Soft 100% Whole Wheat Bread

kbcountrymom's Note:

I was looking for an easy but soft 100% whole wheat bread and found this on the internet. I thought it needed to be in recipezaar. This bread uses gluten and I have not tried it without. It is a very large loaf. You can double the recipe and make three 9x5 inch loaves or do one single large loaf. The bread comes out so soft and delicious. It is extremely easy to make with little effort. I use a mixer but there are directions for hand, mixer, or bread machine.

• Total Time: 3 hrs 45 mins
• Prep Time: 3 hrs
• Cook Time: 45 mins

Ingredients:

Serves: 20

Yield: 1.0 large l ...

• 1 ½ cups lukewarm water
• 3 tablespoons melted butter or 3 tablespoons coconut oil or 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons honey or 2 tablespoons molasses or 2 tablespoons maple syrup
• 3 ½ cups whole wheat flour
• 1 tablespoon vital wheat gluten
• 2 tablespoons flax seed meal (optional)
• 1 ½ teaspoons salt
• 1 ½ teaspoons instant yeast

Directions:

1. To prepare the dough:.
2. (Hand method) Combine all ingredients and mix until you have a shaggy dough. The dough will seem wet. Let the dough rest, covered, for 20 minutes, then knead until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. Allow dough to rise, covered, for 1-2 hours or until puffy and nearly doubled in bulk.
3. (Mixer method) In bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, combine all ingredients and mix them until you have a shaggy dough. The dough will seem wet. Let the dough rest for 20 minutes, then knead by machine until fairly smooth, about 5-10 minutes. Allow dough to rise, covered, for 1-2 hours or until puffy and nearly doubled in bulk.
4. (Bread machine method) Place all ingredients in bread machine and set to dough cycle.
5. To shape loaves:.
6. After the dough has risen, gently deflate, shape into a log, and place in a lightly greased 9x5 bread pan or 2 small pans. Cover with towel or lightly greased plastic wrap and allow to rise in warm place for about 30 mins to 1 hour, until its crowned about 2 inches over the rim of the pan. Preheat oven to 350 about halfway through the rising time.
7. To bake the loaves:.
8. If desired, brush top of loaf with milk or egg white and sprinkle with oatmeal, poppy seeds, etc. Bake bread in preheated 350 oven for 45 minutes or until it turns a deep brown and sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom.

Reviews

[Chef #1211488]

I used the bread machine method for making the dough (used pure maple syrup, olive oil and the gluten). I like that it came out soft and not too dense like many whole wheat bread recipes tend to do. This recipe is also nice because there are several options of both method and ingredients... Will definitely make it again (and again). Thank you for posting! ~The Mad Slovak~

[Connie Lea]

Very good bread - makes great toast. I especially like that there is flax seed meal in it since my doctor wants me to eat more flax seed. I do cut down on the olive oil and honey. Thanks for a great recipe.