No Knead Whole Wheat Bread
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As the name states, there’s no kneading required for this loaf! My No Knead Whole Wheat Bread requires just 5 ingredients and gives you a healthy and delicious whole wheat crusty bread.
I’ve made this bread before with only white all-purpose flour, but one of the most common question I get from you guys is “Can I make this bread with whole wheat flour?”. The answer is simple, yes! I have made this with all whole wheat flour and also with half whole wheat and half all-purpose, which is what this recipe is.
Many times when you buy whole wheat bread, it’s usually always made with some all-purpose flour, not just whole wheat. This bread is healthy and delicious, as I always say, there’s nothing better than freshly made bread.
Why Make This No Knead Whole Wheat Bread
- No Kneading Required
- Fool-Proof Recipe
- Easy To Make For Beginners
- Requires only 5 Simple Ingredients
- Healthy and Delicious
You cannot make an easier bread than this. There’s no kneading required, you simply mix the ingredients with a wooden spoon in a big bowl, cover it with plastic wrap and leave it on your counter overnight. Bask in the glory of this easy no knead whole wheat bread recipe so let’s get baking!
Ingredient Notes
- Flour – We are using whole wheat flour and all-purpose flour. I like mixing the two, to get a fluffier bread, if you use only whole wheat you’ll still get a great bread, but just a bit denser.
- Salt – Use as much or as little as you’d like. Just don’t skip it, without it the bread won’t have any taste at all.
- Yeast – I used active dry yeast, you can use instant yeast if that’s what you have.
- Water – Make sure it’s at room temperature!
How To Make No Knead Whole Wheat Bread
- Mix Ingredients and Rest: In a big bowl combine whole wheat flour and all-purpose flour, salt and yeast. Pour the water into the bowl and using a spatula or a wooden spoon, mix it until it’s all incorporated. It will be sticky, so just mix until most of the flour is incorporated. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it sit on your counter for 12 to 18 hours.
- Preheat Oven and Pot: Preheat oven to 475°F. Add your Dutch Oven to the oven and heat it as well while you’re prepping the dough.
- Shape Dough: Flour your hands really well and and sprinkle plenty of flour over the dough in the bowl. With your floured hands gently remove the dough from the bowl, scraping at the sides first, adding more flour as needed (see video) and roughly shape it into a ball. Take the ball of dough and drop it directly into the pot or place it on a piece of parchment paper and grab the parchment paper with the dough and place it in the pot. Be careful not to burn yourself, the pot will be quite hot, so use oven mitts to handle it. Cover the pot with the lid and place it back in the oven.
- Bake: Bake the bread for 30 minutes covered with the lid on, after which remove the lid and bake for another 10 to 15 minutes until golden brown. and crusty.
- Cool: Remove from the oven, transfer to a cooling rack and let cool before slicing and serving.
FAQs & Expert Tips
FAQs
Frequently Asked Questions
Why Is My Bread Chewy?
Usually your bread will be chewy when there isn’t enough gluten formation or you’re using a low-protein flour. Make sure you let your bread dough rest for at least 12 hours to give it enough time for gluten formation. I have left the dough rest for up to 24 hours, so you should be ok, I recommend around 18 hours.
Why Is My Bread Dense?
Usually bread will be too dense when there is too much flour. Keep in mind this dough will be pretty sticky, do not add more flour than specified. Other factors that come into play are humidity and age of flour. Little yeast, long rise, sticky dough are keys to a good, light loaf.
I Don’t Have A Dutch Oven, What Can I Use Instead?
If you don’t have a Dutch Oven, a covered metal pot would work as well, just make sure it can stand up to 475°F heat. A 4 quart Calphalon soup pot with lid would work as well. If your pot doesn’t have a lid, you can cover the pot with heavy-duty aluminum foil, just make sure you seal the pot well.
Why Do I Have To Cover The Pot For The First 30 Minutes?
Covering the pot for the first 30 minutes, will create steam inside, which is what creates the crust on the bread.
How Do I Know When My Bread Is Done Baking?
Tap the bottom! Take the bread out of the Dutch oven, turn it upside down and give the bottom a firm thump with your thumb, or a knock -if it sounds hollow, it’s done. You can also use a thermometer to check the internal temperature of the bread, when it reaches between 190°F and 200°F, your bread is done.
Tips
- Once your yeast package or jar has been opened, you must refrigerate the yeast or freeze it in an airtight container.
- Always check the expiration date on your yeast and make sure it hasn’t expired. All your yeast products whether it’s in a jar or a package should be stamped with a “Best if Used by” date.
- Do not refrigerate the dough as it rises, yes it will be safe on your counter for 18 hours.
- If you want to add other ingredients such as seeds, herbs or cheese, add them in the beginning when combining all the ingredients.
- The slow rise at room temperature is what gives no knead bread its power. I’ve been asked many times if it needs to sit around for that long and the answer is simply, yes! The yeast needs time to perform its magic.
- To prevent your bread from sticking to the pot, make sure you pot is hot enough before adding the dough, or use parchment as mentioned in instructions. If the pot is very hot at the bottom, you bread will instantly begin to cook, letting it rise smoothly. Another option is to sprinkle some cornmeal on the bottom of the pot.
Storing
This bread can dry out a little easily so it is best to store it tightly wrapped in plastic wrap or in an airtight container to preserve it longer. You can store it like this for about 3 to 4 days right on the counter.
Freezing/Make Ahead
If you want to save your bread for longer, or make this loaf in advance: bake as instructed, let cool, wrap tightly or transfer to an airtight container and freeze for up to 3 months.
More Great Recipes To Try
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Ingredients
- 2 cups whole wheat flour
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoon salt
- ¾ teaspoon active dry yeast
- 2 cups water (room temperature)
Before You Begin! If you make this, please leave a review and rating letting us know how you liked this recipe! This helps our business thrive & continue providing free recipes.
Instructions
- Mix Ingredients and Rest: In a big bowl combine whole wheat flour and all-purpose flour, salt and yeast. Pour the water into the bowl and using a spatula or a wooden spoon, mix it until it's all incorporated. It will be sticky, so just mix until most of the flour is incorporated. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it sit on your counter for 12 to 18 hours.
- Preheat Oven and Pot: Preheat oven to 475°F. Add your Dutch Oven to the oven and heat it as well while you're prepping the dough.
- Shape Dough: Flour your hands really well and and sprinkle plenty of flour over the dough in the bowl. With your floured hands gently remove the dough from the bowl, scraping at the sides first, adding more flour as needed (see video) and roughly shape it into a ball. Take the ball of dough and drop it directly into the pot or place it on a piece of parchment paper and grab the parchment paper with the dough and place it in the pot. Be careful not to burn yourself, the pot will be quite hot, so use oven mitts to handle it. Cover the pot with the lid and place it back in the oven.
- Bake: Bake the bread for 30 minutes covered with the lid on, after which remove the lid and bake for another 10 to 15 minutes until golden brown. and crusty.
- Cool: Remove from the oven, transfer to a cooling rack and let cool before slicing and serving.
Equipment
Video
Notes
- I have made this bread with 4 cups of whole wheat flour as well. If using all whole wheat flour, you may need a bit more water, especially if you live in a dry environment.
- Always check the expiration date on your yeast and make sure it hasn’t expired. All your yeast products whether it’s in a jar or a package should be stamped with a “Best if Used by” date. Always make sure you check this date, even when you purchase the yeast, who knows it could have been on the shelf past its expiry date.
- To keep your yeast fresh and longer lasting, unopened yeast packages or jars should be stored in a cool or dry place such as your cupboard. However, you can also store your yeast in the fridge or freezer. If you do store it in the freezer and need to use yeast for your baking, make sure you take out the amount you need and let it sit at room temperature for at least half hour before using.
- Do not refrigerate the dough as it rises, yes it will be safe on your counter for 18 hours.
- If you want to add other ingredients such as seeds, herbs or cheese, add them in the beginning when combining all the ingredients.
- The slow rise at room temperature is what gives no knead bread its power. I’ve been asked many times if it needs to sit around for that long and the answer is simply, yes! The yeast needs time to perform its magic.
- To prevent your bread from sticking to the pot, make sure you pot is hot enough before adding the dough, or use parchment as mentioned in instructions. If the pot is very hot at the bottom, you bread will instantly begin to cook, letting it rise smoothly. Another option is to sprinkle some cornmeal on the bottom of the pot.
- To check if the bread is cooked through, tap the bottom! Take the bread out of the Dutch oven, turn it upside down and give the bottom a firm thump with your thumb, or a knock -if it sounds hollow, it’s done. You can also use a thermometer to check the internal temperature of the bread, when it reaches between 190°F and 200°F, your bread is done.
- This bread can dry out a little easily so it is best to store it tightly wrapped in plastic wrap or in an airtight container to preserve it longer. You can store it like this for about 3 to 4 days right on the counter.
- If you want to save your bread for longer, or make this loaf in advance: bake as instructed, let cool, wrap tightly or transfer to an airtight container and freeze for up to 3 months.
Nutrition Information
Notice: Nutrition is auto-calculated for your convenience. Where relevant, we recommend using your own nutrition calculations.
Made this with freshly milled hard red wheat that I picked up at a mill. Turned out great, I think the key was mixing it with the AP! Thanks!
Great bread! My husband said it was one of his favorites! Could I add honey to sweeten it a bit? How much and when?
You can, I’d do it in the beginning when you add everything and mix.
Just made it. My daughter does not eat wheat bread. She loved this one!!!! THANK YOU
I am trying to make it through a full week of sandwhiches using all homemade bread. Any tricks to doubling this recipe??? I love the no knead!!
No tricks really. You can check out this bread where I doubled the ingredients: https://www.jocooks.com/recipes/fast-and-easy-no-knead-bread/
This bread is outrageously delicious and so easy to make! Came out like the perfect country round. I used 75% whole wheat and 25% white; next time I may try with all whole wheat. I also used parchment paper, which I’ve never done before. So easy! I cannot say enough good things about this bread and I have made a number of different types (love Peter Reinhart’s Whole Grain Breads book). Yours is probably my hands-down favorite. Can’t wait to make it again! Thank you so much, Jo!
Cannot wait to see how my bread comes out! What a fabulous recipe. I am proofing the dough right now as I text … needs at least another 12 hours. I opted for 75% whole wheat (finely ground, high protein, organic), 25% white flour (organic “00” pizza flour that I had on hand). No kneading required? Wow. And the bread looks magnificent! Hope to even come close. Thank you, Jo!
Hi Jo- two questions- I have WW stone ground flour, will that work? And does it matter if I let my bread rise in a stainless steel bowl? I’m low on glass! Thank you!
Yes, you can use a stainless steel bowl. I think it should be fine, I know I’ve made this bread with just whole wheat flour before and it worked. Let me know how it turns out for you.
Made it exactly as written and my family said it’s restaurant quality! Now on to the flax/sunflower loaf. Thank you!
I deviated the first time I tried this recipe. I let the dough rise on the counter for four hours, then left it in the fridge overnight, then let it sit on the counter again for another three hours before shape and bake. Its shape left a bit to be desired since I added a little extra water, but it was SO GOOD! We ate half of it last night and I stayed awake late considering devouring the other half. This time I’m going to let it sit on the counter for the time recommended and see what the differences are. Thank you for sharing this recipe!!
This bread recipe is excellent. I have done it so many times now. I’m sure the first few times I made some mistakes, as I wasn’t used to the texture of the “no knead” dough. One question I have, is there a recommended time to wait for it to cool? It’s so hard to wait.
I agree with you, waiting is the hardest part. My mom always told me not to eat warm bread because I’ll get a stomach ache, however, I’ve looked into it a bit, and it’s just a myth. So have at it, eat it warm if you want. 🙂
Mine was like 2 in high. Is it supposed to be that short? After 30 min it was also very dark. Took the lid off and started cooking it per instructions but, had to take it out because it was smelling burnt. What did I do wrong???
It depends on how big your Dutch oven is, the bigger it is, chances are the bread will spread out and be a bit thinner. Did you use a Dutch oven? Also each oven is different, maybe yours is on the hotter side.
what is the temp of the room temp water?
Whatever the room temperature is at your house, it doesn’t really matter since there’s lots of time for the yeast to activate, but I’d say 70 to 80 F degrees.
I’ve been making this bread weekly for about a month and a half and it’s fantastic! Tonight I subbed in spelt for the whole wheat, we’ll see how it does. Thanks for having so many great recipes!
Thank you for sharing your recipes, Jo. This is the first, no-knead bread one I’ve found that uses whole wheat flour. (I accidentally picked up a bag of it instead of AP and decided not to exchange it.)
One difference I noticed is that in the written instructions, you didn’t mention the slits you cut into the dough after adding it to the Dutch oven in the video. Am I correct in saying they help with the release of steam, like venting the top crust of a pie?
Hi Sherry! The splits actually help control the bread expansion as it bakes. They are not mandatory, I’ve done it both ways with or without. I find that if you cut slits, the bread ends up looking prettier, versus it cracking/splitting wherever it wants during baking.
Can I use strong bread flour wholemeal and white ?
I’m not really familiar with this flour, but from what I see it’s similar to bread flour, if that’s the case, you should be able to use it.
I’ve made this so many times and my family loves it! Thanks so much.
What would your suggestion be for translating this for baking in a loaf pan? Is there a way to preserve the crispy crust at all in a loaf pan form?
You’ll have to cover it really well with aluminum for the first few minutes, then bake it uncovered. It should get crispy.