Home > Whole Grain Bread Recipes > No Knead Whole Wheat Bread
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If you’ve never baked yeast bread, but want to learn how, this no knead whole wheat bread is the one to start with. Unlike most yeast breads, this one isn’t kneaded; instead, the soft dough is simply beaten in a bowl for several minutes, then scooped into a bread pan. An hour later, it’s ready to pop into the oven.
The result: A dense, moist, easy-to-slice loaf, ideal for sandwiches. Or spread thin slices with flavored cream cheese; the extra fiber in the bread will assuage any guilt you feel about the richness of the cheese!
No Knead Whole Wheat Bread:
Ingredients:
1 cup (8 ounces) lukewarm water
1/4 cup (2 ounces) orange juice
1/4 cup (2 ounces) melted butter or vegetable oil (1 3/4 ounces)
3 tablespoons (2 1/4 ounces) molasses or maple syrup (2 ounces)
2 teaspoons instant yeast
1/4 cup (1 ounce) nonfat dry milk
3 cups (12 3/4 ounces) whole wheat flour: white whole wheat (organic is especially nice), or traditional
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
Directions:
Yield: One 8 ½” x 4 ½” loaf, 16 servings
Thoroughly grease an 8 ½” x 4 ½” pan. It’s important to grease the pan well, as this bread tends to stick otherwise.
To prepare the dough: Combine all of the ingredients in a large bowl. Beat the mixture vigorously for about 3 minutes; an electric mixer set on high speed works well here. At the very end of the beating time, the dough might begin to clear the sides of the bowl and form a rough clump. Even if it doesn’t, it should be fairly cohesive and dough-like, not batter-like. Scoop it into the prepared pan.
Cover the pan with lightly greased plastic wrap, and let it rise for 60 to 90 minutes; it won’t fill the pan. While the dough is rising, preheat the oven to 350°F.
To bake the bread: Bake the bread for about 40 to 45 minutes, tenting it with aluminum foil after 20 minutes. The bread is done when it’s golden brown on top, and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center registers 195°F. Remove it from the oven, and after 5 minutes turn it out onto a rack. Brush with melted butter, if desired; this will keep the crust soft. Cool the bread completely before cutting it.
Used with permission: © Copyright 2009 King Arthur Flour. All Rights Reserved. Visit www.kingarthurflour.com for more recipes.
Jamie says
Hi Cathy! This bread looks delicious, and though I’ve made kneaded white bread before, I want to go back to basics to work with 100% whole wheat. My question is: can I substitute some of the wheat flour for some coarser grains (sesame, wheat berries, and the like) for a heartier texture? If so, what grains would you suggest, and how much should I sub?
Thanks!
Jamie
Cathy says
Hi Jamie, I haven’t tried substituting coarser grains in this particular bread but that sounds like a great idea. I would start with about 10% (2.4 oz and reduce the amount of flour used by that same amount). You could increase it once you know how the bread performs. If you want to use wheat berries, then I would sprout them first and chop them in a food processor or blender. Here is a bread that incorporates sprouted wheat. https://www.breadexperience.com/sprouted-wheat-bread/
You could also incorporate cracked wheat, oats, rye or even cornmeal. For coarser grains, it helps to soak them for at least a couple of hours to soften them so they don’t puncture the gluten. Just reduce the amount of water used in the final dough. Nuts and seeds can be added as well. You could include them in the soaker with the grains.
Happy Baking!
Cathy
J. Mac Neal says
Is the 1/4 cup of the nonfat dry milk to be used in the powdered (dry) form or in the reconstituted (wet) form? I don’t want to get this wrong.
Cathy says
Hello, the 1/4 cup of nonfat dry milk is to be used in the dry form. You add it with the dry ingredients.