I am strictly a weekend baker because after a busy day at work the last thing I want is to spend the whole evening in the kitchen. But this week I needed to bake some bread — fast, if I could help it– when I came across this ridiculously simple recipe in the Joy of Cooking that promised a quick and delicious bread. I was intrigued.
This is not one of those no-knead recipes but what saves you a good deal of time is the fact that you can mix all of the ingredients at one go– no need to proof the yeast first– and you don’t need hour-long rises. The bread does need two rises, but they are just about 30-45 minutes each. And in the end you are rewarded with a handsome loaf of bread that smells amazing, has a perfect crust– not too thick nor too chewy– and a soft, delicious crumb. I made the bread part whole wheat, although you could make this white if you had a mind to.
Here’s the recipe for Fast Whole Wheat Bread, just in time for you to bake up a storm over the weekend. If you’re a new baker, look through Holy Cow’s archives for a ton of tips on baking bread and particularly this post. I am always urging you on these pages to try baking your own bread because believe me it is one of the most rewarding experiences you will have as a cook, and yet there are so many among us who are absolutely petrified by it.
Enjoy, all!
- 1 cup whole-wheat flour
- 2 cups bread flour
- 2 1/4 tsp (1 package) active dry yeast
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 cup warm water (not hot-- you will kill the yeast)
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- Place 1 cup of the bread flour, the whole-wheat flour, yeast, sugar and salt in a large bowl or in the bowl of a stand mixer. Whisk to mix together.
- Add the water and the olive oil and mix. Add more of the bread flour if needed. How much flour you will need will depend on where you live and what the weather's like. I made this bread on a rainy day in Washington and I needed nearly the whole cup. If you live in a dryer region you might need less.
- Knead the dough for 10 minutes by hand or with your dough hook set to low speed. You should now have a smooth, pliable ball of dough that's not at all sticky.
- Place the dough ball in an oiled bowl, turning over once to coat the top with oil.
- Cover loosely with plastic wrap or a kitchen towel and set aside for 30-45 minutes or until the dough has doubled in size.
- Remove the risen dough from the bowl and punch it well to deflate all the gases. Using a rolling pin, roll out the dough into a triangle about 10 inches long. Now roll the dough toward yourself and make a cylinder, tucking down the seams and pinching them in so you have a smooth loaf.
- Place the dough in a standard loaf pan, seam side down (most loaf pans are 9 X 4 1/2 or 10 X 5 inches)
- Cover loosely with oiled plastic wrap and let the bread rise in a warm place about 30-45 minutes or until the loaf has risen and domed over the top of the pan.
- Preheat the oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Place the loaf in the oven and bake for 10 minutes. Then lower the heat to 350 degrees and bake another 30 minutes.
- Remove the loaf pan to a rack and let it stand until the bread is cool enough to handle. Remove the bread from the pan by loosening the sides with your fingers or a spatula. Place on a rack until it has cooled through.
- Slice. Eat.
(C) All recipes and photographs copyright of Holy Cow! Vegan Recipes.
What a marvellous looking loaf!
Wonderful creation !
Do I have to proof the yeast? Or add it directly to the flours?
Jacqueline, Sapana, Thanks!
Lakshmi, you add it directly to the flours. That’s what makes this a fast bread, among other things.
Love, love, love the breads you make!
It’s been ages since I baked and I have to try this fast method.
Have a great long weekend:)
with such quick to make perfectly crumbed whole breads,we won’t be taking a trip to the baker for a loaf everyday….beautiful recipe 🙂
Almost exactly the recipe I use! Generally I split the whole wheat flour and white flour evenly (1 and 1/2 cups each), plus add a tablespoon of vital wheat gluten. This works by hand, by mixer, or in the bread machine, and you just can’t mess it up, unless the water is too hot, as you say!
Just made 2 loaves of this bread today. They are almost gone. The second one I made I added cinnamon and raisins. They are both great! I’m so glad I found your site. I am looking forward to trying out more of your recipes! Thanks for sharing:)
Hi Kristi, so thrilled you made the bread, and liked it! Thanks for visiting Holy Cow! and for letting me know! 🙂
I am so glad I found this recipe–gave it to my 81 yr old mom, since she wanted one that does not need kneading.
I do, however, need help with the following:
I wanted a recipe with only whole wheat flour, so I did not use any other kind (I realize it is not as fluffy, but my rationale is if I have to use white flour, then I might as well just go and buy some bread at the store).
I substituted non fat milk for the water and brown sugar for the white.
As I was expecting, it came out a bit on the dry side, so I would like to add some applesauce.
How much of it should I add to the recipe?
Thank you,
Lucia
Hi Lucia, add no more than 1/2 cup of applesauce because more can really change the texture of the bread. All the best.
Very good bread! I’ve made it twice now. The 1 hour “total time” should be changed though. Both of my rises took 45 minutes and then 40 for baking, plus prep time. You’re really looking at 1.5 hours at the least. Also the second time I made it, I didn’t grease the pan. Bit of a mistake. I used a bit of coconut oil the first time and it came out of the pan easily. I bake in glass, perhaps that’s why it stuck, so I will continue to use a smidge of coconut oil on the pan.
Thanks for the great recipe! It’s definitely my go-to now when I need bread!!
Thank you so much for sharing this recipe! I have wanted to make our sandwich bread for ages but with no luck. Now I have successfully made 3 loaves with ease and we love it! No more preservatives and weird ingredients 🙂
Hi Amy, that’s awesome. Thanks for the feedback!
Hello.
I’ve not baked for years and would like to get back into the swing of things and this looks ideal
We in the UK have white bread flour and wholemeal bread flour. I’d like to use wholemeal if possible. What did you use? Any other tips are welcome.
Hi Helen, I am guessing the wholemeal flour is whole wheat flour? If yes, that would work perfectly. And white bread flour is fine too as a sub for the bread flour– it sounds like the same thing.
Second reply.
I’ve just realised I might have mis understood your advice.
I have got standard wholemeal flour which equals your wholwheat flour so that part (1 cup wholewheat) is no problem.
My problems is that I was wondering if your 2 cups ‘bread flour’ meant ‘white bread flour’ or ‘wholemeal (wholewheat) bread flour’. We get both types of bread flour here, labelled as white or wholemeal.
I have originally understood your advice as saying that ‘wholemeal bread flour’ is fine for the 2 cups ‘bread flour’ part.
I am now thinking that I might be wrong, and that you may be telling me that wholemeal bread flour is fine for the wholewheat (1cup) but that I should use white bread flour (2 cups) for the ‘bread flour’ part.
I have no problem with the 1 cup wholewheat part of the recipe. I have fine bag of plain wholemeal sitting here. But I haven’t bought any strong bread flour yet. I’ll await your response. I’m hoping that I can go 100% wholemeal as I’m not fond of the white stuff.
Sorry for being difficult!
Hi Helen, if you get whole bread flour, I think you will be fine, since I’m guessing it’ll be high in gluten. The reason we add some white flour (or vital wheat gluten) to wholegrain breads is because whole grains do not have enough gluten to help the bread rise.
Thank you so much. Yes, our wholemeal bread flour is certainly high in gluten and is described as such. It is suitable for nothing other than bread as far as I can gather. The packet describes it as unsuitable for cakes etc.
So I can go 100% wholegrain then which is great.
But I’m prepared for the possibility of needing to add more water due to the fibre content. But I’ll be cautious I promise. Just one tablespoon at a time!
I’m determined to get this to work and have a 100% wholemeal (sorry, wholewheat) result.
Many thanks
Helen. Xx
All I have is instant yeast… do I cut out one rise?
No, you need to let it rise twice. No need to activate the yeast first.
just made your sourdough bread oh my gosh it is delicious the only recipe i will now use thank you so very very much
Margaret, so glad you liked it! Thanks for letting me know.