This is essentially the same recipe that I teach in my bread classes, but it is adjusted for a smaller capacity mixer than the Bosch Universal or Ankarsrum.
The real trick to making this 100% whole grain bread work is high quality whole grain flour. If you’ve read much of my site, you know I use home milled flours most of the time. If you aren’t home milling and only have access to store bought flour, make sure to buy high quality whole grain flour – brands such as King Arthur and Bob’s Red Mill will work well. Another option is to source locally grown and milled flours. Check out what is at your local food co-op or order from a local farm. My favorite farm here in Illinois is Janie’s Mill. Check them out and let me know what you think!
This recipe will give you a soft, beautiful loaf – just perfect for sandwiches. And so much more nutritious than anything you can get from the store. Enjoy!
- 2 cups of warm water (bath tub temp)
- 1/4 cup of honey
- 1/4 cup of coconut or olive oil
- 2 t salt
- 2 t instant yeast
- 1/2 cup of white flour
- 6 cups of whole wheat flour, approximate – freshly milled is best
- Combine water, honey and oil in the bowl of a stand mixer.
- Add white flour and 2 and 1/2 cups of whole wheat flour and stir till combined.
- Stir in 1 more cup of the flour.
- With machine running, add all but 1/2 cup of the remaining flour until the dough is soft and not too sticky. Do not add add all of the whole wheat flour at this step. It should just form a ball and can be a little sticky. You’ll get another chance to add flour in step 6. Flour, especially whole grain flour, can absorb a lot of water during the bread making process.
- Cover and allow wet dough to rest for 10 minutes. This allows the flour to hydrate.
- Turn your mixer on and add salt and yeast to the dough. Check the dough consistency now. If it is still a little wet and isn’t forming a nice soft ball, then add the remaining 1/2 cup of flour. It should form a soft ball and press in easily with your finger. The softer the dough at this point, the nicer your final loaf of bread will be.
- Knead for about 10-12 minutes on the lowest mixer setting, until the dough is smooth and passes the window pane test. Be advised that the window pane test is tougher to achieve with whole grain breads, so if you come close, call it a good day.
- Place the dough in an oiled pan and let rise, covered, until about doubled in size. This rise will take about one hour.
- Gently deflate dough and shape into two loaves (8.5 x 4 pans work best for whole grain breads), oil tops of loaves with a small amount of olive oil or cover gently with a towel.
- Let rise a second time until the dough is about 1 inch above the lip of the pan. Depending on kitchen conditions – this rise will take about 30-45 minutes. To tell if your bread has risen enough, try the “poke test” – when you think it has risen enough, gently press your finger about 1 inch down into the bread – the bread should feel soft and the indent will most remain. That is when the bread is ready.
- About 15 minutes before you are going to bake, preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
- When the bread is ready for the oven, lower the temp down to 350 degrees. Bake for 30 minutes, until golden brown.
- Remove loaves from pans immediately and cool on a cooling rack.
