WHOLE WHEAT, NO KNEAD, EASY BREAD RECIPE

Here’s an easy bread to make. Simple and delicious, this can be made in any kitchen with no special tools.

My Bread Journey

A few years back I finished an Associates in Baking and Pastry degree at Pikes Peak Community College where I learned to bake bread. About that same time, a dear friend of mine was starting a farmer’s market in our small city. Our city is a perfect mixture of small town feel with a heavily touristed city center. There is always something fun to do in Manitou Springs. If you visit, check out Pikes Peak (a 14,000 foot auto road and Cog Railway) or take the kids to the old fashioned penny arcade in the center of town.

Cottage Industry

I started a cottage industry baking business in my kitchen. A cottage industry allows artisan bakers and other small producers to make products at home and sell direct to the consumer. It is a great way to start a small business with low overhead. If you are interested in Cottage Industry laws in your state, just search “cottage industry and <insert state name>” and you could be on your way to starting your very own small business!

When I baked for the Farmer’s Market, I sold out. My limitation was my capacity to produce. My customers’ favorite, hands down, was this easy to make bread. So, don’t be intimidated – try it, using step by step instructions below.

Easy and healthy bread for beginners that your kids (and you) will love!

Back to the recipe, it produces a hearty, earthy brown bread with a dense crumb but not heavy or sweet (as some whole wheat breads are with added sugar or honey). This recipe has four simple ingredients so it’s usually a winner for finicky eaters: flour, water, salt and yeast. One customer reported back her excitement when her 9 year old son exclaimed, “I love this bread!” Until then, he had refused to eat anything other than mass-produced supermarket white bread, which is not healthy or delicious. Last weekend, a friend’s 11 year old son similarly claimed “you are the best cook” after trying my simple, wholesome bread. Win, Win.

RECOMMENDED INGREDIENTS:

How about getting your kids involved and make this a homeschooling project! Kids will love the messy nature of making dough, the floury hands, the stickiness, the science experiment of adding yeast and seeing the carbon dioxide bubbles form. This is a very tactile experience for the kids and they get the proud moment of eating their bread after it comes out of the oven.

Back to School and Work

COVID has really changed our schedules in 2020. However, many kids are back in school and others are returning to their workplaces. Good news! Parents (or anybody who is out of the house during the day), you can make this bread around your busy schedule! Here’s an example timeline I recommend:

• 6:00 a.m. – Mix the water and flour; then allow to sit for 30 minutes while I get ready for the day, work out, drink coffee, watch the news, you get the idea.
• 6:30 – Add the salt, yeast, and cut in per instructions; allow to sit for 10 more minutes, finish my coffee.
• 6:40 – First Fold – Get kids up
• 7:10 – Second Fold – Get kids dressed, teeth brushed, etc.
• 7:40 – Third Fold – Prep lunches, school bags, etc.
• 8:10 – Last Fold and everybody out the door!
• 3:00 p.m. – As long as my kitchen is not too hot (no more than 65F), this bread should be okay to sit out on the counter until 2:00 – 3:00 p.m. when you return to get the kids from the school bus or if you work later, put the bread in to the refrigerator at 8:10 a.m. after your last fold. Prep it when you return at 5 p.m, 6 p.m., or your normal return time. Just remember, regardless of the timeline you use, your bread dough should be doubled before you shape it.
• Alternatively, you could make this up the night before until the last fold (change the times above from a.m. to p.m.), put it in the refrigerator overnight, shape and bake it in the morning.

A few Notes on this Recipe

This recipe can be easily doubled to make two good size loaves, one to eat and one to gift. I form my bread in a banneton. If you do not have a banneton, use a colander or bowl lined with a generously floured kitchen towel. I bake my bread in a Dutch oven. No Dutch oven? You can bake the bread on a sheet pan. Do not preheat the sheet pan as you would a Dutch oven. Find other recommended equipment and cookbooks on this page.

RECOMMENDED EQUIPMENT:

FINAL THOUGHTS.

The simple ingredients and the no-knead nature of this easy bread makes it perfect for beginners. Try your hand at homemade, healthy, easy bread to make. Moms and Dads – make this as a back to school treat for the kiddos lunch. Report back if your kids exclaim “I love this bread!” Please take a moment to post a photo on Instagram, Facebook, or Pinterest and tag @christinasbreadbakes. Share the fruits of your labor by gifting a loaf of warm bread to your neighbors, coworkers, friends, or family. Happy Baking!

No Knead, Easy, Whole Wheat Rustic Bread

Christina

This is an easy, 4 ingredient (flour, water, salt, yeast), whole wheat, rustic bread that requires no kneading so it's relatively hands off. The dough can be prepared in the morning and baked in the afternoon ready in time for dinner!

5 from 4 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 45 minutes mins

Cook Time 45 minutes mins

Resting Time 8 hours hrs

Course Side Dish

Cuisine American

Servings 24 slices

Calories 74 kcal

Equipment

• 4 Liter food container (or bowl)
• Cover for container (or plastic wrap)
• Digital Metric Scale
• Banneton (or other proofing dish)
• Dutch Oven

Ingredients

  

• 200 grams Whole Wheat Flour
• 300 grams White Bread Flour 14% protein
• 400 grams Warm Water 90-100 F degrees
• 11 grams Sea Salt
• 1.2 grams Instant Yeast generous 1/4 teaspoon

Instructions

 

Scaling

• Measure all ingredients using a digital metric scale.

Mixing

• Mix together whole wheat and white flour until mixed thoroughly.
  
• Add warm water (90-100 F degrees).
  
• Mix together until no dry flour remains and you have a rough dough.
  
• Cover dough and set aside for 30 minutes to allow the flour to autolyze (absorb the moisture).
• After 30 minutes, uncover the dough and sprinkle the top evenly with the sea salt and the yeast.
  
• Pull outside edge of dough and fold over center, do this 4-6 times until yeast and salt are enclosed.
• Using two fingers (like you are making the "OK" symbol) cut through the dough 3 times.
  
• Pull outside edge of dough up, it will not stretch much at this point, and fold over center again, 4-6 times.
• Repeat the last two steps two more times until the salt and yeast are evenly distributed.
• Turn the dough over so the last folds you made are tucked under a loose ball. This dough will need to be folded four times over the next 1.5-2 hours.
  
• Cover the dough and allow to rest for 10 minutes.
• Uncover the dough and perform another fold by pulling the outside edge of the dough upwards, being careful not to tear the dough and folding over the center, 4-6 times.

  Hint: Every time you fold this dough it will gain elasticity, strength and rise. Pull the dough up and over to achieve maximum stretch without tearing it, this builds the structure to hold the developing carbon dioxide gas.
  
• Turn the dough over so the last folds you made are tucked under a loose ball.
• Wait 30 minutes and perform the last two steps again. You will do this two more times for a total of four folds.

  Hint: These folds can be done every 30 minutes or longer, however, leave dough alone the last hour of the Bulk Fermentation stage before moving on to the Punching/Folding and Dividing stages (see below).

Bulk Fermentation (first rise)

• After four folds, allow dough to rest until doubled in size, 4-6 hours depending on the temperature where the dough rests. If you are on your way to work and will not return for 8 hours or more, consider retarding the dough in the refrigerator to slow the rise. Hint: You will Using a clear container allows you to easily see when the dough has risen to double its original size. Mark the outside of the container with a marker or elastic at the desired point.
  

Punching/Folding

• When dough has doubled in size it will be lofty with good structure, bubbles on top and inside. Flour a work surface and gently dump dough out. This will achieve "punching" the dough down, or expelling some of the carbon dioxide gas that developed during Bulk Fermentation stage.
  

Dividing

• Hint: No need to divide this dough any further as this recipe makes one round loaf. If you want two mini rounds, you could divide the dough in half here by flouring a line down the center of the dough and gently pushing a bench scraper or knife through to divide the dough in two. Continue with next step.
• Next, pull outside edges of dough up (no need to stretch here) and fold over center, 4-6 times.

Pre-shaping or Rounding

• Flip dough over so folds are tucked under a loose ball.
  

Bench Proofing or Resting

• Cover the loose ball with a kitchen towel or plastic wrap and allow to rest for 5-10 minutes.
  
• Prepare the banneton (if using) with 1-2 Tablespoons of flour. Set aside.

  Hint: If you do not have a banneton (which are costly and not required), simply use a colander or other bowl lined with a very generously floured, clean, linen kitchen towel.

Makeup and Panning

• Uncover the dough ball. Cup hands around the rear of the round shape and drag the dough towards you on the work surface.  Turn the dough a quarter of a turn. Gently pick the dough up and place it further away from you again. Repeat four times or as many times as it takes to create a tightly rounded dough ball. Hint: You will need a little friction to drag the dough ball to tighten it into a round. If there is no friction, clear the work surface of the majority of flour and try again.
  
• Once you have a tight dough ball, flour the top of the dough ball. Pick it up by gently by sliding cupped hands under either side of the ball.
• Gently lay the ball into the banneton. Cover the banneton with plastic wrap, a plastic bag, or a linen towel.
  

Proofing (second rise)

• Set the banneton in a warm place to proof. Allow the dough ball to rise until it has relaxed and doubled in size. This may take 45 minutes to 1 hour, depending on the room temperature.

Baking

• Approximately 45 minutes prior to the second rise being complete, place your Dutch oven onto the middle rack of your oven. Set oven temp to 475 F degrees. Set timer for 45 minutes.
• When timer buzzes, check if your dough has doubled and is ready to be baked. 

  Hint: To check if your dough has risen enough, you can perform the poke test. Poke the dough with a floured finger. If the indent springs back quickly, it is not yet ready to be baked. Allow it to continue to rise. If the indent springs back slowly, it is ready to be baked. If the indent does not spring back at all, it is over-proofed.
  
• Pull preheated Dutch oven from the oven and place on a heat resistant surface. Caution!  It will be very hot.  Remove and set the lid aside. 

  Hint: Leave your oven mitt over the lid so you do not accidentally grab it with bear hands when picking up the lid again. Yes! This is experience talking. 😉
• Uncover the dough. Reach your fingers under the formed dough to gently loosen its grip on the Banneton or dish towel.  Slightly tip the banneton sideways allowing the dough ball to gently flip upside down into the preheated pan (resulting in the previously folded side facing up).  Cover the pan with the lid and return to the oven.

  Hint: You are able to place the dough directly into the oven without cutting a fancy pattern onto the top of the loaf. The steam will find it's way out and produce a lovely crown. However, if you want to unleash your inner artist, you can create a pattern by slicing the top of the loaf with a sharp knife or lame after flipping it into the hot Dutch oven giving the steam an escape hatch. Be careful not to cut too deep as you will lose some of the carbon dioxide structure.
• Bake at 475 F degrees for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, remove the lid from the Dutch oven. Bake at 475 degrees for an additional 10-15 minutes.

  Hint: The darker the outside caramelization is on the crust, the more flavor your bread will have. I personally like to bake it to a very rich dark brown.

Cooling

• Remove the Dutch oven and set on a heat proof surface.
  
• Immediately remove the bread from the Dutch oven after baking has finished. Set bread on a cooling rack to allow air flow around the bread. Listen to the symphony of crackling as the crust begins to cool. Allow to cool at least 15 minutes, preferably 30 minutes, before slicing.

  Hint: I know it's hard to wait for that yummy first piece! However, the crumb needs time to cool so it does not get crushed when you try to cut the bread.
  

Storing

• If you do not use this bread immediately, it can be stored in the open air for 8 hours, or even overnight, as long as it is not cut.
• Once the bread has been cut, allow it to cool completely. Store cut side down on a cutting board for up to one day.
• After that time, slice the remaining bread, place slices in an airtight bag, and freeze the slices. Warm each slice in a toaster before eating.

Notes

Variations to this recipe:

1. Variation One: Add 50g of rolled oats and reduce whole wheat flour to 150g.
2. Variation Two: Add 50g of rye flour and reduce whole wheat to 150g.
3. Variation Three: Increase whole wheat flour to 250g and reduce white flour to 250g.  

Bottom line:  This is an easy beginner recipe!  Play with the flour combinations to come up with your own signature recipe.  Have fun baking!

Keyword artisan, easy bread, instant yeast, no knead, whole wheat, whole wheat bread