Servings
Font
Back
0 from 684 votes

Perfect Whole Wheat Bread {Small Batch; Two Loaves}

From ingredients to enjoyment, this recipe makes it easy to create something wonderful.

Prep Time
45 mins
Cook Time
45 mins
Total Time
1 hr 15 mins
Servings: 24 slices (2 loaves)
Course: Bread
Cuisine: American

Ingredients

  • 5-6 5-6 cups whole wheat flour I prefer white whole wheat vs red whole wheat
  • 1 ½ 1 ½ tablespoons instant yeast
  • ¼ ¼ cup vital wheat gluten (see note)
  • 2 ¾ 2 ¾ cups warm water
  • 1 1 tablespoon lemon juice bottled or fresh
  • ⅓ ⅓ cup oil
  • ⅓ ⅓ cup honey
  • 1 1 tablespoon salt

Instructions

    Cup of Yum
  1. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, mix together 3 cups of the whole wheat flour, yeast, and gluten. Add the warm water and mix well. Cover the bowl and let the mixture rest for 10-12 minutes.
  2. Add the lemon juice, oil, honey, and salt. Mix on low speed.
  3. With the mixer running on low speed, continue adding flour 1/2 cup at a time until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl (don't overflour! A little stickiness is ok as long as the dough forms a ball and doesn't leave a lot of residue on your fingers).
  4. Let the mixer knead the dough for 5-6 minutes until the dough is soft and smooth.
  5. Turn the dough onto a lightly greased counter and divide in half. Shape each half into a taut loaf and place in a lightly greased loaf pan (8 1/2- X 4 1/2-inches).
  6. Cover the loaf pans and let the loaves rise until they are 1-2 inches above the edge of the loaf pan.
  7. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Make sure an oven rack is in the middle/center position. Bake the loaves for 28-32 minutes until golden and baked through (an instant-read thermometer should register 180-190 degrees in the center of the loaf).
  8. Turn the bread onto a wire rack. Brush the tops with butter, if desired. Let cool completely.

Notes

  • Letting the Dough Rise: this bread recipe does not require the dough to rise before being shaped into loaves and letting the loaves rise in the bread pans. However, if you find your bread is a little dense after baking and cooling, letting the dough rise after kneading may help with that, as well as making sure the dough isn't overfloured.
  • Vital Wheat Gluten: is often found in the baking aisle at the grocery store (near the flour). Many brands of vital wheat gluten have Vitamin C added; those are ok to use in this recipe. I usually buy my gluten from Amazon - the Bob's Red Mill brand or the Honeyville brand {aff. links}.

Nutrition Information

Serving 1 Slice Calories 132kcal (7%) Carbohydrates 22g (7%) Protein 4g (8%) Fat 4g (6%) Saturated Fat 1g (5%) Sodium 293mg (12%) Fiber 3g (12%) Sugar 4g (8%)

Nutrition Facts

Serving: 24slices (2 loaves)

Amount Per Serving

Calories

% Daily Value*

Serving 1 Slice
Calories 132kcal 7%
Carbohydrates 22g 7%
Protein 4g 8%
Fat 4g 6%
Saturated Fat 1g 5%
Sodium 293mg 12%
Fiber 3g 12%
Sugar 4g 8%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.