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Basic Whole Wheat Yeast Bread
This recipe uses a simple, hands-on process to get a crusty loaf of delicious whole wheat bread in a short amount of time. You’ll have fresh hot bread on your cooling rack within 3-4 hours of measuring ingredients, and in my case, milling your own wheat.
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In order to have airy and pliable bread in such a short time, you need to do a couple of rounds of gluten development as well as a pre-shape. Also, you need to stay on top of the dough rising and not let it overproof, especially in summer months. Because it can be difficult to gauge dough “doubling” and expansion in a bowl, especially when you de-gas the dough with periodic gluten development maneuvers, I’ve photographed “before” and “after” photos of both the first rise (bulk fermentation) and second rise (final proof).
Expansion during first rise
Additionally, I made an aliquot jar to track the dough change over the course of the entire process. You can work off the photos of the dough expansion in the bowl and in the proofing basket, or you can make your own aliquot jar if you want.
Expansion before baking
Keep in mind that an aliquot jar is just one more tool to help you, but it’s not necessary nor even 100% accurate. The dough in the jar doesn’t change temperature or hydration the way the larger laminated dough will. Observing and feeling your dough is always most important.
Key Steps in Making this Bread
This video shows the key steps in this bread-making process. Use the video to get a sense of the dough texture just after mixing and as the gluten gets stronger. You’ll see how to laminate dough at 0:24 and again at 1:10, the pre-shaping at 1:55, the final shaping at 2:33, scoring at 3:41, and the crumb and squeezability of the final product at 4:11.
Selecting a Whole Wheat Flour
This recipe and process are geared toward using high protein red wheats that absorb a lot of water and have plenty of gluten developent potential. This includes bolles wheat, hard red spring wheat, sprouted hard red spring wheat, yecora rojo, and rouge de bordeaux. Combining any of these strong wheats with a slightly weaker-gluten wheat would also work well if the ratio of the two is weighted toward the stronger wheat and if you drop the water amount by a little.
Hard red spring wheat boule
For my first test bake of this method and recipe, I picked bolles hard red spring wheat and it turned out great even though I overproofed the dough a little (minimal score bloom). The bread was airy and tall, likely due to the gluten strength of this wheat and possibly the oval shape of the bread, which I baked in Breadtopia’s clay batard baker. In my experience oval- or tube-shaped doughs tend to flatten less than a round shape when overproofed.
Excellent slice shape and crumb (Bolles wheat)
In my subsequent test bakes, I used hard red spring wheat. In the summer heat, I overproofed my first attempt, letting it get too big during both the first and second rises. So with my second hard red spring wheat dough, I kept a closer eye on the dough, using the aliquot jar described above and even starting the oven preheat before the final shaping of the dough.
Overproofed on left
Additional Information
There are many ways to make a tasty and attractive yeast-leavened whole wheat bread. If you’d like to explore other methods, you can try this no knead yeast recipe (long process and a pinch of yeast) or this recipe with a poolish. Both simply need a little more water if you want to use whole grain flour. Aim for the dough texture in the video above.
Basic Whole Wheat Yeast Bread
Whole wheat yeast bread can be simple and quick. With a short list of ingredients and some gluten development activities, you'll have a fresh, crusty, soft bread in just a few hours.
Ingredients
Instructions
Saltolyse
Yeast Prep and Mixing
Gluten Development and First Rise
Preheat, Pre-Shaping, Shaping, and Final Proof
Baking
Shopping List
Mockmill 100 Grain Mill
Danish Dough Whisk — Large
Hard Red Spring Wheat Berries
Wood Bread Board
Breadtopia Banneton — Oval
Breadtopia Banneton — Round
Breadtopia Cloche Bread Baker — Round
Breadtopia Clay Baker — Batard
Breadtopia’s Choice Kitchen Scale
$18.00Red Star® Organic Instant Dry Yeast — 5 Packets
$7.50Basic Whole Wheat Yeast Bread