Soaked Whole Wheat Bread
I love this recipe – it’s so simple, especially since it works best in a breadmaker! 🙂
I know, I know, if the power ever goes out, I’m stuck, but until then, we’ve had some fantastic loaves come out of this recipe, so I’m going to share it.
the night before:
Combine 3 cups whole wheat flour with 1 cup warm water + 2 tablespoons whey or apple cider vinegar.
Knead til smooth. Place in bowl, cover tightly.
(I set my bread machine on the dough cycle and let it run til the rising session, then unplug and leave overnight)
the next morning/day:
add 2 tablespoons melted butter (or olive oil, or melted coconut oil)
1-2 tablespoons sweetener (I’ve used honey and rapadura with equal success)
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons yeast
Mix thoroughly, and knead til smooth. Let rise in an oiled bowl til doubled. Punch down, shape into a loaf, place in pan and let rise til doubled.
Bake at 350º for about 30 minutes.
(I use the whole wheat setting on my bread machine, and just pull it out after the first rising and bake in the oven.)
It also makes fantastic rolls!
🙂
Hope you enjoy!
Cracking an Egg with One Hand 
This recipe looks interesting! And super easy if you use the breadmaker – I know I can’t live without mine! 🙂
Does the bread taste any different? And does it still rise high? All the soaked bread recipes I’ve tried/seen are really flat, and I like my bread to look “normal”! 🙂
The bread does come out with a slight “tang”. My husband says it reminds him of a mild sourdough. And it rises really well – I haven’t had a problem with flat loaves as long as I’ve used a smaller loaf pan. (I’ll have to check the exact dimensions.)
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You’re inspiring me to try new things this week. 🙂 Do you use hard or soft whole wheat in your recipes?
It’s a hard winter wheat. I usually grind my own, but I’ve been mixing half store-bought into my grind just for texture (I have an older mill). 🙂
And by all means, try it! 🙂 See if you like it.
Thank you. I’m totally new to soaking grains and many of the recipes I’ve found use a large amount of unsoaked flour to make the final dough. That just seemed wrong to me (not that I really know much but if soaking is so important….) I’ll definitely give this a try this week.
Hi Marcella –
I’m glad you liked it! I too had seen those recipes, with either extra whole wheat flour, or even white flour added… I much prefer this one. 🙂 Let me know how it turns out!
This is the second recipe I’ve made of yours. LOVE it. It was a big hit at last night’s dinner of roast elk, salad with homemade ranch and this delicious bread and I felt SO GOOD about feeding it to my family. Thank you thank you.
The first recipe was your soaked buttermilk biscuits, also a big hit. We ate them as the base for honey sweetened strawberries and real whipped cream and froze the rest to have with dinner another night.
I’m so glad your family enjoyed this recipe, Kris! I love the fresh bread, and I thought I would never figure out how to make a loaf that was “good for us” too!
Great idea on the biscuits for dessert, too! I usually add a little sugar (or honey) to my biscuit dough and roll it out flat for shortbread. Mmm… 🙂
I am trying this recipe today, but didn’t notice until now that there is no heated liquids when you add the yeast. I don’t have a bread machine, how should I activate the yeast?
Hi Rachel –
You can use the oil/butter and the sweetener to proof the yeast. I have found this works best when I use melted butter (not too hot, obviously) and honey. I just mix the yeast in and let it proof that way. My breadmaker is no longer in service here, so I’ve done it this way for the last few months and haven’t had a problem with it.
Hope that helps!
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