Easiest Whole Wheat Bread

I like to make my own bread, but sometimes I want to put in very little time and effort. Thus, I've experimented with various "no-knead" methods. I have Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day, and I've tried the "no knead" method popularized by Mark Bittman. To my mind, these methods work wonderfully well with white flour, but not so well with whole wheat or other whole grains. Artisan Bread contains a couple whole-grain bread recipes, but I don't recommend them. It's a useful book if you want to use white flour; otherwise I'd give it a pass.

Bittman's no-knead method involves mixing up your dough without kneading, letting it sit anywhere from four to eighteen hours, then shaping, rising, and baking. The original recipe uses white all-purpose or bread flour. Bittman reports that you can use the same method with whole wheat flour with equally good results, but this isn't my experience. When I make whole wheat bread and don't bake it within a few hours, I find that it develops an odd, sweet, chemical aroma, a bit like nail polish remover mixed with almond extract. Maybe 1) I am crazy and hallucinating this aroma or 2) I have a genetic variation allowing me to smell something many others can't smell. Mike says he can see what I'm talking about, but that the smell doesn't bother him.

Assuming I'm smelling something that others (just not Mark Bittman) can smell, I think it's "overfermentation." Peter Reinhart's Whole Grain Breads uses a technique that, if I'm understanding it correctly, he developed expressly to avoid overfermentation while developing a complex flavor in whole-grain yeasted baked goods. (It's a rather complicated book, and he goes into extensive detail about the science of whole-grain baking.) His recipes are the gold standard, but they involve making two different doughs and a two-day baking process. If you want to make the best possible bread, follow his instructions to the letter. But sometimes I can't be bothered. Thus, I came up with my own lazy recipe.

6 2/3 c. whole-wheat flour (800 g.)
1/4 c. honey
3 c. water
2 T. instant dry yeast
2 T. canola oil
1-2 t. salt

In large container, mix ingredients together without kneading until homogeneous and smooth. Cover container, and let rise for about an hour and a half. Dough should at least double in size. Now, shape dough into smooth ovals, then put into two well-greased loaf pans. (I line the pans with parchment paper too.) Let loaves rise, covered, until about doubled in size. When loaves are almost fully risen, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake about 40 minutes, until you can thump bottom of loaf and get a hollow sound. Cool for 5 minutes, then remove loaves from pan and set on rack to cool.

You can also shape these into baguettes or boules or rolls and bake on a baking stone (for best results, some recipes call for a steam tray and slightly higher temperature, but I don't bother if I'm feeling lazy.)

Before baking, you can brush the tops of the loaves with oil or melted butter, and feel free to sprinkle with poppy seeds, sesame seeds, wheat bran, etc.

As for the science, as I understand it, one needs to develop the gluten in bread by either kneading or letting it sit and organize itself. My method doesn't really let it sit long enough, but it does avoid the offputting (to me) overfermented aroma. If you can muster the energy to knead, I highly recommend Orangette's whole wheat bread recipe. Is she being sarcastic when she calls her mother a genius? I honestly can't tell.

Useful Links

Mark Bittman's no-knead white bread
Mark Bittman's faster no-knead white bread
Mark Bittman's fast no-knead whole wheat bread
Mark Bittman's no-knead whole wheat sandwich bread (lighter and less bricklike)