Name: 100% Whole Wheat Bread In The Bread Machine
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 4 h
Total time: 4 h 5 min
Cuisine: North American
Ingredients: 1 1/4 cups warm water 3 Tbsp olive oil 2 Tbsp sugar 2 Tbsp Swerve sugar substitute (or more sugar) 3 1/2 cups whole wheat flour 4 Tbsp vital wheat gluten 1 1/2 tsp salt 2 tsp instant yeast

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We are sharing a few secrets of making 100% whole wheat bread in the bread machine today. No white flour! This bread is so good; perfect for sandwiches and toast! We will tell you about a secret ingredient that makes it rise perfectly. This is perfect hands-off bread baking.

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Hands off. Mind off. That’s the way I like to make bread these days. In my current life situation I am chasing kids around, homeschooling, hiding from the Coronavirus, planting the garden…and and and. I don’t have much time for kneading, resting, kneading, resting, baking. I have time for bread though. Bread is my all time favorite food, I just can’t quit it. I’ve learned to be okay with that. I eat healthy 92% of the time and so I’m just giving in to whole wheat bread.

Is Whole Wheat Bread Healthier Than White Bread?

Yes and no. The Macros are very much the same as far as calories and carbohydrates go. But, whole wheat bread has more fiber which keeps it digesting longer, which may lower the affects that the wheat has on your blood sugar. If you are trying to avoid blood sugar spikes, 100% whole wheat is a better choice. I usually try to eat a slice, and not 5 (I could do that though).

How To Make Whole Wheat Bread Rise Better

Vital Wheat Gluten is the secret weapon in baking 100% whole wheat bread that rises nicely. I use 1 Tbsp for every cup of flour in the recipe. The Vital Wheat Gluten strengthens the dough allowing it to keep more of the gas produced by the yeast. It also creates a lighter, chewier crumb.

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How To Make 100% Whole Wheat Bread In The Bread Machine

It starts with my favorite bread machine, the Cusinart Convection Bread M aker. I love this thing. It does SO MUCH. There are 16 bread settings including: Artisan dough, Whole Wheat Loaf (hi…my favorite), Low Carb, Gluten Free, and a variety of quick loaf settings…plus more. It allows you to dial in the perfect settings for the type of bread you need right now.

When you are using a bread machine, the order in which you put the ingredients matters. The water is always first, and the yeast is always last. With that in mind: In the bread pan, add warm water, olive oil, sugar, Swerve sugar substitute (or more sugar), whole wheat flour, vital wheat gluten (must have), salt, and instant yeast (or bread machine yeast); all in that order.

Set it carefully inside the bread machine and set the settings that you like most. These setting are universal on most bread machines. Most importantly, I am going to choose the Whole Wheat setting with a 1.5 lb size. If your bread machine doesn’t have that setting, then check the manual to see what might work best.

The other setting I choose is light crust (otherwise when you toast it, it is too crusty).

I wish I had more pictures to share with you, but this recipe is just that easy. After you add the ingredients to the bread pan, that’s it. It’s as hands off as it gets. Mind off too, no need to set times and worry about the next time you need to knead the dough. When you need a loaf, you get a loaf.