I had hoped to post this video last week, but I chose relaxation over video editing. Even though this is my third video, it still takes me quite a while to edit and prepare the videos before I get them up here on the blog. So, since we were on vacation in Cape Cod last week (you’ll hear more about that soon, I promise…), I chose to enjoy my vacation and leave the video editing for when I returned.
Since I chose yeast breads for this month’s Kitchen Bootcamp challenge, I thought I’d revisit one of my favorite bread recipes – my recipe for whole wheat sandwich bread! I know a few of you are sweating it a bit this month, so I thought I’d make a tutorial video on how to make my sandwich bread to help you along a bit. It’s really not hard… If I can do it, I’m sure you can, too!
This is one of my favorite bread recipes, originally adapted from the King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking Cookbook. This time around, I varied my recipe just a bit. I used different proportions of the liquids in the recipe because I wanted to use up some buttermilk that I had in the fridge. We were getting ready to leave for vacation, so I was on a mission to empty out the fridge. Plus, it was great to have a freshly baked loaf of sandwich bread to take with us!
Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread (Revisited)
(Based on my previous recipe, which was adapted from the King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking Cookbook)
- 1/2 cup lukewarm water
- 2 tablespoons orange juice
- 1 cup buttermik
- 2 1/2 teaspoons dry active yeast
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 1/4 cup canola oil
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup bread flour (King Arthur)
- Approximately 3 1/2 cups whit whole wheat flour (King Arthur)
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon water
In a large mixing bowl, combine the water, orange juice, and buttermilk. Sprinkle with the yeast and granulated sugar, and stir to dissolve. Add the canola oil and salt and stir to combine. Add the cup of bread flour and use a wooden spoon to mix, beating vigorously to start to develop the gluten in the bread flour. Gradually, add the whole wheat flour, mixing with the wooden spoon until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl to form a ball. Knead until you have a smooth dough (about 6-8 minutes). The amount of whole wheat flour needed will vary on the humidity and other factors. Add just enough flour to keep the dough from sticking to your hands as you knead.
Transfer the dough to a lightly greased bowl, cover (with plastic wrap or a damp towel), and let rise until the dough has doubled (about an hour or two). It has risen sufficiently when the imprint of your fingers remains and the dough doesn’t spring back up.
Punch down the dough and form it into the shape of a loaf. Place the shaped loaf into a greased loaf pan, cover, and let rise for an additional hour.
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Meanwhile, prepare an egg wash by beating the egg with the teaspoon of water. Brush the top of the loaf with the egg wash prior to baking. Bake for about 35 minutes. The internal temperature of the bread should be 190°F when the bread is done.
Let the bread rest in the pan for about 10 minutes before transferring it to a wire rack to cool. Cool for at least 30 minutes before slicing. Enjoy!
You’re a natural Jen! You’ll have your won show on Food Network yet!!! Still contemplating which breads I might attempt… and only have a couple of days to make them in before I leave for Philly!!! Your sandwich bread looks so professional – well done!
Awesome video Jen. I smell a show in your future :)
That looks great. I just got a pullman pan for just this reason :D. I can’t wait to try making a loaf of bread.
I don’t know what to say other than that I’m so so so impressed with your video Jen. You did an awesome job with this. Just awesome!
Wow, that was such a great video! I love baking bread, and I can’t wait to try this one. Do you have to do the braid on top, or could you just roll the ball of dough?
Julie – You don’t have to do the braid on top… I just like how it looks. You could roll the whole ball of dough out into a rectangle and roll it into a single loaf and it would bake the same.
Gorgeous loaf of bread and it certainly looks soft as well. Great tutorial!
what a great video, I agree, you are so good at this.
I wish I viewed your video before I tried kneading bread yesterday. Had I known my bread machine was going to break, I would have thought it out more carefully. You really make it look so easy. I am going to try it your way next time, adding flour little by little like that. THANK YOU!
What kind of loaf pan is that? Is that aluminum or stoneware? I couldn’t tell from the video.
Debbie T – Thanks for the kind comment! The pan is a heavy duty nonstick aluminum pan that I got at a kitchen supply store.
Does the orange juice need to be freshly squeezed, or can it be bottled, store-brought ones? Thanks!
Hi, L.S. – Since you’re not using a lot of orange juice, it doesn’t really matter. I typically just use a bit of bottled orange juice that I buy for my hubby for his breakfast! :)