I am excited to annouce that I have finally had some great success with making homemade whole wheat bread while including the benefits of soaking the flour (why soak? read here). It worked for a while but then in the last few months it has been sinking terribly and rather dense (cold weather may have been contributing to this as well). I have been doing further experimenting and believe I have finally solved the problems (but don’t take my word on that!). I am absolutely thrilled! It was so light and delicious! My husband, who is really not a bread fan as I am, said it tasted very good (which is a first!). Check out my updated bread recipe here. This recipe includes both methods – soaking and not soaking as you prefer. It also includes options for dairy intolerant folks that still want the benefits of soaking!
A few helpful keys I have learned lately:
1. Less yeast is better to avoid over rising (thus I revised the recipe so!).
2. Dough enhancer is a excellent conditioner to make a more moist dough. (I love this dough enhancer sold by Urban Homemaker)
3.Your choice of bread pans is really important! According to Urban Homemaker, “Wider pans are often a source of “fallen” loaves as the heavier whole wheat dough cannot support itself over a wider surface area.” Your traditional store bought loaf pans or glass pans run wide. I have two of the pans recommended by Urban Homemaker here and they work great! They are approximately 10” long by 3” wide, but I believe the 8” size might be a better option.
UPDATED: Some may be concerned with the materials that these pans are made of. Is tinware safe? I inquired of Urban Homemaker as to the safety of these pans, and this was the response I received:
“The pans are tinware. They do have a very light non-stick coating on them, but they are not like teflon that peels. They should only be used for bread, greased with each use, and wiped out with a paper towel after each use. Tinware is NOT aluminum.
I have had mine for years and years and been very satisfied (about 15 years). I like the dark exterior finish which cuts the baking time, and I like the shape. I know that non-stick coatings have received a lot of bad press, but I think it is more applicable to when used as a skillet and there is stirring going on. Since the pan really just is like a mold, I don’t have the same concerns, but I don’t have any scientific research on this.” – Marilyn Moll
4. Rising in the oven is very beneficial to avoid contact with cold air – but don’t let it rise too high – just above the edges of the pan is important!
For a yummy homemade whole grain bread recipe, check it out here.
I just realized though that I'd have to let two loaves worth of dough “sit” for around 2 hours before I could put them into those pans again… would this be okay?
We just got some of the Norpo bread pans but in the 8″ size. Would there need to be any adjustments or anything when making your bread recipe, since you said you use 10″ pans? Do you think your recipe would maybe make 5 loaves with smaller pans? Also, I'm wondering if you need to let the pans completely cool before using them again, since I have 2 and would need to use them twice for the one recipe. Thanks so very much!
I don’t think it would make 5 loaves, because that size is not significantly smaller, although I would not recommend making two and then allowing the remaining dough to sit out. It will over rise and will definitely not produce desirable results. I would rather recommend you just half the recipe.
I have a question about soaking quinoa. Is it necessary to soak quinoa as it is not technically a grain? Quinoa is actually a seed but has the characteristics of a grain and is used most often as a grain. Just curious! I like to make muffins with cooked quinoa and plan on making some this weekend and wanted to know if I should soak! On another note, my muffin recipe does not call for water- it calls for milk. How do you alter a recipe like this to soak the whole grain flour? Sorry about all the questions! Take care!
Even though it is not a glutenous grain, it is still recommended to soak it (just as you would with brown rice, etc). I understand that is best to first rinse your quinoa for a full 1 minute in a strainer to remove the bitter coating. Soaking is still necessary to release the nutrients to enable your body to digest it fully. You can easily replace the milk with kefir, cultured buttermilk, or whatever acid medium you choose to soak it in, just as you would if it were water. The milk based products (kefir, yogurt, etc) would most likely give you the best result.
I made your recipe last night and it was great. I did make one change, I grind my own grains, so I didn’t use the unbleached flour the next day. I just used more ground flour. My ony issue with this is that the “additional flour” on day 2 isn’t soaked. Have you altered your recipe so that you can use all home grained flour? I hate to go out and buy flour when I have buckets of different types at home. Thanks.
PS – I took one portion of the dough and made cinnamon rolls and my family gobbled them all up!!!! Those were a hit!!! Light and flakey. Very good.
I normally do not need any additional flour after soaking. I quantities and revisions I have made seem to be just right..but in some cases, depending upon your combinations (whether or not you add the millet, flax, etc), some might need to add a bit of additional flour after soaking. In that case, adding just a tad of unbleached white flour is totally fine (as white flour does not have the phytate problem).
Your recipe calls for 3 cups of unbleached flour the next day (after soaking). Are you saying that you don’t add anything the next day?
Another question, when I add the millet, do I run it thru my wheat grinder and then add, or do I add it unground? I have never cooked with millet before and I just picked up some at the store. Small little pellets, but do I grind them or add them as pellets?
My recipe actually only calls for 1 cup of additional flour, but it is usually unnecessary to add it. Only if the dough is still very sticky, but if it is cleaning the sides of the bowl just fine, than you should be good. I just made it this week and did not have to add any flour. I soaked the 10 cups whole wheat & 1 cup unbleached white flour, totally 11 cups (you can do it all whole wheat if desired), 1/4 cup flax, 1/4 cup millet and 2 cups oats and it worked perfectly. As to the millet, you can add it either way, as desired. I leave it whole as it adds a bit of crunch to the bread, which is delicious. If you grind it, it may require reducing the total quantity of flour.
I tied making soaked bread Friday and it was a horrible sad failure. I admit, I used my bread machine, but still I followed your instructions and I thought it would work out.
The bread looked great. It tastes great. Until I got to the second slice. The middle of the loaf (the entire length) was undercooked. I gagged. My husband ate his and said it tasted fine. I took the piece away from the baby. We tried toasting it, but it didn’t work. I thought I would forget about soaking, but I guess I will give it another shot. Maybe if I try and make a smaller loaf, and bake it slightly longer it will work better. Or I could just pull out the dough and bake it in the oven. Any solutions?
I would definitely try mixing it in your bread machine and actually rising and baking it in the oven. Your bread machine apparently just did not bake it long enough.
If you are interested in reducing additives, instead of dough enhancer you can use a pinch or two of ascorbic acid (vitamin c). It gives similar results with less additives. You should be able to get ascorbic acid powder from your local health-food store.
UPDATED: Sorry – just checked the link your provided for dough enhancer and I see that it is all natural ingredients. The ascorbic acid trick is handy if you have to restrict certain things due to dietary intolerance and allergy.
I was wondering about the bread pans as well. I thought we should only use stainless steel, cast iron or stoneware. These say “tinware”?
I was confused over this for awhile until recently when I discovered that tinware is definitely not the same as aluminum or non-stick bakeware/cookware, which should be avoided. Tin and aluminum are entirely different elements. Tin is a naturally occurring element of the earth (on the basic periodic table) and actually supports the adrenal glands–low tin is a common nutritional cause of low adrenals. Other symptoms associated with significantly below-normal levels of tin include depression and fatigue, low energy, certain types of headaches, insomnia, digestion problems, and various aches and pains.
You also may find this article helpful with further information on this.
Hope that helps!
Very interesting! Thanks for the thorough reply!
I just made Sue Gregg’s bread recipe soaked with acv. It turned out really good. I’m curious, though, why I should allow 3 risings. Her recipe rises 2x in the bowl, then once in the breadpan. I did this, and it did fine, but wasn’t any different than if I had only let it rise twice. Just wondering if you, or anyone else, knew the reason for an extra rising. Thanks!
Also, the addition of oats, flax, and millet in your recipe sounds really good. These would all be easy for me to add, as I don’t have a grainmill. Will have to try soon!
Oh, and I have those same bread pans, in the 8 inch. I love them- they work really well!
I need to replace my bread pans–they had a non-stick coating that is flaking off and I really don’t want us ingesting that! I was wondering if you’ve noticed the coating on the pans you linked to ever flaking or giving any sign that it could do that? I’d really like nice metal pans, but am unsure where to start! Thanks!
These bread pans have served me very well and have never flaked in any way. I bought them originally at Bob’s Red Mill, a natural health food store, so I assume they are completely safe and excellent quality. I had some cheap other pans that rusted really fast, but these have never had that problem.
I was just curious what your thoughts were as to breadmakers, or bread machines?
I did not have much luck with a bread machine. I used one for awhile but the whole wheat options were limited. I just didn’t have much success with them. I switched to using a bosch mixer and love it! I also love how I can make a large batch and freeze it rather than being limited to only one loaf at a time.
I’m fairly new to all of this, but I’ve been using my bread machine on the dough cycle to do all the hand work when making pita pockets. I have used the machine completely to make whole wheat bread, but when I used the ww setting, it did NOT turn out well (think hard brick), but the next time I used the regular setting and chose to take it out about 40 minutes before the cycle was finished (it seemed like it was cooking too fast) and it was great!
Does any one have agood recipe for bread without yeast?? One of the girls at church is looking and she has not been able to find one.
You can try the no yeast spelt bread, which works well. IT will produce a more dense final product, but it has no yeast. You can also try sourdough – check out Kimi’s recipe here.
I normally make my bread dough, and split it up and freeze most of it. My husband loves fresh baked bread, and this way he can have it almost any time he wants it. My question is, would soaking affect the ability to freeze the dough? I currently do not soak my grains, but would be interested in trying it out.
I freeze the baked bread all the time, but have never attempted to just freeze the dough. I cut each loaf in half and freeze in a Ziploc bag and we have fresh bread for a few weeks. Works great!
I enjoy your website and look forward to trying your bread recipe. I am new to soaking.
I have always used vital wheat gluten, but would prefer to use the dough enhancer as gluten sensitivity is such a problem these days.
I looked at the package on Urban Homemaker, but want to compare prices. Can you tell me how many Tbsp. come in a package?
According to the package container, the serving size is 2 Tbsp and servings per container is 37. So depending upon how much you use per batch of bread, this could last any where from 18-37 batches (at 4 loaves per batch)…a good long time!
Thanks for the update. I’ve been using your recipe and having the same issues, sunken or too dense. Using my bread machine it turned out pretty well, still a little dense, but I prefer handmaking. Perhaps it is loaf pan size and a little less yeast. For something that’s been around for thousands of years you’d think we would have it perfected. Bread is so finicky
You may consider that making by hand usually leads to adding too much flour, because you are trying to prevent it from sticking to your fingers as you knead, so you add more flour. I have found that using less flour is key to a more moist dough, and thus using a mixer makes this more successful. It will still be somewhat sticky, but these measurements in my updated recipe are just about right. Less is more when it comes to flour and yeast!
To prevent the stickiness and keep a moist dough, I lightly oil or butter my hands and the counter before dumping the dough out of my mixer – instead of using flour. Works!
Thanks Lindsay. We did a soaked buttermilk bread recipe for a while, but we have someone allergic to milk in our house and it wasn’t 100% whole grain. I’m excited to try this recipe. God bless!
Your bread looks great! I would like to try this.
I’m so excited you’ve posted this! I have been at my wit’s end lately with whole wheat bread, and was ready to throw in the proverbial towel when it occurred to me that I should just pray about it! So I did and within the week two blogs that I regularly read have posted about successful bread-making. It was such a tiny prayer, but I so want to feed my family healthy homemade bread that it was important to me, and God provided an answer.
Thank you so much! It is always a pleasure and a blessing to read your post every day.
When you let the dough rise in the oven do you just put it on the lowest temp to get it warm? I’ve been having trouble with my dough rising properly and I am wondering if that might fix the problem.
You want to basically warm the oven prior to putting the loaves in. Once it is warm, turn the oven off and put the loaves in to rise. This works for me!
Thanks! I will try that.
Wow! It looks delicious! Your other bread recipe is our absolute favorite. I even make extra loaves for my parents every month. I can’t imagine another recipe coming close to being as yummy!
But I’ll give it a try!! 
stacey
I tried the Sue Gregg soaked bread recently with 100% kamut and thought it turned out pretty well. It’s not a sandwich bread, but is great with bread and butter, cheese, peanut butter, etc.
Thanks for posting your version!
I have tried the Sue Gregg soaked bread recipe as well and found it lacked flavor…it was pretty bland. I enjoy my recipe as it has a ton of flavor with all the added ingredients and the increased honey helps as well!
I just tried your recipe for bread last week. It was my first attempt at soaking as well as using my new Nutrimill! The bread turned out so yummy! I used yogurt for soaking and it seemed to work great. I tried this recipe since it already had the soaking step built in; no trying to redo my regular recipe. I’ll definitely be making this one again. Thanks for all you do to make this site so informative and helpful!