Healthy Homemade Whole Wheat Bread

WHOLESOME, HEALTHY, SIMPLE & DELICIOUS

Put the goodness back into your bread by controlling the ingredients and enjoying a nutrient-rich breakfast, snack or sandwich. This recipe is easy to make and highly adaptable – I added honey (or maple syrup to make it vegan) and oats to give is an extra, zesty kick of flavour.

This whole wheat bread recipe is ridiculously simple. Just a few basic ingredients and no kneading required!

Considering the fact that bread is a staple of a western diet, or many cultures for that matter, it’s shocking to see the number of additives in your standard store-bought loaf. From excessive sugar, to stabilisers and artificial flavourants, there’s nothing wholesome about highly refined white bread. Even store-bought whole wheat bread often contains white flour and greatly reduced nutrients. Take control, add back the goodness and make the bread in your very own kitchen. Besides the health benefits, other advantages to this recipe include:

• Only 5 ingredients are needed (for the base recipe)
• Cheap and easy to find ingredients
• No kneading is required. Seriously quick and simple!

THE WHOLEWHEAT ADVANTAGE

Whole wheat or nutty wheat flour, used in this recipe, contains the bran and germ of the plant, as opposed to only the starchy endosperm (carbohydrate) used in white bread. These nutrient-rich components contain all the vitamins, minerals and fiber, keeping you feeling fuller (and nourished) for longer.

GET READY TO MAKE

To make things super simple, instant yeast is used instead of traditional yeast. Rounding out the dry ingredients, salt is used, not only for flavour, but to tighten the gluten in bread to help add volume.

I chose to add honey and oats, both in the dough and on the surface of the bread. Other additives could include, sunflower, chia and sesame seeds. Sweeten things up by mixing in dates and nuts or perhaps create a savoury version with chilli, garlic and basil.

The wet ingredients (honey or maple syrup dissolved in warm water) are added to the flour, yeast and salt. Mix this in a bowl until it forms a rough dough. Unlike white bread, which is proportionally high in gluten, the dough does not require excessive kneading. In fact, it requires no kneading at all! This is generally the most labour-intensive part of making bread, so this recipe is a much welcomed and highly pleasurable experience. It really couldn’t be any simpler (which means that there’s no excuse not to make it)!

WHAT’S YOUR FLAVOUR?

Once the base ingredients are mixed, you can add your optional ingredients such as seeds, nuts, fruit, spices and herbs. I especially like the idea of adding chopped dates and almonds for a festive flair, or perhaps chilli, garlic and basil to create a meal on the go. Place the mixture in a lightly greased bread tin, cover and leave it to rise for at least 20 minutes (at this stage you can preheat the oven).

When you return, you’ll notice that the dough has roughly doubled in volume – the power of instant yeast is real. If you’ve chosen to flavour your bread, now is a good time to top it off with additional ingredients. I added a layer of honey and oats for an extra pop of flavour, to accentuate the crust and to make the bread easily identifiable. So people know instantly that they’re eating honey and oat whole wheat bread – just the sight of it makes me salivate!

GET READY TO BAKE

Pop your bread into the oven and allow it to bake for 35 – 45 minutes (depending on the size of your bread tin). The honey on the surface of my bread caramelised nicely but keep an eye on it to ensure it doesn’t burn. Soon you’ll smell that comforting aroma of wholesome baked goodness…

Once cooked, take the bread out of the oven and allow it to cool. Losen the edges of the tin if need be and the bread should come out easily, ready to cool fully on a baking rack. My biggest mistake was cutting into it before it had completely settled (I clearly couldn’t contain my excitement… or hunger), resulting in slightly crumbly slices.

This is a very dense and wholesome bread, which can be enjoyed fresh with butter, olive oil or your favourite spreads. Turn it into a delicious and healthy vegan sandwich, recipes for which you can find here. If kept longer than a day or two, pop it into the toaster for an extra burst of crisp freshness. See the complete recipe below, get zesty and enjoy…

Healthy Homemade Whole Wheat Bread Recipe

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The Zest Kitchen

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Basics

homemade wholewheat bread

Servings: 16

Ingredients

• 4 cups (520g) whole wheat or nutty wheat flour
• 2 cups (480g) warm water
• 1 packet (11g) instant yeast
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2-4 tsp maple syrup or honey
• 
  
• Optional
• 1/2 cup sunflower seeds
• 1/2 cup oats
• 2 tsp maple syrup or honey

Instructions

1. Add the flour, yeast and salt to a mixing bowl and combine the ingredients.
2. Dissolve the maple syrup or honey in the warm water and add to the drip ingredients.
3. Mix until you have a sticky dough - no kneading required.
4. Optional: Add the sunflower seeds and most of the oats to the dough. Combine well.
5. Transfer the dough to a lightly greased bread tin.
6. Cover with a dish towel and allow the dough to rise for approximately 20 minutes. At this stage, you can preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius (or 390 Fahrenheit).
7. Optional: Sprinkle the remaining oats and honey over the surface of the bread.
8. Once the dough has risen, you can place it into the oven and allow it to bake for 40-50 minutes (depending on the size of the bread tin).
9. Allow the bread to cool on a baking rack before slicing into it.
10. Best enjoyed fresh, but it can also be toasted a day or two after baking. Enjoy!

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