No-Knead 100% Whole Wheat Bread

By AzWench

If you've never baked yeast bread, but want to learn how, this is the loaf to start with. Unlike most yeast breads, this one isn't kneaded; instead, the soft dough is simply beaten in a bowl for several minutes, then scooped into a bread pan. An hour later, it's ready to pop into the oven. The result: A dense, moist, easy-to-slice loaf, ideal for sandwiches. Or spread thin slices with flavored cream cheese; the extra fiber in the bread will assuage any guilt you feel about the richness of the cheese!

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 Baker's Special Dry Milk or nonfat dry milk
• 1 1/4 teaspoons salt
• 3 cups King Arthur whole wheat flour, white whole wheat preferred

Details

Servings 1
Preparation time 7mins
Cooking time 142mins
Adapted from kingarthurflour.com

Preparation

Step 1

1) Heavily grease an 8 1/2" x 4 1/2" loaf pan. This loaf tends to stick, so be sure to grease the pan thoroughly with non-stick vegetable oil spray.

2) Combine all of the ingredients in a large bowl. Beat the mixture vigorously for about 3 minutes; an electric mixer set on high speed works well here. You should have a very sticky dough. It won't be pourable, but neither will it be kneadable. Scoop it into the prepared pan.

3) Cover the pan with lightly greased plastic wrap, and let it rise for 60 to 90 minutes; it should just about rise to the rim of the pan, perhaps just barely cresting over the rim. While the dough is rising, preheat the oven to 350°F.

4) Uncover the bread, and bake it for about 40 to 45 minutes, tenting it with aluminum foil after 20 minutes. The bread is done when it's golden brown on top, and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center registers between 190°F and 195°F. Remove it from the oven, and after 5 minutes turn it out onto a rack. Brush with melted butter, if desired; this will keep the crust soft. Cool the bread completely before cutting it.

Tips from our bakers:
For best results, use an 8 1/2" x 4 1/2" loaf pan. 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.

Most breads are done when their interior temperature registers 190°F. Why do we give this one a range of up to 195°F? Because breads that start with an ultra-moist dough (and yield a moist loaf) are able to bake to a slightly higher temperature without becoming dry.