Basic Wholemeal Bread (Brown Sandwich Loaf)

A basic recipe made with a mixture of wholemeal (or brown) strong (bread) flour and white strong (bread) flour. This recipe makes two small loaves of bread that's great for slicing for sandwiches or toast.

BASIC WHOLEMEAL BREAD

This is a really simple recipe for a brown bread that you can make at home.

It makes two small loaves in 2 lb loaf tins, but you could also shape this into a bloomer shape or a domed boule whith a few slashes on the top.

This is the bread my son and I have been making for the last few weeks. 

The bread will keep a few days. I just keep it wrapped in a clean tea towel. After the first couple of days, we toast it, if there is any left.

HAVING TROUBLE FINDING FLOUR OR YEAST?

With all the over buying and everyone deciding to make bread at home all of a sudden, it can be tricky to find strong bread making flour or yeast. Here are a few places in may be worth trying.

LOCAL SUPERMARKET - If it's in stock, it will be sold in the baking aisle. If there is no yeast on thee shelf and they have a bakery, if you ask nicely one of the bakers may give you some fresh yeast.

LOCAL SHOPS - Don't forget your local shops, sometimes local shops are well stocked in items that supermarkets have run out of.

FARM SHOPS - Farm shops are still open to shop in and some are doing deliveries too.

BAKERIES - Check the website and Facebook page for the local baker shops you used to pop in for cakes or the bakeries themselves many are closed now to the public but are making deliveries including flour and yeast.

CAFES AND RESTAURANTS - Again check their Facebook page and website, many are delivering meals and ingredients.

WHOLESALERS - Many general or fruit and vegetable wholesalers are now doing deliveries and click and collect. It's worth trying them for ingredients too.

MILK MEN - Check your local milk deliveries, many are extending the range of what they deliver.
FLOUR MILLS - There are flour mills milling their own flour across the UK. Many are overwhelmed with orders but to keep a look out as things will start to level out.

also try - No Knead Black Olive Beer Bread

WHAT IS STRONG FLOUR?

Strong flour is the name for breadmaking flour.

It is made from hardy wheat varieties and has more gluten then standard flours, which helps to build the elasticity and structure in bread. 

You can buy white, brown and wholemeal strong flour.

CAN YOU USE 00 FLOUR TO MAKE BREAD?

00 flour is generally used to make pizza. It is more finely milled that other flours, a bit like cornflour (cornstarch).

Check the packet to see if if it suitable for breadmaking. 00 flour often doesn't have enough gluten for making a loaf, but could be used for pizza dough or flat breads.

CAN YOU USE PLAIN (ALL-PURPOSE) FLOUR TO MAKE BREAD?

You can use plain flour to make flatbread and scones, but it's not suitable for breadmaking as it doesn't have enough gluten in it to produce the structure that bread needs.

Plain flour is made with softer wheat grains and is more suitable for baking cakes than bread.

IS WHOLEMEAL BREAD SUITABLE FOR VEGANS?

Some wholemeal bread recipes aren't suitable for vegans as they contain butter to help give it a soft crumb.

This basic wholemeal bread is suitable for vegans as I use dairy-free spread in the recipe.

When buying wholemeal bread, don't assume it is suitable for vegans, do check the ingredients.

WHAT INGREDIENTS DO YOU NEED TO MAKE WHOLEMEAL BREAD?

1. Strong wholemeal (or brown) flour
2. Strong white flour
3. Yeast
4. Dairy free spread (or butter)
5. Yeast
6. Warm water
7. Sugar
8. Salt

WHY DO YOU ADD WHITE FLOUR TO A WHOLEMEAL LOAF?

Most brown bread or wholemeal bread recipes include strong white bread flour as well as strong wholemeal or brown flour.

The white flour added a lightness to the finished loaf. The more you add the more delicate the crumb will be.

You can make a loaf with just brown or wholemeal flour but it can be a bit heavy and dense.

WHAT EQUIPMENT DO YOU NEED TO MAKE WHOLEMEAL BREAD?

1. A measuring jug (for mixing the yeast)
2. A bowl (to weigh out and mix your ingredients)
3. Two loaf tins or a baking tray
4. An oven

WHY IS HOMEMADE BROWN BREAD SO GOOD?

• It's homemade
• It tastes great
• It has a great crispy crust, not like the soft crust in shop-bought bread
• It's healthy, no nasty additives
• It's versatile, it can be served in chunks with soup or sliced for sandwiches or toast

BREAD MAKING TIPS

1. Only use warm water to activate the yeast, if you use water that is too hot you can kill the yeast.
2. Mix the wet yeast mix and any oil or vegan butter into the flour with a spoon or spatula as much as possible until it is well combined.
3. Only lightly flour your surface, as too much extra flour will dry out the mixture. A wet dough always makes a better bread.
4. Knead until the dough is elastic and silky. when you press it with your finger, the dough should spring back.
5. Scrape as much of the scraps of dough left in the mixing bowl, so it is fairly clean before adding the dough back in to rise. Rub with a little oil to prevent sticking, then add the dough and cover with cling film.
6. You can use clingfilm to cover the bowl while the dough is rising, but you can also use a clean shower cap, if you would prefer to re-use rather than using fresh cling film each time.
7. Leave it to rise in a warm place if you can.
8. Knocking the dough back (pressing your fist into it) between rises is important, It lets the air out and means you have a better and smoother dough for baking.
9. To clean all the flour of your hands, rub them with some flour. It will take most of the dough off and save you from clogging up your pipes and drains with dough.
10. For the second rise (after knocking back the dough), pop the dough into loaf tins or on a baking tray, cover with a clean tea towel.

HOW TO KNEAD DOUGH

Kneading dough may seen like a mystery you you, but it really is just handling the dough and moving it about to help build the gluten.

You will be amazed in the change of texture in the dough after kneading for a few minutes. It will start of sticky and become stretchy and smooth.

I like to use the heel of my hands to push the dough away from me diagonally, then roll it back on itself. 

So my right hand pushes left diagonally and rolls the dough back on itself and my left hand pushes it diagonally to the right and folds it back on itself. 

You will get into your own rhythm when kneading, but you are just stretching and rolling it to help the gluten.

Have a look at this kneading video from the BBC for an idea of how to knead.

HOW LONG WILL HOMEMADE WHOLEMEAL BREAD KEEP?

Homemade bread is best served fresh.

These loaves are good served fresh the first two days and then on day three or four, it is better served as toast.

I keep it wrapped in a clean tea towel, but you could keep it wrapped in greaseproof paper or baking paper. If you have a paper bag, that would be good too.

HOW TO SERVE WHOLEMEAL BREAD

Homemade wholemeal bread slices really well. You can actually cut it really thinly.

It is great as sandwiches with lots of filling, spread with dairy-free spread and jam (all homemade bread tastes great with a bit of jam), toasted for breakfast or served with soup.

Use it to make a classic British cheese and celery sandwich.

HOMEMADE BREAD TOPPINGS

Savoury Toppings

• Apple & Red Onion Chutney
• Easy Spicy Black Bean Pate
• Easy Garlic & Herb Vegan Cheese (by the Minimalist Baker)
• Hot Mango Chutney
• Homemade Vegan Butter  (by Loving it Vegan)
• Savoury Cheese Log (veggie or vegan)
• Scottish Mushroom & Chestnut Pate
• Spiced Moroccan Pate

Sweet Toppings

• Mango & Orange Peel Jam
• Rhubarb & Orange Jam
• Scottish Raspberry Jam
• Strawberry & Peach Jam
• Summer Fruit Jam (using frozen fruit)

MORE BREAD RECIPES TO TRY

• Basic White Loaf
• Chapatis
• Four Tortillas
• Light Rye Bloomer Bread
• Scottish Tattie Scones
• Sundried Tomato Bread - Breadmaker recipe

HOW TO MAKE A BASIC WHOLEMEAL BREAD

Making a homemade wholemeal bread is easy. Scroll down for a printable recipe.

STEP ONE - PREPARE THE DOUGH

• Butter your loaf tins with dairy-free spread or flour your baking tray.
• Mix the yeast with warm water and a little sugar, then leave for a few minutes to activate. It will become frothy and bubbly. That's the yeast working.
• Measure the flour and salt into a large mixing bowl.
• Rub the dairy-free spread in with your finger tips, a bit like when you are making a fruit crumble topping.
• Pour in the activated yeast and stir with a spoon until it comes together, then bring it together into a bowl with your hands.

STEP 2 - KNEADING THE DOUGH

• Move the dough to a clean worktop, with a fine dusting of flour and knead for 10 minutes until smooth and elastic. Don't worry, it will be sticky at first. Keep working at it and it will become smooth and elastic.

STEP 3: FIRST RISE

• Clean any bits of dough from your mixing bowl, rub the bowl with a little oil.
• Add your ball of dough and cover the bowl with clingfilm. Leave somewhere warm to rise for an hour.

STEP 4: SECOND RISE & BAKE

• Knock back the dough (push your fist into it), then cut in half and shape into two loaf shapes and pop into your loaf tins or shape into one domed boule or bloomer shape on your baking tray, cover with a clean tea towel and leave to rise for another hour.
• Flour the top of your loaves or boule (and cut slashes in the top if you are making a boule or bloomer) and bake until the crust is brown and when the bottom is tapped it sounds hollow.
• Ease out of the tin or off the tray and leave on a baking rack to cool before slicing.
• Enjoy!

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Basic Wholemeal Bread

Yield: 10-12 small slices

Author: Jacqueline Meldrum

Prep time: 2 H & 15 MCook time: 30 MTotal time: 2 H & 45 M

A basic recipe made with a mixture of wholemeal (or brown) strong (bread) flour and white strong (bread) flour. This recipe makes two small loaves of bread that's great for slicing for sandwiches or toast.

Ingredients:

• 450g strong wholemeal (or brown) flour
• 250g strong white flour
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 packet/7g/0.25 oz easy bake (quick/instant) yeast
• 25g/2 tbsp dairy-free spread (or butter)
• 450ml/16 fl oz/1.9 cups warm water

Instructions:

How to cook Basic Wholemeal Bread

1. Pour warm water from the tap into a jug (see amount), along with the sugar and yeast and set aside for 5 minutes.
2. Grease 2 x 2 lb/900g loaf tins.
3. Add the flour and salt to a large mixing bowl and mix to combine.
4. Pour in the frothy yeast mixture and mix with a spoon until well combined, then bring together with your hands.
5. Lightly flour your clean worktop and knead the dough until if becomes elastic and smooth. Don't worry, it will be sticky at first and feel like it will never come together but it will if you keep working on it.
6. Once it is smooth and elastic and springs back from a touch form into a ball.
7. Clean out the mixing bowl. There is no need to wash it, just scape out any remaining dough, then rub it with a little oil, add your ball of dough and cover the bowl with clingfilm. Leave in a warm place to rise for 1 hour.
8. The dough should be a lot bigger now. Knock it back by pushing your fist into it to let out the air, then move it to a lightly floured surface and cut in half.
9. Mold each half into a oblong shape, pushing the sides under to stretch the dough so you have a smooth, taut surface and pop one in each loaf tin. Cover them both with a clean tea towel for the second rise for another hour or until they are both higher than the edge of the tin.
10. Before the end of the second rise, preheat the oven to 200c/180c fan/400f/gas mark 6 .
11. Dust the loaves with flour and if you are baking a bloomer or boule on a baking tray cut a few slashes in the top. Don't do this for the loaf tin dough, just dust with flour.
12. Bake for 30-35 minutes until quite brown on top and when tipped out of the tin, the bottom should sound hollow when tapped.
13. Remove from tins and leave to cool on a baking rack.
14. Enjoy!

Notes:

Only use warm water to activate the yeast, if you use water that is too hot you can kill the yeast.
Only lightly flour your surface before kneading, as too much extra flour will dry out the mixture. A wet dough always makes a better bread.
If you don't want to use more clingfilm each time you bake you can use a clean shower cap to cover the bowl.
This bread will keep for 2-3 days in a bread bin or wrapped in a clean tea towel or greaseproof paper.
It is great to eat fresh the first 2 days, then makes good toast on day 3.
A serrated bread knife will make cutting much easier.
This loaf can be frozen. Why not slice it first, so you can take out just as many slices as you need?

Calories
206.61

Fat (grams)
1.19

Sat. Fat (grams)
0.20

Carbs (grams)
43.48

Fiber (grams)
4.73

Net carbs
38.75

Sugar (grams)
0.56

Protein (grams)
7.35

Sodium (milligrams)
390.55

Cholesterol (grams)
0.00

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