I’ve been baking homemade bread for many years, and have tried literally hundreds of recipes. For years I baked bread in batches by hand – kneading, punching, and proofing each week so my family would have fresh, nutritious slices of bread for sandwiches or to accompany homemade soups or stew.
Once I got a breadmaker, I experimented to find the perfect whole wheat bread recipe that my kids would like. Eventually I discovered a recipe that uses whole wheat flour as well as all-purpose flour, and it works! (Here is a recipe for a 100 percent whole wheat bread recipe that I like too.) While I still have a breadmaker, now that we live off the grid, I find that it is a real energy hog. The kneading cycle draws steady power, but once the baking cycle kicks in our batteries start humming with the strain of keeping up. So I’ve adapted the recipe to use for both bread machine and by hand.
Now when I bake bread, I knead it by hand, or if the generator is on to power the house I will use the dough cycle on the bread machine to knead it – on my Black and Decker breadmaker this is setting #8 and it runs one hour and thirty minutes.
Here is the recipe that I’ve developed – it makes one 1.5 pound loaf. It is fairly dense, and slices really well for sandwiches. After a couple of days it is perfect for french toast too.
1.5 Pound Whole Wheat Loaf Bread Recipe
Ingredients
Whole Wheat Bread Recipe
1 cup hot water
2 tbsp softened butter
1/4 cup powdered milk
3 tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp salt
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 1/2 tsp active dry yeast
How to Make Whole Wheat Bread Using the Dough Cycle on Your Breadmaker
Add the ingredients for the whole wheat bread recipe into the bread machine in the order specified. Set to the dough cycle (on my breadmaker this is setting #8 and it runs for 1.5 hours). Once the cycle has ended, remove the dough from the breadmaker. On a floured cutting board or surface, punch it down and knead it for approximately three minutes. Lightly spray a loaf pan, and place the dough in the pan. Cover with a clean tea towel and let it rise in a warm place for 40 minutes.
Tip: You can let bread dough rise in an oven that hasn’t been turned on. Now that we have a large wood stove, which we run 24/7 during the winter, I like to place my loaf pans on the hearth beside it, where they stay warm. One of these days I’ll experiment with baking bread in a dutch oven right inside the wood stove.
Once the dough has risen, bake the loaf for 25 minutes in a 350 F oven. To check if the bread is done, remove it from the pan and tap the bottom. It should sound hollow.
Let the bread cool on a rack before slicing it. This recipe makes a dense, crusty loaf. For a softer loaf, cover it with a tea towel while it is cooling, or brush the top with butter or milk.
More Bread Recipes From Avamum!
How to Make a 1.5 Pound Loaf of Whole Wheat Bread Without a Breadmaker
Though the ingredients are the same as when you use a bread machine, baking bread by hand means a different sequence of adding the ingredients.
Dissolve the yeast in 1/2 cup of the warm water. When baking bread by hand, I’ve found it’s better to use water that is warm rather than hot.
Use a large bowl and mix the flour and salt together, then make a well in the middle.
Dissolve your powdered milk and sugar in the second 1/2 cup of water and add your melted butter. Then pour the yeast mixture and the butter/sugar mixture into the well of the flour and salt.
Beginning in the middle, and using your hands, start combining the ingredients. The goal is to get the batter nice and smooth, without lumps. Keep scraping and folding in the batter that sticks to the sides of the bowl until the dough is soft.
Kneading Your Whole Wheat Bread Dough By Hand
Now is the fun part – the kneading! Think of it as a workout, and a great way to relieve stress or anxiety.
Kneading dough means grabbing it in your hands, then pushing it down and out with your palms and fingers, as though you are massaging the dough. Knead for 500 strokes or five minutes. Smooth it into a round ball. Then put it in another large, clean bowl and cover with a clean dishcloth, and put it in a warm place to rise for two hours. As mentioned above, I put my loaves of bread beside the wood stove to rise.
To find out if your whole wheat bread dough is risen, use a wet finger to poke a hole in it. If the hole your finger made stays indented, it’s ready. If not, wait another ten minutes then try again.
The Second Rising
The next step is to GENTLY press the dough down, flattening out all the air, and making a smooth, rectangle shape. Place it in a greased loaf pan, and cover it with a clean tea towel. The second rising should take about forty minutes.
The last step is the same as it is for the whole wheat bread recipe using the breadmaker.
Once the dough has risen, bake the loaf for 25 minutes in a 350 F oven. To check if the bread is done, remove it from the pan and tap the bottom. It should sound hollow.
Enjoy!
