Whole Wheat Artisan Bread
Craft the perfect artisan loaf out of whole wheat flour! This whole wheat artisan bread has a crunchy crust and beautifully soft interior. It's the perfect loaf of bread for any meal of the day.
Servings: 10
Calories: 145kcal
Equipment
- 6-quart Dutch oven
Ingredients
- 3 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
- 2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 cup water warmed to about 110°F
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, yeast, and salt. Pour in the warm water and stir it all together with a wooden spoon. Once it comes together, loosely shape the dough into a ball right there in the bowl.
- Cover it and let it rest for an hour so the water has time to hydrate the dough.
- Now for the stretch and fold. Grab one side of the dough, gently pull it up, and then fold it over the top. Give the bowl a quarter turn and repeat the stretch and fold. Do this about four times around the dough. Come back and do the same stretch and fold every 30 minutes for a total of three rounds. Then, cover the dough again and let it rise until it’s doubled in size, about 3 hours.
- While the dough is finishing its rise, preheat your oven to 500°F and put your Dutch oven inside to heat up.
- When you’re ready to bake, shape the dough into a loaf and place it on a piece of parchment paper. Carefully lower the dough (with the parchment paper) into the hot Dutch oven. Use your oven mitts to cover with the lid and bake for 20 minutes.
- After 20 minutes, drop the oven temp to 475°F, take the lid off, and bake for another 15 minutes to finish.
- Once it’s done, carefully lift the bread out using the edges of the parchment paper and transfer it to a cooling rack. Let it cool completely before slicing.
Notes
- Keep in mind that this is a 100% whole wheat loaf of bread, so it won't have the same fluffiness you might be used to.
- It's a good idea to check the internal temperature of your bread to know when to take it out of the oven. Aim for 205-210°F.
- If your house is cold, your bread may not rise very well. I recommend putting the dough in the oven with the oven light turned on to create a warm environment for it to rise.
- I experimented with many different flours for this recipe, and I had the best luck with King Arthur whole wheat flour. I'm a huge fan of milling my own wheat berries, but for this recipe, store-bought gave the bread a better rise. You can use freshly milled flour if you want; just note that the final product may be different (though still very tasty).
- You can use this bread to make homemade Korean cream cheese garlic bread. It's a decadent recipe that would taste fantastic with whole wheat bread!