My family LOVES white bread but it’s obviously not as nutritious as whole wheat. Since we eat sandwiches regularly for weekday lunches, I can’t help but add a little bit of whole wheat to inject some fiber and nutrients into our meal rather than having us chomp on empty calories.
The beauty of this whole wheat bread is that there is only 1 rise! What does that mean? Most homemade breads out there require 2 rises, with each rise taking at least an hour. So one rise means the process of making bread is reduced by a whole hour! Now you can start making bread at a reasonable time in the morning and it will be ready for slicing by lunchtime!
I still love the taste of Whole Wheat Quinoa Sandwich Bread but this One Rise Soft Whole Wheat Bread is the one that I make on a weekly basis because of the shortened time!
TIPS
- If you love 100% whole wheat, feel free to substitute all the white flour for whole wheat flour. The only change you may need to make is to add more water (up to half cup more). I’ve also tried making this with 100% white whole wheat flour (from King Arthur); however, the bread is still more dense than my family likes so we stick with the 50% whole wheat flour and 50% white flour.
- If you have time for a second rise, the bread does come out even softer but just one rise is soft enough for us!
- The two loaves usually last us just 1 week. If you can’t finish the loaves in 1 week, you can slice and freeze the bread. After microwaving for 30 seconds or toasting, the bread is still deliciously soft, like it just came out of the oven.
- To grease the loaf pans, I unwrap the top of a stick of butter and quickly run it over the sides/bottom of the loaf pans. Then I just re-wrap the butter and pick put back in the fridge.
One Rise Soft Whole Wheat Bread
Equipment
- Mixer (or you can mix by hand!)
- 2 loaf pans (8.5×4.5in)
- baking rack
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp active dry yeast or 1½ tbsp instant yeast
- 1 C water
- 1 C milk
- 3 C whole wheat flour
- 3 C white flour
- ⅓ C canola oil or any similar light oil
- ⅓ C honey
- 2 tsp salt
- butter for greasing the loaf pans
Instructions
- Warm the water and milk in the microwave for 20 seconds. Make sure it's warm to the touch.
- Add the yeast, warmed water/milk, and whole wheat flour to the mixer bowl. Stir a little so that the whole wheat flour is immersed in the liquid. Set aside for 15 minutes so the mixture can bubble and rise a little.
- Add the rest of the ingredients to the mixer. Mix the dough for 5-6 minutes. Add a tablespoon at a time of flour (either white or whole wheat) if the dough sticks to the side of the mixer bowl. Add a tablespoon at a time of water if the dough is a bit tough and the mixer struggles to mix.
- While the mixer is mixing, grease the sides/bottom of the loaf pans.
- After the mixer is done mixing, cut the dough in half and form 2 loaves. Place the loaves in the loaf pans and let rise in the microwave or oven (with the light on) for 60-90 minutes. The loaves just need to rise about 1 inch above the loaf pans.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F about 10 minutes before the rising time is complete.
- Bake for 30 minutes.
- Flip the loaves out onto a baking rack and allow to cool completely before slicing and enjoying!
Adapted from An Oregon Cottage Easy, Soft 100% Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread Tutorial
I’m just getting into baking my own bread lately, and this bread has leveled up my toast significantly. It came out great in my Lodge cast iron bread pan, and my older non-stick pan was still good, but a bit short and dense because of the pan. I ended up buying a second cast iron one so both loaves turn out better (and have no scary forever chemicals). Highly recommended if you’re fed up with having to toss out scratched non-stick pans every few years even if you properly baby them.
I do have one question regarding the recipe, though. In step 2, are you adding all 3 cups of whole wheat flour to the warm milk & water? Maybe I’m stirring too much, but there is no liquid left to immerse the flour in, because it is completely absorbed. I just do a little mixing by hand to make a wet dough and let that rest for 15 minutes, and it seems to work fine. I’m right now in this step on my second batch, so we’ll see whether it continues to work for me.
I’m glad I wasn’t scared off by a two-loaf recipe. I live by myself and don’t go through bread so quickly, but freezing most of it has given my fresh bread for weeks. I’m not sure how it works, but tossing it in the toaster gets the same freshly baked smell and taste.