Wholemeal Bread

My Soft Wholemeal Bread is packed full of flavour and natural goodness. This soft and fluffy rustic bread is perfect for sandwiches or toast.
This super easy wholemeal bread recipe makes one large 2 lb wholemeal loaf or two small 1 lb loaves.
Your bread can be done and dusted in about 3 hours including rising and baking time. Hands on time is less than 20 minutes, so you can do something else as your dough rises and bakes.

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It’s the perfect homemade wholemeal bread for sandwiches, toast or simply dunking into your favourite soup.
The secret to soft and fluffy wholemeal bread is to use a blend of wholemeal and white bread flours. Wholemeal flour on its own makes for a denser loaf.

Even after making bread at the Kitchen Shed for over twenty years, I never tire of the aroma of freshly baked bread. Whether it’s Soft White Rolls, my Crusty White Loaf or Seeded Multigrain Bread, our oven is always busy.

Why you’ll love this recipe

• Easy to make – step by step instructions and plenty of tips to help you on your way.
  
• Homemade is best – this wholemeal loaf tastes delicious with its natural nutty flavour. Plus, it doesn’t contain any of the unwanted additives you might find in mass produced bread.
  
• Economical – it costs less to make your own bread and it hands down beats any store bought bread for flavour.
  
• Softer and lighter bread – courtesy of the higher level of protein in the blend of extra strong flours.

What equipment do I need ?

• I use my KitchenAid stand mixer to knead the dough. Simply add the ingredients and mix on a low speed. But don’t worry if you haven’t got a stand mixer. All you need is a bit of elbow grease and you can easily knead by hand.
• A 2lb loaf tin or two 1lb loaf tins – I use my favourite Masterclass tin. Its heavy gauge steel ensures a nice even bake and produces a good loaf shape. (Master Class bread tins come with a 20 year guarantee) A quality tin is a worthwhile investment.

Ingredients

• Bread Flour – I’ve used a mix of wholemeal / wholewheat and white flours. Adding white bread flour makes the bread a lot lighter compared to when using 100% wholemeal flour.
  
• Vegetable Oil – I use rapeseed oil in yeast breads. This helps create the soft, light texture and increases the bread’s shelf life.
  
• Yeast – I’ve used instant yeast in the recipe, often called fast action or quick yeast. This yeast has the advantage that you can add it directly to your flour. My favourite is Dove’s Farm Quick Yeast, which comes in a handy 125g packet. Once opened, Dove’s Farm Yeast will keep for up to two months when stored in a cool dry place.
  
• Honey – adding honey speeds up the action of the yeast and adds great flavour.
  
• Salt – I like to use sea salt as it contains less sodium than regular salt but any fine salt will work in the recipe.
  
• Water – use lukewarm water.

How to make Wholemeal Bread

• In a stand mixer:
  Knead the ingredients in a stand mixer on a slow speed for 10 to 12 minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic.
• By hand:
  Mix the ingredients together in a bowl and then knead on a counter top.

• Cover your dough and leave it to rise for about one and half hours in a warm place. On a cooler day, this may take up to two hours.
• Once your dough has doubled in size, transfer it onto a lightly oiled work surface.

• Shape your loaf by gently working your dough into a rectangle.
• Roll up your dough tightly from the short side. If you roll up loosely you will end up with big air pockets in your bread.
• Pinch the seams together and turn the loaf over so you have the long seam on the bottom.
• Place in a greased loaf tin.

• Cover and leave to rise in a warm place for about 45 minutes.

• Make 3 slashes across the top of your loaf at a 45° angle.
• Before baking, feel free to top the bread with oats. To make the oats stick, you’ll need to spray water on top of the loaf before adding them. The oat topping is optional.

• Bake in a preheated oven for about 45 minutes for a large loaf or 25 minutes for the smaller loaves.
• Once baked, tip your loaf onto a cooling rack. Tap the base of the bread to check it is cooked, it should sound hollow.

Top Recipe Tips

• I use Very Strong Wholemeal Bread Flour and Very Strong White Bread Flour; both are 100 % Canadian flour. These flours have the advantage of being high in protein and so produce more gluten. As a result, the dough holds together well but is also very elastic. A perfect combination for making soft wholemeal bread.
• Always check your yeast is in date.
• Make sure your water is lukewarm. Too high a temperature will kill your yeast. Just like us, yeast works best at around 37°C / 98°F. You should be able to comfortably dip your finger into your water.

• It’s really important, especially with wholemeal bread, to knead your dough until it is smooth and elastic. The best way to check this is by using the windowpane test.

The windowpane test is a consistently reliable way to check your dough is ready. Pinch off a small piece of dough and gently stretch it apart, pulling and rotating the dough into a thin membrane, or window pane, which is translucent when you hold it up to the light.

• Allow the dough to rise in a warm draught free place until it has doubled in size.
• Add a little oil, not flour, to your work surface before shaping your bread. Using flour on the work surface adds flour to your dough and gives you a drier loaf.
• Avoid knocking back your dough as shaping takes enough air out of the dough. Without doubt, I’ve had the best results when not knocking back the dough.
• Always preheat your oven for best baking results.
• Freshly baked bread is at it’s best 2 hours after coming out of the oven.
• For best results, make sure your bread is fully cooled before slicing.

How Long Will It Keep ?

Like most homemade bread, fresh is best but Soft Wholemeal Bread will keep for a couple of days.

Can I Freeze It ?

Yes, Wholemeal Bread freezes well. Make sure your loaf is fully cooled and placed in a freezer bag before freezing for up to three months. It can also be sliced and then frozen so you can take out slices as you need them and avoid waste.

To defrost, remove your bread from the freezer a couple of hours before you need it and defrost at room temperature.

Serving suggestions

We love it toasted or as soldiers with a soft boiled egg
Dunked in leek and potato soup or pea and ham soup
Sandwiches
To make croutons
Breadcrumbs in recipes like homemade fish fingers and Veggie Cassoulet topping
Simply spread with butter and topped with raspberry jam

More Bread Recipes for you to try

• Multigrain Bread and Rolls
• Rye Bread
• Soft Bread Rolls
• Crusty Farmhouse Loaf
• Crusty Bread Rolls
• Portuguese Bread Rolls
• Tiger bread
• Le Creuset No Knead Bread

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Wholemeal Bread

My Soft Wholemeal Bread is packed full of flavour and natural goodness. This soft and fluffy rustic bread is perfect for sandwiches or toast.

This super easy wholemeal bread recipe makes one large 2 lb wholemeal loaf or two small 1 lb loaves.

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Course: bread

Cuisine: British

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 40 minutes minutes

Resting Time: 2 hours hours 15 minutes minutes

Total Time: 3 hours hours 5 minutes minutes

Servings: 16

Calories: 167kcal

Author: Sarah James

Equipment

• stand mixer – I use my KitchenAid or knead by hand.
• Mixing Bowl
• 2lb loaf tin or two 1lb loaf tins

Ingredients

• 300 g very strong wholemeal / whole wheat flour
• 300 g very strong white bread flour plus extra for dusting
• 2 tsp fine sea salt / kosher salt
• 1 tsp honey
• 1 ½ tsp instant yeast I use Dove’s Farm
• 4 tablespoons rapeseed / Canola oil
• 375 ml tepid water
• Optional: Oat flakes for dusting

MetricUS Customary

1x2x3x

Instructions

Make Your Dough

• By hand: In a large bowl, mix together the flours, rapeseed oil, salt, sugar and yeast. Form a well in the centre of the ingredients.
• Add a little water into the well and mix thoroughly. Keep adding a little water at a time and mixing until you have formed a ball of dough.
• Transfer dough to a floured surface and knead for 10 to 12 minutes.
• Check your dough is ready by using the windowpane test.
• KitchenAid: Add flours, oil, salt, sugar and yeast to the mixing bowl, make a well and add the water.
• Mix on slow speed number 1 for 1 to 2 minutes.
• Turn up to number 2 speed for a further 8 to 10 minutes.
• Check your dough is ready by using the windowpane test.

Prove Your Dough

• Place your dough in a large greased bowl and cover.
• Leave to rest in a warm place for at least one and a half hours or until doubled in size.

Shape Your Dough

• Transfer the dough to an oiled work surface.
• Shape your loaf by gently working your dough into a rectangle.
• Roll up your dough from the short side.
• Pinch the seams together and turn the loaf over so you have the long seam on the bottom.
• Place in a greased loaf tin or tins.
• Cover and leave to rise in a warm place for about 45 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 230°C /210°C Fan/450°F/Gas Mark 8.

Baking Instructions

• Using a sharp greased knife, make 3 slashes in your loaf at a 45° angle.
• Optional topping: Spray with water and sprinkle with oat flakes.
• Place in pre-heated oven for 10 minutes.
• Turn your oven down to 200°C / 180°C fan / 350°F / Gas mark 6 and continue baking.
• Large loaf: 30 to 35 minutes until golden brown.
• Small loaves 15 to 20 minutes until golden brown.
• Tip your loaf or loaves onto a rack to cool. Tap the base of the bread to check it is cooked – it should sound hollow. Alternatively, check your loaf’s internal temperature – ideally it should be around 90°C / 194°F to 95°C / 203°F.
• Leave to cool.

Notes

• Makes one large loaf (12 to 16 slices) or two small loaves.
• Like most homemade bread, fresh is best but Soft Wholemeal Bread will keep for a couple of days.
• Soft Wholemeal Bread freezes well. Make sure your loaf is fully cooled and placed in a freezer bag before freezing. Keeps for up to three months when frozen.
  Your bread can also be sliced before freezing, avoiding waste because you can take out slices as you need them.
• To defrost, remove your bread from the freezer a couple of hours before it’s needed and defrost at room temperature.
• Nutrition information is approximate per slice of the 2 lb loaf. It is meant as a guideline only.

Serving: 1slice | Calories: 167kcal | Carbohydrates: 28g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 0.4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0.01g | Sodium: 293mg | Potassium: 98mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 0.5g | Vitamin A: 2IU | Vitamin C: 0.01mg | Calcium: 10mg | Iron: 1mg