Troubleshooting Whole Grain Breads
Problem: Bread is dense.
The biggest problem most people face is that their breads are squatter and denser than what they’re used to seeing. What can you do about it, besides adjusting expectations?
1. In recipes that mix whole-grain and refined flours, consider using high-protein bread flour rather than all-purpose flour.
2. Some people add vital wheat gluten to whole-grain recipes to improve the texture, as with this Irresistible Whole Wheat Challah.
Problem: Bread falls apart.
To help whole-grain loaves hold their shape better, try giving the dough a long, slow final rise in the refrigerator rather than a shorter rise on the counter.
Be aware, if you are using small-batch flours or home-ground ingredients, that they may not produce consistent results. Use your own judgment and adjust recipe variables like rising time as needed.
About This Banana Bread
Banana bread is an all-time personal family favorite. When I find myself pressed for time, which happens often, I throw this quick recipe together with overripe bananas and other pantry staples. Its no surprise that this vegan banana bread is one of the most popular baking recipes on my blog, alongside my mouthwatering Banana Cake and Chocolate Cake recipes.
About 9 years ago, I started to get requests for an eggless version of the classic banana bread recipe. And I tried I tried many, many times to make the absolute best eggless banana bread and I failed at least 6 times before finally getting it right!
Making an eggless or vegan cake or bread is always a challenge, as one wants the best texture and taste in the bread. I succeeded at making eggless and vegan versions, but I was never quite satisfied with the texture of the loaves.
I tried adding vinegar, buttermilk, cornflour and so many other ingredients, but it just never came to that perfect, moist bread. The loaf kept ending up dry and soft, but a bit dense and even crumbly at times.
So one day, I decided that I would simplify my ingredients list and that I would only use items that were easily available in my kitchen. I even realized that I could puree bananas and use that as an egg substitute which works perfectly for banana bread. Well, I added just bananas, oil and a few other ingredients from my pantry and the result was a moist, light, and soft eggless banana bread.
Best Healthy Soft Seedy Sandwich Bread
This homemade healthy sandwich bread recipe is soft and made with healthy ingredients like whole wheat flour, sunflower seeds, poppyseeds, sesame seeds, oats, flaxseed and just a touch of honey. Youll love making this for healthy sandwiches, avocado toast, french toast and so much more! THIS IS THE BEST HOMEMADE BREAD EVER!
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Youve probably noticed via stories that Ive been on a bread baking kick lately. The inclination to bake my own sandwich bread came after visiting my Grandma and watching her crank out her homemade bread quicker than Martha Stewart. Not only was the bread SO much better than the store-bought version, but it was a creative hands-on activity that I felt I could incorporate into an afternoon. Plus, baking homemade bread just makes me proud, you know?
So here we are! The recipe youve been waiting for: my soft, homemade healthy sandwich bread recipe made with whole wheat flour, nutritious seeds, oats and naturally sweetened with just a touch of honey. Ive been making this for over a month and cant stop. Each week a new batch bakes in my oven, making the house smell wonderful. We use this sandwich bread recipe for sandwiches, garlic bread, french toast, avocado toast the list goes on! And now you can make it too.
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How To Make Sourdough Bread
Having a sourdough starter is key to making sourdough bread. Once your starter is made and active, its time to make your first loaves of sourdough bread.
The ingredients amounts listed below makes 2 loaves of bread. Why make 1 loaf when you can make 2? I typically make 6 loaves of bread at a time, and freeze 3 loaves. We typically eat 1 whole loaf the day I bake bread. Remember, there are 6 of us in my home.
Why Is My Homemade Gluten
A few things can cause dense bread. For starters, make sure you added enough vinegar to your dough. Vinegar helps lighten the bread dough so if your loaves are coming out a little dense, try adding a bit more vinegar next time.
Substituting different gluten-free flours in this recipe can also make the dough heavier. If possible, stick with the arrowroot and blanched almond flour listed here. We chose them specifically to create a bread thats light and fluffy inside.
Overmixing your dough can create a flat, tough, dense bread. Theres no need to knead the dough in this recipe, so simply mix the ingredients until theyre combined and theyve formed a workable dough.
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Tips For Best Results
All zucchini bread recipes differ. Here is what I recommend to do with your zucchini for this healthy zucchini bread recipe:
- Do not peel: Squashs skin is very soft and once cooked it becomes very tender. So, do not waste your time and discard valuable nutrients.
- Do not squeeze: You do not have to squeeze zucchini for my recipe because we want all the water to make the bread moist.
- Pack in a cup: You want 2 cups packed of shredded zucchini. As you fill up the cup with handfuls gently press on zucchini before adding more. Dont go crazy but just pat it inside.
- Frozen zucchini: I have heard from a few readers they freeze shredded zucchini and then use in baking. I have not tried. But if you are wondering, I would thaw frozen shredded zucchini for a bit so its not one blob and try. Please let me know if you do.
Please follow the recipe: I cant stress enough that baking is a science and 99% times deviations from original recipe result in baking fails.
How To Make Banana Bread Without Eggs
Ive always been tempted to learn how make banana bread without eggs. It seemed like such a shame to waste the egg whites that were left over from other recipes. But, I didnt know how that would affect the rise and the texture of the bread itself. This article will provide you with all the information and guidance you need for perfect banana bread every single time. So read on, you curious cat!
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How To Buy Ready
Read the label. Watch out for added sugar or other sweeteners, even if they’re labeled as “natural” sweeteners. When buying breads, choose options that are free of artificial preservatives or flavorings. Salt is an essential ingredient in bread, but packaged breads sometimes contain too much — the nutrition label will tell you how much of the recommended daily amount each slice contains, making it easier to compare different choices. Finally, take a closer look at terms that sound good but are hard to define. For instance, a bread can be “multigrain,” which just means that it contains more than one type of grain, without necessarily being good for you.
How To Serve 100% Whole Wheat Bread
Besides just eating it warm from the oven, this homemade bread can be enjoyed in so many ways.
Its perfect for sandwiches, because of its soft, pillow-y texture.
And it toasts beautifully! I love to slather it with butter and give it a sprinkling of cinnamon sugar, or a swipe of jam. That plus a cup of hot, milky tea and Im in heaven.
You could also use it as a base for your avocado toast!
If you find your leftovers are starting to get a bit dry, use them for French toast or bread pudding, or whiz them up in the food processor to make bread crumbs.
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How To Make Multigrain Bread
Mix the hot cereal and boiling water together. Let it stand until it reaches 100F, about 1 hour.
Once it reaches temperature add it to the bowl of a stand mixer. Add the butter, honey, yeast, and salt. Stir to combine. Let it sit for 10 minutes.
Stir in flours and salt a little at a time. Let the dough rest for 20 minutes.
Knead until the dough clears the sides of the bowl. Let the dough rise until doubled in size.
Form the dough into two loaves and place in greased loaf pans. Let the dough rise for about 30 minutes. Bake.
+ Decadent Stuffed Bread Recipes To Munch On 2022
Stuffed bread recipes are a beauty. The light and fluffy outside is a delight to enjoy. With the right fillings, you can elevate everything about bread to another level. Plus, you get to be creative with deciding what to put into the pastry.
Whats more, they are easier to make than they look. Just follow the instructions, and with little cooking skills, anyone can whip up the most delicious stuffed bread. Be patient, and you will be rewarded with flavorsome goodness beyond your imagination.
Lets dig in what are the best options for bread fillings. You have many choices: from potatoes to veggies and cheese. Theres something for everyone. So rest assured that you can satisfy the demands of every member of your family. Start making the most awesome stuffed bread now!
Contents
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Watch How To Make Healthy Banana Bread
- Total Time:1 hour 5 minutes
- Yield:1 loaf 1x
4.8 from 2414 reviews
With this healthy banana bread recipe, youre only a few simple ingredients away from the best banana bread ever! Its made with whole wheat flour and naturally sweetened with honey or maple syrup. You can easily make this banana bread vegan or gluten freecheck the recipe notes for details. Recipe yields 1 loaf .
What Is Sourdough French Bread
Sourdough French bread has all of the charm and flavor of regular French bread, but it is a slow-fermented bread that has the natural leavening ingredient, sourdough, in it that takes the place of yeast.
Regular French bread uses commercial yeast to cause the bread to rise, while sourdough French bread uses the wild yeast from a sourdough starter to create rise to the bread.
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Best Whole Wheat Bread Recipe
My Mom put on her apple apron, pulled out the flour containers, and kneaded homemade bread like nobody’s business. There was nothing like the smell of homemade bread straight out of the oven. I would run home from school much faster on those days when my Mom was baking homemade bread. I slathered the homemade bread with sweet cream butter and honey or berry jam. To this day it is still one of the most comforting foods that always reminds me of home.
I haven’t carried on my Mom’s tradition of weekly homemade bread because I have always said that it is way too time consuming. I still love to make it and feel a lot of satisfaction when it comes out of the oven but needed to find an easier way. Let me introduce to you the power of one hour bread!
Our good friend, Shannon Lundin, has finally shared her top secret bread recipe! After not being able to eat gluten, she found that she could eat homemade whole wheat bread made from scratch with zero issues. It is such an amazing discovery and she is sharing her whole wheat bread recipe with all of us. I called her and asked if I could share this with my readers and she was happy to share.
After trying this bread in Texas, I couldn’t wait to follow her recipe and try it at home. I halved her best homemade one hour whole wheat bread recipe. I was in shock that it only took ONE HOUR to make two loaves of homemade bread. Amazing! It is incredible that you can make homemade bread start to finish in one hour.
% Whole Wheat Bread Recipe: Homemade And Delicious
This 100% Whole Wheat Bread recipe makes healthy loaves of soft, incredibly flavorful homemade bread. Sweetened with honey, its absolutely perfect for toast, sandwiches, or snacking. It also happens to be my favorite homemade bread.
If you bake bread, you know that the aroma coming from homemade bread baking in the oven is almost indescribable. It lifts the mood in the whole house and builds expectations for delicious things to come.
Think sandwiches and morning toast. Think soup, like our Ribolitta, served with slices of homemade bread, drizzled in honey.
My mouth is watering as I think of it.
Truly, its a gift to yourself and those you live with.
I try to make homemade bread every week, often this 100% Whole Wheat Bread. I dont always get to it, but its a worthy and delicious goal.
Especially when you pair it with an easy, small-batch Refrigerated Strawberry Jam.
This recipe makes two loaves, which is perfect for freezing one ahead. But in my house it never seems to last into the next week.
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How To Make Your Own Delicious And Healthy Bread
After lots of experimenting I arrived at this recipe, which is now the only bread we’ve been eating in our home for several weeks. My 5 year old loves it and my wife loves it too. It’s also super easy to make. The only caveat is that it takes about three hours in total, so you have to plan a bit ahead. Most of that time it’s just waiting, so no worries. If you start early in the evening you can go to bed in a house that smells like a delicious bakery and have fresh bread in the morning.
Banana Bread Flour Options
This recipe is flexible! Any of the following flours will work well. I love to use white whole wheat flour and whole wheat pastry flourthey offer all the whole wheat nutrients, without the characteristically nutty flavor.
- All-purpose flour
- Whole wheat pastry flour
- White whole wheat flour
*To substitute oat flour, youll need to use 2 1/2 cups, for reasons elaborated in my guide to oat flour.
Want to make your banana bread with almond flour? You sure can, but its not a simple substitute, so follow my almond flour-based banana bread recipe instead.
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Apple Cinnamon Spiral Bread With Caramel Cream Cheese Frosting
Total time: 2 hours 10 minutes
You know what they say about apples . So, it makes sense why you should incorporate this red fruit more into your daily meal, and this apple cinnamon spiral bread with caramel cream cheese frosting is a perfect way to do that.
Besides apples, this dish is chock-full of various tastes like caramel cream cheese frosting, sweet butter along with vanilla extract, and warm spices such as cinnamon. Who knows that one bread could stuff so many amazing ingredients at the same time?
What Is The Healthiest Bread You Can Eat
The healthiest bread you can eat is whole wheat bread. White bread made with all-purpose flour has been stripped of most of the nutrients. But healthy whole wheat bread contains bran, germ and endosperm which are loaded with nutrients.
That’s not the only reason whole wheat bread is the healthiest bread you can eat. This basic whole wheat bread recipe contains heart-healthy olive oil and just a tiny amount of brown sugar. Don’t be tempted to skip the sugar in the recipe. You need it for the yeast to bloom.
Although this is a whole wheat bread healthy recipe, it’s not made from 100% whole wheat flour. Healthy bread recipes made only with whole wheat bread tend to be on the tough, dense side. Because this basic whole wheat bread recipe is made with a 50-50 ratio of all-purpose and whole wheat flour, you get the best of both worlds. Loads of filling fibre and healthy nutrition along with a light and chewy loaf you’ll look forward to eating.
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Which Yeast Is Best For Bread + How To Know When Yeast Is Activated
I get this question all the time in my cinnamon roll recipe and can understand why it may be confusing to know if your yeast is activated. First its important to know that there are two types of yeast to choose from. The first is an active dry yeast, which must be dissolved in liquid, or also whats known as being proofed before its added to the rest of the dough ingredients.
The second type of yeast is instant yeast, also known as quick rise yeast . Thats what we are using for this seedy healthy sandwich bread recipe. It can be added to the dough without proofing required. However, I still like to dissolve it in a little bit of milk to help get it started.
You can use either type of yeast in this recipe, just know that if you use active dry yeast, it may take the bread longer to rise. Youll know when the yeast is activated when you see a few small foamy looking bubbles start to pop up in the milk/oat/honey mixture.
Golden Brown Texture Like Sun
After 45 minutes your two breads are finished. They should have a golden brown texture. Now they need to cool off. I let them rest all in the open for a few minutes. Then I pack my breads into the same tea towel so they can breathe out excessive moist.
Next morning: fresh delicious bread! Enjoy!
TIP: you can vary the ingredients to taste. Try multiple grain flour instead of wheat flour. I use very little salt in this recipe, so if it’s not appeasing your taste buds, you might consider adding a little more salt.
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