Wholemeal Bread Recipe: 4 Tips for Making Wholemeal Bread

Wholemeal bread is soft bread with a tight, tender crumb made with a mixture of wholemeal and white flour. Wholemeal flour is a type of whole-grain flour, meaning it contains all three parts of the grain (bran, germ, and endosperm), in contrast to white flour, which just contains the starchy endosperm. Wholemeal flour is more nutritious and flavorful than white flour. However, it can be tricky to make bread with wholemeal flour alone since the sharp pieces of bran can tear the gluten strands. For this reason, most whole-wheat bread recipes feature at least a portion of white flour.

Wholemeal bread has a hearty, slightly sweet flavor. The texture is soft, but many recipes incorporate a topping of oats or seeds for a toothsome bite. Wholemeal bread is flavorful enough to consume on its own or with a simple slathering of butter. A wholemeal loaf also pairs well with jellies, jams, or savory sandwich fillings.

This hearty brown bread loaf is versatile and easy to work with; try these easy preparations.

1. 1. Avocado toast: Whole grains pair well with the rich and creamy texture of avocado. To make avocado toast, simply toast a slice of wholemeal bread, then add sliced or mashed avocado along with a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil, a sprinkle of sea salt, and chili flakes or your favorite hot sauce.
2. 2. French toast: Day-old loaves are perfect candidates for French toast, known as pain perdu in France. Simply dip sliced bread into a mixture of egg, milk, cinnamon, and vanilla, then cook it in a nonstick pan or on a griddle until golden brown, and voilà: French toast.
3. 3. Grilled cheese: Creamy melting cheeses, like cheddar, Gruyère, Swiss, or Muenster, are great options for a classic grilled cheese sandwich. For an extra crispy exterior, slather a thin layer of mayo on the outer surface of the sandwich before grilling.
4. 4. Strata: This hearty casserole is the perfect make-ahead brunch. Strata is like a savory bread pudding: Dice the bread and let it air-dry, then mix the bread cubes with eggs, cheese, cream, and your favorite roasted vegetables. Refrigerate your wholemeal strata overnight and bake it the following morning.

Wholemeal bread is a great starting place for first-time bread bakers since it doesn’t require a stand mixer, bread machine, Dutch oven, or previous bread-making experience. Here’s how to get tender wholemeal bread at home.

1. 1. Weigh your flour. Moisture levels are an essential part of bread-baking, and the best way to achieve accuracy is by weighing ingredients using a scale. As a bonus, there are fewer measuring cups and spoons to wash during clean-up.
2. 2. Stir the dough instead of kneading it. Soft sandwich bread has a tight, tender crumb, achieved by a simple stirring method without any kneading. On the other hand, crusty breads like sourdough are chewy and full of large air holes due to kneading, which creates strong gluten strands.
3. 3. Add texture with seeds. A topping of flax, oats, sesame, and sunflower seeds adds nutritional value and a bit of texture to your multigrain loaf. Feel free to mix and match your favorite seeds.
4. 4. Cool before slicing. Sandwich loaves need to cool before you slice them. If you cut your whole-grain bread too soon, you’ll tear it rather than getting clean, even slices.

Like most homemade bread, wholemeal bread does not contain preservatives and is best within twenty-four hours of baking. Once cooled, store the bread in an airtight container at room temperature. To store the wholemeal loaf for longer than one day, slice the bread and freeze it, then toast the frozen slices when you’re ready to consume.