How To Store Homemade Bread
Its very important to let homemade bread cool completely to room temperature before storing to prevent trapping steam and creating condensation. Homemade bread doesnt contain preservatives like store-bought bread, so youll need to either consume the bread quickly or freeze it for longer storage.
If storing your bread at room temperature, wrap the bread in cloth or paper to allow just enough airflow to prevent moisture build-up. Homemade bread will last about 2-3 days stored at room temperature.
If storing in the refrigerator, keep the bread in an air-tight container. This is my preferred method because I dont usually eat bread that quickly. Bread stored in the refrigerator will stay good for about 5-6 days.
If you need to store your bread for longer, freeze it. I suggest slicing the bread prior to freezing so you can thaw or use 1-2 slices at a time as needed without thawing the entire loaf. I often toast my slices straight from the freezer for convenience! Make sure to freeze the bread in an air-tight, heavy-duty, freezer-safe container .
Can I Freeze This Brown Bread
Yes you can freeze this whole wheat bread.Simply wrap the bread in plastic or aluminum foil to protect it from freezer burn and keep frozen for up to one month.
Take it out whenever you need and just put it in a toaster or just spray with some water and place in the 350F preheated oven for 10 minutes, and youll get fresh bread ready to eat.
How To Make No
Heres a step-by-step guide to making homemade no-knead bread.
Start by combining the flour, instant yeast and salt in a large mixing bowl. Stir in the water until a thick dough forms, making sure all the flour is incorporated.
Cover the bowl with a reusable bowl cover or plastic wrap and let it rise for 12 hours or overnight at room temperature. The dough will look a bit weird, but this it normal!
The next morning, your dough should be significantly bigger and should have bubbles. It will be very humid, but thats okay. With floured hands, scoop out the dough and form a ball.
With this recipe, you have the option to bake the bread into a round loaf or a sandwich loaf, both using the same ingredients. The two methods will result in a delicious loaf with a crispy exterior and a soft interior.Dutch oven round loaf: Here, you bake the bread in an enameled Dutch oven. The Dutch oven is placed in the oven while it preheats, the bread is then cooked for 30 minutes covered and 15 minutes uncovered.Sandwich loaf: Theres no need to preheat the loaf pan. The bread is simply transferred to the pan and baked for 35 minutes, uncovered.
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Whats In Honey Wheat Bread
This recipe starts with the basic yeast bread ingredients: flour, salt, and yeast. Then I added a little honey to give the bread just a hint of sweetness and a little olive oil which helps keep the bread nice and soft. Ive used a combination of whole wheat and all-purpose flour for this bread to keep the texture light and fluffy.
Whole Grain Vs Whole Wheat Bread

Whole wheat bread is simply a type of whole grain bread. Other types of whole grain bread include barley, oats or brown rice.
Whole grain bread is considered a healthier alternative to white bread as its ingredients are less processed. For example, whole wheat bread keeps all three parts of the wheat kernel intact while white bread filters the bran and germ out. Here are 22 more healthy bread recipes.
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How To Freeze/store Homemade Bread
Homemade bread can be stored at room temperature for up to 3 days, wrapped airtight. If it is very warm in your kitchen, I recommend keeping the bread in your refrigerator.
This bread also freezes well. To freeze, cool completely and then slice. Freeze in an airtight container, such as a zip-top bag, for up to 3 months. The slices may stick together slightly when frozen, but you can use a bread knife to gently and easily separate them. Or, you can place a small piece of parchment paper between each slice.
How To Help Your Dough Rise Faster
If your kitchen tends to be a bit cooler, particularly in the fall and winter, it will slow down the rise. To help your dough rise faster, heres a few warmer suggestions:
- Oven: Heat your oven to its lowest setting for a few minutes, then turn it off. Place the covered dough on the center rack and close the door.
- Microwave: Heat 1 cup of water in your microwave for 2 minutes. Remove water and place the covered dough in the microwave and close the door.
- Other: Ive also risen bread on top of a warm oven, running dryer machine, and even on a chair set over a heater vent.
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Is All Whole Wheat Flour The Same
No,its not.
The properties of Whole wheat flour may vary for different brands.
I tried making whole wheat bread using three different whole wheat flour
Surprisingly,these three different wholewheat flours performed in a variety of ways.
I noticed a wide difference in their water absorbing power.
There was a huge difference in the gluten development as well.
And hence the resulting bread structure and texture was also different.
One thing I learned is that, if our flour is not strong not having enough gluten development, then our bread will be not very soft and fluffy.
Here is my experience ,making whole wheat bread using whole wheat flour which is not strong.There are some chances that you might also find this kind of flour as whole wheat flour in grocery stores.
How Long To Knead The Dough
Knead the dough using your mixers dough hook for about 8 minutes. If you do not have a stand mixer, you can knead by hand, but you may need extra flour to keep the dough from sticking.
Stop the mixer every few minutes, as needed, and use a spatula to scrape the dough away from the sides of the bowl. After kneading, the dough will be a little sticky and very soft. It wont hold its shape tightly in a ball, but should hold together when you transfer it to an oiled bowl using your hands or a spatula.
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Brown Bread Recipe/fluffy Whole Wheat Bread Recipe
Brenda Jones
Tuesday 13th of September 2022
puzzled! my whole wheat bread not rise even the first proofing. use to making white bread & rolls no problem. Went back over recipe, did not find the problem. bread pic beautiful, reviews all good. would like your reason.
Anuradha
Wednesday 15th of June 2022
Hi, Bincy ! I tried this recipe yesterday. My loaf didnt rise well and the surface isnt smooth – its full of holes like the moons surface ! Wd like to share a pic with you so you can guide me.
All the other recipes Ive tried from your blog hv been very good !
How To Make Whole Wheat Bread
YEAST MIXTURE. In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, stir together the warm water, yeast, and honey. Mix in the 5 cups of bread flour and stir to combine. Let sit for 30 minutes, until bubbly.
DOUGH. Add the butter, honey, salt, and 2 cups of whole wheat flour to the sponge and mix to combine. Add the remaining whole wheat flour, ½ cup at a time, until the dough comes together and pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Knead until smooth and pliable.
DIVIDE + RISE. Place the dough in a greased bowl, cover, and let rise until doubled, about 1 hour. Divide the dough into three equal pieces and roll each piece into a 9 x 13 rectangle. Roll the dough up into a log starting at the short end. Place each log seam side down in a greased bread pan. Cover and let rise for 1 hour.
BAKE. Toward the end of the rise time, preheat the oven to 350. Bake 25-30 minutes, until golden brown and hollow sounding when tapped. Brush the loaves with melted butter and let cool completely on a cooling rack.
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Once You Are Done Mixing
Once the bread is done mixing flour your hands and take the bowl off and pull though dough out on to the lightly floured portion of your cupboard. Form this lump of dough into a ball. Take the ball and put it in the large greased bowl, cover it with saran wrap, place it in a warm place so it will rise faster, and let it sit for another 20 minutes. You can tell if it is done rising by poking it gently. If the dent quickly goes away it still needs to sit, but if it takes a long time for it to go away then it is done.
How To Make Vegan Whole Wheat Bread

The recipe card at the bottom of the page has the full list of ingredients with measurements and instructions.
I love that this vegan bread is so easy to make and doesnt take a lot of time, unlike so many other recipes. Most other bread recipes have to be kneaded and allowed to rise twice, but this one takes less than half the time.
To begin, add the maple syrup and warm water to a medium-sized mixing bowl and whisk together. See my notes for sweetener variations below.
Sprinkle in the yeast and give a quick stir. Set the bowl to the side for approximately 5-10 minutes to allow the yeast to activate.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the whole wheat flour and salt. I like to sift the flour to make sure it is light and fluffy, but it isnt required.
Once the yeast has had time to activate, pour the liquid mixture into the bowl with the flour and salt and stir. It will be clumpy at first but continue to stir and give the wet ingredients time to coat the dry ingredients well.
Line a 9×5 loaf pan with parchment paper to prevent sticking and pour the batter into the pan. The dough will be pretty sticky, so just use a spoon to plop it from the mixing bowl into the pan. If you like, sprinkle a little seasoning like Everything But the Bagel on top.
Its worth mentioning that room temperatures will play a role in how quickly the dough rises. If its cool, it will take longer. The warmer it is, the faster it will rise.
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Is Whole Wheat Bread Better Than White Bread
Whole wheat bread is generally believed to be healthier than white bread. Many people believe that whole wheat bread has more fiber than white bread and helps to lower the risk of heart disease. This is true, but does this mean that white bread should be avoided entirely? White bread does have a few important nutrients that you cannot get from whole wheat bread, but there are other reasons why you should eat white bread, as well.
Soft Whole Wheat Bread
Vegan, Vegetarian
100% whole wheat bread recipe with step by step photos and video. This foolproof recipe gives you a really good soft wheat bread with the ingredients you have at home.
This is a soft wholemeal bread with a light crumb. The recipe does not have the typical denseness and heaviness which is found in 100% whole wheat bread. There is a special & secret ingredient in the recipe that helps in the gluten development.
I embarked upon this ingredient one day when I was making naan. Typically the Indian Naan and Bhatura have one ingredient that helps in the leavening process and gives a soft texture, even when the naans are made without yeast. I thought why not try using this ingredient in a bread. And it worked like a charm.
Later while studying more about bread baking, I came to know that an acidic medium in limits, helps in gluten development. So no wonder that this ingredient worked. So before you ask me what is the secret Let me tell you its Curd or yogurt.
Well the bread has a slight taste of yogurt, but really it does not matter. Later I experimented with another two acidic ingredients Vinegar and lemon juice and these too worked very well. With vinegar the bread had a slight taste of vinegar, but we had no issues.
As a vegetarian, you can use dairy yogurt and as a vegan you can use cashew yogurt or vinegar or lemon juice.
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How To Make Fluffy Whole Wheat Bread
Though the process of making whole wheat bread and regular white bread are very similar, there are differences and challenges while working with whole wheat flour.
We cant expect same result from both white flour and whole wheat flour.
We need to make sure If our whole wheat flour is fairly strong otherwise it is very difficult to get a soft and fluffy whole wheat bread.
When flour is moistened with water and kneaded, glutenin and gliadin combine and form gluten.
Gluten is responsible for the stringy strands that give dough its elastic and stretchy structure and bread products their characteristically chewy mouthfeel.
So if our dough is not elastic and stretchy after kneading for about 10 minutes, we need to knead for longer time and we may not be able to make a very soft and fluffy whole wheat bread.In such case,if you are okay, its better to add a small part of flour as bread flour or all purpose flour.
How To Store Whole Wheat Flour
Whole wheat flour contains more fats and nutrients compared to white flour.The germ part of wheat is mostly fat and so there are more chances that the whole wheat flour will turn rancid, If it is left at room temperature for longer period of time.
It is best to store it in the fridge or freezer if you dont plan on using it within a month or so.
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What Is Whole Wheat Flour
There are some important considerations we must take into account to make things work. So lets start by understanding the whole wheat flour.
Whole wheat flour is essentially made from the entire kernel of wheat ground up into flour form. It is packed with nutrition and flavor.
Whole wheat flour can come in a variety of consistencies from extra coarse to extra fine. The various levels of grinding will result in bread with different textures.
A whole wheat berry,consists of three parts: the germ, bran and the endosperm.
Whole wheat flour is made from grinding all of these three parts.
Endosperm is the white part of kernel, which is comprised of starch and proteins.This endosperm which contain gluten help us to create a dough with a lot of strength that is able to trap the gas produced by the yeast and this in turn gives the dough, volume.
White Flour or all purpose flour or plain flour is made up almost entirely of the endosperm.And as it contain a good amount of gluten, it can produce bread with good volume and structure.
Additionally, white flour is often bleached with a whitening agent, often chemical, to make it look clean and white. The absence of the germ also increases the flours self life which favors its wide acceptability.
One main drawback of this white flour is that we lose out on all the vitamins, minerals, fats and fibre that are contained in the germ and bran.
How To Store And Freeze Bread
If your day gets away from you and you don’t have time to bake your loaves, just cover the bowl and place the dough in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours. Finish the remaining steps when you’re ready.
You can also freeze the dough after youve finished kneading it, but before you begin the first rise. Here’s what to do:
- Place the dough in an oiled plastic bag, and try to remove as much air as possible, leaving just a little for expansion.
- When youre ready to bake, place the frozen dough in a large buttered bowl. Cover and leave in the refrigerator for 24 hours. This will serve as your first rise.
- Remove the dough from the fridge and bring the dough to room temperature on your countertop.
- Punch down. Divide in half. Shape into loaves. Place into buttered loaf pans. Let rise again and bake as directed.
To freeze the baked loaves, allow the bread to cool completely. Wrap the bread in foil, then place it inside a zip-top bag. Remove as much air as possible.
The bread will keep in the freezer for up to three months. When ready to eat, transfer bread from the freezer to the countertop, keeping it in the wrapping. It will thaw in about 3 hours.
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Who Needs A Bread Machine
I mean really I dont think it could be easier even if you used a bread machine. Well, Ive never used a bread machine so I cant really compare, but with a recipe as easy as this, who needs a bread machine?
Well, dont quote me on that, maybe Ill get one, one of these days. I do like nifty little appliances.
And the BEST thing about baking your own whole wheat bread is your whole house smells delicious and you get to eat it warm from the oven.
How To Store Your Whole Wheat Bread

This recipe makes two loaves, so I like to keep one wrapped and stored in the pantry for eating. The second loaf I keep wrapped up in the refrigerator until we’re ready to enjoy it.
I have a bread box, but I still prefer keeping my loaf wrapped inside of the bread box. And when I cut off the first slice, I store that end piece pressed against the cut end of the loaf as a kind of “cap” to help prevent it from drying out. When we’re ready for the second loaf, I take it out of the fridge and store it at room temperature in the bread box.
Since this is fresh homemade bread with no preservatives, it will start to mold after several days. So keeping that second loaf in the fridge until we’re ready for it buys us some extra time. You could also successfully freeze the second loaf if you prefer. However, we usually eat it soon/fast enough that refrigerating suffices.
If it takes your family awhile to work through two loaves of bread, another winning alternative would be to give the second loaf away! I mean, who wouldn’t love the thoughtful gesture of freshly-baked homemade bread?
If you have never baked homemade bread before, I encourage you to try it. It may seem intimidating at first and the various steps do take a bit of time, but overall, it truly is easy. And if you are already an expert baker, then I hope you’ll add this recipe to your repertoire!
Now go forth and make bread!
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