4 Simple Tips to Make Homemade Whole Wheat Bread
Whole wheat bread can be tricky to get just right. Today, I’m sharing 4 simple tips to make delicious homemade whole wheat bread.
If you’ve ever tried to bake whole wheat bread and you’ve been met with the disappointment of a hard, flat loaf I am offering you some hope today. With these 4 simple tips to make delicious homemade whole wheat bread you’ll be producing perfect loaves in no time!
Good bread is the most fundamentally satisfying of all foods, and good bread with fresh butter, the greatest of all feasts.
James Beard
I remember the first time I made whole wheat bread. It smelled so good. I sat with anticipation as the oven timer counted down. I couldn’t wait to slice into that fresh whole wheat goodness. The timer went off, the bread was carefully removed from the oven. We waited. When the loaf was cool enough to be removed from the pan, I could already feel the disappointment growing. Instead of light fluffy loaves I was greeted by hard dense loaves that tasted more like gravel than bread. Strike one. There were subsequent strikes during the following months. Lots of strikes. More strikes than I care to admit. You know though, I learned from those mistakes. Today I’m passing all those hard learned lessons on to you. I’m happy to report that dense loaves of whole wheat bread don’t have to be your normal.
1. Don’t use too much flour.
This is the easiest mistake to make. Especially if you’re used to making white bread. If you use too much whole wheat flour you’re left with dense bread. It will also be dry and crumbly. You need just enough flour to keep the dough from sticking while being kneaded. It should be a little sticky. You want it to be bouncy and feel soft.
2. Don’t let it rise too much.
You shouldn’t ever let whole wheat bread dough rise more than double….ever. Letting it rise too much causes the bread to be coarse and crumbly, and full of air bubbles.
3. Use good flour.
This should speak for itself, but there’s a big difference in brands of flour. The quality of your bread will greatly depend on the quality of the flour. There is nothing as delicious as whole wheat bread made with freshly ground flour.
4. Prick the dough with a fork or knife.
Right after you form the loaves be sure to prick them with a fork or make a slit with a knife. This helps the air to escape and you get nice soft loaves instead of the giant crumbly bubbles.
I am by no means an expert baker, but I have certainly learned a thing or two through trial and error. That seems to be the best way for me to learn. I love to get my hands in the dough, and create. I think baking bread is almost therapeutic for me. There is such a sense of accomplishment to know that I can provide for my family in this way.
I’ve shared my two favorite bread recipes here on the blog. I’ll link them for you below!
If you want more delicious bread recipes check out my FREE e-book Freshly Baked Bread!
As always, thanks so much for spending a tiny part of your day with me! Happy Thanksgiving!!
Here’s an image to pin for later…
