Whole Wheat No Knead Bread

So here’s what happened. In my endless and wasted hours of research on making sourdough starter (yes, I’m still mad! 😖) I saw one comment saying that the starter might not work as well with organic whole wheat flour. So I bought a bag of regular whole wheat flour and it started going well for a few days and then failed, just like all my other sourdough fiascos. (…still mad…) But that comment made me wonder… would plain whole wheat flour work better in my no knead bread? I think it did.

My whole wheat Dutch oven bread was always delicious but never as tall and airy as the plain white bread flour version. I already had the non-organic whole wheat flour so I decided to try it. Look at the result! ⤴ It was almost double the height of my usual loaves. And look at that crackly, crispy, crust! Maybe it’s a flook, I thought… a mere coincidence. I finished the loaf and made another one with the non-organic flour. Same thing. Beautifully big and lofty. And shouldn’t your bread reflect your goals in life? Big and lofty? 👍

It’s my belief that non-organic whole wheat flour makes a better loaf of no knead bread and that’s why I’m sharing it here. I use a lot of organic products when possible, but if the lettuce is wilted and sad and looks like it’s trying to talk, saying “I know. I wouldn’t buy me either,” then I buy non-organic. It’s the same with this bread. I wouldn’t buy my old whole wheat bread at the bakery, so I am switching to non-organic flour. If my old loaf could talk, it would say, “I’ll miss you, Jenny, but I’m not here to judge. I know in my heart that relationships don’t always last. I wish you and that non-organic whole wheat whore the best.” 😲

It seems like everyone in the world is making no knead bread and it’s no wonder. I make it all the time myself. I have my favorites like multi-grain and 10-grain but today I made a whole wheat loaf and it’s just so good and so easy. I often use the overnight method because it’s ready for baking first thing in the morning.

Whole wheat Dutch oven bread doesn’t bake as tall as the white version but it’s still delicious and hearty, like the farm breads I grew up on. If you haven’t tried it yet, I urge everyone to try some of my high fiber no knead breads, like this no knead whole wheat loaf. Click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones

I found a better way to make my 100% whole wheat no knead bread. I’m using the same ingredients but I recently found that you don’t always need the resting period for no knead breads while the oven heats up so I tried it with this whole wheat version and it turned out great. And it saves time. I plan to experiment with all my other no knead breads and will report back on each one if they are just as good without the resting time.

I get the best result in my 3 1/2-quart Dutch oven so the bread can not spread too much. Keep in mind that this is a heavier, more dense loaf than the original white flour version but if you want an easy, healthy, high fiber bread recipe, this is it. The only difference between this recipe and the old one is that the old one had a 2-hour resting period before baking. So the total time for this recipe just went from 13 hours to 11 (but you’re sleeping most of this time anyway).

For my new and improved, faster 100% whole wheat no knead bread, click here for the recipe.

Make it overnight. I finally figured out the best way to make whole wheat no knead bread. Start the dough the night before using cold water instead of using the faster method with hot water. The faster method works well with regular bread made with bread flour or all-purpose flour but the faster method using 100% whole wheat flour makes a loaf that was too dense for a lot of people. I happen to love a dense, heavy bread, even those thin-sliced pumpernickel breads that they sell but I think most people will be more satisfied with the overnight method.

But know this: any bread that’s 100% whole wheat, no matter how it’s made, will never be as soft and light as a white bread version. But if you want a healthy, high fiber, nutritious bread, this one takes more time but there’s still nothing to do but wait. There’s no kneading and no shaping. Just start your dough the night before, let it stand at room temperature for 12 hours or more, then continue in the morning.

Here’s the truth about no knead 100% whole wheat bread. It won’t rise as much as the white version. I even took a picture of one I made this morning (started the dough last night) and used a tape measure. The middle of the loaf is no more than 2 1/2 to 3 inches tall but you can see the inside has lots of holes and it has a wonderful crust and soft interior. For anyone trying to avoid white flour, this is still the easiest and best 100% whole wheat bread you can make. You just need a little more time but it’s so worth it. Click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones