100% Whole Wheat Sourdough Sandwich Bread
This 100% whole wheat sourdough sandwich bread is exactly that, 100% whole wheat! No all purpose or bread flour needed.
Jump to RecipeI use freshly milled wheat which adds a tremendous amount of flavor and nutrition.
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It seems like for years I searched online for a completely whole wheat sourdough bread recipe and the few that I found just didn’t yield me the results I was looking for, so, I started recipe testing!
I looked at my easy sourdough sandwich bread recipe and started tweaking to accommodate for the freshly ground flour. A few changes later and a few so-so loaves led to this final recipe that is perfect!
This recipe can also be used for hot dog and hamburger buns, as well as, dinner roll! It’s a base recipe for most of your bread products.
If you do not mill your own wheat you can use store bought whole wheat flour, however, it will be hard red wheat which will give you a bit of a denser loaf. I used mostly hard white wheat with just a bit of hard red wheat in this recipe. King Arthur has a whole wheat flour that is “white” whole wheat, meaning it uses hard white wheat. If you can find this one, your loaf will turn out very similar to mine.
This is the grain mill I use: https://collabs.shop/rxide2
Just a back story on why this recipe was so important for me to figure out. I am in the process of transitioning my baking to all freshly ground wheat. I have found that bread products made with freshly milled wheat are more filling and obviously they are much more nutritious. I feel like I can eat a loaf of bread if it’s made with white flour, but, with whole wheat, I get full on just a slice or 2! Win, Win!
So, let’s jump in to this recipe!
The night before in the bowl of stand mixer, add 1 cup of water and 1/2 cup of active, fed sourdough starter. Mix until it is combined. Add in 3 1/2 cups of freshly milled flour. Mix until a soft dough forms. If you feel you need a bit more, add 1 tablespoon at a time until the dough forms.
Allow this mixture to soak for 20-30 minutes to soften the bran and germ.
Next add 3 tablespoons of olive oil and 2 tablespoons of honey. Mix until combined.
Add in 1 1/2 teaspoon of fine sea salt.
**If hand kneading, reserve the 2-3 tablespoons of flour for kneading. Don’t add too much flour, as it will cause a very dense loaf**
Knead for 8-10 minutes until the dough is smooth and stretchy. If you need to add any additional flour only add 1 tablespoon at a time. You want the dough to just pull from the sides of the mixer.
If you are interested in the stand mixer I use, here is a link: https://collabs.shop/rxide2
Move the dough to a greased bowl large enough to hold the rising dough overnight. Cover with something airtight. I use bowl covers from Amazon. You can use plastic wrap or bees wax wrap.
Leave on counter for the night.
The next morning, remove the dough from the bowl. If you have to, you can add a small amount of flour to help with shaping the dough. I found I didn’t have to. But, if you do, just use enough to work the dough.
Instead of punching down the dough, simply remove the dough and place on your work station. Then pat it out to a rectangle. This will slightly degas the dough but won’t knock all the air out from the overnight fermentation. Being whole wheat, you want to retain as much air as possible to yield a fluffier loaf.
After shaping into a loaf, add to a greased loaf pan. Cover and let rise until it tops over the pan. Mine took 2 1/2 hours.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Brush with a beaten egg and you can top with everything seasoning. It really adds so much flavor to the bread but this is optional.
Bake for 40-45 minutes until golden brown.
Place on cooling rack to cool completely before slicing.
This bread tastes so nutty and a bit sweet from the honey. It’s soft, and, although it doesn’t rise quite as high as a loaf made with white flour, it still rises nicely and makes a beautiful loaf!
If you are interested in getting started with milling your own grains, read these blog posts: Using freshly milled flour in your kitchen: https://therosehomestead.com/using-freshly-milled-flour-in-your-kitchen/
Using freshly milled flour in Sourdough: https://therosehomestead.com/using-freshly-milled-flour-in-sourdough/
Why I mill my own flour: https://therosehomestead.com/why-i-mill-my-own-flour/
100% Whole Wheat Sourdough Sandwich Bread
Equipment
- 1 Stand Mixer optional
Ingredients
- 1 cup water filtered
- 1/2 cup active, fed sourdough starter
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp honey
- 1 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 3 1/2 cups freshly ground whole wheat flour (plus 2-3 tbsp for kneading) you can use store bought, just fluff it first.
Instructions
- The night before, in the bowl of a stand mixer, add the water, starter, and flour. mix well.Allow this mixture to soak for 20-30 minutes to soften the bran and germ.
- Add in the oil, honey, and salt.
- Knead for 5-10 minutes. Use the additional 2-3 tablespoons of flour for kneading being careful to not add too much more flour. I use speed 2 on my stand mixer.
- Place dough in a greased bowl. Cover and rest on counter overnight.
- The next morning, turn the dough onto your work surface. Pat it out gently into a rectangular shape. Gently roll the dough up into a loaf shape.
- Place in greased loaf pan, cover, and allow to rise until it tops over the pan.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
- Brush with an egg wash.
- Bake for 40-45 minutes until deep golden brown.
I tried this. I made it at 9:30 one night. Next morning bread had not risen at all. So, I watched and waited all day. Next morning, roughly 34 hours later, it had double in size. Decided to proceed. I shaped, put in loaf pan and let rise to top of pan (3 hours) brushed with egg wash and everything bagel, and baked. Not bad for 100% whole wheat. It does taste sour. Next time I think I’ll use all purpose flour, or a mixture of both. The slow rise might have been caused by my starter which was only 25 days old. I had fed it the day before. The day I was making the bread, I let it set on counter until it had risen before I mixed anything.
That’s very helpful. I have a newer starter too.
Thank you for your recipes using sourdough. Very nice!
Is this to be made using a whole wheat starter?