100% Whole Wheat Bread Recipe

I love to eat bread from artisan Ciabatta to whole grain honey wheat.  I also love to make bread, my particular favorite is 100% whole wheat.  Growing up I ate home-made bread regularly.  My Aunt LaRee - aka "Betty Crocker", mom, both grandmothers and a few other aunts always made bread and rolls.  It wasn't a special family dinner if home-made dinner rolls were not on the table.  And heaven forbid if you called a dinner roll a "biscuit", you were likely to have a roll chucked at your head for blasphemy!  As a child I would watch the bread making process over and over, from my mom grinding wheat in her classic stone mill, the loud old Braun mixing machine kneading the dough, to my favorite aroma of breading baking.  I have decided it's in my blood and my genes to make bread.

Have you ever noticed that grocery store and home-made French/Italian bread taste and look completely different from a true French/Italian bread?  I did, and I wanted to know how to make a true french baguette.  The Food Network Chefs would frequently pair a good "Italian crusty bread" with their recipes.  But nowhere could I find on the Food Network website a recipe for artisan bread.  So, a few years ago I purchased a couple Artisan bread books to learn the true art of bread baking.  (Thanks for the pictures Amazon.com)

BREAD: A Bakers Book of Techniques and Recipes 

 The Bread Baker's Apprentice

Peter Reinhart's Artisan Breads Everyday

There are a few techniques, high quality ingredients, a good recipe, and tools that are required to make authentic artisan bread, which is why most home bakers do not make true artisan bread, but it can be done! 

To sum it up, artisan bread requires a preferment (made from instant yeast, good quality unbleached all purpose flour and water), more flour, yeast, water and salt, a good long rise and no "punching down the dough" - the proofed dough is folded, a stone hearth, and a good shot of steam as soon as the loaves are placed in the oven during the beginning baking process.  Watch these short clips of demonstration by Peter Reinhart:


 

If you want to make your own artisan bread, there are some good recipes on the King Arthur Flour recipe website.  (I also enjoy the King Arthur Flour blog that features detail how-to pictures and instructions.)

 I make whole wheat bread every week or two depending on when I run out.  I purchased a K-TEC wheat grinder from one of the LDS Family Storage Centers a few years ago. It's a great mill - the bin can hold about 10 cups worth of milled wheat kernels, but it is very loud.

If you are interested in purchasing one and do not live near a Family Home Storage Center, visit the Everything Kitchens website.  I also purchase wheat kernels from the LDS Family Home Storage Centers because it is so very inexpensive.  A 25 lb. bag of white wheat only costs around $6, (Price list) where if bought from anywhere else the price is at least 3 times as much.

The mixer is also an important component to making bread.  I only have a 6-quart professional Kitchen-Aid. In my opinion the best mixer for bread is a Bosch, but for everything else (cookies, cakes, meringues, etc.) I prefer the Kitchen-Aid stand mixer. 

The recipe I use to make 100% whole wheat bread is found on my website: WholeWheaters.blogspot.com 

I have incorporated some techniques I learned from my artisan bread books.  The recipe is long because I go into great detail, but the process itself, is quite fast for bread.  I have found that letting whole wheat bread rise or proof  before making the loaves creates too many air pockets and a crumbly interior. This recipe goes from mixing bowl to pan, with no rise in between. (This is quite the opposite for artisan bread, where the preferment requires at least a good 12 hour rest to develop the yeast flavor and interior crumb texture.)

There is nothing quite so satisfying and mouth-watering as a slice of good home-made bread with butter and honey or fruit preserves spread on top.  Enjoy!