Homemade Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread

Updated 3.15.2010: I now make a soaked version of this recipe. I have made the necessary adjustments to the recipe. The photos may not accurately represent the new changes.

I get a lot of requests for my homemade bread recipe, and I have changed it up quite a bit since I posted my bread making vlog a few months ago, plus I now have a mixer that can handle four loaves at once (what a luxury!) so I thought it was high time I post an update.

These instructions are specific for using a Kitchen Aid mixer. I created this recipe from the Old Fashioned Honey Whole Wheat bread recipe in my Betty Crocker cookbook and the instructions that came in my Kitchen Aid manual. For another type of mixer, or if you make bread by hand, you can adjust the instructions accordingly.

(If your mixer can only handle two loaves, you can easily halve this recipe.)

First, assemble your ingredients:

6 cups whole wheat flour
2/3 cup honey
1/2 cup coconut oil or butter, melted
2 tablespoon salt
1/2 cup buttermilk
3 tablespoons active dry yeast
4 cups very warm water (120°F to 130°F)
1/2 cup very warm water (120°F to 130°F)
2 cups Spelt or white flour
4 to 5 cups all-purpose flour
Butter or margarine, melted, if desired

Combine coconut oil and 4 cups water in a small saucepan.  Heat over low heat until the oil is melted.

While that is heating, place the whole wheat flour and salt in your mixer bowl.  With the paddle attachment, mix about 15 seconds on Stir.

Continuing on Stir, add warm mixture to flour mixture and buttermilk.  Mix about a minute.

At this point I usually need to scrape the sides of the bowl.

At this point, cover and soak 7 hours or overnight.

The next morning, mix the yeast and 1/2 cup warm water together thoroughly in a small bowl.  Then add the honey to the yeast mixture.  Add the yeast mixture to the soaked flour mixture, and with the dough hook this time, mix together on Speed 2.

Then add the spelt and all-purpose flour, 1/2 cup at a time, mixing well between each addition.  Mix about 2 minutes, or until dough starts to clean sides of bowl, adding flour as necessary.   This is getting close.

Then knead on Speed 2 for another 2 minutes. When it’s ready, it won’t be sticky. It will feel smooth and elastic. At this point, dump the dough out onto a plate and grease the inside of the mixing bowl, all the way to the top.

Return the dough to the bowl, and turn over so that it is buttered on all sides.

Then cover it with a clean towel and place it in a warm place to rise. Usually the top of the oven works just fine, but on really cold days, I heat the oven to 130 degrees, turn it off, and then put the dough in the oven to rise.

After about an hour, it should be doubled in size.

Dump it out onto a large cloth or rolling mat.

Punch it down, and then divide it into four equal sized lumps of dough.

Take one and roll it out, about like this, and pretend that my camera was focusing on the dough instead of the rolling pin. Anyone know a photographer for hire?

Then roll it up tightly, like so.

And pinch the loose ends into the dough.

Then roll him over so the seam is on the bottom and fold the ends under, like so.

And place him in a buttered bread pan.  I love my cast iron bread pans.

Then, wash, rinse, repeat, until all four loaves are in loaf pans, ready to rise.

Now, at this point, you have a choice. You can freeze some for rising and cooking at a later date, or you can cook them all off and then freeze the finished loaves for later.

I prefer my bread to be freshly baked so I usually bake off two loaves and freeze two. But either way works fine.

Put the loaves to rise in a warm spot, covered with a clean towel, for about 45 minutes or so.

When the loaves look about right, preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Pop ‘em in the oven, and set your timer for 30 minutes. Of course ovens vary, but this works out perfectly for me. The bread is done when you tap it and it sounds hollow.

Immediately turn them out onto a rack to cool.  I always slather butter on top because that’s what my mama always did.  And because I’m a firm believer that you can never have too much butter.

Now tell me, don’t they look utterly divine?

Someone certainly agrees.

Big thanks to Tara at Itty Bitty Bookworms for converting this recipe to a soaked version.  If you’re wondering why soak the grains, soaking grains helps to begin digesting the phytic acid in the wheat that are hard for the human body to digest.  For a complete explanation, see this article by Sally Fallon and Mary Enig.

Here are the directions for the original non-soaked version:

Ingredients:
6 cups whole wheat flour
2/3 cup honey
1/2 cup coconut oil or butter, melted
2 tablespoon salt
3 tablespoons active dry yeast
4-1/2 cup very warm water (120°F to 130°F) cups very warm water (120°F to 130°F)
2 cups Spelt or white flour
4 to 6 cups all-purpose flour
Butter or margarine, melted, if desired

Instructions:
1. Combine coconut oil, honey and 4-1/2 cups water in a small saucepan.  Heat over low heat until the oil is melted.

2. Place whole wheat flour, yeast and salt in a large mixing bowl. With the paddle attachment, mix about 15 seconds on Stir. Continuing on Stir, add warm water mixture to flour mixture.  Mix about a minute.

3. Then with the dough hook in place, add the spelt and all-purpose flour, 1/2 cup at a time, mixing well between each addition.  Mix about 2 minutes, or until dough starts to clean sides of bowl, adding flour as necessary.  Knead on Speed 2 about 2 minutes longer.

4. Place dough in greased bowl, and turn greased side up. Cover and let rise in warm place 40 to 60 minutes or until double. Dough is ready if indentation remains when touched.  Continue with forming loaves and etc., as directed above.

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Tagged as: how to make homemade bread, sandwich bread, whole wheat bread recipe