Easy Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread (No Additives Needed)
Want soft fresh milled bread that stays soft for days but without the additives? Then this easy whole wheat sandwich bread (no additives needed) is for you! This bread is not only super soft, but it also doesn’t crumble like a lot of whole wheat bread. It’s soft, bends without breaking, and won’t crumble to pieces when you cut it. And BONUS, the taste is melt in your mouth satisfying!
What makes this easy whole wheat sandwich bread (no additives needed) so soft?
For one, this bread contains eggs which is a fat emulsifier. This just means that it helps the fats and liquids blend together which produces a softer loaf.
Now the real key for softness here is the yudane. I learned about Yudane from Dr. Melanie Carr. Yudane is a combination of flour and boiling hot water. The boiling water gelatinizes the starches in the flour and helps your loaf to better retain water, producing a soft loaf that stays soft for longer. For more information on yudane, check out Dr. Melanie Carr’s article here. For the purpose of this recipe, we will be using 1 part flour to 2 parts boiling water to make our yudane.
Want a soft loaf with lecithin and vital wheat gluten without the extra step of yudane? Click here!
Tools you’ll need to make easy whole wheat sandwich bread (no additives needed)
Mixer Use code LOVELYBELLBAKES20 for $20 off!
Grain mill Use code LOVELYBELLBAKES20 for $20 off!
Vitamin C (optional)
Sunflower lecithin (optional)
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Ingredients
Fresh milled hard red or hard white wheat flour
Water Alternatively, any milk of your choice can be used in place of water.
Salt Use a sea salt or Redmond’s Real Salt.
Instant yeast
Oil Use the fat of your choice. Olive oil, coconut oil, avocado oil, melted butter etc.
Honey Alternatively, you can use sugar or a sweetener of your choice.
Eggs This is for the version without lecithin and vital wheat gluten. Egg yolks contain a small amount of lecithin which aids in making the bread soft.
Yudane
Vitamin C This is optional. It helps to strengthen gluten structure allowing it to rise a bit higher, but does not affect the taste of the loaf.
Sunflower lecithin This is totally optional, but I want to include it for those that cannot have eggs. Lecithin is also a fat emulsifier like eggs. Using both lecithin and yudane will produce the softest loaf you’ve probably ever made! For more info on eggs and lecithin, click here.
How to make Easy Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread
Start by milling your grain. Boil water for yudane. While that’s milling, to your mixer bowl add room temperature water, egg, oil, honey, vitamin c (optional), and lecithin if using.
Make the yudane
Once your flour is down milling, take 30g of the flour and put it into a bowl. Pour 60g of boiling water over the flour and mix quickly with a spoon or rubber spatula until the flour is fully incorporated. You should be left with a thick paste. This is your yudane.
Mix
Add the yudane to the liquid ingredients. Mix in with a spoon or whisk. Now add in the rest of the fresh milled flour. Mix in your mixer until all of the flour is well incorporated. This usually takes about 2-5 minutes. Once the flour is fully incorporated, cover the dough with a lid or damp cloth and allow to rest for at least 20 minutes.
After the 20 minute rest, add the salt and the yeast to the mixer. Knead until your dough reaches windowpane. To test for windowpane, pinch a piece of dough between your fingers and spread it to see if it can stretch thin enough to see light through it. If so, you’ve reached windowpane. This can take anywhere from 8 to 20 minutes.
This is windowpane.
Rise
Place the dough into a lightly oiled bowl and allow it to rise until it has doubled in size. This can take 20-45 minutes depending on the temperature in your home.
After it has doubled, gently deflate your dough. Divide the dough into 2 equal portions. Shape each portion into a log and place into the loaf pans. Cover with plastic or a damp cloth. Allow to rise until the dough is about a half inch over the pan or doubled in size. I bake my loaves in USA Pullman pans.
These are my loaves when they are done rising and ready to be baked.
Bake
While your loaf is rising, preheat your oven to 350 degrees. When you loaf is done rising, bake for 35-40 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 190-200 degrees. Allow the loaves to cool completely before slicing. This usually takes about 2 hours. Enjoy!
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Easy Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread (No Additives Needed)
Ingredients
No lecithin or Vital Wheat Gluten
- 880 g Fresh milled hard white or hard red wheat flour 7 cups
- 500 g Water (Room Temperature) 2 cups + 2 Tablespoons
- 19 g Salt 3&3/4 Teaspoon
- 18 g Instant yeast 5 Teaspoon
- 62 g Oil (Olive oil, coconut oil, avocado oil etc) 4&1/2 Tablespoons
- 94 g Honey 1/4 cup
- 2 Eggs 100g
- 1/4 teaspoon Vitamin C powder optional
Yudane
- 30 g Flour (from the 880g that you milled) 1/4 cup
- 60 g Boiling water (It must be boiling!) 1/4 cup (not from the water above)
With Lecithin/No eggs
- 880 g Fresh milled hard white or hard red flour
- 598 g Water 2&1/2 cups
- 62 g Oil
- 94 g Honey
- 16 g Sunflower lecithin
- 18 g Instant yeast
- 19 g Salt
- 1/4 teaspoon Vitamin C powder optional
Yudane
- 30 g Flour (From the 880g of flour you just milled) 1/4 cup
- 60 g Boiling water (It must be boiling!) 1/4 cup (not from the water above)
Lean Dough
- 880 g Fresh milled hard wheat
- 616 g Water
- 18 g Honey or sugar
- 19 g Salt
- 18 g Instant yeast
- 1/4 teaspoon Vitamin C powder optional
Yudane
- 30 g Flour (From the 880g of flour you just milled)
- 60 g Boiling water (It must be boiling!)
Instructions
MILL
- Start by milling your grain. Boil water for yudane. While that’s milling, to your mixer bowl add room temperature water, egg, oil, honey, vitamin c (optional), and lecithin if using.
MAKE THE YUDANE
- Once your flour is down milling, take 30g of the flour and put it into a bowl. Pour 60g of boiling water over the flour and mix quickly with a spoon or rubber spatula until the flour is fully incorporated. You should be left with a thick paste. This is your yudane.
MIX
- Add the yudane to the liquid ingredients. Mix in with a spoon or whisk. Now add in the rest of the fresh milled flour. Mix in your mixer until all of the flour is well incorporated. This usually takes about 2-5 minutes. Once the flour is fully incorporated, cover the dough with a lid or damp cloth and allow to rest for at least 20 minutes.
- After the 20 minute rest, add the salt and the yeast to the mixer. Knead until your dough reaches windowpane. To test for windowpane, pinch a piece of dough between your fingers and spread it to see if it can stretch thin enough to see light through it. If so, you’ve reached windowpane. This can take anywhere from 8 to 20 minutes. See image below for what windowpane looks like.
RISE
- Place the dough into a lightly oiled bowl and allow it to rise until it has doubled in size. This can take 20-45 minutes depending on the temperature in your home.
- After it has doubled, gently deflate your dough. Divide the dough into 2 equal portions. Shape each portion into a log and place into the loaf pans. Cover with plastic or a damp cloth. Allow to rise until the dough is about a half inch over the pan or doubled in size. I bake my loaves in USA Pullman pans.
BAKE
- While your loaf is rising, preheat your oven to 350 degrees. When you loaf is done rising, bake for 35-40 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 190-200 degrees. Allow the loaves to cool completely before slicing. This usually takes about 2 hours. Enjoy!