light wheat bread
This week I decided “no more!” And I set out to find a whole wheat bread recipe would be soft but tough enough for sandwiches and have such an amazing flavor that I’d no longer find that tasteless bagged stuff worth buying. You know, just a few stipulations. Not surprisingly, I had look no further than Peter Reinhart, whose Bread Baker’s Apprentice has not one but two whole wheat sandwich breads. In the end, I rejected the 100 percent whole wheat version, though I might get to it down the road, as I have to admit that I don’t need my sandwich bread to be that earnest and it felt like more work than I wanted to put into a bread that I essential use as a peanut butter and jelly vehicle. While we’re being honest and stuff.
But his Light Wheat Bread sounded perfect. With 33 percent whole wheat flour, it’s a lot like the softer wheat sandwich breads we are used to, while also managing to be the only recipe in the book that requires no preferment. Which basically means you get to make an awesome Reinhart-quality bread in a tiny fraction of the time. Win-win!
Oh, and it’s perfect. It’s sturdy but not stiff, and has an excellent chewy crumb. It slices really well, whether you like thick or really thin slices and it freezes even better. I put the sliced bread into the freezer (the best place for more than two days of fresh bread storage, in my opinion) and have been able to toast pieces up as I need them this week — which, of course, has turned out to be a lot. Because when your sandwich bread tastes this good, you find a lot of excuses to use it. I’ll tell you about a good one next time.
Bread-phobic? Check out my tips for beaming and bewitching breads before you start.
One year ago: Pickled Carrot Sticks
Two years ago: Warm Cauliflower and Brussels Salad
Light Wheat Bread
The Bread Baker’s Apprentice
Makes one two-pound loaf
2 1/2 cups (11.25 oz) unbleached high-gluten or bread flour
1 1/2 cups (6.75 oz.) whole-wheat flour
1 1/2 tablespoons (.75 oz.) granulated sugar or honey
1 1/2 teaspoons (.38 oz.) salt
3 tablespoons (1 oz.) powdered milk*
1 1/2 teaspoons (.17 oz.) instant yeast
2 tablespoons (1 oz.) shortening or unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/4 cups (10 oz.) water, at room temperature
1. Stir together the high-gluten flour, whole-wheat flour, sugar (if using), salt, powdered milk, and yeast in a 4-quart mixing bowl (or in the bowl of an electric mixer). Add the shortening, honey (if using), and water. Stir (or mix on low speed with the paddle attachment) until the ingredients form a ball. If there is still flour in the bottom of the bowl, dribble in additional water. The dough should feel soft and supple. It is better for it to be a little too soft that to be too stiff and tough.
2. Sprinkle high-gluten or whole-wheat flour on the counter, and transfer the dough to the counter, and begin kneading (or mix on medium speed with the dough hook). Add more flour if needed to make a firm, supple dough that is slightly tacky but not sticky. Kneading should take about 10 minutes (6 minutes by machine). The dough should pass the windowpane test and registers 77 to 81 degrees F. Lightly oil a large bowl and transfer the dough to the bowl, rolling it around to coat it with oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap.
3. Ferment at room temperature for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, or until the dough doubles in size.
4. Remove the dough from the bowl and press it by hand into a rectangle about 3/4 inch thick, 6 inches wide, and 8 to 10 inches long. Form it into a loaf by working from the short side of the dough, rolling up the length of the dough one section at a time, pinching the crease with each rotation to strengthen the surface tension. It will spread wider as you roll it. Pinch the final seam closed with the back edge of your hand or with your thumbs. Place the loaf in a lightly oiled 8 1/2 by 4 1/2 inch bread pan; the ends of the loaf should touch the ends of the pan to ensure an even rise. Mist the top with spray oil and loosely cover with plastic wrap.
5. Proof at room temperature for approximately 60 to 90 minutes (as in, original recipe says 90 minutes, I walked into the kitchen at 60 and said “whoa!” as it had almost risen too much; clearly final rising times vary), or until the dough crests above the lip of the pan.
6. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F with the oven rack on the middle shelf.
7. Place the bread pan on a sheet pan and bake for 30 minutes. Rotate the pan 180 degrees for even baking and continue baking for 15 to 30 minutes, depending on the oven. The finished loaf should register 190 degrees F in the center, be golden brown on the top and the sides, and sound hollow when thumped on the bottom.
8. When the bread is finished baking, remove it immediately from the loaf pan and cool it on a rack for at least 1 hour, preferably 2 hours (yeah, good luck with that), before slicing or serving.
* More uses for that powdered milk you just bought: 101 Cookbook’s Yogurt or Homesick Texan’s Uncle Austin’s Granola. Even better, eat them together!
I just bought Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day and am letting my third loaf rise as we speak. I can’t wait to tackle homemade sandwich bread. I have hated pre-sliced sandwich bread for years, but didn’t think I had the time or skill to make my own. But more in more I find myself replacing convenience foods (even ones as old as sliced bread) with homemade ones. There’s a lot of pride for me in knowing every ingredient that has made up the thing I’m eating and it almost always tastes better than the pre-packaged alternative.
Hmm, I will try this for sure. I tried your “No Break Bread” and it was great. I didn’t realize that I needed to change things due to the fact that I am at a high altitude, but even still, it turned out alright. (Except for the part where I didn’t put down any cornmeal or oats to prevent the bread from sticking to the cookie sheet- whoops.) Thanks for all your great recipes!
I adore making bread at home. The first woman who taught me to bake bread was an amazing Costa Rican woman in a tiny farming village where I lived for the summer, and she always told me that baking bread was domestic therapy. I definitely don’t bake bread at home as often as I would like.
Your loaf seems to have risen beautifully. I always always get a crack in the side of mine, despite much playing around with cutting crosses in the top, varying baking temps, and baking with steam. Any advice?
I’ve been on a serious bread-baking kick lately (now that holiday cookie baking season is over). I think I’m gonna have to get that book, as this bread looks just lovely. For me, almost as much fun as the baking itself is the science behind it (yeah, I’m a geek – I have a degree in math), so I think this book will appeal to both sides. But, of course, the most fun of all is the eating. (I’m not that much of a geek….)
Hoe neatly sliced!
Great warm color.
When will they invent a “thing” when you can also smell the food. I love the smell of freshly baked bread.
this loaf of bread looks awesome. freshly baked bread at home is always the best and then there s that nice smell which makes your home smell so warm and nice :)
Sounds wonderful! One of the things on my list of 101 things to do in 1001 days is to make a loaf of bread – I’ll definitely give this one a try!
Yeah! I have been trying to get up the nerve to make some sandwich bread but wanted something with some fiber, this looks delicious and perfect!
I LOVE LOVE LOVE making bread. We haven’t had any kind of store bought bread here at Chiot’s Run in 4-5 years.
I’m a huge fan of the 2-3 day long process of delayed fermentation (as I type I just finished up a batch of sourdough english muffins and a a Poinlane-Style Miche is fermenting on the counter). This recipe looks great though, every so often I’m looking for a quick bread recipe. I rarely make my bread in a loaf pan, I’ll have to dust mine off an give it a whirl (when we eat up all the english muffins and miche though, wouldn’t want anything to go to waste).
I can’t wait to try this! I was just telling my husband how much I hate store-bought bread, but every wheat recipe I’ve tried is just too dense, chewy, dark, or something else that I only like in toast form. I have a wonderful white bread recipe, but I don’t want our family eating white bread all the time.
I do have a question: I’ve only ever used active dry or occasionally rapid rise yeast, the kind in a jar. I didn’t even notice that this recipe calls for “instant” until I saw that the water is at room temperature. Could I use regular yeast and warmed water instead?
Oh, another question: How do you slice it so neatly and evenly?? I always end up with slices ranging in thickness from 1/4 to 7/8″, often cut diagonally, so that it’s not uncommon to find those ranges on one single slice. :o/
Also, my mother-in-law’s little secret for making a super soft homemade bread, in case anyone is interested! As soon as you remove loaf from pan, rub a half-stick of unsalted butter all over top, sides, and bottom of loaf, rubbing melted butter in especially on corners, until all butter is melted and absorbed.
dearest smit–
you are warming my heart to the innermost cockles!!! for years my mom, of hardy, pioneering stock, made homemade wheat bread that i was forced to take to school in the form of round, coffee-can bread sandwhiches in my homemade lunch. i ate those sandwhiches grumbling each day that only the lucky children got white bread. after about 10 years of my mother making that bread, our family moved to a new address, my mom got busy and forgot to unstick the recipe from inside the cupboard door at the old house and lost the recipe altogether. it wasn’t until years later that the entire family recognized the actual, visceral loss the forgetting of this recipe caused.
i have enjoyed your recipes so frequently, and just the images are pleasing to the tast buds, but today you moved me to mouth-watering rejoicing for a new bread sandwich recipe. i thank you and my empty round coffee cans thank you!!!
Looks lovely! Winter always makes me want to bake bread. Thanks for the kick to get back in the practice. I’ll have to dust off my standard recipe, but will give this one a try too.
Absolutely gorgeous loaf! I’ve never made bread myself, but it’s something I’ve been wanting more and more to learn how to do. My bf’s sister just gave me her King Arthur Flour whole grain baking cookbook, so I think the time has come to give it a shot!
I’m off to make this right now. I was just thinking, as I made a sandwich yesterday how much I dislike store bought bread.
I have just started baking bread and the Bread Baker’s Apprentice has been a great resource. Every recipe that I’ve made from there so far has turned out great. I haven’t tried this Light Wheat Bread yet, but I have tried the 100% whole wheat one and you’re right Deb, it’s not really suited for sandwiches, although is great for toast and jam.
Love your site!
Hi Lauren — There is a loose exchange that says that instant yeast should be 3/4 of the volume of active dry yeast, so if you’re using active dry, you might try with a scant two teaspoons of it. I haven’t tried this recipe with active dry, though, so you’ll have to let us know how it goes.
Instant yeast doesn’t require warm water proofing but active dry, in theory, does. That said, I use active dry all of the time without the warm water proofing (in my really simple pizza dough) and it works fine. The warm water proofing is mostly an insurance to make sure the yeast is still good.
A good bread knife is the secret to nice, even slicing. I used to think that the kind of bread knife one used didn’t matter — I rationalized that because you can’t sharpen the knife, who cares which brand is on the blade — until I finally used a great bread knife and I haven’t looked back. My current favorite is rather inexpensive for a good knife.
I started making sandwich loaves every week about 18 months ago. Homemade bread is indeed a wonderful thing. Tasty, frugal, makes your whole house smell yummy. I started with the Sandwich Loaf from Baking with Julia, using unbleached white bread flour, then gradually switched to more and more wheat with mixed results, both flavor- and texture-wise. Then I discovered WHITE whole wheat flour and it’s marvelous for those of us who want a whole wheat bread without the heavy taste and texture imparted by red whole wheat flour (that’s the usual kind you find). I get mine from Bob’s Red Mill or Azure…and when I was visiting my brother last fall, discovered that Trader Joe’s sells it, too. I have basically converted Julia’s White Sandwich Loaf to 100% white whole wheat, and it’s fantastic.
I’m a big bread baker. Am about to start proofing some yeast as we speak! Thanks for the beautiful bread photos.
I’ve made bread before, but always with a bread machine so I’m excited to try this.
Just wondering how you get the nice even slices? Are you able to do that with a bread knife? One of the only reasons I buy packaged bread is that I can never seem to slice my homemade bread thin enough for a sandwich. Any advice?
oooo I was only saying to my husband this morning I’d love a light wholewheat bread, mine are always heavy and super chewy!!! I will be making this a.s.a.p!!! YUM!
I’ve been wanting to try my hand at baking my own bread; it’s good to know that with some patience one can produce something that looks this yum yum.
I HATE the options when it comes to sandwich bread at the store … the wheat breads either A. Are not really wheat bread and instead are made from mostly white flour with a pinch of wheat thrown in for color or B. They are full of high fructose corn syrup. If it’s really as easy as you make it look, we should all be making our own bread for sandwiches.
The title of this recipe alone sells it – “light” and “bread” together…!
I love baking bread and Reinhart’s books are the best. I just made some 5 grain last night- ooh- I love it.
Lovely looking loaf! Did you slice it by hand or use a bread slicer? As good as my knife skills are, I doubt I could make such evenly thick slices of bread.
We are on the same wavelength as I just set out to make a whole wheat bread for the first time yesterday, while stranded at home in a snowstorm.
However yours turned out eternally better, so I’m going to try yours shortly. But the bread making process sure is relaxing isn’t it?
Looks delicious! Is there a reason why one couldn’t use milk instead of water + powdered milk?
re: the best baking books — I must get those. Right now I’m deep into Baking With Julia — it’s got a great baguette recipe. I’ve even learned how to “humidify” my oven. Sweet! I finally pulled it off the shelf after eight years! So glad I did.
Just curious, do you know if this can be made using white bread flour? I wonder if the quantity needed would be different…
My new bible….”Artisan Bread in 5 minutes a Day”. Oh, my….we’ve had fresh bread since 12/26.. the day after my stepdaughter gave me the book, a jar of yeast and a box of kosher salt.
Oh. My. Goodness.!
Oooh, I know what you can do with the rest of that powdered milk! Make yummy hot cocoa mix!
8qt box Powdered Milk (about 11 c)
2 c powdered sugar
6 0z jar powdered coffeemate (I used french vanilla, but you could use any flavor you want!)
20 oz. container Nestle’s Choc Quick
Mix all together. Use about 1/3 cup per 2/3 cup boiling water or to taste. Makes a huge tub that should last you most of the winter! :-) It’s divine!
Dear Ashley (Sweet & Natural),
Congratulations! The King Arthur Whole Grain Baking Book is AMAZING. The lemon barley scones are good, but so is everything else in there.
:)
looks great!
did you use a tape measure to get those slices so identical?!
Hi Deb, thanks for all the fabulous recipes! I’ve made bread before but never in a loaf pan, and I wonder if you could shed a little more light on the instruction about forming it into a loaf? When you say “rolling up the length of the dough,” I’m having a little trouble visualizing it. Do you mean to fold it up on itself so it’s like a log with a long seam on top? Sorry, I’m sure this is clear to others with loaf experience, but I am dying to make this bread and want to make sure I know what to do!
Thank you thank you!!! I have been looking for a wheat bread recipe, and this sounds perfect. I can’t wait to try it out. Also, I have just discovered your blog, and I am enjoying so much.
I have been meaning to get the courage to try baking my first loaf of bread. Thanks for this post! It actually doesn’t look as scary as I thought. :)
Angela
I’m excited to try this out. Thanks!
I cannot wait to try this. Perfect to try on a cold winter day. I find that I’m either buying bread with no preservatives and it goes bad before we can eat it or I cannot find anything that’s actually healthy at the store closest to our home. I’ve been thinking about making my own for a long time. You make this look easy. Thanks for the inspiration.
I just pulled my loaf out of the oven and looks and smells wonderful! Unfortunately, it’s late for me, so I’ll have to wait until tomorrow to try it. Yum!
Re, the bread-slicing: Since you all are so complimentary of my slicing skills (why thank you)… honestly, I eyeballed it. I’d say I was good at spacial relations but the fact is that I stub my toes/bump my elbows/thwack my head on things all of the time, so there goes that theory.
Two things:
1. The ruler is your friend. Seriously, I use it all of the time to cut things. Yes, people walk by and tease me for being so retentive/ocd, whatever, but it annoys me more when I get less than I think I am going to from a pan of brownies/loaf of bread because I eyeballed it wrong.
2. Figure out where certain measurements are on your hand. For most of us, an inch is the space between the tip of our thumb and our first thumb knuckle. Half an inch is the height of my stubby thumbnail. Whatever it is on your hand, knowing it helps when you’re measuring things out and you lose track of what size you want a space.
And that is all I am going to say about slicing bread. Promise.
this is nearly the exact same world famous bread that the sage restaurant in oregon makes every day. at the restaurant, we tend to proof the bread in a warm oven to speed the process. Cuts your time waaaaay down.
It’s a small thing, but thank you for including the weight measurements! I found out awhile ago that my measuring cups aren’t accurate (at all) unless I weigh my ingredients, and you took the step of figuring out the amounts for me! This bread looks too delicious to be true!
When I re-read the recipe for the second time, i was surprised to see the water was used at room temp. I thought it shouldve been around 110 degrees? Are you using room temp. water because you are using instant yeast? I plan on making this soon and just wanted to know
I’m half afraid to ask, for fear of the firestorm it might generate, but would it be totally heretical to adapt this for a machine. I’m gone most of the day every day, even sometimes Sundays.
Any chance you could comment on kneading with a dough hook? I got a Cuisinart kitchen machine for Christmas and love it, but the three kinds of bread I have made have all turned out rather heavy. Any helpful hints for times to let the dough hook do its thing? I see from your pictures that you use a dough hook, so would like some help from the “expert”.
Thanks for posting this recipe! I’ll have to give it a whirl soon.
I usually make all of our bread b/c I hate the idea of paying so much for it at the grocery store AND I love the fact that I know EXACTLY what is in my bread – no preservatives here. I also never make just one loaf of bread, however – always three. Lots of return for minimal effort!
My favourite recipe is for “Country Seed Bread” from “The Complete Canadian Living Cookbook”. It’s 1/3 whole wheat flour as well – and the recipe is on canadianlivingdotcom.
Hey! I baked bread yesterday too! I love to bake bread, and aside from the standard white bread recipe that I use for cinnamon rolls and dinner rolls, my current favorite is a honey oat wheat bread–I make this all the time now. I’ll probably try this, since I’ve been on the lookout for a sandwich bread recipe…I’m with you on the store bought bread.
Do you have a way to calculate the nutritional information in this loaf? I usually buy my bread based on how many grams of fiber it has, so if I were going to make this it would have to be comparable to what I am getting now in order to make it worth my while … it does look delicious, though.
I’m trying to bake more bread this year (and so far I’m doing a pretty good job). And I can make a heck of a lot of bread for what a nice artisan loaf costs at the bakery.
Sounds great…any recommendations on how to substitute the powdered milk for the lactose intolerant? Would it really be missing something if it was left out?
Thanks.
Hi Maria — Instant yeast doesn’t require warm water proofing. It was developed for bread machines, where everything is just thrown in. I talk about this a little more in comment 16.
E.J. — Actually, I believe Reinhart mentions that because this bread doesn’t have a preferment and uses just instant yeast, that it’s a rare one in his book that is adaptable for bread machines. I haven’t used one before, but I am sure it would work.
Johanna — I don’t really have any hints to offer. You don’t want to use the dough hook on a very high speed (I think 2 is the max, but I’m not sure) but otherwise, there’s nothing to it. Just keep in mind that it kneads things faster, hence the different times suggested with a machine.
GT — I don’t have one on this site but there are many on the Web.
Avi — I have only tried the recipe this way but if you swap it, do let us know what you use and how it goes. I am sure others would appreciate what you’ve learned.
This looks really good. I’d love to try to make our own sandwich bread.
But I do have a question… how long does it last (stay fresh)? And how do you store it to keep it fresh?
We’ll buy a loaf of sandwich bread from the store and it can last us at least 2 weeks, because we don’t use it daily, or even every other day.
I figured out the nutritional information using Fitday. I used the weight measurements. The whole loaf is 2187 calories, 32 g fat, 406 g carbs, 75 g protein. So if you cut the loaf into 12 slices, each slice would be 182 calories, 2.6 g fat, 33 g carbs, 6 g protein.
I was looking for a replacement for my 40 calorie per slice store bought wheat bread, but I guess this isn’t it. :( (maybe if I slice it really thin..)
I have the Reinhart book as well–thanks for reminding me what’s in there, I’ll have to try it soon. I love making bread as well and find it just takes a little thinking ahead–with my stand mixer it really doesn’t take so much time. I think you can fit it even when you don’t work at home, now that I know you can let it rise slowly in the fridge. Now it’s just a matter of getting up that extra 15 minutes early in the morning to get it going.
This sounds wonderful. I can’t wait to try it. Also, I love reading your blog, and am so happy to see the new “Good Reads” section. Thanks so much for putting that up! I can now read blogs all day if I want to. Bliss.
Hi Robin — What you see up top is only about 2/3 of the loaf. I would expect you to be able to get about 17 1/2-inch slices out of the full loaf.
Erica — I try not to keep bread like this, without preservatives, at room temperature in a plastic bag for more than two days, max, as the plastic/humidity begs for things like mold to develop. After that, I keep it in the freezer, which is the best place to keep it from getting stale/rubbery, as I feel most breads do in the fridge.
I’m in the market for a bread machine. What do you recommend?
What is the windowpane test? I must be the only one who isn’t in “the know” because no one else has asked about it!
I am totally hooked on the Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day method. I got the book probably 2 months ago now and I’ve had a fresh loaf of bread every day since! It’s so easy and they are telling the truth about the five minutes part. It’s great to have dough in the fridge ready to go and any time I want a loaf, I just break off a hunk, shape it into a ball, let it sit, then bake it for a half hour. My husband calls it, “a life changer”. A little dramatic, but I think I agree!
My boyfriend was going to buy me a bread machine. But I told him I didn’t need one. And you are proof. Now, if I can just get up the courage to make it. Looks delicious.
You just made my monday!
I’ve been baking sourdough bread from a starter as my staple-sandwich-bread, but I’ve also been dying to make a good (and light/fluffy!) wheat bread. I think wheat’s pretty darn tasty!
I’m guessing the high-gluten/bread flour part is important. I live in Chile as an expat, and I haven’t seen anything fancy like that here! Let’s just say, I make my own buttermilk, and had to smuggle the sourdough starter into the country! (They don’t exactly have the whole “best thing since sliced bread” here – how can you, when your sliced bread sucks?)
Do you think I could get away with using all-purpose flour? I use the typical “harina sin polvo de hornear” (flour without leavener). Is there something I can add to all-purpose flour to activate it / make it more gluten-y?
I too am totally in love with bread baking. I generally use the recipes out of the La Brea Bakery cookbook, but have been hearing good things about Dan Lepard’s The Hand Made Loaf. Have you used that book at all? Any thoughts?
I LOVE making my own bread, and this looks great! Right now my favorite is Caramelized Onion Bread. It tastes so good toasted with eggs. If you care to try it out, here’s the link:
http://www.buffchickpea.com/2008/12/caramelized-onion-bread.html
Thanks for this recipe Deb! You make it look so easy to make your own bread.
PERFECT TIMING!!!
I woke up this morning with the notion that I would bake bread today with one requirement: Make more than one loaf and freeze the extras so I can have fresh bread for the month.
With that being said, do you have any tips on freezing bread other than baking it and freezing afterwards? Some advice I’ve seen says to freeze after the first rise and allow for a second rise during the defrost. Others recommend to bake approx 80% through and then freeze.
Any suggestions? and THANK YOU!
Wow! Some really good information in here today. I’m going to look for that Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day book. I make bread all the time either by hand or in my bread machine. I got my bread machine at Target, a Breadman Ultimate Plus. It’s the only machine I could find without ordering on the internet. I do love it. I did a lot of research and most machines had both good and bad reviews. You can get a ‘lemon’ in any brand or price range but I just hoped for the best and that’s what I got. I also got a bread slicing guide (internet) from Westbend that has been a great help in slicing an entire loaf at once which is what I like to do for sandwich bread. (And then freeze it, like Deb.) Just make sure your bread knife is long enough. (I use Beth Hensperger’s The Bread Lover’s Bread Machine Cookbook, great book though the index is useless.) A good way to proof your bread if you have an over-the-stove microwave is to put it in there and turn on the light underneath it. It makes for just the right temperature and is draft-free. I read somewhere that underproofing your bread is what causes the cracks in the side, Erin (comment #3). Maybe you’re just not letting it rise enough? If I figure out where I read that, I’ll let you know. It might even have been on this site! And I’m looking forward to finding out what ‘windowpane’ means, too. I’m looking forward to trying this loaf. Thanks, Deb. Always love your posts.
According to King Arthur flour (and my own experience) dry milk makes bread softer, more tender, and increases calcium. You can;t substitute milk; besides being a concentrated form of milk, there’s something that happens in the dryong process that makes the impact of dry milk different than that of wet milk. Using dry milk also makes for a higher rise. It might mean that not using dry milk for this recipe would change the outcome, I don’t think it would make a huge difference if it was not used.
I always wonder why I don’t make my own sandwich bread as well and the same thing– I work from home enough days of the week to be able to do it. But then I find myself throwing a loaf of multigrain bread that is just meh in my basket and going along with it. I’m inspired. I’m going to try it. thanks for the recipe!
Have you tried the Multigrain Sandwich Bread from Cooks Illustrated? I had a similar fit of “why should I buy sandwich bread when I can make it?” recently, and that was the first one I tried. It’s fantastic! I haven’t gotten through it all yet, but when I do, I’ll definitely be trying your wheat bread recipe, and the dill-onion bread that you linked to. Thanks!
I made this bread last night and it was great! It was very easy to knead – no sticking to the counter or anything. I was out of whole wheat flour, so I used white whole wheat and that worked just fine.
The second rise seemed to take a long time, but it puffed up so much in the oven that I needn’t have worried.
It slices beautifully and tastes deeeelish! Thanks for a great recipe, Deb!
Hi Theresa — I don’t. I’m not fond of bread machines and if you check out all of the bread recipes I’ve made by hand, you’ll see why I don’t think one is not necessary.
Amanda — Whoops, meant to link to this. Of course Reinhart describes it in greater detail in the book, but for a quick explanation this will do. It is just one way to measure whether your dough is kneaded enough. Keep in mind that it is very hard to mess up kneading and I think it causes people more worry than necessary. You’re looking for the dough to feel cohesive and smooth, and lose some of the stickiness it has when first mixed. It is nearly impossible to overknead by hand, so go a minute or two longer than you think it needs.
Emily — You can actually freeze your bread dough at any point in the process, but the best points are before a rising, either the first or second. What’s important is that you get it fully defrosted and back to room temperature before continuing whereever you left off. If it hasn’t risen a first or second time, it still needs to.
Oh, also, I used 1 1/2 tsp of active dry yeast (not knowing any better!) and that was totally fine, bread-rising-wise. :)
I love baking bread too…
I like experimenting with alternative grains so I might try this with spelt flour…
Thanks for the lovely post!
This bread looks good and easy enough. I don’t quite understand what is meant by this..” rolling up the length of the dough one section at a time, pinching the crease with each rotation to strengthen the surface tension.” Could you explain that in a little more detail?
Thanks. (I just shot you an email..hope you see it)
The rolling up technique is described in full detail in the book. But, the photo of me doing it (6th photo) should help clarify. You’re folding/rolling, and then pinching the crease only closed, then folding/rolling again, just one turn at a time. The idea is to create a tight loaf that is not deflated. If you just rolled it up, you might end up a) deflating the dough or b) with a lot of holes.
Have you ever tried using fresh whole wheat flour? As in, just ground right 5 minutes before you mix the dough? If you like your whole wheat bread now, you’ll love it with fresh flour.
It’s like you’ve read my mind! I pretty much bake a loaf of bread every Saturday to use for toasting & sandwiches during the week, and I’ve tried all sorts of fancy recipes, but have had no luck at all with just a simple wheat bread. The last recipe I tried was from Martha Stewart’s website and called for a whole tablespoon of salt and baking at 400 degrees for a whole hour. Against my better judgement, I gave it a shot and you know what, it was salty and overcooked. I can’t wait to try this one!
okay…I see what you mean from the picture. I should have looked closer..thanks
This looks great! Another item of my list of goals for this year is to bake more bread. You can save a little bit of money and you get the wonderful aroma of baking it at home. The color is so warm and delicious.
Thanks for the freezing tip!
I think I just found my new PB&J bread. Thanks, Deb!
That looks fantastic! My mother sometimes baked bread for afternoon tea, when I came back from school and I smelled the bread baking I knew I was in for a treat! Fresh baked bread=heaven. I wish I was a baker like you! I might try this recipe it looks wonderful!
This looks delicious! I’ve been thinking about making wheat bread since we eat so much of it anyway for lunch…thanks for sharing! : )
Your bread is beautiful! I love the Bread Baker’s Apprentice, it’s one of my favorite cookbooks. I’ve been experimenting with Peter Reinhart’s Whole Grain Breads book too with pretty good success.
hey, deb, can you recommend a good instant read thermometer? i love the new “amazon” feature…great!
a wise friend of mine who loves to bake made a proclamation a few years ago that she was never buying premade, sliced bread again. if she didn’t get around to making it homemade, she’s just have to go without. she learned pretty fast that it really is minimal effort for such a superior product.
i’ve followed her bold lead and it really is such a delicious (and versatile) staple in my freezer. i always make two loaves at once, whatever type it is, so i can enjoy one with dinner and immediately slice and freeze the rest. as soon as i get through the loaf that’s in there now, i’m looking forward to trying this one.
after all, when you’re never without the makings of a grilled cheese, you’ll never go hungry.
I’ve been reading The Bread Bakers Apprentice for the past few weeks and trying my hand at a few recipes.
It sounds like your bread may have been at a higher temp. then room. It will double in size in 90 minutes at 70 degrees but if the temperature is 17 degrees higher (87) it will take half as much time(45 minutes). If the temperature is 17 degrees lower it will take twice as long. (53 degrees, 3 hours).
I just love photos and wtritting.
But being lokated in Denmark some things, like rice a roni and powered milk is not possible to get.
Just got of work, felling like making a doug ready for baking a bred in the morning, this sound very nice – but et milk part – bommer, I just will have to find someting in a book of mine – but will keep returning – cause just love your site :-)
I would LOVE to try this and will…just one question….How do you manage NOT to smoosh the bread when slicing?
I’ve recenlty ressurected my bread baking skills and have been making one loaf every morning (we eat A LOT of bread!). I looove my recipe, but I’ll have to try yours too. My new philosophy is that if I can make it myself, I don’t buy it. Bread, breakfast cereal, crackers, granola bars, stock….all of these things are simple to make and SOO much better when they’re homeade!
Let me echo the many comments above when I say you were reading my mind! I’ve been looking for an alternative to bread with preservatives and other such scary words on the list of ingredients.
That said, I made this last night and it was amazing! So simple and so tasty. I think I’ve found a new Sunday tradition!
I’ve been baking our own bread for 3 months now, cheating by letting the breadmachine do the first steps and then taking it out for the second rise and regular oven baking. And I JUST CAN’T go back to store-bought bread, even fancy bakery bread. Something about that fresh-bread-in-your-house smell makes life worth living. My light wholewheat recipe is very close to yours and it is just perfect. Makes yummy soft dinner rolls too.
Deb,
Thanks for the knife advice! I totally forgot until your reply that I have an amazing Cutco bread slicer knife that was just crammed in a drawer (with the blade pointing in towards the corner, of course; I’m not a sadist). When we moved into this house a year and a half ago, I wasn’t baking bread on a super regular basis, so the bread knife didn’t make the cut – haha ;o) – of being chosen for my countertop block. Also, thanks for the tip on the active dry yeast. Hopefully I’ll make a loaf tomorrow afternoon, and I’ll let you know how it turns out, different rise times, etc. Thank you again!
I’ve never made bread outside of my bread machine, but I REALLY want to. Maybe I will get up the courage to give it a shot this weekend!
I wish I had the time and energy to always bake my own bread. I do enjoy making it sometimes, but just not consistently. I also worry about it going bad, but freezing it already sliced is a great way to get around that! Thanks for posting this recipe.
You have inspired me to try sandwich bread again. Just lately I have been making No Knead Bread with great success. It is one that offers so many possibilities with additions such as chopped rosemary, olives, sun dried tomatoes. Plain and toasted it makes beautiful bruschetta. And it is so quick to make. Less than five minutes to mix in the first instance and only a few minutes attention in the latter stages.
I have been wanting to find a recipe for a great wheat sandwhich bread for awhile now, but never had the time to go through the books to find one that would work. Thanks for doing the leg work, I am so excited to make it for the kids!
ps. did you slice that by hand? how did you get it so perfect?
I asked for this book for Christmas and didn’t get it. Maybe I should just man up and buy it myself. I definitely believe that the smell of freshly baked bread is one of the most engaging experiences a person can have.
You make me want to bake a loaf of bread. There is nothing better than a freshly baked piece of bread with some butter on it. Delicious.
I have yet to use the Bread Bakers Apprentice, but The Bread Bible is one of my favorites — I make the flaxseed load weekly!
I wonder if you could bake these as rolls instead.
I made this last night and it was great!
I got the Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day book early last spring, and I haven’t bought a loaf of bread in something like 7 or 8 months. It is terribly easy, and the bread comes out divine–and we use the dough for pizza and strombolis, too. If you do get the book, go check out the website where corrections to the book are listed. Also, (and I can’t remember where I read this) I do NOT have a wooden paddle, so I don’t use the whole cornmeal on the paddle/slide it onto the pizza stone thing. Instead, I put the bread on parchment paper to rise for a bit before baking and then slide the paper out from under the loaf for the last 5 minutes of baking. Works great!
I made this the other night. I wasn’t wild about. I don’t have a mixer or bread maker, so I do everything by hand, so I’m not sure if that was the problem. I cut back the flour by 1/2 cup but still had issues with it being way too dry, and had to add about 1/3 cup (but needed more) water. So I really had my work cut out for me on the kneading phase. It tasted fine, but not fantastic.
Realized that I was out of whole wheat flour and decided to try this with all bread flour (KA, natch). It came out very nicely. The crust shatters with a satisfying sound, the crumb is just right for sandwiches! Not crumbly or doughy, this made my bread-ambivalent husband come back for more. Baby seems to love it, as does the dog, whom the baby insisted upon feeding some of his sandwich.
With your freezing advice, I doubled the bread recipe and froze one loaf after shaping but before the second rise.
Additionally, I used active dry yeast but used 2tsp per loaf. Instead of just adding it dry to the rest of the ingredients, I first added it to 1/4c of warm water to get it started. I then added it to the dry ingredients shortly followed by the butter and remaining water at room temperature. The dough had no problem rising and becoming nice, full loaves!
Hope this helps!
One word – delicious. Tried this last night and as well as a picture perfect loaf, I could not believe how tasty this bread was in today’s sandwiches. I used half milk, half water as I did not have milk powder. A tip from Nigella Lawson is to use the water saved from boiling potatoes, as this improves the keeping quality of the resulting bread – so that’s what I did. This recipe is a keeper and I doubt I’ll try another bread recipe. This is my first ever post on your lovely website – thank you!
I saw this yesterday afternoon and went out and bought enough powered milk to make 10 quarts of milk (it’s all they had) and bread flour right after work to make it! I have never made bread but it looked so good I had to try. Well I thought it was going to be disastrous-I don’t even have a KitchenAid mixer, just an electric mixer and my hands. I tried to mix it with the mixer and I ended up with a small ball and a bunch of dried flour mixed with all of the other ingredients. I thought there was no way I could fix it. I added drops of water and some more shortening and kept working it and incorporating it and I ended up with a ball that I couldn’t get completely round. I decided it was the best I could do after spending 35 minutes kneading it to overcompensate for not mixing it well. I left it overnight in the fridge after letting it rise. Well I made it this morning and it came out perfect! I don’t know how I did it! I also didn’t have active yeast but used the 2 scant teaspoons you suggested and it was just right. I will never buy a loaf again. I am in awe at how delicious it was. Best of all I gave it to my 16 month old and she loved it too. No preservatives either.
First time poster here-I have been lurking for a while. I made your mac and cheese in the summer and then quickly realized everything suggest is delicious. I love your blog, it’s really fabulous.
This looks fantastic!! Where do you get your powdered milk, though??
I bought mine at a Gristedes. I think any regular, unfussy grocery store will stock it.
Deb – thanks!! The store by my house has “powdered milk” but it is not as fine as the one you show in your picture (more like little pebbles)…I must be looking in the wrong place! Can’t wait to try this…and thanks, again!!
RJ – in my store, powdered milk is in the baking aisle. One of the name brands is Carnation, but the store brand is just as good.
I tried the recipe yesterday and I got the dough too be too tough (not enough water) so I added some more and now it is really nice, not too dense, just right. Tastes great.
I agree with Liz in an earlier comment….the multigrain bread from Cooks Illustrated is really good and Ive made it many, many times
This looks great and I am definately going to give it a try. Most whole wheat breads I end up making are too dense….hopefully this one will be a winner!
Thanks, Deb! I’m one of those people who haven’t had success making bread till now..This is a great recipe! Thanks for your blog – your posts are simply delicious. Please keep them coming…
Thanks so much for posting this recipe! I made it yesterday, and it turned out beautifully. Today I had an excellent breakfast of this bread toasted and topped with sauteed kale and a fried egg. Lunch was the best peanut butter and jelly sandwich I’ve had in such a long time. Thanks for inspiring me to get on the ball and make this. You just added a whole bunch of happy to my day.
Deb,
I made this bread today, and it is so delicious! As one of the more recent comments said, and like you recommended, I used about 2tsp of Rapid Rise Fleischmann’s yeast (since that’s what I had). I was a little concerned during the kneading process, since it never really got that smooth look that other bread recipes I’ve tried get. And then… I definitely cheated on the rising. Since we are total cheapskates, “room temperature” at our house is approximately 64*F right now, so I proofed it sitting on the stove top while I had muffins in the oven; it ended up being a little over an hour for the first rise, and about an hour for the second rise. To be honest with you, I was really surprised that there wasn’t much of a difference in the rise times given the different yeast and the cozy, warm proofing environment I gave my bread.
Anyway, I was positively thrilled with the end result! This is by far the best-tasting wheat “sandwich” bread I’ve ever tried. (And I’m pretty impressed with the spectacular slicing job my Cutco knife did.) I’m also so pleased to read Emily’s (#108) positive experience with doubling the recipe, because I would definitely prefer to make 2 loaves at a time. All in all, awesome! Thank you!
I made this bread today. It’s really easy and really does make a beautifully textured sandwich bread. It was everything you said it was. It makes a tall well shaped loaf. When it rose in the pan, it got so big that it fell over one of the ends of the pan. I felt like Lucy Ricardo in the baking episode when the dough started bulging out of her oven! Well… not really that bad..but it sure surprised me that it crawled over the end of the pan! I think I could have easily used a 9X5 pan and still had a well shaped loaf.
This is a much needed post. And thanks for the link back to the beaming and bewitching bread post. I love homemade bread, and have only given a few shots, now knowing how elegantly simple it is, I will follow my mantra of 2009, Make it Myself.
krista:)
Hey Deb…
For quite a while now, I’ve wanting to give homemade bread a try. And yesterday, with my new Bosch kitchen machine arriving (my life’s very first kneading machine), I decided to start my bread bakery career baking this one.
Turned out fantastic! Reinhardt’s Bread Baker’s Apprentice was in my cookbook-wishlist anyway, now it is climbing to the top of my wannahaves catalogue – with turbospeed!
I’m a huge fan of your blog: So funny-yummy-beautiful-unpretentious-inspiring-instructive! Thank you… :D
Have you read Reinhart’s book on whole grains? It’s quite good as well.
I’ve been making 100% whole wheat sandwich bread for a few months now. I adapted a food processor recipe I had to use the sponge method in The Bread Bible. I’ve been really happy with it and I don’t find it too dense or chewy… in fact my kids will even eat the crust! I can’t really comment on it more technically because I’m still too much of a novice breadmaker.
I am so impressed by your loaf of bread! I am really trying to understand making my own bread at home with some successes and some failures. I would really like to start making more sandwich bread instead of relying on the loaves at the store. Thank you for sharing, I have bookmarked this one for my next bread baking adventure.
ditto to all above.
Have you tried the NYT recipe for No Knead bread? It is really easy and comes out amazing every time–perfect crispy crust.
Have you read Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day? Also a no-knead bread method… I got the cookbook and it changed my bread baking habits forever.
I just used the mixing method for this bread today to make Potato Bread. It turned out perfect! Just sayin thank’s Deb!
Thanks so much for your breadmaking techniques! I found your site by a link to the chocolate toffee cookies, and have been saving your recipes to try out. Out of several attempts, my bread has alternatively been burned, flat, dry and perfect. Your whole wheat recipe was the first that came out perfectly the first time!
O.K., I am new to the site, but I have made over 11 recipes in the past 3 weeks. All are so good! So, I thought I’d attempt the bread- for the first time ever. I immediately bought a bread loaf pan that fit your measurements, but as it has arrived at my door it looks soo small (1 lb loaf). I checked the recipe again and it says 2 lb.- do I need to buy a 2 lb loaf pan? Any help for a bread novice?
That confused me too! I can’t tell you how much searching I did for corrections from the book or concerns from other people who have made the bread to find out how a two-pound loaf of bread would be baked in a pan typically used for one-pound loaves.
Alas, it absolutely works. The extra pound is all in that giant dome on it, which of course is the traditional shape of sandwich bread.
This looks so yummy! Going to try it today!
That looks so good. I can’t wait for you to post on the 100% whole wheat bread. I will definitely make that one!
Hello, thank you for the recipe. I do have to say that I tried to make this bread and the first time it severely failed. The second time I added more water and it was great. I also used my bread machine to mix the dough. I baked it in the oven though. I think that the key to making this a success is more water. I would say almost 1 1/2 cups of water.
Thank you. I have found a new recipe for bread that will hold up to butter or sandwich materials!
Thank you so much for this recipe. I have had some bad experiences with bread-making in the past. Bread-Making Breakdowns, you might say. Today I began anew with this recipe. Am now contentedly munching on an absolutely delicious slice of this bread (drizzled with honey & butter, natch). Very satisfying.
I appreciate the detailed instructions and the beautiful photography — both were very helpful along the way. Thank you for opening up the joy of breadmaking to me!
Your pictures inspired me to make this today, and it came out wonderful, even though I had never made sandwich bread before. The tip that it is better to have soft dough than too firm was really helpful in determining how much water was needed (lots). So was the windowpane hint, in figuring out when to quit with the dough hook (10 min). These modifications worked, in case others are considering the same: 1 1/2 teaspoons Fleishmann’s RapidRise yeast, all-purpose flour plus 2 Tablespoons vital wheat gluten instead of bread flour, and a 9×5 pan. Thank you for bringing bread to my kitchen, and also for your previous post on no-knead bread, which lead me to the CI “Almost No-Knead Bread”, and at least a half dozen more loaves of delight!
Just wanted to let you know that I tried this, and substituted 1 cup all-purpose flour and 1 1/2 cups “white whole wheat” (King Arthur produces this) for the 2 1/2 cups of bread flour and it came out great! The crown wasn’t quite as high, which I attribute to the lower gluten level–it still rose beautifully. Regarding those who are adding more water, I had to add a little more water too, it’s winter and cold & dry here and that affects the moisture level of the flour. During more humid times, you might not need to add so much–which is why the guidance on how the dough should look and feel are so fantastic!
Also, mine took the full 90-minutes (plus some) to rise, but we tend to keep the house quite chilly, which impacts proofing time.
I have made half-whole-wheat bread about every three days for the last year…love this recipe. I sometimes use butter in place of the canola oil, or honey in place of the sugar…either way, it is always perfect.
http://vixlove.blogspot.com/2008/11/one-with-domestic-goddess.html
Peter Reinhart is awesome. I love his bagel recipe from that book too. (It is an authentic New York bagel.) Deb Madison also has a very soft, fluffy 100% WW bread recipe in Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone. I liked it so much that I ate it everyday for a week, sometimes twice a day. I didn’t get too creative with the fillings; PB&J was good enough for me.
Made it on the automatic bread oven i have and it didn’t turn that pretty, but still tasty. I am not giving up on this one though. =) keep you updated
Looks wonderful – I always have horrid luck with bread, must try this!
I was surprised when I cut into a beautiful loaf to find a giant bubble running the length of the loaf in the upper portion. I’m guessing that the top fold did not adhere to the fold below it for some reason. Still, the bread was good (for small sandwiches) and the recipe was well-written.
This is a great, simple loaf of bread to make. I am making it for the third time today. The only change im making is switching the white flour/wheat flour proportions so that the whole wheat flour is 2 cups and the bread flour is 2 cups. Its really really good and it is about the easiest loaf of bread Ive ever made. As I am anticipating making it again this week and all the ingr. are on my counter, I am throwing together all the dry ingr. for another loaf into a tupperware container so I dont have to get everything out and measure it out when I make it again later this week. Should save me 10 min. of measuring and clean up.
Hi Deb,
I just discovered your blog, and I think it (and you) are wonderful! Thank you for all the great recipes.
Peter Reinhart, is, of course, pretty much the god of bread. However, if you want a 100% whole wheat loaf that is light and delicious, no doorstops, try this:
http://www.sourdoughhome.com/100percentwholewheat.html
It is converted to sourdough, but it’s adapted from the Laurel’s Kitchen Bread Book (as he tells you) and you could convert back to yeast pretty easily.
I’m not a big whole wheat bread fan, but I am a bread baker, and this was so easy, and so delicious, I thought I was cheating!
Thanks again!
I have been trying a 100% whole wheat bread recipe for about 3 to 4 times and it has never succeed… I will give yours a try! Thanks for sharing!
Just curious if you saw Peter Reinhart’s talk at the TED conference. After seeing your post I happened to see his name on the TED.com website. I go there for the science talks- and found him!
This is a great recipe. I’ve made it twice and it is now my 11 year old daughters favorite bread! To Lauren from blog #10, I have used active dry yeast from a jar and heated the water to 115 degrees with a little sugar and proofed the yeast both times and it has worked wonderfully. Also, I am using a food processor to mix all the ingredients, then kneading it afterword. I have eliminated the shortening/butter and have added olive oil. Also, I haven’t used powdered milk (I haven’t had any in the kitchen either time).
Wonderng about using powdered goats milk instead of regular cow milk…. ANy thoughts?
For a while I’ve been wanting to give up supermarket bread, but hadn’t found a wheat bread that wasn’t heavy like a brick. I tried sourdough last summer–loved the results, but couldn’t get into the rhythm and advance planning required to really be successful.
This bread was great, and as a mother of young twins, we’re home enough during the day for me to produce a loaf every few days without much effort.
thanks so much!
I’m not much for mixing bread by hand or using my KA stand mixer for dough either, so I took the chance of using my breadmaker’s dough setting. It came out beautifully. I did let it rise for another 10 minutes in the machine before I dumped it out to shape the loaf. I did use an instant read thermometer to test for doneness. I wish I could upload a photo here. It will be my new basic bread recipe. DH just loved it!
I commented before but I made this bread again today. I didn’t have a serrated knife the first time I made it and needless to say I needed one. I would have loved to have bought Deb’s suggestion but poor law student here so I bouht this 10 dollar one. Well it’s fantastic. Feels and look high quality even though it’s cheap and does the job very well. Just thought I would recommend it if there are others in my position.
http://www.amazon.com/Chicago-Cutlery-Walnut-Tradition-Serrated/dp/B00091SCV4/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1232906081&sr=8-1
I bookmarked this recipe a few days ago because it looked so good. It is just wonderful, wasn’t able to let it rest after coming out of the oven though, 15 minutes later and almost half of it is gone. I will be making this again in a few days. Homemade bread is just the best food, my daughters love it so much.
Having been recently made redundant I’m on a mission to fill my time, mainly with cooking up a storm of goodies. My current mission is one of bread making, more specifically finding a bread recipe that really works for me. Finally I think I’ve found it. Your recipe is wonderful and it worked a treat for me first time (that’s rare, I’m never entirely satisfied). Thanks!
PS – Only recently found your site but I’m already hooked. :)
Deb, I made this recipe last night and it was delicious! I have a couple of questions: in terms of the temperature, will the thermometer immediately read 190, or should I wait a few minutes to decide whether to put the bread back in (will the temp continue to rise for a few minutes)? Also, my bread retained some of the spiral shape from rolling it, such that some of the slices don’t hold together very well. Any suggestions? I posted a picture of the slice on Flickr, so you can see:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/a_day_that_is_dessert/
Thank you for any suggestions you may have! And thanks as always for another great recipe. This took me about 15 minutes to make and was very well worth the time.
Hi Lecia — I suppose it could be one of two things. One, it may not have risen as much as it could (which would help merge the rolled dough back into itself)… I’m only noting that because my “dome” looked a bit bigger. Second, there might have been a bit, or a bit too much flour on the rolled dough, creating that separation. Hope that helps.
Deb, I just made this bread for the second time today – it is our new favorite. The first time I used some old whole wheat flour (because it was available), and this second time I used fresh, and it is so much better! I am going to try Maria’s idea of using 2 cups all purpose flour and 2 cups whole wheat (now that I am getting back to bread baking I am looking for the best flour). I used an envelope of active dry yeast and added the water at 110 degrees — worked great! This is truly easy & fast, and way better than the store-bought.
Thank you Deb. I mixed the dough in my mixer and put it on a very lightly floured pastry board to roll. Should I do it on the board sans flour next time?
Also, should the temperature immediately read 190 when inserted?
Thanks again.
It shouldn’t go higher than 190. You might not need the floured board to roll it, especially if you work quickly.
maybe a dumb question, but i’ve always wondered how you check for a hollow sound while thumping the bottom of a loaf of bread… that’s still possibly not baked enough. you can’t take it out of the pan, really. i’ve seen this thumping method recommended a few different places and… can someone illuminate this?
Ive made this bread about 5 times already. Thanks for the recipe—-it is really foolproof and soooo very easy and delicious and simple. Ive made tweaks and small substitutions and found that the recipe is best AS WRITTEN. Take it from someone whos tried small changes, like increasing the amt. of ww flour—its just not as good. Make it just as its written. And like i said earlier—–people post once youve actually made a recipe…so much more interesting to read posts from people who cook, try, experiment…not just the peepers…lol
Regardless of the thunking, this turned out really well. It’s not so easy to find powdered milk here in Japan, so I left that out. I threw in 1.5T of ground flax seed, which has binding properties. It slices really nicely, and has an almost un-discernible ghost of a spiral to the middle, from the dough roll method. There’s only about an inch left after less than 24 hours, not enough to freeze!
I just made this as written (used sugar, not honey) and it was amazing. I used a combination of dough hook and hand kneading. My convection oven took a lot less time, so the 190 degree measurement was so good to know. Thank you so much!
This makes maybe the tenth time I have made this, and it is fail-safe so far. I let it rise extra time this last time, and it is just gorgeous. Going to give some to the Minister tomorrow, even. It makes a swell gift!
HI – can’t wait to make this, but wondering if you can restore the windowpane link again, as I think I broke your site! :)
Whoops — all fixed now.
Just made it, but as mini-loaves: http://kochtopf.twoday.net/stories/leichte-mini-weizenbrote/
Unfortunately I used an old stinky yeast, so the end result wasn’t as pleasant as it could be. Anyway I will make it again. Thank you for the recipe!
Thanks for this great post. I was able to make up the dough in under 10 mins this am, with my little kids, before school. Used the mixer to knead while orange juice was served, spilled, etc. I noticed someone else mentioned they used a more coarsely powdered dry milk. i used that kind too with fine results.
I made this bread today and it turned out wonderfully. Thank you for this blog and your great pix. You have given me inspiration to try baking again. I posted a pix of the loaf I turned out today. Best, Ani
I am making this bread yet again!!! Ive pretty much stopped buying store bought bread, and the ingredients have been memorized. Also delicious is the oatmeal bread on the outside of the King Arthur Bread flour bag. The recipes are similar and I was able to make both kinds of bread, without having to wash out kitchenaid mixer. I must say this is one of my favorite recipes.
Well that was mighty tasty. I made some this afternoon, totally botched the directions, and it’s still great. I attempted to knead the dough in my food processor while I was getting ready for class…bad idea boys and girls. Luckily I walked back in before the processor wobbled its way off the counter – the dough also started to look more like smooth thick cake batter than bread dough…so I stopped that and just let it rise in the bowl while I was gone – because I was already late. I came back and it was huge and I was ready to bake it….except it had to proof again…great. I was in a time crunch, again, so I let it rise for about 25 minutes (good enough right?!) and baked. I checked the temperature after 45 minutes and it was already at 195! So out it came, and I actually left it alone for 2 hours (only because I had to leave). Now my friends and I have been through more than half of it. This is the first time I’ve made bread that would actually work for sandwiches – awesome!
Oohhhh this is such a keeper! I made it last week for the first time and it was brilliant! It rose so beautifully! Thanks for sharing such a great recipe!!
I just made this – and yeah – couldn’t wait an hour to slice. It’s great. I’m not sure if I have it in me to make this often, but I’m no longer a bread-phobe.
Wow! I just made this today and it was excellent and SO easy. My husband is drooling over his sandwich I packed for his lunch tomorrow – homemade bread, and meats & cheeses from the Whole Foods deli…I couldn’t believe how easy it was to slice! Thanks so much for sharing!
in the oven as i write. it has been YEARS since i made a proper yeast bread. if this turns out as well as i’m anticipating, i’m going to start making batches of dough for the freezer so we can wean ourselves off our spendy bread buying habits!!
thank you for getting me over my yeast phobia. i have conquered the little beasties and they are now doing my bidding!
This is fantastic! I made it last night and it came out perfect- easy to slice, light and fluffy and delicious. thanks for the tip on windowpaning— i think all my baking life i’ve not been kneading for long enough.. now i know. I also had to add alot more water to get this the right consistncy perhaps another 1/4c?. took the tip to rub some butter over the hot loaf when it came out.. another fantastic tip! Thanks for all your great recipes!
Thanks, Deb, for another great recipe. A really beautiful, soft, tasty loaf! I’ve made many combo white-wheat loaves recently and this is definitely the best. I happened to have leftover powdered milk from making homemade hot chocolate mix—that’s another possible use for it for those who buy it for this recipe!
I have been making this on a weekly basis since you posted it.
Yesterday I adapted it into an amazing cinnamon raisin bread and I hope to post the recipe on my blog, unless you object of course!
Could this be adapted to use rye flour instead of whole wheat? Would anything else need to be changed?
I haven’t tried that substitution, but if you do, let us know how it goes.
I made this tonight and it came out great! I was especially relieved because aside from pizza dough, this is the first yeasted loaf I’ve ever made. I had a lot of worry that I’d ruin it, but once I sliced into the cooling loaf, I knew it was going to be good and that I’d be making it again. My KA stand mixer is going to get quite a work out!
I also had to add about 1/4 cup of water, because the dough was really dry. I added 1/4 tsp of ground ginger, per your suggestion in another post, and preheated to 375 but dropped the temp to 350 immediately after putting the loaf in the oven.
This is the most amazing bread ever. Because it is my friends birthday tomorrow, and he is king for the day (even though he pretends to be all “manly” and not “care” about birthdays), so dinner will be meatloaf sandwiched between slices of this amazing bread. I haven’t figured out how to get a veg down his gullet, but I’m sure I’ll think of something. Maybe NCAA basketball will distract him and he won’t notice its green beans he’s eating.
He also says “Thanks Deb!” because this bread will take his favorite sandwich into a new realm of deliciousness.
I made this bread last night — just perfect. It was especially marvelous this morning with a little blackberry jam.
My new pledge to myself is to make my own bread, all the time. With recipes this easy and delicious, well, making the switch from store-bought doesn’t seem like that much of a challenge!
I am a vegan and am wondering how soy milk powder would work.
Thanks!
ok.. i’ve now made this twice with rye flour and caraway seeds! Its great.. the first time I messed up and swapped the rye/white quantities, but I’ve just made it again and swapped the wheat flour for rye and added 2T caraway seeds. Its delicious! The only minor flaw seems to be on the second rise I keep getting a ‘cracked’ apart top in places. Any ideas as to the cause/solution for that?
Hey Deb. I just made this recipe and love it! This was my second attempt and it was much, much more successful than the first as it actually looks like a loaf of sandwich bread now. Any tips on how to get the bread out of the pan a little easier? I oiled the glass pan w/ vegetable oil, but had a hard time setting the loaf free. I suppose I could have used Pam, but I was all out. Thanks!
This is my second time making this recipe, and both times it’s been perfect. I’m thrilled about it, and so glad to no longer have to buy sandwich bread at the store.
I’m also happy to report, for vegans or the lactose-intolerant, that my loaves have been vegan and delicious. I used soya powder instead of milk powder, and non-dairy “butter” and everything was great.
Thanks so much!
This bread is fantastic! I made a loaf to have the kids “try” it. They don’t care for wheat bread. Needless to say I was making another loaf last night before bed. It’s light but makes great sandwiches. Thank you so much. ***I used my bread maker for the mixing and the first rise. Finished it off in the oven.
I’m on a smitten kitchen baking blitz…pretzels two days ago, bread today, quiche tomorrow. This recipe rocks. I mixed it all by hand using the wood spatula that came with my wok and kneaded it until smooth. My house is freezing but it rose like a champ. My oven is cruddy and who knows if the temperature is even accurate so I had to watch the baking progress like a hawk. The loaf was done in about forty minutes and turned out fabulous. I attribute it to your easy breezy instructions! Nest purchase…a thermometer and a better bread knife.
I have my own bakery that my friend and i run out of her house and this is EASILY the best bread i have EVER tasted, let alone made myself! thank you so much. you have your self a brand new devoted fan!!
I’ve had this on my to do list for a while and I just got around to it. It was perfect for a wonderfully crisp fall afternoon! I’ve decided to have my husband make another one tomorrow…and the next day…and the next…
This may even become my new “somthing-to-take-when-someone-has-a-baby” item! Thanks.
I make this recipe about once a week instead of buying commercially processed bread. I’ve successfully used a 50-50 ratio of whole wheat and bread flour, upping the water just a bit. I’ve also used plain (liquid) milk or buttermilk in place of powdered (same quantity). I mist the top with water or spray oil before baking and garnish with oat bran.
Tried this one last week and it turned out so great that I’m making it again. I’ve compared the recipe to others and it seems there’s a correllation between the amount of flour and the rising time (as in, more flour, more time). Does anyone know if I’m right? I ask because I’m tempted to double the recipe (one loaf for me, one for a lucky friend), and I’m wondering if I should increase the rising time if I do this, at least for the first proof before the loaves are separated into their respective loaf pans. Any advice would be appreciated!
Not necessarily a correlation between flour and rising time — more likely there is a correlation between the amount of yeast or pre-ferment used and rising time; less will require more time. If you wish to double the recipe, double everything. Rising time and baking temperature remain the same.
Hi Deb, I am absolutely new to baking and thought one needs eggs and buttermilk kind of stuff for a soft bread. This looks simpler. Thanks!!
I just made this again! It’s become my go-to bread. It’s pretty much the definition of carb-y perfection. I use soy milk powder instead of regular because I can get it in the bulk foods section of my grocery and just get a small amount. I also use agave nectar instead of sugar/honey. I do use butter, but if one went with shortening or a vegan margarine (I’ve always had excellent luck baking with Earth Balance when making vegan stuff, even though “they” always say you shouldn’t bake with tub margarine) instead, then it would be happily vegan!
Thank you so much for helping me with my first homemade loaf of bread! It’s 11:40pm and I’m stuffing my face with this bread + hummus. Sadly, I don’t have the bread knife that you have, so my bread is getting a little hacked… Are there bread knives that you recommend?
Hi Tiffany — Yes, I do have a beloved bread knife. I mention it and other kitchen favorites in this post (#1).
Thanks, Deb! I’m on it now. The bread has been fueling my mornings. Your bread posts are so encouraging. Your baby is sooo lucky (and oh so cute!).
Thanks Deb. I am so proud I made my own wheat bread. I ate it plain, as a BLT, with pasta. The swirl on one end remained… it looked kinds offensive… like it was flicking me off – but it was hysterical.
Wondering if I could let this rise a bit slowly in the fridge over night?
Liz — Absolutely. Just get it back to room temperature and pick up the recipe exactly where you left off.
I love this recipe and I just never saw it in the cookbook it came from. I’m curious if this can actually be 2 – 1 lb loaves since it rises so much more quickly than anticipated. I noticed in the cookbook all of the other sandwich bread recipes seem to be for 2 – 1 lb loaves instead of 1 – 2 lb loaf. The bread is a little a dense but the flavor is outrageous and my hubby loves it.
Thanks for the recipe.
This is the bread recipe that finally got me past the fear (personal curse?) of bread-baking. I’ve had many bad bread experiences, but this one worked like a charm, and my family now refuses to eat anything else! Thanks.
I made this bread the other day. It was delicious, but the crust was REALLY hard. I do love a good crust, but this was too much. Did I do something wrong?
I just put my first loaf of this bread in the oven – I can’t wait to see how it turns out! I love this book but some of the recipes intimidate me because of the sheer amount of work required. As a full-time worker outside the home, I can only do these on very well planned weekends, because of the slow rising and the overnight preferments. Plus my stuff always seems to rise way slower than the book says. Except for this light whole wheat – it rose like a champ!
This bread is wonderful! I used 2 cups of whole wheat against 2 cups of white and subbed rice milk for the powdered milk and it tastes wonderful.
Mine was pale, like scary pale and hard like a brick and I used half whole wheat half white ap flour, Shoulda followed instructions, Its like bread flavored chewing gum :(