Whole-wheat bread is an excellent alternative to classic white bread: it’s rich in fiber and vitamins - plus, it’s lower in calories, making it ideal if you’re on a diet! And when it comes to flavor, whole-wheat bread has a more rustic and inviting taste than regular white bread.
Our recipe for homemade whole-wheat bread
Our recipe for whole-wheat bread with mother yeast made by stylist Beatrice Prada will guarantee a soft and easy-to-digest result. Ready to get started?
Ingredients
1 lb whole-wheat flour
12 oz water
2 oz mother yeast
½ oz salt
How to make it
Pour the flour into a large bowl. Add the yeast and water, then start kneading. Add the salt and continue to knead for at least ten more minutes, until the dough is combined, but still sticky.
Turn the dough out onto a cleaned and floured work surface. With lightly floured hands, form a ball from the dough. Dust the bottom of a bowl with flour and lay the dough inside (with floured hands). Cover it with a cloth and let it rise for at least 8 hours in a warm and dry place - ideally at a temperature of at least 75°F (24°C).
After the leavening time, turn the dough out (which must be doubled in volume by now) onto the floured work surface once more. Roll it out very gently with floured fingertips and fold it in three sections three times. Then form another ball and place it in the bowl, covered with a cloth, to rise for another hour. Repeat these steps two more times.
At the end of the last step for leavening the dough, preheat the oven to 465°F (240°C). Place the dough onto a baking sheet lined with baking parchment or simply sprinkled with flour, giving it the desired shape. Cut a cross on the surface using a razor blade and bake for 20-25 minutes at 465°F (240°C). Then lower the temperature to 430°F (220°C) to bake for at least another 25 minutes. The baking process may vary depending on the oven. To make sure the bread is baked, turn it over using a cloth and "knock" on the bottom: If it sounds "empty," the bread is ready.
