount of oil. A little goes a long way and just keeps the bread dough from sticking as we shape it. My method is the one I learned from Deloris many years ago and I have tried different ones, but I just keep returning to my original.

Divide the dough into six equal pieces. You can eye-ball it or use a handy kitchen scale. If you’re using a kitchen scale, start by measuring the entire piece of dough, divide it by six and you have the weight of each piece of dough. You’ll only have to do that the first time. After that, you’ll know the weight you’re shooting for.

Place the individual dough on your work surface and with a rolling pin, roll it out to approximately an 8in x 12-inch rectangle. Next, with the 8-inch side in front of you, begin rolling up the dough into a log. Seal the long edge, as well as the ends and place it in the bread pan. Repeat for each loaf. Allow the loaves to rise until the dough has risen above the top of the pans. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Baking the Whole Wheat Bread

We’re in the homestretch! Once your bread has risen and your oven is preheated, place all six loaves in your oven. In my standard oven, I can fit all six loaves on one shelf with four in the back and then two running perpendicular to them in the front. Bake at 325 degrees for approximately 30 minutes, or until internal temperature reaches 190 degrees. (Once I load my oven, I turn it down to 300 degrees on convection and bake for 30 minutes or until the internal temperature is 190 degrees. As you gain experience with your bread, you’ll learn what the best temperature/time recipe is for your oven.) Remove the bread from the oven and allow to sit for five minutes, then remove bread loaves from pans and place on cooling rack until fully cooled. I used to time this, so the bread was still warm around the time the kids got home from school. The smell and taste of the warm bread was such a welcome feeling.

Once the bread is completely cooled, you can slice and bag it for the freezer. You can use a bread knife–I generally get 12 to 14 slices from each loaf depending on how thick I slice it. I try to have a variety of sizes–thicker for toast and thinner for sandwiches. I use an electric knife because it’s so much quicker, but if you don’t have one, a regular bread knife works just fine. Now, your freezer is full of yummy bread, and you’re prepared for anything!

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