Easiest Whole Wheat Bread Ever

From King Arthur Flour's Whole Grain Baking.

This recipe is one I use at home pretty regularly when I don't have time to fiddle with a regular yeast bread. Alissa, this should be just what you need to get started with baking bread from scratch.

1 1/4 C lukewarm filtered water (don't use tap--the chlorine can kill the yeast)
1/4 C orange juice
3 T molasses
3 C whole wheat flour or white whole wheat
1/4 C nonfat dry milk
1 1/4 t salt
2 t instant/rapid rise yeast
1 T vital wheat gluten (optional)

Grease an 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 inch loaf pan and set aside. Grease well or the bread will stick. You don't want to know what happens if you forget to grease the pan. Preheat oven to 350.

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and beat vigorously by hand if you're the sort to do that or use your KitchenAid like I do and use the paddle attachment. This dough is pretty wet and sticky so the paddle is what you need. Beat on med-high speed for 3 min. Scoop the batter into your prepared pan and set aside to rise for one hour. Cover with a tea towel or plastic wrap and be sure to set the pan in a warm place. I start preheating my oven before I even put ingredients in a bowl. Note that the batter will remain flat and will not dome as it rises.

Uncover and bake bread for 20 minutes, then tent with foil and bake for another 25 min. The bread is done when it is golden brown on top and your intstant-read thermometer reads 190 degrees. I find that it takes about 55 min. total in my oven. Allow to rest for 5 min then loosen the edges and turn out onto a cooling rack. Brush with melted butter for a soft crust. Or do what I do and uncover one end of a stick of butter and rub it around on the bread until it looks good. Return stick of butter to fridge and keep on hand for other such applications. Cool bread 30 min before slicing.

Comments

David said…
Thanks for this recipe. I have been trying for years now to find a simple recipe for whole wheat bread that rises and doesn't crumble all over the place after two days. There are many recipes but each has something not quite right. This one looks simple and tasty. I'll let you know after I try it!
gwen said…
Hypothetically speaking, how would someone without a mixer do this? A couple rounds of kneading?
Kelly said…
Grg, you can't knead this one b/c it's a very wet dough. You could beat the tar out of it with a big wooden spoon, tho, and achieve the same result. Also, get thee a KitchenAid, stat!
Alissa said…
I think someone should have registered for a KitchenAid Mixer rather than 18 Le Creuset pots. :)
hefk said…
Ha! Alissa. Funny.

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