Easy Whole Wheat Bread

Today Brigette is sharing her basic bread recipe and I am so excited to try it. I have never tried coconut oil because it is expensive and I was unsure if it was worth the price. Having a tried and true recipe takes the risk out of buying an expensive ingredient of me. Only needing one tablespoon per loaf also stretches this long shelf life, healthy ingredient. I don't know about you, but my homemade whole wheat bread never looks this beautiful!

Guest post by Brigette Shevy

There’s nothing like homemade bread fresh from the oven! While I love baking and trying new recipes, this is my standard go-to recipe that I make several times a week. It is healthy, super easy, and can be thrown together in less than 5 minutes if you use a bread machine.

I use all whole wheat flour (I grind my own using hard white spring wheat), but you can use any combination of bread flour/whole wheat flour. In fact, you can even substitute other flours for some of the wheat flour (I’ve used up to a cup of various other flours: brown rice, oat, etc. with great results). It’s almost impossible to mess up this recipe! We use this for dinner bread, sandwich bread, and even for rolls and hamburger buns. If you’ve never made bread before, this is a fabulous recipe to start with.

Recipe Makes 1 loaf or 10-12 rolls

Bread Machine Instructions

1 c plus 1 T warm water

1 T coconut oil*

1 T other oil (olive, canola, etc.)

2 T honey

1 tsp salt

3 c white whole wheat flour (or any combo of bread flour/whole wheat flour)

1 scant T instant active dry yeast

Put ingredients in bread machine in order listed (I have a Zojirushi model), or in the order recommended by your bread machine model. Run the short dough cycle.** Proceed with baking instructions listed below.

Traditional By-Hand Instructions

3 c white whole wheat flour (or any combo of bread flour/whole wheat flour), divided

1 scant T instant active dry yeast

1 tsp salt

1 c plus 1 T very warm water

1 T coconut oil*

1 T other oil (olive, canola, etc.)

2 T honey

In a large bowl, stir together 1 ½ cups of flour, yeast and salt. In another bowl mix water, oils, and honey until coconut oil is melted. Add wet ingredients to dry and beat with a hand mixer for 1-2 minutes. Gradually stir in additional flour by hand until the dough forms a ball. Turn onto a floured surface and knead for 5-10 minutes, adding additional flour as necessary. Let rise in a greased bowl until double (approx. 45-60 minutes).

Baking Instructions for Either Method 
When dough is finished, shape and place in a greased loaf pan (8 ½ x 4 ½ inch size), OR shape into rolls or buns and place on a greased cookie sheet. Let rise in a warm place for 30-40 minutes. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes for bread (cover bread with foil after 15 minutes to prevent overbrowning) or 11-13 minutes for rolls. Cool on a wire rack and store in sealed bags.

 Additional Notes

*While another oil can be substituted for the coconut oil, I highly recommend that you don’t! I have made this recipe hundreds of times over the years, and the coconut oil absolutely does make a difference (especially if you are using all whole wheat flour). It makes the bread soft and light. I used to use various dough conditioners (wheat gluten, citric acid, etc), but found I didn’t need them anymore once I started using the coconut oil. Don’t use more than 1 tablespoon of coconut oil, however, or the bread will end up having a faint smell of coconut. 

**You can select the wheat bread setting instead and let it bake in the bread machine; however, I have found that the bread baked in the oven turns out softer and lighter.
  
Want to learn more about coconut oil? Check out this article on Coconut Oil Basics.
   
Some of the above links are affiliate links. If you have never ordered from Tropical Traditions and order through my link, you will receive a free book on virgin coconut oil and I will receive a discount coupon for referring you.

   

About the author

Brigette is a full-time wife and mother who is blessed with three amazing bundles of energy (ages 5, 3 and 1). She enjoys music, experimenting in the kitchen, homeschooling her children, finding great deals, long-distance running, and anything chocolate.