The recipe for these whole wheat sandwich loaves is perfect for making your everyday bread. The loaves can be made in just a little over three hours, start to finish.
These whole wheat loaves are perfect sliced for sandwiches. The flavor compliments deli meats, cheeses, and even peanut butter and jelly. This bread also makes excellent toast.
This recipe is great for beginning bread bakers. There are no extra fancy techniques or ingredients, the fanciest ingredient being barley malt syrup, which is easy to find in most grocery stores.
This recipe makes two loaves, one to use right away and one to freeze or give away. I made these with my oldest grandson and sent him home with one of the loaves.
These loaves rise up nice and tall and the oven, and the slices are slightly airy but still strong enough for building a hearty sandwich.
Ingredients in this whole wheat sandwich bread:
Warm water: The temperature should be between 105 to 115 degrees F. Use an instant read thermometer to check the temperature. I warmed the water in a glass measuring cup in the microwave for about 60 seconds.
Yeast: You can use either active dry or instant yeast. I typically use instant yeast.
Honey: To had a bit of sweetness to the bread.
Flours: Bread flour and whole wheat flour. The mixture is about 53 percent bread flour and 47 percent whole wheat flour.
Barley malt syrup: You can substitute sugar or honey if you don't have any. Barley malt syrup adds nice color and flavor. If you make beer and have the ingredients, you could substitute malt extract.
Pantry ingredients: salt and vegetable or canola oil.
You will need two 8 1/2 inch by 4 1/2 inch (1 pound) loaf pans for baking the loaves.
How to make this bread:
First, combine the honey, yeast, and some of the water in a bowl and let sit until the mixture is creamy. This step is especially important if you are using active dry yeast. If you are using instant yeast, you can skip this step if you prefer.
Next, add the rest of the ingredients to a stand mixer and begin mixing on low until everything is combined. Switch the speed to medium and knead with the dough hook for about 10 minutes, until the dough comes together. The dough will be pretty slack and first, but will become cohesive after kneading. Have patience.
Let the dough rise until doubled, which should take about 90 minutes. I have actually let it triple on the first rise.
After that, divide and shape the dough and place it in the pans. At this point, keep a close eye on the dough because you don't want it to overproof. Place the pans in the oven when the dough reaches the tops of the pans and poking the dough with your finger leaves a slight dent.
Finally, bake the loaves for 35 minutes and then depan and cool completely on a wire rack. I tented the loaves with foil for the last five minutes to prevent over browning.
This bread is the perfect nutritious substitute for store-bought "wheat breat," which is typically mostly white flour with some whole wheat for color and flavor. The flour in this bread is almost half whole wheat, providing lots of fiber and whole grains, yet the slices are still soft enough for sandwich bread.
The addition of the honey and malt also bring out the natural sweet flavors of whole wheat.
More whole wheat bread recipes to try:
Rosemary, garlic, and parsley whole wheat bread
Whole wheat cinnamon raisin bread
This recipe was first published in September, 2012 and updated in April, 2022.
Whole Wheat Sandwich Loaves
Ingredients
- 2 1/4 cups warm (105 to 115 degrees F) warm water
- 1 tablespoon instant or active dry yeast
- 1/4 cup honey
- 420 grams (3 1/2 cups) bread flour (plus and extra 2 tablespoons if necessary)
- 339 grams (3 cups) whole wheat flour
- 1 tablespoon vegetable or canola oil
- 1 tablespoon barley malt syrup
- 1 tablespoon salt
Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, add 1/2 cup of the water, the yeast, and the honey. Let sit for five minutes, until creamy.
- Add the rest of the water and stir. Add the rest of the ingredients and stir with a dough whisk or the dough hook by hand to moisten the ingredients.
- Mix with the dough hook on low speed until the dough comes together. Scrape down the sides.
- Switch the speed to medium and knead with the dough hook for 10 minutes, until the dough is elastic and smooth. If necessary, add an additional 2 tablespoons of bread flour, especially if the weather is humid.
- Place the dough into an oiled bowl or dough rising bucket and let rise until fully doubled (or even tripled), about 90 minutes. In the meantime, spray two 8 1/2 inch by 4 1/2 inch loaf pans with spray oil.
- Turn the dough out and divide it in half. Form each half into a loaf by pressing the dough into an approximate 6 inch by 10 inch rectangle and rolling it up tightly, beginning with one of the 6 inch sides. Place the shaped loaf, seam side down, into one of the pans. Cover with oiled plastic wrap and let rise until the dough crests over the rim of the pans. The dough is ready when a finger poked into the dough leaves a dent.
- In the meantime, heat the oven to 375 degrees F.
- Bake the loaves for 35 minutes, or until they reach an interior temperature of about 200 degrees F. Watch the loaves and tent with foil if the tops begin to brown to much while baking.
- When the loaves are done, remove them from the pans and cool completely on a wire rack.
Nutrition Facts
Calories
86.63Fat (grams)
0.83Sat. Fat (grams)
0.1Carbs (grams)
17.66Fiber (grams)
1.32Net carbs
16.33Sugar (grams)
2.36Protein (grams)
2.71Sodium (milligrams)
195.51Cholesterol (grams)
0This recipe is from my participation in a blogging group back in the day, Tuesdays with Dorie, and adapted from Baking with Julia, published in 1996. The book is a compilation of the recipes from Julia Child's PBS series of that era.
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Your loaf turned out beautifully!
ReplyDeleteThank you Teresa!
DeleteI like the thought of making this dough into rolls.
ReplyDeleteLovely bread!
Delicious looking bread. Homemade bread is the best.
ReplyDeleteYour bread looks great. Rolls are a great idea!
ReplyDeleteAppreciated your observations and comparison with the BBA recipe. I liked the flavor (I used a little rye too) but will reduce the whole grain flours to a third next time to get a little more loft.
ReplyDeleteI think I might use SAF gold yeast too because of all of the honey/malt.
DeleteLove your sliced bread -- looks wonderful! Blessings, Catherine www.praycookblog.com
ReplyDeleteEven though it makes two loaves it still would never make it to the freezer here! The texture is perfection!
ReplyDeleteLol. Thanks!
DeletePerfect looking sandwich bread! I want to try this one for sure - it looks really nice.
ReplyDeleteWith the price of bread I need to start making my own loaves and this one looks perfect for sandwiches.
ReplyDeleteThanks! It really is perfect for sandwiches.
DeleteYour loaves turned out perfect. There is just something about making your own bread that really makes you feel super accomplished!
ReplyDelete