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100% Whole Wheat Bread

100% Whole Wheat Bread
A classic whole wheat bread; slice thick to enjoy with soup or thin for sandwiches.
Yield 2 (8½x4½ -inch) loaves
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17

Reviews

Ingredients

  • 8 cups whole wheat flour, divided
  • 2 (0.25oz each) packages (14g) or 4 1/2 teaspoons Red Star Active Dry Yeast
  • 1 tablespoon salt
  • 3 cups water (120-130ºF)
  • 1/4 cup vegetable oil
  • 1/2 cup molasses

Instructions

  • In a stand mixer bowl fitted with a paddle attachment, combine 3 1/2 cups flour, yeast, and salt; mix well. Add warm water, oil and molasses to flour mixture. Blend at low speed until moistened; beat 3 minutes at medium speed.
  • Switch to dough hook attachment. Gradually stir in enough remaining flour to make a firm dough. Knead until smooth and elastic, about 5 to 8 minutes.
    (NOTE: For hand mixing: following above steps, mix ingredients in large mixing bowl using a wooden spoon or dough whisk. Knead on floured surface until smooth and elastic.)
  • Place dough in lightly oiled bowl and turnto grease top. Cover; let rise until indentation remains after poking doughwith finger down to second knuckle, about an hour.
  • Grease two 8½x4½ -inch loaf pans.
  • Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface; punch down to remove air bubbles. Divide into 2 equal parts. On lightly floured surface, roll or pat each half to a 14×7-inch rectangle. Starting with shorter side, roll up tightly, pressing dough into roll with each turn. Pinch edges and ends to seal. Place in prepared pans. Cover; let rise in warm place until indentation remains after touching.
  • Preheat oven to 375°F.
  • Bake for 30 to 40 minutes. Remove from pans; cool.

Notes

Photo by Completely Delicious.

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Review & Comments

Kat | Reply

5 stars
I love this recipe. I’ve made it several times now. Thank you so much for all your delicious work. This is the best whole wheat bread I’ve ever made. Grateful.

Sadie | Reply

5 stars
Excellent whole wheat bread with little effort. It’s moist with a slightly open crumb. I mixed the dough by hand and halved the recipe for one loaf baked in an 8×4-inch pan, and 2 sandwich rolls. I added grated orange zest, which seems to mellow the bitterness of the whole wheat flour. There’s not much oven rise, and the loaf wasn’t as tall as some of the sandwich breads I make. The bread baked in 30 minutes.

CHRISTIANE | Reply

5 stars
Easy to make. Tastes fantastic !

Linda Soko | Reply

Can one use white whole wheat in this recipe?

Red Star Yeast | Reply

Hi Linda – Yes, that should work fine. You may want to visit the flour brand’s website to see if they suggest any modifications to your recipe when substituting one for the other.
Happy baking!

Tom | Reply

5 stars
First time I’ve made bread in years, and this recipe worked out great. I did have to bake it a little longer than the recipe called, but I used a thermometer as they recommended on the website and it turned out perfect.

Jean | Reply

Yeah! It worked! I still always get a little nervous with yeast. I’ve tried a different whole wheat molasses recipe in the past and it never worked. I kind of gave up but all the reviews here were positive so…
Nummy! I used it to make a Reuben for my son and I had the butt with butter alongside my salad. I love the ends.
So easy and I love the molasses flavor.
Definitely will make again.
Thanks!

Shirley | Reply

5 stars
Good recipe! Thank you Red Star! I halved the recipe for 1 loaf, added 1-1/2 cups dried cranberries, sub’d “canola oil” for the vegetable, sub’d “pancake syrup” (didn’t have molasses). Thank God turned out good. 🙂

Joysie | Reply

5 stars
I was very impressed with this recipe and the directions provided. I had tried another recipe before this one that required a lot more ingredients including white flour, so I was stoked to find this recipe’s simple ingredents. Turned out great, and I love that it made two loaves!

Joysie | Reply

5 stars
I just wanted to make one more comment. I made this recipe with honey the first two times, but finally acquired molasses and just used that recently. I loved the richer flavor and darker color that resulted from using the recipe as written without substituting honey for molasses. I’d definitely recommend trying it at least once with the molasses! I also added about 1 1/2 cups of a 10 grain blend of oats and seeds to add more fiber, and that turned out excellent. I mixed that in before kneading, and the dough was grainy and a bit heavier, but baked perfectly and the end result was an amazing 11-grain whole wheat bread!

Jim | Reply

5 stars
I am going to try with stone grind flour whole wheat, and will use honey, hopefully it will turn out what I expect. I am trying to make it like the bread settlers use to make without any chemicals or preservatives.

keith | Reply

5 stars
Been making this one for eons & in various combinations of wheat & bread flour + adding various grains & nuts such as sunflower seeds. And I substitute honey for molasses. Usually sprinkle the bottom of the bread pans with cornmeal too + remove from pans & place on tiles for 5-10mins for a crunchy crust. Used to bake 2 loaves a week with this recipe. Today I sub’d olive oil instead of canola or vegetable oil.

Sassy | Reply

Will this work in in a bread maker?

Red Star Yeast | Reply

This recipe calls for 8 cups of flour, which is too large a batch for a bread machine. We have many bread machine recipes on our website: https://redstaryeast.com/recipes/bread-machine-recipes/. I think you’ll enjoy trying them!
Happy baking!
Carol

Leigha | Reply

5 stars
I made this today. I halved the recipe to make one loaf and used honey in place of molasses. I kneaded and let it rise in my bread maker then transferred the dough to a bread pan and cooked it in that for about 27 minutes. Wonderful! Definitely my go to bread recipe from now on. Next time I’m planning on adding cranberries and walnuts!

Amy | Reply

Hi, when you halved this recipe, did you half everything in it?

Kristi | Reply

5 stars
This bread turned out great. Even my husband who doesn’t usually eat wheat bread liked it.

Celeste | Reply

5 stars
Great recipe!

It is VERY hard to find a 100% whole wheat bread recipe. This one turned out fantastic. I substituted the molasses with raw honey and it was fantastic.

Churlann | Reply

5 stars
I love this recipe. It is quick with only one rising in the pan. It’s moist and keeps well. 100% w.w. recipes are hard to fine. this is my husband and my new fav. Thanks!

Anonymous | Reply

5 stars
I just pulled it out from the oven. It smells and looks great. I cannot wait to have a slice with my honey butter mix.

Anonymous | Reply

4 stars
Yummy!

This is the first time I’ve ever made bread and your directions made it so easy! The bread came out perfect, firm on the outside and soft and chewy on the inside. Perfect for sandwiches! Next time I might add a little honey to sweeten it up a tad 🙂

Sue | Reply

5 stars
This was my first time making bread. It was so easy and delicious. My kids (teen) loved it. I don’t think I let it rise a second time, but I did forget about and let it rise for several hours before placing in bread pans and baking.

Sue | Reply

4 stars
I really liked how this bread turned out. I’m fairly new to bread making and I have been grinding my own wheat. This recipe worked very well with the fresh flour. Nice flavor too!

Lori Parker | Reply

I’m new to bread making, and this was the second bread I’ve made. It was easy to make and tastes great! Glad I tried it.

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