Wholemeal Bread

"The original recipe had called for a mixture of plain flour and whole-meal flour (half and half), but I don't bother with the plain flour, nonetheless, both turn out beautifully with a crunchy crust, packed with flavour. Choice is yours..."
 
Download
photo by French Tart photo by French Tart
photo by French Tart
photo by French Tart photo by French Tart
photo by Brenda. photo by Brenda.
Ready In:
3hrs 50mins
Ingredients:
6
Yields:
1 loaf
Serves:
4-6
Advertisement

ingredients

  • 600 g whole meal flour, plus a little extra (whole-wheat flour)
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 4 g dried yeast
  • 400 ml water, hand-hot
  • 30 g butter, melted
Advertisement

directions

  • You will need a 2 lb loaf tin, well buttered.
  • Seive the flour, salt, sugar and yeast in a large bowl and pour in the hand-hot water with the melted butter.
  • Mix with your hands to form a dough, then scrape it out of the bowl on to a work surface.
  • Knead for 10-15 minutes, adding more water if necessary (the dough should be very soft -it is better to have too much water than too little).
  • Transfer the dough into a greased bowl, cover it with a clean, damp tea towel and leave to rise in a warm place ideally for two hours.
  • Next, roll the dough into a long sausage, about twice as long as the tin, flatten it with your knuckles into a long strip and fold it into three.
  • Fit the dough in the buttered tin, with the fold beneath, pressing in on the edges so that you will have a nice rounded top.
  • Sprinkle the surface with a generous dusting of flour, then cover the tin with a damp, clean tea towel and leave to rise in a warm place for further 30-40 minutes.
  • Meanwhile, pre-heat the oven to gas mark 6/200C/400°F.
  • After the second-rising, bake in the centre shelf of the oven for 40 minutes, until the loaf sounds hollow when removed from the tin and tapped on the bottom.
  • Return the bread back into the oven, but this time without the tin, upside down for a further 5-10 minutes to crisp the base and the sides.
  • Cool the bread on a wire rack.

Questions & Replies

Got a question? Share it with the community!
Advertisement

Reviews

  1. I've baked this bread at least 50 times for my diabetic mom since I first found this recipe here, and have made only a few changes to suit our taste and oven. I have usually made it with 400 gms of wholemeal flour and 200 gms of all-purpose flour. With that combination, the 400 ml water is spot on to get a really soft dough. I use my stand mixer for this purpose. The first time I baked this bread, I felt it needed a little more salt. So, now I add another 3/4 tsp and use 1 1/2 tsp of active dried yeast. Sometimes, I even substitute about 100 ml of the water for 100 ml of low fat milk, in which case, I melt the butter in the milk over low heat and add the salt to this too. I always keep the covered bowl with the dough in it in a closed, unlit oven to keep it away from drafts. Leaving the oven light on gives the dough a tiny bit of heat it needs to rise well too. Though you might not want to leave it on for the entire two hours lest you ruin the bulb. For the second rising, I leave the shaped dough in the tray on top of the stove, covered with a damp cloth, while the oven is pre-heating. I would recommend leaving the dough alone for the full 2 hours for the first rising and about 45 mins for the second. This recipe makes excellent loaves as well as rolls. In my oven, I bake rolls (11 - 12) for 25 - 30 mins at 180*C and loaves (02 free-form) at 170*C for 35 - 40 mins. This bread has become a staple in my house now and I make it at least twice a week. TY for posting A&A's Mum.
     
  2. I hope you don't mind, but DID use a mix of strong white flour and wholmeal flour; we are not huge lovers of 100% wholemeal, it's just a bit too packed with fibre for us! I used 400g of wholemeal and 200g of strong white bread flour. I also decided to make it into an English Tin Loaf - so we could use it for sandwiches and toast!! It was an ENORMOUS loaf with a gorgeous crispy crust - and the texture was perfect - just right! We shared a crusty half slice each, served warm with Normandy butter with our afternoon cuppa - this is lovely bread thanks AandA'sMum!! Made for PRMR - a classic bread recipe - thanks! FT:-)
     
  3. A delicious wholegrain bread recipe! Very easy to make. I switched to US measurements and weighed my flour. I did end up adding about an extra tablespoon of water to have a moister dough. I don't have any traditional "loaf" pans so I made 2 free form baguette style loaves and adjusted the baking time to about 25 minutes. Thank you for sharing. This recipe will be in my bread baking rotation. Nick's Mom
     
  4. Yum. Used the same mix as Galley Devil. I didn't knead for more than a minute the first time, as the flours here don't require it (breadmaking flours) and it rose beautifully after 90 mins or so. Knocked it down, rolled it out and again only kneaded for half a minute or so, folded and put in the loaf tin. Dusted with flour, lay a plastic bag on the top to keep any draughts out and up it rose again within 30 mins. I also added buckwheat seeds and linseeds for extra grunt. Great recipe, I'm happy!
     
Advertisement

Tweaks

  1. I've baked this bread at least 50 times for my diabetic mom since I first found this recipe here, and have made only a few changes to suit our taste and oven. I have usually made it with 400 gms of wholemeal flour and 200 gms of all-purpose flour. With that combination, the 400 ml water is spot on to get a really soft dough. I use my stand mixer for this purpose. The first time I baked this bread, I felt it needed a little more salt. So, now I add another 3/4 tsp and use 1 1/2 tsp of active dried yeast. Sometimes, I even substitute about 100 ml of the water for 100 ml of low fat milk, in which case, I melt the butter in the milk over low heat and add the salt to this too. I always keep the covered bowl with the dough in it in a closed, unlit oven to keep it away from drafts. Leaving the oven light on gives the dough a tiny bit of heat it needs to rise well too. Though you might not want to leave it on for the entire two hours lest you ruin the bulb. For the second rising, I leave the shaped dough in the tray on top of the stove, covered with a damp cloth, while the oven is pre-heating. I would recommend leaving the dough alone for the full 2 hours for the first rising and about 45 mins for the second. This recipe makes excellent loaves as well as rolls. In my oven, I bake rolls (11 - 12) for 25 - 30 mins at 180*C and loaves (02 free-form) at 170*C for 35 - 40 mins. This bread has become a staple in my house now and I make it at least twice a week. TY for posting A&A's Mum.
     

RECIPE SUBMITTED BY

<p style=margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica;><span style=font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;><img src=file:///Users/aishayusaf/Library/Caches/TemporaryItems/moz-screenshot.png alt= /><img src=http://i166.photobucket.com/albums/u82/aaliyahsmum_album/bill3.jpg alt= width=402 height=507 /></span></p> <p><img src=http://i166.photobucket.com/albums/u82/aaliyahsmum_album/Untitled-11.jpg alt= /><br />Today, give a stranger one of your smiles. <br />It might be the only sunshine he sees all day. <br />- H. Jackson Brown, Jr. <img src=http://i166.photobucket.com/albums/u82/aaliyahsmum_album/images.jpg alt= /> <br /> <img src=http://i166.photobucket.com/albums/u82/aaliyahsmum_album/Untitled-11.jpg alt= /> <br /> <br />For a hobby, I'm into photography. I thoroughly enjoy baking, but have to admit, I have two left hands when it comes to decorating cakes! I also do a bit of knitting (beginner's stage) and reading. Stephen King and Dean Koontz are my all time favourite authors, and, of course, LOVE Calvin and Hobbes (does it show??!!) <br /> <br /> <img src=http://i166.photobucket.com/albums/u82/aaliyahsmum_album/chch-atheist.gif alt= /> <br /> <br /> <img src=http://i166.photobucket.com/albums/u82/aaliyahsmum_album/Untitled-1-1.jpg alt= /></p> <p>I search for recipes that carry ingredients I can get hold of locally (or I have stocked in my cupboard!). Recipes I have posted are ALL tried and tested and have been enjoyed by all! So, I hope you and your family will enjoy as well! <br /> <br />My rating system is fairly simple. Since I only pick recipes that I know my family will enjoy (looking at the list of ingredients), it's either 5 or 4 stars, I do not go any lower. I may sometimes do a bit of tweaking but that is only due to my family's tastes. If I do have problems with a recipe or if it didn't turn out the way it should have done, then I just leave a comment without any rating. <br /> <br /><img src=http://i166.photobucket.com/albums/u82/aaliyahsmum_album/Untitled-12.jpg alt= /></p>
 
View Full Profile
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

Find More Recipes