• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

The Incredible Bulks logo

  • About
  • Discover a New Ingredient
  • Recipes

The Best Whole Wheat Bread

Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

Easy, fluffy, delicious–3 words to describe how amazing this whole wheat bread recipe is. When I say it is the best tasting whole wheat bread on this planet, I am not exaggerating. Plus it makes a large batch, which means it’s perfect for sharing or freezing.

A stack of slices of bread slices is shown with the words "The Best Whole Wheat Bread."  TheIncredibleBulks.com

Bulk Items used: Whole Wheat Flour, Vital Wheat Gluten

I once had this friend who made the most delicious bread in the whole wide world. Seriously, it was the best. I asked her sooo many times for the recipe. She always said she’d give it to me, but she’d always forget. Gosh, it was like she was a busy homeschooling mom of 5 or something. (p.s. she was).

In the meantime, I scoured the internet for a whole wheat bread recipe that was as good as hers. None of them even came close.

But, huzzah! One year our church collected recipes to create a community cookbook. When I got my copy, I crossed my fingers and went straight to the bread section. And what do you know? There was the coveted recipe!

A slice of whole wheat bread covered in Strawberry jam.  In the background is a stack of sliced bread.  TheIncredibleBulks.com

Why this is the Best Whole Wheat Bread

After reading through the ingredients, I noticed there were definitely some ingredients that weren’t in the other bread recipes I had been trying.

  • Evaporated milk: evaporated milk is made by removing more than half of the water from regular milk. This makes it a lot more creamy and thicker. It gives richness to this bread recipe.

  • Molasses: I had tried several recipes that added honey, but this was the first one that I tried that called for molasses. You probably know molasses as the shining star of gingerbread. This sweet and spicy syrup adds depth to the bread’s flavor.

  • Vital Wheat Gluten: I had never even heard of this ingredient before. I mean, I knew gluten was in bread, but I didn’t know you could add more of it in. Apparently you can and should. Adding this in results in a softer, fluffier whole wheat bread than any other recipe I’ve tried. Do you want to learn more about why vital wheat gluten is awesome in any bread recipe? Check out “What is Vital Wheat Gluten?”
A close up shot of sliced whole wheat bread.  TheIncredibleBulks.com

Recipe Tips

  1. The recipe suggests allowing the bread to raise in a warm oven. It’s great idea to make the bread rise quicker. However, make sure the warm oven is not too warm. If that happens, the outside of the bread will dry out and the loaves will not rise evenly. I warm up my oven by setting it to the lowest heat it will go, and only keeping it on for 10 mins. Alternatively, you could also just turn the oven light on for the whole time the loaves raise. That little light lets off sufficient heat.

  2. This recipe makes A LOT of bread. How many loves depends on the bread pan size. Usually when I make it, I do three 8×4 inch loaves, and three 5.75×3 inch loaves. The small loaves are fun to share with friends and neighbors. If you are just making large loaves, you could make 5 from this recipe.

  3. This recipe can be frozen, which is great because it makes so much. Freezing can be done after the loaves have been formed. Instead of letting them rise, you can pop them in the freezer for another day. You could either wrap each loaf up in plastic wrap and place them in freezer ziplock bags to prevent frost bite. I’ve also used disposable bread pans before. Put the dough in the pans then wrap the entire pan up. To unfreeze, simply take the dough out in the morning and let it rise throughout the day. The dough should be unfrozen and risen by dinner time. The dough should be loosely covered at this point to allow rising.
7 slices of whole wheat bread on a countertop.  TheIncredibleBulks.com

Can’t find Vital Wheat Gluten? Get it online!

As an Amazon Affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases with no cost to you. Thanks for supporting The Incredible Bulks.

The Best Whole Wheat Bread

Easy, soft and delicious. This whole wheat bread recipe is simply the best.
Prep Time: 45 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Calories: 82kcal
Print

Ingredients

  • 3 ½ cups hot water
  • 12 oz can evaporated milk
  • 3 tbsp yeast
  • ⅔ cup oil canola or vegetable recommended for their mild flavor
  • ⅓ cup molasses
  • ⅔ cup honey
  • ⅔ cup vital wheat gluten**
  • 1 cup white flour
  • 10-12 cups whole wheat flour
  • 1 ½ tbsp salt

Instructions

  • Combine water, milk, yeast, oil, molasses, honey, gluten, white flour and 6 cups of wheat flour in mixer. Mix for 1 min. Turn of mixer and let dough rest for 5 minutes.
  • Add in salt and remaining 4-6 cups of wheat flour, one cup at a time.* Once all the flour has been added, knead in mixer for 5 minutes. While the bread is kneading, preheat the oven to 15o°
  • On an oiled surface, knead bread and divide into loaves. **
  • Turn oven off and put loaves in the warm oven to rise for 20 minutes. (Rising can also happen in another warm location). After 20 minutes, remove loaves from the oven and heat to 325°
  • Bake small loaves for 18 minutes and large loaves for 25 minutes.
Please give this recipe a rating!Or leave me a comment to let me know what you think

Notes

*Add flour by the cup until dough is still soft, but pulling away from the side of the mixing bowl.  For me, this is 4 cups of wheat flour, but other readers have said they needed more to make this dough stiff enough to form loaves.
**At this step, the dough can be frozen for future use.  See blog post for further instructions. 
**Check out “What is Vital Wheat Gluten?” for more information about this ingredient.

Nutrition

Serving: 1slice | Calories: 82kcal | Carbohydrates: 11.7g | Protein: 2.6g | Fat: 3g | Saturated Fat: 0.4g | Cholesterol: 2mg | Sodium: 182mg | Potassium: 60mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 4.2g | Calcium: 20mg | Iron: 1mg
A close up of homemade jam on homemade bread.  A loaf of bread and jar of jam are seen in the background.
I cannot recommend this bread and homemade jam combo enough!
A slice of whole wheat bread with jam is shown with a stack of bread slices behind. The words, "The Best Whole Wheat Bread" are shown.  TheIncredibleBulks.com

Filed Under: Bread, Featured, Freezer Friendly, Recipes

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Marjie Mare says

    at

    These are really cute. I am going to attempt to make them, not sure if I will be successful as I never made bread before.

    Reply
    • Emily says

      at

      Good luck! Let me know how it turns out!

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




Primary Sidebar

Want to say Hi?

Reach out to TheIncredibleBulks@gmail.com

Healthy Ingredients, Everyday Meals

The purpose of The Incredible Bulks is to inspire people to use new and healthy ingredients in their everyday cooking. Our recipes may involve ingredients you haven’t tried, but they are easy and family friendly. Find out more about the blog here.

Recipes

The Latest

a bowl of vegetarian wheat berry chili. cheese is melted on top of the chili and there are corn chips sprinkled about.

Easy Instant Pot Vegetarian Chili with Wheat Berries

Grocery Shopping Tips for Zero Waste Living

3 bags of different spices with the words "How to Store Bulk Spices, Ideas for Free, Cheap or Store bought storage options.

How to Store Bulk Spices

4 tsps of garlic powder, granulated garlic, garlic salt and minced garlic on a table. 2 garlic bulbs and 3 garlic cloves are in the background

Garlic Powder vs Garlic Salt: When to use different forms of Garlic

Footer

Welcome!

Inspired by my love of trying new foods, The Incredible Bulks helps curious foodies discover easy and tasty ways to cook with new ingredients, or reinvent old favorites. Read More Here!

Check Out What’s New

a bowl of vegetarian wheat berry chili. cheese is melted on top of the chili and there are corn chips sprinkled about.
A small bowl of wheat berries on a white tea towel. A few grains have fallen out.
A small bowl of wheat berries next to a rice cooker.
My favorite way to eat zucchini is in oatmeal! Che My favorite way to eat zucchini is in oatmeal! Check out Zucchini Bread Oatmeal, new on the blog! 

Recipe link in profile, or here: 
https://www.theincrediblebulks.com/zucchini-bread-oatmeal/

#zucchini #breakfastofchampions #breakfastideas #zucchinibread #zucchinirecipes #feedfeed #yum #eatyourveggies #breakfasttime
This Thursday it will be exactly 6 months until Ch This Thursday it will be exactly 6 months until Christmas! 🎄❄️🎁 I can’t think of a better way to celebrate on a hot summer day than by making Gingerbread Ice Cream Sandwiches! 
Recipe in profile or at https://www.theincrediblebulks.com/gingerbread-ice-cream-sandwiches/

#6monthstillchristmas #cookies #icecreamsandwich #gingerbread #summertreats #summervibes #yum #dessert #treat #christmas #buzzfeedfood #feedfeed #thekitchn #huffposttaste #feedmegood
Tomorrow is the first day of summer, which means i Tomorrow is the first day of summer, which means it’s time to grill all the things! Greek Marinaded Chicken is my very favorite way to grill chicken. Serve it in a pita with lettuce, tomatoes, onions and feta cheese. Mmmm....it’s the best! 
Find the recipe by following the link in my profile. 
#grilling #marinade #summervibes #dinnerideas #greekfood #chicken #grillingseason #easyhealthymeals #yummyfood #hungry #eatinghealthy #theincrediblebulks
I made these Salted Chocolate Rice Krispie Treats I made these Salted Chocolate Rice Krispie Treats today to take to a friend. My family ended up eating the whole pan instead.

Good thing they are super easy to make! Maybe I’ll try again tomorrow. Check out the link in my bio. 
#easydessert #easygourmet #saltedchocolate #ricekrispietreats #ricekrispies #feedmegood #food52 #thefeedfeed #lovefood #eatmunchies #foodblogfeed #huffposttaste #yumyumyum
Baking bread is so hot right now. I put Vital Whea Baking bread is so hot right now. I put Vital Wheat Gluten to the test to see if adding it really made a difference. I think the pictures speak for themselves. 
To read more about this cooking adventure, check out https://www.theincrediblebulks.com/what-is-vital-wheat-gluten/ 
#breadmaking #wincobulkbaker #gluten #homemadebread #foodexperiment #foodscience #breadlover
We’ve been living the quarantine life for 9 week We’ve been living the quarantine life for 9 weeks now. Why not roll a sandwich in cereal and then dip it in strawberry sauce?  Check out the link in my bio to get this deliciously weird recipe. #theIncredibleBulks #yummyinmytummy #nomnom #instayum #buzzfeedfood #feedfeed #huffposttaste #droolclub #sandwichesofinstagram #lunchideas #strawberryjam #weirdbutgood
Follow me on Instagram

Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2021 The Incredible Bulks on the Brunch Pro Theme