Whole Wheat Bread with Wheat Germ and Rye
By America's Test KitchenPublished on August 22, 2007
Time
1¼ hours, plus 1 hour 20 minutes rising and 2 hours cooling
Yield
Makes 2 loaves or 16 rolls
Ingredients
Before You Begin
Because kneading this wet, sticky dough can cause damage to lower-horsepower mixers, it’s best to use a heavy-duty mixer such as a KitchenAid. For those with less powerful mixers, be especially sure to use the low rather than the medium speed during kneading, or proceed instead with the instructions for hand kneading that follow this recipe.
Instructions
- In bowl of standing mixer, mix water, yeast, honey, butter, and salt with rubber spatula. Mix in rye flour, wheat germ, and 1 cup each of whole wheat and white flours.
- Using dough hook attachment, mix in remaining flours on low speed (number 2 on a KitchenAid) until dough is smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes. Transfer dough to floured work surface. Knead just long enough to confirm dough is soft and smooth, about 30 seconds.
- Place dough in lightly greased bowl; cover with plastic wrap or damp kitchen towel. Let rise in warm draft-free area until dough has doubled in volume, about 1 hour.
- Heat oven to 375 degrees. Gently punch down dough, then follow one of the shaping instructions below. Cover shaped dough; let rise until almost doubled in volume, 20 to 30 minutes.
- For loaves, bake until instant-read thermometer inserted into loaf center reads 205 degrees, 35 to 45 minutes. For rolls, bake until golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes. Transfer bread immediately from baking pans to wire rack; cool to room temperature.
Time
1¼ hours, plus 1 hour 20 minutes rising and 2 hours coolingYield
Makes 2 loaves or 16 rollsIngredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Why This Recipe Works
Our whole wheat bread recipe produces a wheaty but not grainy loaf, chewy but not tough, full-flavored but not overpowering, by using the right amounts and kinds of flour as well as the right proportions of salt, yeast, and sweetener. But our real breakthrough when developing our whole wheat bread recipe came when we added wheat germ to our dough, which gave our bread a nutty flavor and a slightly more complex texture. Wheat germ, accompanied by a little rye flour, some honey, and some butter (as well as good proportions of the usual suspects—3 cups whole wheat flour, 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, and 1 1/2 tablespoons yeast), helped us to get our whole wheat bread recipe just right.
Before You Begin
Because kneading this wet, sticky dough can cause damage to lower-horsepower mixers, it’s best to use a heavy-duty mixer such as a KitchenAid. For those with less powerful mixers, be especially sure to use the low rather than the medium speed during kneading, or proceed instead with the instructions for hand kneading that follow this recipe.
Instructions
- In bowl of standing mixer, mix water, yeast, honey, butter, and salt with rubber spatula. Mix in rye flour, wheat germ, and 1 cup each of whole wheat and white flours.
- Using dough hook attachment, mix in remaining flours on low speed (number 2 on a KitchenAid) until dough is smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes. Transfer dough to floured work surface. Knead just long enough to confirm dough is soft and smooth, about 30 seconds.
- Place dough in lightly greased bowl; cover with plastic wrap or damp kitchen towel. Let rise in warm draft-free area until dough has doubled in volume, about 1 hour.
- Heat oven to 375 degrees. Gently punch down dough, then follow one of the shaping instructions below. Cover shaped dough; let rise until almost doubled in volume, 20 to 30 minutes.
- For loaves, bake until instant-read thermometer inserted into loaf center reads 205 degrees, 35 to 45 minutes. For rolls, bake until golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes. Transfer bread immediately from baking pans to wire rack; cool to room temperature.
Gift This Recipe
Enjoyed this dish? Let others know by sharing it as a gift recipe.
Appears In
More Like This
Keep Exploring
0 Comments