If you've never made your own whole wheat sandwich bread before, don't be intimidated-it's easy! This no-knead recipe is a great one to start out with.
Disclaimer
This is not a post meant to shame you into making your own whole wheat sandwich bread. Because I am not one of those bloggers. You know, the kind that make you feel like a terrible human being because you're not making your own almond milk from almonds you grew yourself, maintaining your own bee hives in your backyard, trekking into the woods to harvest wild morel mushrooms every spring? Yeah, that's not me. I mean, if you want to be an urban beekeeper, that's totally cool. But I'm way too lazy for that sort of thing. Plus, bees make me nervous. They sting, yo.
So please know that I'm not posting this because I think you should be making all your bread yourself. This was just a fun project that I wanted to do for a while and I thought I'd share it.
Conquering My Fear of Bread
If you read a lot of food blogs, perhaps you've seen me commenting on other people's bread posts taking about how baking with yeast scares me. (So if you're keeping track, I'm scared of bees and yeast. Someday I'll tell you about how I'm scared of fishing poles. Someday...) My last attempt to use yeast was in pizza crust and it ended up being tough and weird. Like a frisbee made with flour. I kind of swore off yeast after that, but once I started blogging, I realized that I needed to conquer this fear.
I set out to find a bread recipe that was both crazy easy and fairly healthy and this No-Knead 100% Whole Wheat Bread recipe from King Arthur Flour fit the bill. I tweaked it a little bit by using olive oil instead of butter or vegetable oil and I added some ground flax too. And it really is easy, you guys. You just:
Mix all the ingredients in a bowl.
Transfer the dough to a bread pan, cover it with plastic wrap, and let it rise. Make sure you listen to the directions and put it in a warm place. It really does make a difference.
Look! It's rising!
Then you bake it and cool it on a wire rack. Fine, it doesn't look perfect, but I'll take it. I'll take it!
The Result
It's a little bit moister and denser than store-bought whole wheat sandwich bread, but we really enjoyed it. Chris was particularly enamored with it and for that reason alone, I know I'll probably be making this again. But will I only eat homemade bread from now on? Heck no. Buying bread is convenient. That said, you should try baking it at least once. It's easier than you think, it's delicious, and if you have a fear of baking with yeast, this recipe is a good one to start out with.
📖 Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup lukewarm water
- ¼ cup freshly-squeezed orange juice
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 3 tablespoon molasses
- 2 teaspoon instant yeast
- ¼ cup nonfat dry milk
- 1 ¼ teaspoon salt
- 3 cup white whole wheat flour
- 2 tablespoon ground flaxseeds, optional
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Using a hand mixer, beat on high speed for about 3 minutes. Dough will be sticky and thick—don't panic! It's supposed to be like that.
- Spray an 8 ½ x 4 ½-inch loaf pan with an oil mister or cooking spray. This bread is sticky, so you need to make sure the whole pan is thoroughly coated with oil. Transfer the dough to the loaf pan, cover with lightly greased plastic wrap, and let bread rise for 60–90 minutes. The bread will rise to (or just above) the rim of the pan when it's ready.
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Remove plastic wrap from bread and bake for 40–45 minutes, tenting with aluminum foil after 20 minutes. When the bread is golden brown on top and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center reads 190–195°F, the bread is done.
- Remove from oven and cool for 5 minutes, then remove bread from pan and continue to cool on a wire rack. Once bread is completely cool, it can be sliced. I prefer slicing the loaf as we use it rather than slicing the whole thing at once.
Kaitlin says
This is awesome!! My husband and I LOVE homemade bread in our bread maker but (much to his dismay) I've been slacking on that lately. We'll definitely be trying this! Seeing orange juice on the ingredients list was a fun surprise 🙂 Thanks for the recipe!
Kiersten says
Yeah, I wasn't sure about the orange juice in the original recipe, so I just kept it in to be safe. 🙂 But it worked out! And it did not taste like orange juice!
taradiane says
The OJ helps cut the bitterness that some wheat breads have. 🙂
This was actually the first bread that I made on my own without grandma's help. I love KAF - they're an awesome resource if you're having trouble with something, too...but I just love their products.
Kiersten says
That's what I thought--thanks for confirming! 🙂 I only dabble in baking, but every recipe I've made from the KAF website has been a success. And I also love their products!
Anele @ Success Along the Weigh says
Definitely making this!
I have weird question. I know you can sub applesauce for oil in cakes and stuff, would that work in this or would it mess with the texture too much?
Kiersten says
I have no idea. I think it might make the bread more moist--closer to a quick bread than a sandwich bread. But that's just a guess. If you make it like that, you'll have to let me know!
Rachel (Two Healthy Plates) says
This looks too easy not to try - making bread from scratch is so intimidating but I think I can handle this one =)
Kiersten says
I always thought it was intimidating too, but this is WAY easy!
Sheri says
Thank you for the recipe! I'm going to try it.
Liz @ A Nut in a Nutshell says
Looks really good and if the hubs especially liked it, even better! But yeah, I'm with you. Store bought bread will suffice just fine most of the time.
Jackie @ Domestic Fits says
Some food bloggers have Jumped The Shark a bit with the, "You mean to tell me you BUY salt when you can easily harvest seawater and make your own?"
BUT, I just realized that I'm out of sandwich bread and I was just thinking, "Make it, or go to the store?" This might have just decided it for me 🙂
Kiersten says
I know, right? I always leave those blogs feeling really inferior. Aw, look at me, I am the worst, I don't make my own salt. And then I just know they're reading my blog and seeing that I use lazy pre-made salt and judging me harshly for it.
Jacki says
Looks good! I think I will make a honey version of this by swapping out the molasses. This recipe looks like a great launch pad for adding all kinds of goodies! You really need to get over your fear of cooking with yeast but I'm with you on the bees!
Kiersten says
Yes, I'm going to try making this recipe again with cinnamon and raisins--it's hard to find a healthy raisin bread at the store! 🙂 And I think I'm getting over the yeast fear. But bees, nope, never. I got stung by one that crawled into my shirt while I was on the bus a few years ago, which was both painful AND embarrassing.
Holly says
I love an easy and straight-forward bread recipe. This looks like something I could manage. I've been making more bread lately with the month challenge from #TwelveLoaves. (Google it if you'd like, I find it annoying when people leave links in comments hoping someone will come link up or check out their post!) and this month I made whole wheat pita bread. SOOOOO much easier than I expected. Glad you enjoyed your bread!!
Kiersten says
I will Google #TwelveLoves. 😉 I feel the same way about people who drop links in their comments, but there's a difference between something that makes sense in the context of a comment (like this) vs. "I don't really care about your post, I'm just going to leave a 2 word comment and leave my link so you visit my blog." But I digress! I've been wanting to make pita bread too, so the fact that you say it's easier than you expected is encouraging!
Amber @ Slim Pickin's Kitchen says
I love this recipe! I want to make more bread at home, but I've got that little lazy bug myself. Ugh...plus I can't keep anything besides myself, my husband, and my cats alive so there's also that. I soooooo wish I could grow my own herbs, but that never works for me. Bread though...bread I can do!
Kiersten says
Well this is the perfect bread for those of us who are lazy because: NO KNEADING! Which not only means no kneading, it means no flour everywhere, less clean-up time. You have to love that, right?
Rachel @ Bakerita says
This looks so good, and so easy! I love making bread at home, but sometimes I just...don't, because I don't feel like kneading. Problem solved! Can't wait to try this.
Kiersten says
Yeah, when I have to knead, I think I over-knead. And that's why everything turns out tough. So this recipe is perfect!
Angie@Angie's Recipes says
A dense and hearty bread. I love no-knead!
Nichol says
This is my type of recipe, no knead! I have been a failure at making breads but this one I can do. Making this tomorrow, thanks!!
Kiersten says
I have a bad track record with baking with yeast, but this recipe is hard to mess up--definitely doable! 🙂
Marta @ What should I eat for breakfast today says
And you did it! Maybe one day you'll maintain your own bee hives in your backyard. Great post, so funny.
Kiersten says
Yup, I did it! Just like you conquered your brioche. 😀
Marta @ What should I eat for breakfast today says
hahaha, indeed!
a farmer in the dell says
I have always been too intimidated to make my own bread. This actually sounds doable! Totally going to make your cauliflower hummus and bread this weekend!!!
Kiersten says
Yay! I hope they both turn out well! 😀
Stephanie @ henry happened says
How cool is this? I had no idea this kind of flour existed. I made bread in the bread machine for a while but quit because 1) I was too lazy to even pour in ingredients and 2) I couldn't resist eating the whole loaf 🙂 Can you use it for other stuff like pasta? I keep meaning to make that from scratch too ... someday
Kiersten says
I haven't used white whole wheat flour in pasta, but I think it would work! It's supposed to be lighter than whole wheat flour, so it's like the happy medium between that and all-purpose flour. 🙂
Alicia@ eco friendly homemaking says
Oh this looks so delicious! and I was just going to make some whole wheat bread tomorrow so this recipe came at a great time!!
Kiersten says
I hope you like it if you make it!
mjskit says
Oh I love using molasses in bread! Your whole wheat bread looks perfect! I got back into baking bread last year and one of the things I found hardest to achieve was getting the consistent texture throughout the bread. You've done a great job and you only had one rise. Hum. I might try one rise next time. I'm trying to perfect a multigrain bread. I've got the flavor down, but I'm not pleased with the texture. Thanks for sharing this!
Kiersten says
Yeah, I was afraid that the ease of this recipe meant that the end product wouldn't be as good, but it turned out surprisingly well!
Shirley says
Yay, you did it!! I think it looks awesome, bread shouldn't look like it was squirted out of some factory part into a perfect rectangle. If you want to make other breads healthier, I suggest swapping out a third of the bread flour or all-purpose flour with whole wheat flour or white whole wheat flour (just as nutritious!). You can increase the ratio of WW flour on subsequent tries if you think it won't make the taste and texture too cardboard-y.
Not that I'm trying to get you to bake bread 100% of the time. I still buy it from the store 98% of the time. 😉
Kiersten says
Yeah, I was a little disappointed that the top wasn't perfectly rounded--I always think someone is going to leave a comment like, "Well, you clearly failed at making this bread because THE TOP IS ALL WONKY" or something like that. As commenters sometimes do. 🙂 Thanks for the tip about the flours!
Shirley says
People leave comments like that??? I'd track 'em down and bring my rolling pin. 😉
Kiersten says
Well, I've had people criticize the way I do things before. My theory is if it tastes good (and doesn't violate food safety rules!), who cares? But oh, some people REALLY care.
Shirley says
I saw the one about the cooking oil! I'm thinking, lady, if you think it's unhealthy you use whatever oil you want. I've seen similar things with other bloggers where people think they have some public duty not to shun certain "unhealthy" foods. To each her own, right? I also have friends tell me gluten is evil and nobody should be eating it. Whatever, I don't have an allergy and I think bread and pasta are awesome. 🙂
Kiersten says
I've learned that it's impossible to please everyone. My big thing with being vegetarian is that I'm never preachy about it, I never expect other people to eat the way I do, so it bothers me when people think that because THEY don't eat something, I shouldn't either--especially when they get nasty about it.
JulieD says
Love this!! I love making bread at home when I can and do want to try to make it more often. Love love no knead and easy bread recipes! I'm definitely trying this soon!
Kiersten says
I need to try making your yeast rolls one of these days!
Freda Love Smith says
Thanks for demystifying this process for me! I am teaching my son how to cook, and he asked if we could make bread - I've been unsure about where to start, but now I know. This will be a great winter weekend project.
Kiersten says
This is definitely a great recipe to start out with. And very kid-friendly!
Purabi Naha says
I admit that I haven't tried making whole wheat bread yet (actually, I haven't tried any kind of bread making), but baking a nice bread is on my agenda. I loved this bread. I can imagine how happy you must have felt seeing the dough rise and getting such a beautiful bread at the end. I am inspired!
Your first paragraph made me laugh! Looking forward to know why you are scared of fishing poles! 🙂 Warm regards,
Purabi Naha
Kiersten says
You should try it! I wish I hadn't put it off so long. I think I'm going to be ambitious and try making a baguette next. I hope it's not a disaster--if it is, I'll go back to this recipe! 🙂
Nancy/SpicieFoodie says
I think it looks lovely! I love the taste molasses adds to my homemade breads. But have never done the o.j. thing. Thanks so much for sharing. I'm cutting back on white flour and this is a great recipe to try.
Kiersten says
Yeah, I don't know why the orange juice was in the original recipe. I think I've read that it helps whole wheat baked goods taste a little less like whole wheat...
Robin (Masshole Mommy) says
There's really not much better than warm homemade bread right out of the oven. Yum!
Bernadette @ Now Stir It Up says
How simple. The orange juice in it sounds good. I love making bread at home. Its like therapy for me. I pinned this before I even knew that it was yours!! I think its a must try.
Kiersten says
Thanks for the pin! 🙂
dixya @ food, pleasure, and health says
i actually tried making my own bread for a while but really its crazy! I was kind of grossed out by so many ingredients and I started out with quick breads but soon i lost interest and also i have a huge fear with yeast which I am getting over with. That being said- I am so glad you mentioned its a great recipe for starters and I m going to conquer my fear now. do you think I can substitute molases with honey or somethin?
Kiersten says
You can substitute maple syrup, although I'm not sure about honey. I can't see why it wouldn't work, but then again, I'm not exactly an expert on baking. 🙂