There’s nothing quite as comforting as home made bread. And this Whole Wheat Bread Loaf delivers big on the comfort factor. A double rise bread loaf made using whole wheat flour for a higher fiber bread that’s just delicious. Great for sandwiches, toast or just slathering on butter and enjoying on it’s own.
Confession, I hardly make bread anymore. It might have something to do with the fact that I will probably eat it all if I make it. Today, I decided to battle the will power and dive into baking. I started digging through my old bread recipes and came across this old reliable one. Made it dozens of times and it has never ever failed me. Very rewarding indeed. The house still smells wonderful! I love this bread straight out of the oven with butter. You can use it for toast, sandwiches, with soup or just about anything else you can think of.
I was inspired by the Food Bloggers of Canada who had a bread special last weekend. What a round up of beautiful breads from some talented bakers. You can check it out by clicking one of the hyper links above or by clicking here.
Notes About The Bread
What Kind of yeast Should I use?
In this recipe I used Dry Active Yeast, but you can use Instant Yeast, no problem.
- Instant Yeast is added directly to the flour and proves itself naturally after you add the wet ingredients.
- Dry Active Yeast needs to be added to warm water to prove itself and then added to the flour.
How Do I Know what Temperature The Water Has To be For The yeast
This is a commonly asked question and I’ll fill in you on what you’re looking for.
- The temperature shouldn’t be too high or it will kill the yeast. The optimum temperature is 38C/100F. If you don’t have a thermometer, mix 300ml boiling water with 600ml cold water, then measure out the required quantity of water to add to the yeast.
- When you mix the water and yeast together, you leave it for about 5 minutes and it will froth up. This way you know the yeast has worked.
How Long Will It take My Dough To Rise
Typically dough will double in size in about an hour. However, you’re could be quicker or take longer. It depends on the temperature of the room and how active the yeast is. I’ve had my Pizza Dough rise in 30 minutes in the summer and take as long as over two hours in the winter. So don’t be discouraged if it isn’t rising as quickly as a recipe states.
Tips To Get Dough To Rise
If your dough is rising very slow, put it next to a heater. This usually helps the rise.
How to Serve and Store The Whole Wheat Bread
This bread is great served straight out of the the oven! Much like my Fluffy Dinner Rolls, it’s great fresh. It also great at room temperature for sandwiches or even toasted.
Homemade bread has no preservatives, so it will only keep for about two days before it drys out. However, you can freeze it from fresh baked and defrost at another time to enjoy fresh bread without the baking!
Here’s Some More Great Bread Recipes
Get the recipe!
Whole Wheat Bread Loaf
Ingredients
- 7 Cups whole wheat flour
- 2 1/2 Cups warm water
- 4 Teaspoons quick acting yeast
- 1/3 Cup vegetable oil
- 1/4 Cup honey
- 1 Tablespoon salt
- Extra flour for kneading
Instructions
- Add the yeast to the warm water, stir well and leave to rest for about 5 minutes.
- In a large mixing bowl add about 1/2 of the flour. Make a well in the center and pour in the yeast mixture. Start bringing the flour into the center with a fork and stir until you have a batter like consistency. Cover and leave to rest for about 10 minutes. After this time has passed add the oil, honey and salt and stir to combine. Add in the remaining flour and work it in with a wooden spoon until you have a dough like consistency. Turn the dough out on a floured surface. At the moment, the dough will be quick sticky. You will have to use a little extra flour for your work surface and for kneading. Start kneading your dough, turning and kneading as you go. Add little bits of flour every time you notice the is sticking to the work surface. Continue this process until the dough is quite elastic and bounces back when touched. This will take up to 10 minutes. Once it has reached this consistency, form it into a ball and place it into a large bowl. Cover with a damp tea towel and put it in a warm place to rise. Leave the dough until it has about doubled in size. This will take anywhere between 30 – 60 minutes. It will depend on how warm your space is really.
- While you dough is rising get ready two bread loaf pans. Grease the bread pans and line them with parchment paper. Grease the parchment paper as well. Set aside.
- When your dough has risen, punch it down and turn it out into two equal parts. I like to then divide each piece into 3 small little oval loaves and put 3 in a pan. You can just as easily keep each one in one large loaf. Next, put your dough loaves into the prepared pans, cover and put them back in a warm place to rise. Again, you are looking for them to kind of double in size. Remember that the size you see when it has finished rising, will be the the actual size of your loaf when it has finished baking. The second rise will probably be 30-40 minutes.
- Bake the bread in a preheated 350 degree F oven for about 30-35 minutes. It should be golden in colour and quite a touch crust to touch. Turn the bread out on a baking rack and remove parchment paper.
- You can cut into this bread straight away, delicious!
*A note on times provided: appliances vary, any prep and/or cook times provided are estimates only.
