Homemade Whole Wheat Bread Tutorial

I certainly do not claim to be an expert breadmaker. I've been making breadsticks for a long while now (and they're rather delicious if I do say so myself), but I hadn't had much luck with making bread, until now! I have found a no-fail recipe for whole wheat bread that is not dense!! That was the biggest drawback to all the homemade bread recipes I'd tried before, they were too dense.

This is the one and only bread recipe I use (why mess with perfection right?!). I originally found this recipe at Food.com but I modified it slightly. (Full recipe at the bottom of this post).

So, with no further ado, here is my breadmaking tutorial.

Step 1: Dissolve yeast in warm water (I just dissolve it in my measuring cup - why dirty more dishes than you have to right?)

Step 2: In your awesome KitchenAid mixer bowl, combine margarine, brown sugar & water (original recipe called for molasses, but I didn't have any so I substituted brown sugar & water as per Google - LOVE Google), honey and salt and mix well.

Step 3: Gradually stir in yeast mixture.

Step 4: Add in flours and let the KitchenAid do all the work for you!!

Step 5: Add in more flour if dough is too sticky. A little sticky is ok (if you add too much flour the bread will be dense and, as we've already discussed, we don't like dense bread around here), but not too sticky.

Step 6: Butter (or Pam) the bowl, cover and let rise until double (about 45 min - 1 hr)

Step 7: Divide dough into 2 parts using a knife (do not rip the dough - don't ask me why, ask Google). I use a ulu knife which is the coolest kitchen utensil ever made - I used it every day (perfect for cutting up food for kids superfast!)

Step 8: Shape dough into loaves by kneading and smoothing into the correct shape.

Step 9: Slam the loaf onto the counter hard, in order to remove any air pockets in the dough. Place in greased pans, cover and let rise for about an hour. This recipe makes 2 loaves, but I always also steal a bit of the dough to bake another small loaf in a flower shaped tube pan. When cut, it makes the cutest flower shaped bread perfect for sandwiches for the girls lunches - they love it! I think I bought them from Everyday Style (home party), but you can also get a set of 3 (heart, star, flower) on Amazon here.

Step 10: Bake at 375 for 35 - 40 mins (it only takes 30 minutes in mine for the regular loaves and 35 for the flower pan loaf)
Step 11: Turn out immediately onto the counter to cool. I like to cool them on it's side so the bottom doesn't get soggy and the top doesn't get flattened.

Step 12: If you can, wait till they're cooled before cutting. But we all know how yummy still warm bread is from the oven, so go ahead and slice a piece off and enjoy slathered with some butter - yummy!Note: If your oven is not busy doing something else, you can preheat it to 170F, then turn it off, and put the dough inside the oven to rise in a nice warm environment - a bit faster than just on the counter as well.

Wholesome Homemade Honey Whole Wheat Bread
Makes 2 loaves
2 1/4 tsp yeast
2 cups water
1/4 cup butter or margarine
2 tbsp molasses (or 1 1/2 tbsp brown sugar + 1/2 tbsp water)
1/4 cup honey
1 tsp salt (I use 1/2 tsp to reduce sodium content and it tastes just fine)
4 cups whole wheat flour
2 cups white flour

Dissolve yeast in warm water. In a large bowl, combine butter, molasses (or brown sugar/water), honey and salt and mix well. Add yeast mixture and then gradually add in flours. Knead until smooth and not sticky. Place in buttered bowl, cover and let rise until double. Divide dough into 2 parts using a knife. Knead and shape into loaves. Slam the dough hard onto the counter to remove any air pockets. Place in greased pans, cover and let rise for about an hour. Bake at 375 for 30 - 35 minutes.

Enjoy!!


My friend Kathryn has a great post with a lot of bread making tips here.