Name: Easy No Knead Whole Wheat Bread
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 2 h 30 min
Yield: 1
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 1 cup lukewarm water; 1/4 cup orange juice; 1/4 cup melted butter or vegetable oil; 3 tablespoons molasses, maple syrup, dark corn syrup, or brown sugar corn syrup; 2 teaspoons instant yeast; 1/4 cup nonfat dry milk; 1 1/4 teaspoons salt; 3 cups King Arthur whole wheat flour

Jump to Recipe

whole wheat bread sliced on a white plate

Easy No Knead Whole Wheat Bread is just the kind of no fuss recipe you need to make homemade bread.

I wanted to make a new bread (for me) along the lines of my favorite technique of bread-making: the no knead bread. This is a somewhat magical way to not spend a ton of hands-on time working on the dough.

Instead, the ingredients are beaten with a stand mixer for a short time then put into a bread pan where the dough rests and rises until it is ready to be baked. You’ll find all sorts of recipes for no-knead bread, some have an extended rising period overnight but this one is brief, only an hour and a half.

The result was a pleasant surprise loaf of no knead whole wheat bread– a simple, whole wheat loaf of bread perfect for sandwiches, ideal for toast and butter, and my left overs were made into breadcrumbs for future dishes.

If you like baking yeast recipes, try hatch chile bread and knead not sourdough bread.

I used this recipe from King Arthur Flour. I rely on their bread recipes and especially appreciated the tips provided this time: “If you use a 9″ x 5″ pan (measure the inside/top dimensions to see what size you have), your loaf will turn out shorter and flatter.”

I only had a 9″ by 5″ loaf pan and, yes, my loaf did turn out flatter on top. This did not seem to adversely effect the flavor the bread. I’d like to try it next time with the 8″ x 4″ loaf pan to see the difference.

Loving the idea of NO KNEAD? Try this recipe for a Sourdough Knead Not Dough from an Alton Brown recipe.

Yield: 1 loaf

Easy No Knead Whole Wheat Bread

Have you home smelling of freshly baked bread in no time at all with this easy no knead whole wheat bread recipe

Prep Time 15 minutes

Additional Time 1 hour 30 minutes

Cook Time 45 minutes

Total Time 2 hours 30 minutes

Ingredients

1 cup lukewarm water
1/4 cup orange juice
1/4 cup melted butter or vegetable oil
3 tablespoons molasses, maple syrup, dark corn syrup, or brown sugar corn syrup
2 teaspoons instant yeast
1/4 cup nonfat dry milk
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
3 cups King Arthur whole wheat flour

Instructions

Prepare the loaf pan and spray with baking spray. I used a baking spray that contained oil and flour.
Measure all the ingredients into the bowl of a stand mixer. Using the standard mixing paddle, beat the ingredients for about 3 minutes on medium-high speed. The dough will be wet and sticky. Spray a spatula or dough scraper with baking spray so that the dough won't stick and scrape/pour it into the prepared pan.
Spray a sheet of plastic wrap with baking spray then use it to cover the loaf pan. Allow the dough to rise until it reaches the rim of the pan, about 60-90 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Take the plastic wrap off the loaf pan and bake for 45 minutes. If the bread begins to brown quickly, cover it with foil about half way through the baking time.
Remove from the oven and let rest before emptying it out of the pan and allowing it to completely cool. (Optional- brush with butter once as it cools.)

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

Serving Size:

1 slice
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 140Total Fat: 4gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 8mgSodium: 200mgCarbohydrates: 23gFiber: 3gSugar: 7gProtein: 4g

This data is provided by Nutritionix and is an estimate only.

Holly Baker

Holly Baker started the food blog, A Baker’s House, in 2011. She is the writer, recipe creator, and photographer for the site. Holly loves to bake and shares recipes for gluten free food, canning recipes, as well as traditional desserts too. Her recipes and food photography have been highlighted by BuzzFeed, Reader’s Digest, and She Knows.

Lea Ann (Cooking On The Ranch)

Monday 15th of September 2014

Great photos Holly. Signed, your favorite doughaphob

Kathia Rodriguez

Wednesday 10th of September 2014

I love it, easy, delicious, and simple. My kind of recipe

Karen @ Karen's Kitchen Stories

Tuesday 9th of September 2014

I love how they use orange juice with the whole wheat. It takes away so much of the potentially butter flavor. Gorgeous!!

Holly F

Yes, I learned by reading through the original recipe's comments that the orange juice balances the bitter flavor that sometimes comes through in wheat breads. I hadn't considered that at all. I really enjoy the learning process that each loaf of bread baked at home provides!

[email protected] is How I Cook

I like the sound of this! No knead always makes things so simple and this looks so simply good! Perfect time of year to have the house filled with the smell of fresh baked bread!

Yes, simple is always better for me. I would like to dive in deeper to yeast doughs and will do so when the time comes, but for now, this no-knead method is fabulous. Tasty too!

Barbara | Creative Culinary

Funny this world...I know both Stacy and Renee and others in the group and always wish I made more bread. Good for you for tackling it so often.

BTW...email to you was rejected by hotmail; I've got my host looking into it but it's a grr moment. I'm going to dm it to you on Facebook about getting together. We need to do a group thing down here and hoping we could plan that!

Join us, Barb! Even if you don't have time to post a bread every month it would be so nice to bake along with you.

Thanks for the facebook message. I would love to meet for coffee soon and let's plan on a housewarming that isn't quite a housewarming party too!

Easy No Knead Whole Wheat Bread