Homemade Soft Whole Wheat Bread Recipe

A loaf of fresh baked soft wholewheat bread on a cutting board with a small bowl of butter and jam beside it.

5 from 9 votes

Homemade Soft Whole Wheat Bread Recipe

This delicious Homemade Soft Whole Wheat Bread Recipe is so easy to make! Made with simple ingredients, the bread is soft and tender and is perfect for toast or sandwiches!

Prep Time30

Cook Time18

Total Time48

Course: Breakfast

Cuisine: American

Servings: servings

Calories: 125kcal

Author: Jeri Walker

Equipment

3 quart Mixing bowl or 2 smaller mixing bowls
Stand mixer or electric mixer
Bread pans
cooling rack

Ingredients

Yeast Mixture

2 cups warm water
1 teaspoon sugar
4 tablespoon yeast

Bread Dough

8 cups whole wheat flour divided
10 cups all-purpose flour divided
4 teaspoon salt
¾ cup sugar
4 eggs
¾ butter, melted or olive oil
4½ cups warm water

Instructions

Yeast Mixture

In a large bowl or 4-cup Pyrex measuring cup, mix together 2 cups of warm water, 1 teaspoon sugar, and 4 tablespoon of yeast. Stir together with a spoon. Let it stand for 10 minutes. It will start to get foamy on top.

Make The Dough

While your yeast mixture is sitting, in a large bowl or in your KitchenAid stand mixer with the mixing paddle, mix together 7 cups of whole wheat flour, 3 cups of white flour, 4 teaspoon salt, and ¾ cup of sugar.
Next, add the yeast mixture to the flour mixture. Add 4 eggs, ¾ melted butter, and 4½ cups warm water. Mix it all up on low speed and let the mixture sit for 10-15 minutes. It will be very gooey. If using a KitchenAid mixer, remove the mixing paddle now and put on the dough hook.
Add 7 cups of unbleached all-purpose flour and 1 cup of whole wheat flour, adding the flour gradually, a cup at a time, until the dough is smooth and begins to pull away from the sides of the bowl. It should be a smooth, round ball. Continue punching down for 8 to 10 minutes, or 5 minutes with a KitchenAid mixer with the dough hook.
Place the dough in a large bowl, cover it with a tea towel, and let it rise in a warm place for 1 hour, or until the dough doubles in size. (I use the "Proof" setting on my oven). If you don't have the proof setting on your oven, you can turn your oven on to 350 degrees for 1 minute, and then shut it off. It will stay warm and provide a nice temperature for the bread to rise. Plus, if you let it rise in the oven, you do not need to cover it with anything.
When the dough has doubled in size, divide the dough into 7 equal portions. Don't worry about "punching" it down. Forming it into loaves will do the same job. Otherwise, it might get too dense if you punch it down too much. You want it to be light and fluffy.
Form the dough into a "loaf shape" and place the loaves in greased bread pans. Don't worry if the loaves don't look perfect; they will smooth themselves out as they do the second rise.
Place the loaves into your oven to rise again (this way, you do not have to cover them). Let them rise for 1 hour, or until they double in size.
Once the loaves are doubled in size and are ready to bake, remove them from the oven. Turn the oven to 390 degrees (370 degrees if convection baking). When the oven temperature reaches 390 degrees, place the bread into the oven to bake.
Bake for 18 minutes, until golden brown on top.
Enjoy!

Notes

If you use instant yeast, you can skip the dissolving step.
To proof the yeast, use a 4-cup measuring cup or large bowl to allow for expansion.
Use a stand mixer with a dough hook to save time and get evenly kneaded dough.
Avoid over-kneading the dough, as this will cause it to become too dense.
Let the dough rise in a warm, draft-free area until doubled in size before forming it into loaves.
If you don't have the proof setting on your oven, you can turn it on to 350 degrees for 1 minute, and then shut it off. It will stay warm and provide a nice temperature for the bread to rise. Plus, if you let it rise in the oven, you do not need to cover it with a tea towel.
Make sure to preheat your oven before baking the bread so that it bakes evenly throughout.
Allow the loaves to cool completely before slicing to prevent them from crumbling or tearing apart when cut open.

Nutrition