Whole Grain Master Recipe from “Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day” using Vital Wheat Gluten!

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By jeff, October 26, 2009
Filed Under HBin5, Recipes | 389 comments

cover-shot-hb5-breads1

(The picture above is another Mark Luinenburg gem; Mark’s done the photography on our new book).  Speaking of our new book…

… this has been a long and wonderful road; tomorrow (Tuesday October 27) is the publication date for:

Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day:  100 New Recipes Featuring Whole Grains, Fruits, Vegetables, and Gluten-Free Ingredients

We are thrilled with the early reviews, and already have already been on TV to talk about the book.  On Amazon, the order window has changed from “Pre-Order” to “Order on Amazon”, and bookstores should have it (if they don’t please ask them to order it).  It’s a book we wrote because people posted to us in this website and asked us for it (as in, “can you do something similar with more whole grains?”).

The answer:  Yes, you can, but you have to make some changes. We’ll be talking more about this on our book tour, which starts tomorrow, and teaching classes about the changes you need to make to succeed with stored whole grain doughs (check our Events tab for details on cities, bookstores, and cooking schools).  If you can’t wait, I’m walking through our whole grain Master Recipe here in this post today.  I’ll cut to the chase:  you need more water, and one extra ingredient called Vital Wheat Gluten (sometimes labeled “vital wheat gluten flour”), which is available in most supermarkets, or mail-order/on-line from anywhere…Whole grains can make for a drier results; all that bran soaks up water.  So we increased the water for all the new recipes.  But that was only part of it.  If you want to be able to store whole grain dough, you need to boost the gluten content or the loaves tend to become dense over the life of the batch.  Storing the dough is why our recipes are different (that’s what makes our method different).  Vital wheat gluten makes whole grain dough springy enough to be stored in the refrigerator as a large batch.  We found we weren’t crazy about the result until we started testing our approach with vital wheat gluten.

What is vital wheat gluten?  It’s the protein-rich part of wheat that creates the strands that trap gas bubbles and allow yeasted bread to rise (and stay risen).  It doesn’t take much vital wheat gluten to make a difference in a 4 to 5 pound batch of whole grain dough.  Just 2 to 4 tablespoons are all you need, so while the whole bag or box may seem expensive, it doesn’t add much to the cost of baking (yeast is a more important expense, which is why we recommend that you buy it in bulk from a food co-op or from CostCo).

So where do you get vital wheat gluten? Most supermarkets in larger towns and cities carry it.  The two brands in U.S. supermarkets are Bob’s Red Mill and Hodgson Mill, and we tested those extensively.  If your local store doesn’t carry vital wheat gluten, you can mail-order it from Amazon; click for either the Bob’s Red Mill product, or the Hodgson Mill product (you can also order directly from those companys’ websites).  Amazon carries other vital wheat gluten brands but we’ve never tried them.

We are going to publish the basic whole grain recipe here on our website.  Many, many more details are in the book, and we won’t be able to provide all that here on the web.  The book also has plenty of recipes that are 100% whole grain; today’s recipe is about 73% whole grain:

Ingredients:

5 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1 1/2 tablespoons granulated yeast (can decrease)

1 tablespoon Kosher salt (can adjust to taste or health concerns)

1/4 cup (4 tablespoons) vital wheat gluten (or vital wheat gluten flour)

4 cups lukewarm water (about 100 degrees F)

1 to 2 tablespoons of whole seed mixture for sprinkling on top crust:  sesame, flaxseed, caraway, raw sunflower, poppy, and or anise

First, measure the dry ingredients into a 5-quart bucket or bowl, and whisk them together (you can also use a fork, or if it’s lidded, just shake them well).  Mixing the dry ingredients first prevents the vital wheat gluten from forming clumps once liquids are added:

2-whisk-together-dry-ingred

Now add the water to form a very wet dough.  Don’t add additional flour to dry this out:

3-mix-in-wet-ingred

Cover loosely (leave lid open a crack) and allow to rise for two hours at room temperature (if you decreased the yeast, you’ll need more time).  NEVER PUNCH DOWN or intentionally deflate.  The dough will rise and then begin to collapse.  Refrigerate and use over the next 14 days, tearing off one-pound loaves as you need them.

On baking day, cut off a grapefruit-sized piece of dough (about a pound), using a serrated knife or a kitchen shears:

4-cut-off-a-pound-of-dough

Now, quickly shape a loaf as you’ve seen in our videos on this website, or on our new Amazon site (but note that the Amazon video leaves out the crucial 90 minute resting time that I’ll talk about in a minute).  Should take less than a minute— still pictures don’t do it justice, but basically, you pull the top around to the bottom, rotating quarter-turns as you go.  DON’T KNEAD or otherwise knock all the gas out of the loaf:

5-shape-a-loaf1

Cover the loaf loosely with plastic wrap and let it rest on a pizza peel covered with cornmeal or parchment for 90 minutes (40 minutes if you’re using fresh, unrefrigerated dough.  This is longer than our 1st book because whole grains take a longer rest than white doughs.  Depending on the age of the dough, you may not see much rise; our loaves depend more on “oven spring.”

Thirty minutes before baking, preheat the oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C), with a baking stone placed on a middle rack.  Place an empty broiler tray for holding water on any other rack that won’t interfere with rising bread.

Just before baking, use a pastry brush to paint the top with water (we’ve dropped the cornstarch wash) and sprinkle with seed mixture.  Slash the loaf with 1/4-inch deep parallel cuts across the top (or a singe lengthwise cut as in the first picture).  Use a serrated bread knife held perpendicularly to the loaf:

7-slash-loaf-after-sprinkling2

Slide onto the hot stone…

8-slide-off-the-peel

…and carefully pour 1 cup of hot tap water into the broiler tray (in the book, we give alternatives for creating that steam environment, which is essential for creating a great crust):

9-add-water-for-steam-to-preheated-broiler-tray

After a 30-minute bake, cool on a cooling rack, and serve however you’d like.  You have the basis for a complete, nutritious meal, bursting with healthy vegetable oils (from wheat germ), fiber (from wheat bran), and vitamins.  We look forward to hearing more from you as people have questions about the book.

Zoe and I will be on Fox-9 News in Minneapolis-St. Paul tomorrow morning, at around 8:30am— Click here to view…

Follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/ArtisanBreadIn5

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If you enjoyed this post, please consider sharing it with others using one of the social sharing buttons above. Thanks, Jeff and Zoë

389 thoughts on “Whole Grain Master Recipe from “Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day” using Vital Wheat Gluten!”

    • Hi Doug,

      Cutting it just means you will be handling the dough less. We always suggest handling it as little as possible to maintain the air bubbles from the yeast. It should have quite a bit of stretch to it, which makes it a little more difficult to just tear out.

      Thanks, Zoë

      Reply ↓

  2. The Whole Grain Master Recipie was absolutely delicious. Can I bake this bread in a loaf pan for 2/3 of the tme and finish it on the stone for a loftier sandwich loaf?
    Thank You,
    Pat

    Reply ↓

      • Hello Zoe,
        A little more dough in a loaf pan produced a more sandwich-like, cuttable loaf. Baking your whole grain bread in a 3 to 4 quart sized, covered, cast-iron or ceramic pot (a la Lahey), also contributed to a higher loaf. I’ve become obsessed with healthy bread baking and actually grind the whole wheat. The bread comes out very dark and crusty on the outside and tender inside. I use a little orange juice in the water for the recipe, to sweeten the taste of the wheat a bit, without adding sugar. Thank you for those prompt answers and suggestions.

  4. Glad to see someone ditch the honey. I hate sweet bread. I was wondering if you absolutely need a baking stone. Does a cookie sheet do it too?

    Reply ↓

  5. Is there a way of substituting or completely skipping the vital wheat gluten? If I do skip it, how will it affect the end result?

    Reply ↓

    • Baigal: There’s no substitute, but you can leave it out if you decrease the water a bit (1/4 cup?). But– the result will be denser, a little dryer, and the dough won’t store as well as in the fridge– it will become over-dense sooner than our stored whole-grain dough with VWG.

      Reply ↓

  6. I love your artisan bread and have been making it for our family for years now. I have a question though about flours. If I have bread flour, can I use that in place of the white flour, or does it change the consistency significantly? Thanks!

    Reply ↓

  7. Hi! I tried the recipe today, but the bread came out hard on the outside, is there a way to make it just a tad softer? More water in the broiler pan perhaps? Thanks!

    Reply ↓

  8. Hi, I made the dough yesterday and today pulled some dough and it ripped right off. I didn’t have to cut it. Let it rest for 90 minutes but it didn’t rise. So I let it rise for more time and then read here that it may not rise. I used the recipe from the video. I am preheating oven now and will bake. I have the first book! Love this method. Thanks for this website.

    Reply ↓

    • Hi Pastora,

      The whole grain doughs are less stretchy than the all white doughs, so it is not unusual for it to break off. Although, this can also be a sign that the dough is too dry. Let me know how it comes out.

      Thanks, Zoë

      Reply ↓

      • I took it out just at 30 minutes and realized it was too soon, so back it went. It is crusty just the way I like it with a custard crumb! I won’t be buying bread anymore and can’t wait to get your second book. Thanks for your help.

  9. I made the dough and used some of it a few times. The last two uses from the bucket, in the refrigerator, about 1.5 weeks old, the dough was extremely wet and took lots of flour to shape. Is this normal? It also seemed to stick to my improvised peel as well as to the baking stone. Love the recipe and the books. Thanks

    Reply ↓

  10. I have made several of your breads from Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day and love all of that I have made! I have recently found out my kids have to be gluten free. Have you ever considered making a gluten free version of your bread?
    Thanks

    Reply ↓

  11. I have two questions for you:

    First, can the above recipe be done with no all-purpose flour, just the wheat flour and the vital wheat gluten?

    Second, are the cuts in the top of the loaf solely decorative, or do they serve a necessary purpose?

    Thanks!

    -Luke

    Reply ↓

    • Hi Luke,

      This loaf will be too dry if you use just whole wheat, without adjusting the water. There are many recipes in HBin5 that are 100% whole wheat if you prefer to bake without all-purpose flour.

      Thanks, Zoë

      Reply ↓

  12. This bread recipe is delicious- I am ordering your book pronto! I have one question though- my dough turned out pretty wet. I measure my flour- how much should 1 cup of flour weigh for your recipes?

    Reply ↓

  13. The last photo above leaves me thinking that the loaf doesn’t rise very much. Am I misintepreting? I’d like to try this for whole wheat baguettes, but am a little worried about the rise.

    Reply ↓

  14. I just made a loaf using the basic recipe that appeared in the Mother Earth News Dec2008/Jan2009 issue. I used nothing but 100% white whole wheat flour, also labeled as “ultra grain” flour. Except for an addition of about a tablespoon of honey for flavor, which I enjoy in whole wheat bread, and an increase of 1/2 cup water, I followed the directions to the letter. The result was a perfectly risen, moist, dense loaf of 100% whole grain slicing sandwich bread with a delightfully nutty flavor with just a hint of sweetness. The crust wasn’t the nice crisp one I get with white flour, but I’m just thrilled to have a moist loaf that rises well and is 100% whole grain! As a previous poster said, I’m never buying bread again. Thanks to both of you. I’m buying your book the first chance I get.

    Reply ↓

  15. I’m excited to try this recipe! I have one question though – can I mix the wholeseed mixture into the dough instead of sprinkling on top?

    Reply ↓

  16. Hi,
    I have just been introduced to your fantastic method by a friend and will be ordering the healthy breads book.

    In the meantime, I made the dough in this post but only half the amount to see how it “behaves”.

    I used store bought finely ground and sifted whole wheat flour + regular all purpose. The dough did not fall but it did straighten out and I stored it in the fridge after some 5 hours of resting in room temperature.

    I have 4 questions:

    When storing the dough in the fridge, do I cover it air tight or leave it slightly open?

    Second questions regards the part where I cut off a piece for baking. With the white flour recipe, the instructions are to powder the surface of the dough with flour and then cut off a piece. How do I do it with the WW?
    Do I also flour the surface of the dough? Do I wet or oil my hands?

    Third, should I set the dough I cut off on cornmeal? I am asking because I am referring to WW.

    Lastly, I will be baking the bread on a regular baking sheet on a baking pan + a baking pan with water. Is this the preferred way for WW or is a bread pan a better choice? I don’t have the stone.

    Thank you in advance for your answer!

    Lee

    Reply ↓

  17. Hi, I have two questions
    1. What is the best way to get the water to lukewarm? I usually leave it out on the stove. Is it okay to heat up the water on the stovetop or will that kill the yeast?
    2. How should I store the bread? I usually take a week to eat it and have currently been putting it into a ziploc bag.

    Reply ↓

  18. I never use warm water. I use the filtered water tap, which is usually room temperature. I always put the dough in the fridge, so I don’t see the point in using warm water. It still works fine.

    Reply ↓

    • Hi Kirsten,

      Using room temperature or even cold water will certainly work and some people even prefer it, but it just takes much longer to rise. If you have the time to spare, then by all means it is a great way to go.

      Thanks, Zoë

      Reply ↓

  19. I am SO STOKED. I have been making your original basic recipe for a few years, sharing it with everyone and getting them addicted too. I usually use all whole wheat flour with the regular recipe….but now am ready with wheat gluten today!!! THANK YOU for your foodie brilliance. You make my life better and my hips fuller! (And yes, I have blogged about your bread.)

    Reply ↓

  20. I have been making whole wheat bread in the bread machine for months, and just recently perfected my recipe with 100% whole grain (after MUCH experimentation and seeking out the perfect flour – I don’t have my own flour mill). However, using a bread machine takes almost 4 hours on whole wheat cycle, and it only makes one large loaf (or the equivalent of two smaller ones). So I stumbled on your website and I just tried mixing up my first whole wheat recipe last night. Thing is, I didn’t realize that I made a HUGE mistake until this morning. I had to halve the recipe since I didn’t have a five-quart container, but I mistakenly didn’t halve the water (I haven’t made a mistake like that in the kitchen in a long time!). Thus, the dough is VERY sticky. Is there a way to salvage it? I added some more flour to a pound and I’m trying to cook a loaf in the crock pot right now, but I need to know if it’s even worth salvaging, or if I need to try mixing up a new batch.

    Any help would be great, and I’m so glad I found you guys on here! I’m always seeking out that “perfect” bread recipe, since our family uses a lot of whole-wheat bread for sandwiches, and my daughter might as well be addicted to bread, she eats it so much!

    Reply ↓

    • Hi Dinae,

      Yes, you can absolutely fix the dough, just as you thought, you’ll want to add more flour and probably a touch more yeast and salt. If you don’t have a container to do it all at once, you can break the dough into two batches. Once you add the new ingredients, let the dough sit to allow the excess water to be absorbed.

      Thanks, Zoë

      Reply ↓

      • Thanks so much for your help! The bread was much better when the water ratio was no longer so much more than it needed to be!

        Thanks again!
        Dinae

  22. I’ve just begun baking bread (at age 59!) and can’t thank you both enough for de-mystifying the process and giving me a few master recipes. So much easier than 1 recipe per bread type.

    If I want to mix the whole grains into my loaf, am I correct in thinking that the given measure of 1-2 tbls is PER loaf? Am I also correct in thinking that I can add the grains when I mix the master dough? Next recipe to try – pizza! :)

    Reply ↓

  23. Duffy, I’m confused. Where did you get 1-2 T per loaf, the recipe on this page has a lot more than that. Which of our books/which page number are you working out of?

    Reply ↓

    • Hi Jeff,

      I got it from the ingredient list on this web page:

      “1 to 2 tablespoons of whole seed mixture for sprinkling on top crust: sesame, flaxseed, caraway, raw sunflower, poppy, and or anise”

      Reply ↓

  24. Yes, it’s really “to taste,” whatever thickness of coating of seeds you like. And alternatively, yes, right in with the dough mix.

    Reply ↓

  25. Okay, I’m hoping you can help me! I made two loaves of boule from the Whole-Grain Master Recipe. Neither has “sprung up” as much in the oven as I had thought. The second one, on Zoe’s advice, I let rest for an extra half-hour, for a total of two hours of resting time before putting it in the oven, but still, the bread came out fairly flat. What could I still be doing wrong? Thank you!

    Reply ↓

      • Hi Zoe! I’m using Hodgson Mill Whole Wheat Flour, and white flour (just the plain, store-brand stuff). The dough didn’t feel dry, though–if anything, it felt overly wet. I appreciate your help! How great that even with how busy you both must be, you find time to answer individual questions!

      • I just had a thought–it’s very possible that the water I used was too warm. Now that I think back, it was almost certainly a good deal warmer than 100, maybe even bordering on hot rather than lukewarm. Would that keep the bread from “springing up” in the oven?

      • Thank you! I want to share with you that my 20-month-old daughter has been going through a phase of refusing (store-bought) bread. No matter how I gave it to her–toasted, untoasted, plain or with peanut butter or jam–she was just refusing it. Then I made a loaf of the sandwich bread from your first book, subbing about half the flour with white whole-wheat flour. I gave her a slice for breakfast this morning, with a little jam on top, and she devoured it!

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