I want to be as honest as possible here — I am not a bread expert. I’m a bread lover and consumer, but I’m not a trained baker by any means. I’m just a lady who likes to bake bread for her family so that we know what’s actually going into the loaf! I used to buy the organic whole wheat loaves at the store (that are extremely over priced, might I add) and then I would get home and read the label to find words (preservatives) that I couldn’t even pronounce. Annnd that’s why I made this bread to begin with! This is a NO-BS whole wheat loaf and I love it. Like, I literally love it.
Here’s a video tutorial to make your life even easier!
What’s the texture like?
Friendly reminder. This is sandwich bread. It’s not meant to be rustic, crumby (crumby = big holes) artisanal bread. It’s also 100% whole wheat, which means I didn’t even add a dusting of regular all purpose or bread flour. This affects the texture tremendously because regular flour has that bouncy chew to it that we all know and love. Whole wheat flour can be dense, and that’s what we are working with here. I know you know this, but it’s important to remember! In order to bring a little moisture to this recipe, I added some olive oil to our dough. You can also use a warm milk instead of water, which is supposed to be great for adding moisture and tenderness to the dough.
What other mix-ins can I use?
As long as you don’t go overboard, the world is your oyster! I love adding cranberries and chopped walnuts. You can also add pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds. I would stick with the 1/3 cup of each rule and then add more on top before baking, but if you want to experiment by adding more, be my guest.
What kind of whole wheat flour should I use?
Believe it or not, every brand’s flour is different! I used King Arthur Whole Wheat flour and I’ve tested it 3 times with this flour, which all yielded the same results. So of course, I do recommend King Arthur 100% Whole Wheat Flour. Believe it or not, if you use another brand, your dough will turn out slightly different. If you can’t find King Arthur it’s totally ok! You will have to trust your instincts, though, so get ready to trust yourself! If your dough feels too wet, adjust with a little more flour during the initial kneading process. If your dough feels too dry (lacking in that elastic stretch and instead feeling like a dense ball of flour that breaks when you try to stretch it) add a little more water and continue to knead that water in. Baking is a science and a feeling, and if you understand what bread dough should feel like, then you will be able to easily tweak .
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