How to Make Whole Wheat Bread Tutorial
ByBesides making Sourdough Bread, this is my favorite, simple 100% Whole Wheat Bread recipe. This recipe makes two loaves. (I always double it for my family, so if the pictures in this tutorial look like twice the amount, that’s because it is.)
Honey Whole Wheat Bread
6 cups (give or take) whole wheat flour, divided
1 ¾ cups warm water, divided
1/3 cup honey
1 package active dry yeast (2 1/4 teaspoon)
1 teaspoon sea salt
3 Tablespoons melted butter
Mix 3 cups of whole wheat flour with 1 ½ cups of warm water in a large glass bowl. Allow this to sit for about 30 minutes. This will break down the gluten and help the bread to rise better.
In a small bowl mix together ¼ cup water, 2 1/4 teaspoons yeast and 1/3 cup honey. Allow this to sit for about 10 minutes, or until the yeast is activated and mixture becomes bubbly.
In the meantime, melt 3 Tablespoons butter in a small sauce pan. Remove from heat and allow to cool. You don’t want the hot butter to kill the yeast.
Add 1 teaspoon salt, melted butter and yeast mixture to the flour and water mixture. Gradually add the remaining three cups of flour and stir well. As the dough becomes harder to stir, pour it out onto a clean counter and begin to knead the dough. If you create a nice dough before adding all three cups of flour…you don’t need to continue to add it in. Just add enough to make a nice, non-sticky dough.
Here’s a video to show you how to knead the dough. Two things: 1) I was having a freaked out hair day. So glad I could share it with you. 2) I’m pretty sure “wetter” is not a real word, yet I use that word toward the end of the video. I are sorry.
Don’t you love how I “spank” the dough at the end of the clip? There’s something very gratifying about giving the dough a nice “spank”. You should try it sometime.
Once you’ve kneaded your dough, place it into a bowl to rise.
Cover the dough with a cloth and let it rise for at least one hour or until it has risen to twice it’s starting size.
While you’re waiting for your dough to rise, get your bread pans buttered. You can also do some laundry, wash some dishes, or clean the bread dough out from under your fingernails.
There it is…doubled up.
Give the raised dough a nice punch.
(Punching? Spanking? Who knew making bread was so violent in nature?)
Using a floured hand, pull the dough out of the bowl onto the counter.
Knead for three or four minutes until the air bubbles are all gone.
Now you can watch how I shape my dough into loaves before baking. Again…more spanking…
Cover and allow 30 minutes to one hour to rise again. They should double in size, but the rising should happen more quickly this time because the yeast knows what to do by now.
See here how the loaves have doubled in size?
Bake the bread uncovered in a 350 degree oven for 45-50 minutes, or until the bread sounds hollow when you thump the top of it. (Great. Spanking, punching and thumping. I am really a bad influence.)
Allow the bread to cool in the pans for 10 minutes,
then remove it to finish cooling on a wire rack.
The bread slices more easily after it’s cooled. However…it’s awfully hard to wait…and bread fresh out of the oven slathered in butter is really, really good. I say go for it.
A few notes:
- Making bread from start to finish takes about 3 1/2 to 4 hours. Most of that time is waiting and baking time…but if you plan to make bread, you should block out an entire morning or afternoon.
- If your water or butter is too cold or too hot, it will kill the yeast. If you can put your (clean) finger in the water or butter and it doesn’t burn you, but just feels warm… you’ve got the right temperature.
- If the dough in your bowl has risen to double and suddenly you need to nurse the baby or wash cottage cheese out from between your toddler’s toes…just go punch down your dough and let it rise again before you shape it. It won’t hurt anything.
- If you want to shape your dough into loaves, but bake them later: Shape your loaves then put them directly into the freezer before they have a chance to rise. Allow them to sit in buttered loaf pans for several hours (or overnight) so that they can thaw and rise before baking.
- Many of you have asked if I have a bread machine. I don’t, so I’m sorry I am not able to answer your questions about them. I’m assuming this recipe would work in a machine, but I don’t know. Maybe some of you with bread machines can chime in on this?
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It doesn’t seem like anyone has made this successfully in their kitchen aid mixer. Is that true? I’m really hoping that I can use that as I need the simplicity of turning that on for the kneading instead of me kneading for 10 minutes. I hope to one day knead it myself, but being new to making real food and not using everything prepackaged…it’s one more step that I’m not ready/able to make yet.
Thank you so much for all your wonderful recipes and guidance!
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Debbie Reply:
June 11th, 2012 at 3:28 pm
I use my Kitchen Aid for bread making but the little bit I do hand knead the bread. Just to get the feel of the bread.
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LindseyforLaura@HHM Reply:
August 6th, 2012 at 11:30 am
I have also used my mixer to get it started for me. Then I just make
sure it is all worked through at the end. I have had great luck. Be careful
not to over mix it though!
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Jamie Garcia Reply:
August 18th, 2012 at 3:41 pm
kneading is the best part! :D
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NancyC. Reply:
November 4th, 2012 at 10:23 am
I use my Kitchen Aid to mix and knead. My recipe makes only 2 loaves, so the bowl for my KA is just the right size! The loaves are always beautiful.
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Mandy Reply:
December 7th, 2012 at 2:51 pm
I’ve used my kitchen aid twice for this same recipe and the first time didn’t have much luck with the dough rising. It rose a bit once in the oven, but not like it should. The second time, I let the dough rise for 2 hours initially then 2 hours again in loaf form. It turned out beautifully the second time. Not sure why it needs the extra rising time though. (My white whole wheat flour is not freshly ground though…maybe that could be why.) I followed Laura’s recipe letting the flour and water rest in the kitchen aid bowl and then when it came time to combine and knead, I let the kitchen aid do the work adding flour until the dough clung to the hook and cleaned the sides of the bowl. Then let it mix on speed 2 for 2 more minutes. My dough began to stick to the bottom of the bowl a bit toward the end, but that’s okay with me. I like to leave the dough a bit moist so when I use flour to shape the loaves, it doesn’t get dried out:) Good Luck!
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Mandy Reply:
December 7th, 2012 at 7:20 pm
AND….I only baked it for about 30 minutes:)
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Hey Laura, I really liked the recipe. You did not use all APF at all. This makes me even more curious to try your recipe! Thanks for sharing on PInterest. I am pinning this to my board. Hugs
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Jamie Garcia Reply:
August 18th, 2012 at 3:42 pm
What’s APF?
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Jamie Garcia Reply:
August 18th, 2012 at 4:13 pm
All Purpose Flour DUH, sorry :)
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Is it OK to use salted butter?
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Laura Reply:
June 9th, 2012 at 8:48 pm
Yes, that will be fine.
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what did i do wrong if dough did not double?
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Laura Reply:
June 14th, 2012 at 3:04 pm
I can’t say for sure, but it seems like your yeast “died” somewhere in the process, maybe if your water was too hot?
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silly question. If I doubled the recipe like you do, then make only three loaves instead of four, would the loaves end up bigger or would they just end up more dense? I can never seem to make a nice tall loaf of bread when I use whole wheat…
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LindseyforLaura@HHM Reply:
August 6th, 2012 at 11:31 am
Not a silly question at all! The loaves may end up more dense. I would
allow the dough to rise longer once in the pan. See if that helps at all. :)
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I use a sourdough starter (which I have had for about 20 years) instead of yeast. Have you ever done sourdough bread? I use my KitchenAid for the kneading. Sourdough takes a little longer to raise. It’s about a 2-day process for the feeding, making, and baking of the bread but sooo worth the effort!
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Hello there!
A couple questions… do you use unsalted butter? And how important is the honey… or rather, how sweet does the bread taste, given those quantities?
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Laura Reply:
June 17th, 2012 at 12:30 pm
I typically use salted butter. They honey (or at least some sort of sugar) is pretty important to use – otherwise the yeast won’t activate and the bread won’t rise. You can, however, use less if you would like. This bread isn’t super sweet, but if you add less honey, the bread should still taste good.
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Fantastic
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I only have two loaf pans, so could I plop a loaf into a…cake pan or something? Would that work? Thanks!
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Jamie Garcia Reply:
August 18th, 2012 at 4:14 pm
The recipe is for 2 loaves, Laura doubled it for her family in the pics.
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Jamie Garcia Reply:
August 18th, 2012 at 4:15 pm
Just read below LOL.
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Oh hahaha I just read at the top where you said the picture is doubled xD. Never mind then hehe.
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Just made my first batch of DELICIOUS homemade bread thanks to your recipe! So easyto follow your directions, I’m so glad I found this!
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How can I try this in my bread machine?
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LindseyforLaura@HHM Reply:
August 28th, 2012 at 10:08 am
Unfortunately, Laura doesn’t know…and neither do I. :( Sorry to be so
unhelpful!:)
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Violet Reply:
February 27th, 2013 at 7:12 pm
I have made lots of bread in a bread machine, you just need to cut this in half so you are making one loaf at a time, and adjust as needed for the size loaf your machine makes. What I love best about a bread machine is how well it mixes and kneads the dough. I’ve never met one yet that does a good job of baking though. My solution was to let the machine do the work of mixing/kneading ONLY, then let it raise, form loaf, raise again, and bake in the oven. Much better presults, for me. I hated using that much electricity to bake one loaf, so I’d let the first batch rise while the machine mixed up the second loaf, then let both loaves raise, ready in pans, raise again, and bake together. Good luck!r
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Hello! This is an awesome recipe and the very first homemade bread recipe I’ve ever tried! I’m looking for a way to use this as frozen dough for things such as stromboli, etc. in place of storebought frozen bread dough. Any suggestions? It would need to be rolled out flat before it was filled with the pizza sauce, cheese, meat, etc. and I don’t know if I should try to freeze it flat or freeze it in a loaf shape and then roll it out flat once it thaws and rises the second time…?
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Laura Reply:
August 5th, 2012 at 12:02 pm
I freeze it in a loaf shape as that tends to work best.
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We loved the flavor, but felt the bread was a bit dense. Did I not let it raise long enough? Or do you have any other suggestions? Thanks so much!
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LindseyforLaura@HHM Reply:
August 28th, 2012 at 10:05 am
I have found every time my bread is dense that I used too much flour. Try using a little less next time. :)
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Made this bread today and loved the flavor, but it didn’t rise well at all. I think the problem was with the yeast proofing step – with the large amount of room temperature honey, the yeast didn’t get very bubbly like it normally does. Can I melt the butter, then add the honey, water and yeast to that to proof all together as long as the butter is not too hot? Or would the butter hurt the proofing process somehow?
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LindseyforLaura@HHM Reply:
August 28th, 2012 at 9:55 am
I don’t think that the butter would hurt. Like you mentioned, just make
sure it is not too hot. :)
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Can I substitute olive oil for the butter. If so, how much?
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Laura Reply:
August 30th, 2012 at 4:06 pm
Yes, I believe that should work. Just switch it out one-for-one.
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Hi Laura,
Your instructions are wonderful. Only one thing is wrong. Your recipe calles for 1 3/4 cups of water. It should be 2 3/4 cups, with 2 1/2 cups used to mix with half the flour.
It is looking great. It’s going in the oven in 20 mins. Can’t wait to slather a hot slice with butter.
Thanks
Cheers
Victor
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I just made this bread and WOW! I had no idea the recipe posted was for 2 loaves and not 4. It was a bit confusing since all the pics show 4. I watched the video on shaping the loaves after it was in the pan rising and the other 3 were in the freezer (LOL). So my loaves are small but so delicious. Next time I will make the 2 and hopefully they will come out like sandwich bread. This is my second time baking bread and my first time using this recipe. I like this recipe better than the first one I tried from another source, although that one was pretty darn good too. It just wasn’t high like sandwich bread. Thank you for this recipe. I used store bought whole wheat flour and kept everything else the same. My dough didn’t look as good as yours in the video, but I guess it doesn’t matter because it was delicious. Next time I will try using white wheat and maybe it will turn out not quite so dense.
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I love this recipe! I’ve never been able to make very yummy 100% whole wheat bread until now, so thank you for the fabulous recipe and tutorial! I discovered our local health food store has a wheat grinder so I’ve been grinding organic white wheat and bringing it home to the freezer until I can get my own wheat grinder. The difference from store bought is amazing! Thanks again. : ) God bless you.
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What type of flour do you use? All purpose, bread, what only thing in confused about
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Laura Reply:
September 22nd, 2012 at 11:56 am
I use freshly ground whole wheat flour from hard white wheat: http://heavenlyhomemakers.com/category/grains-and-grain-mills
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I love hearing the “kid sounds” in the background! Great instructions and video. God bless!
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It is an awful recipe with innovative technique to make a soft bread from whole grain and use of honey instead of sugar is another feather to its cap. Thanks a lot.
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The technique to make a soft bread from whole grain and use of honey instead of sugar is worth appreciation. Thanks a lot.
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I am excited to try your recipe, Laura! One question… I buy my yeast in bulk instead of in packets (I bake a LOT of bread). I use Fleischman’s Instant Dry Yeast from BJs. Do you think the measurements would be the same as with active dry yeast? Thanks!
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Laura Reply:
October 6th, 2012 at 7:46 am
Yes, you can use the same measurements. (2 1/4 teaspoons equals one packet.)
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Hi Laura-
I’d really like to try this recipe but our family is dairy free. Is it possible to substitute the butter with coconut oil or olive oil?
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LindseyforLaura@HHM Reply:
November 21st, 2012 at 10:30 am
yes! Olive oil is what Laura recommends.
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I use olive oil. I also use ground flax seed. The bread turns out well either way.
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I just have to say- THANK YOU. I have tried different whole wheat bread recipes and have struggled with the rise but today I made this bread and am FINALLY experiencing success with homemade wheat bread. The videos really helped me understand the process. Now…my bread is almost ready so I must go! :) Thanks again!
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This may be a strange question, but it looks like you sliced your bread perfectly in that photo of it in the basket. Do you have any tips to get the slices uniform? Do you use a special tool? Thanks.
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LindseyforLaura@HHM Reply:
December 10th, 2012 at 8:21 pm
No special tools…just lots of practice!
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I just want to say THANK YOU! When I decided to make the switch to whole wheat bread this week, I had a feeling I was in for a long week of trying recipes to find something that wasn’t gritty and dry. I have heard horror stories about making wheat bread. I read the reviews on your site (and others) and decided on your bread recipe. My first 2 loaves of wheat bread came out of the oven 30 minutes ago, and already half a loaf is GONE! My kids LOVE it! A few notes… 1. I only needed to use about 4.5 cups of flour. I was very worried, but as I said above, it turned out great! 2. This bread is soft and delicious! Perfect for sandwiches OR with dinner! 3. I was very happy to find that this bread (even when warm) cuts like a dream (and no, my bread knife is nothing great or special). It is just very easy to slice, even thin slices!
Thanks again for such a winning recipe!
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I am attempting a loaf with this recipe for the first time now and my bread just isn’t rising. I think my yeast may have been just a bit on the cold side but was still bubbly. I also had a problem incorporating the last three cups of flour. I was able to get about 1.5 cups in the dough but after that the bread just wouldn’t hold anymore and it was acting to dry. Will the bread be messed up from having too little flour?
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Laura Reply:
January 10th, 2013 at 4:38 pm
No, it will be just fine with less flour. Glad you left out the additional flour since it wasn’t working into your dough! Not sure why the bread wouldn’t rise, especially because it seems that the yeast was activated properly. :)
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Hi,
I can’t seem to get my yeast to activate :( so I tried another packet of yeast and it only got a bit foamy on the top and I just checked it and it hasn’t really risen?
Help :(
Savannah
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Laura Reply:
January 17th, 2013 at 4:58 pm
Shucks, I’m not sure what’s going wrong except that maybe your water is too hot??
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Making this bread for the 1st time & I’m stumped in the very 1st step! 1 1/2 cups of water for 3 cups of flour seems nothing like your pic. The water is far too little for all the flour to combine. Help!
TIA
Rekha
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Laura Reply:
January 18th, 2013 at 3:54 pm
Well, in my pic, I have doubled the recipe. Still though, 1 1/2 cups of water does stir into the 3 cups of flour just fine for me. Maybe just do 2 1/2 cups of the flour at first to see if that works better for you. :)
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Rekha Reply:
January 18th, 2013 at 5:37 pm
Thanks, Laura :)
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I used a bread machine recipe for whole wheat bread, got my machine all ready to go and nothing. So I had to dump everything out on my cabinet and do it by hand. I had forgotten how. Googled this recipe and your videos are awesome!! I didn’t look for directions until AFTER I had started the bread to rise the first time and I only kneaded my bread about half the time. Next time I think I will use your recipe from the start. Thanks so much for being here when I needed you.
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If you “sponge” the bread overnight 12-20 hours, it will be lighter.
Place half the flour, yeast and all the liquid in a stainless or crockery bowl and cover overnight anywhere in the house (assuming 70 deg. home)
In the morning, I add this and the rest of the ingredients to my bread machine and knead on dough for at least 30 minutes.
I spread a slight coat of olive oil in my baking pan with my fingers, then I add a double tablespoon of white flour and using my left hand as a “fence” I spin the pan around fencing the flour in so as to coat everything. Then I bang the pan on my sink upside dowqn and its ready. This method NEVER sticks…period. Let loaf cool 5 minutes before turning it over and popping out the loaf.
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added comment: Place bread machine on “dough” setting for added kneading time.
I never bake in my bread machine.
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Do you slice the whole loaf at once or as you need it? Trying to figure out how I’m going to keep the bread from going stale but it be easy for the kids to grab a slice for toast.
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LindseyforLaura@HHM Reply:
February 6th, 2013 at 8:45 pm
Laura slices hers as she needs it. I would try to keep it in an air tight ziplock gallon bag to keep it fresh. That has worked for me.
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Just made this as my first attempt EVER to make bread from scratch w/o a bread machine. My hubby was impressed! We’re trying to go to all Real Food but I’d been struggling to find a nice sandwich style bread, thanks so much, I think this is it!!
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After the first rise, I forgo to punch the dough down. Darn it. Hope it doesn’t make a difference. When I was kneeding the bread the second time, it was not as elastic as your. It would crack, so that you could see rough dough underneath. Did I use too much flour? I have the bread rising in the loaf pans now, but I’d like to know what I did wrong before I start another batch. Thanks for the recipe and the wonderful instructions.
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Barbara Martin Reply:
January 29th, 2013 at 1:47 pm
My whole wheat bread is not as fine as yours. Yours looks like my white bread dough. Wonder if that could make a difference?
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Laura Reply:
February 2nd, 2013 at 1:31 pm
It’s possible that too much flour was used, so maybe go a little easier next time. I use whole wheat flour made from hard WHITE wheat, which gives it a lighter color and nicer texture, so that may be what makes the difference!
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Help! I’ve tried this recipe, and 3 others, and every time, my bread comes out so dense, it looks like a loaf of banana bread, really moist and sticky. What am I doing wrong? I’m so frustrated right now and I want success! Please help!
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Laura Reply:
February 18th, 2013 at 9:47 am
It sounds like your yeast isn’t activating well to get a good rise. That’s typically what creates a dense loaf. Be sure your water isn’t too hot (or too cold) to kill your yeast. It should be at a temperature that allows you to put your finger into the water comfortably. Make sure the yeast/water/honey is nice and bubbly before adding it to the other ingredients. Knead well to break down the gluten and work the yeast all through the dough. Then allow plenty of rise time – maybe significantly longer than the hour I mentioned in the post. Hopefully that will all help!! Don’t be discouraged. There is a learning curve that comes with making bread!
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Tracy J Reply:
February 18th, 2013 at 11:44 am
So, I figured it out!! My problem was twofold. First, I didn’t turn in nearly enough flour, so the dough was incredibly wet. Second, I wasn’t kneading it nearly long enough! Sheesh! I was a professional pastry chef before I had a family, but we never learned whole wheat items (sadly) and it really behaves so differently from processed white flour! Thanks for the advice though! I had success yesterday, after kneading til my arms nearly fell off, lol!
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Hi! I stumbled upon this blog quite by accident but I love it!! I am attempting to make this bread but I have a question … when I add the 1.5 cups water to my 3 cups flour .. i just get a doughy mess … it looks NOTHING like yours in the picture … what am i doing wrong?
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Laura Reply:
February 27th, 2013 at 4:01 pm
I don’t think you’re doing anything wrong. My flour/water mixture is generally pretty gooey too. Hopefully as you added the rest of the ingredients, your bread dough turned out just fine!
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I’m making this for the third time but each time I don’t have success in activating the yeast. Although delicious, I know the finished product is too dense. What on earth am I doing wrong? Do you use room temp honey? With 1/3 cup honey and 1/4 cup warm water, perhaps it’s not warm enough? I’m using Hodgson Mill active dry yeast packets (especially for whole grains). How bubbly should the mix be? I have about 10-15 little bubbles but it’s not foamy like when I’ve used warm water and sugar. Help! I’m usually a very good cook (but not a great baker) – I’m frustrated :(
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Laura Reply:
March 13th, 2013 at 4:18 pm
Shucks! Yes, I use room temp honey so I can’t imagine what the trouble might be. Maybe try mixing your honey and water together first, to make sure the liquids remain warm enough. Like you said, maybe the honey makes the water too cool.
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I made this bread twice now. I used red wheat flour the first time. It turned out a bit dense, but tasted very good. However, my teenage daughter would not eat it (she only eats store bought white). This morning I used white wheat (I’ve been reading about it on this site). She didn’t love it, but she ate two pieces. The dough was much fluffier and the bread turned out less dense and very soft. My goal is to stop buying store-made bread by the end of this year, this recipe will definitely help me with this goal.
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I’m having the same problem with my yeast and honey like others have commented. My bread hardly rises and is extremely dense and heavy. My 12 yr old son pretended to use it as a weapon. ;) I’m made sure my yeast was working before I started by mixing some with warm water and sugar. The yeast almost foamed over my measuring cup so I’m sure it was good. It must be a problem with the honey. I just bought my honey locally and know its fresh. I’m guessing I should warm it a bit before I mix it with the water and yeast? My water was warm. Also I think I’m using too much flour for the amount of water. I tried using my kitchen aid mixer and it bogged it down so bad that I shut it off. No need to burn the motor out of it. This is the 2nd time I’ve used this recipe and my bread is rising this time. It is taking a really long time but I can see that it is slowly but surly rising. I can see there really is a learning curve when baking your own bread. Hopefully I can get it figured out before I ruin too many more loaves. At least the dog likes them. ;)
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Laura Reply:
April 4th, 2013 at 8:30 am
If it was foaming – the yeast/honey mixture was definitely working. Sounds like you needed less flour for yours. Don’t give up – making bread is definitely a learning curve!
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Can I use anything instead of the butter? Like olive or sunflower oil?
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Laura Reply:
April 4th, 2013 at 8:15 am
Either one will work just fine. :)
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You’re not alone… I always spank my bread dough! I am making the bread right now and I am so excited! I’ve tried whole wheat bread before and it has always been a disaster. This is looking good!
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Have you tried making rolls with this recipe? Do you have to make any changes other than cook time?
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Laura Reply:
April 20th, 2013 at 8:46 pm
I don’t think it would work very well. This recipe is great though: http://heavenlyhomemakers.com/whole-wheat-butterhorns-real-food-makeover
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This was the first time I have ever made any bread and your recipe and videos were very easy and helpful and my bread turned out wonderful! I didn’t realize it was that easy to make bread. Thanks again :)
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