Best Kid Friendly Whole Wheat Bread Recipes

EASY 100% WHOLE WHEAT BREAD

Steps:

• Mix the warm water, honey, and yeast in a stand-mixer bowl until mixture becomes foamy, about 5 minutes.
• Add half the whole wheat flour, olive oil, and salt to the mixture. Mix with a spatula or wooden spoon until incorporated. Let sit for 1 to 2 minutes.
• Mix with a dough hook attachment on low speed, slowly adding the remaining whole wheat flour, increasing the speed to high. Mix on high until the batter is combined and not sticking to the sides of the bowl, about 7 minutes. Cover the bowl with a towel and let rest for 15 minutes.
• Meanwhile, prepare a 9x5-inch loaf pan with parchment paper. Flour a surface to work the dough.
• Place the dough onto the floured work surface and shape into a loaf. Use more flour if necessary. Place into the prepared loaf pan.
• Let shaped dough sit in a warm place until it has risen over the top of the pan, about 1 hour.
• Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Bake in the preheated oven until top of the loaf sounds hollow when tapped, about 35 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool for 15 to 20 minutes before removing from the pan and transferring to a wire rack. Let cool an additional hour before slicing; otherwise it will feel doughy.

PERFECT WHOLE WHEAT BREAD

Steps:

• Dissolve the yeast and sugar in the warm water. Let stand for 15 minutes until foamy.
• While the yeast is working, whisk together the melted butter, light brown sugar, egg, milk, and salt. Make sure everything is dissolved and thoroughly combined. With the dough hook attachment, turn the mixer on low, and add the whole wheat flour to the milk mixture one cup at a time.
• Now add the foamy yeast liquid to the dough, keeping the mixer on low speed until you get a well combined wet dough mixture (see the photo). This process will take a few minutes. Now it's time to add the all-purpose flour, ½ cup at a time, with the mixer still at low speed. Added on 4/12/2018: Change to adding 1 tablespoon at a time with the last 1/2 cup of all-purpose flour until the dough "lifts" away from the sides of the mixing bowl, because you might not need all 3 cups of all-purpose flour in the drier months.
• If the dough is still wet, add one tablespoon of flour at a time, until the dough "lifts" from the sides of the mixing bowl. Try not to add too much flour, though. The dough should be soft without sticking to your hands or the mixing bowl. Once the dough ball is formed, knead the dough for another 5 to 7 minutes. The additional kneading helps generate more gluten, and gluten is what gives the bread its signature texture!
• Cover the dough with a clean kitchen towel, and let it proof at room temperature for 1 hour, or until it doubles in size.
• While the dough is proofing, grease two loaf pans with butter, and set them aside. I usually just rub a cold stick of butter along the sides and bottoms of the pans.
• Once the dough is done with the first hour of proofing, punch it down, and put it back in the mixer. Mix the dough on low speed for 3 to 5 minutes to get rid of any air bubbles. Divide the dough in half. Shape each half into a loaf, and place into each of your greased loaf pans.
• Cover the loaves once again with your clean kitchen towel, and let them proof for another 30 minutes at room temperature, until almost doubled in size. (The dough will continue to rise during baking as well.)
• While the dough is proofing, place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 375°F. Before putting the loaves in the oven, quickly brush the tops with oil. Bake for 30-35 minutes. If the color of the bread gets too dark, tent the loaves with aluminum foil.
• After baking, carefully take the loaves out of the baking pan, and let them cool on a rack. If not, hot steam will moisten the crust, which you don't want! Once the bread is completely cooled, store them in zip-top bags.

KID FRIENDLY WHOLE WHEAT BREAD

Steps:

• 1. Dissolve yeast into warm water. (I like to put the warm water in a large 4 cup glass measuring cup.)
• 2. Combine butter, molasses, honey and salt. Mix well. Add yeast/water mixture.
• 3. Mix flour and vital wheat gluten. I just stir them together with a fork. Add flour/gluten mixture gradually. Turn onto floured surface and knead until smooth. Place in greased bowl and let rise until double. (If you don't have a warm oven go ahead and place it in a sunbeam on your counter.) You can cover this with plastic wrap sprayed with non-stick spray or non-stick foil.
• 4. Punch down. Let dough rest a few minutes. Shape into 4 loaves. Place in greased bread pans. Let rise about 2 hour. Bake at 375 for 35-40 minutes.
• 5. Gently remove loaves from pans and let cool on wire or wood racks. Butter tops or drizzle with honey and then butter tops.