Crusty Whole Wheat Bread in a Dutch Oven

At last! The much-requested whole wheat version of my popular overnight no-knead white bread is here! I have tested it obsessively and am so pleased with the results. This whole wheat dough bakes into a crusty, rustic round loaf with a golden-brown, flour dusted, crackling crust. Inside, you'll find a dense-yet-tender crumb with a nutty-yet-mild whole wheat flavor.

It smells amazing while it bakes in a Dutch oven and it is so satisfying cutting hearty slices for sandwiches or toasting aggressively and slathering with homemade butter.

Notes From Recipe Development

Longtime readers of The Practical Kitchen know I have mixed feelings about requests for whole wheat bread recipes. One, I'm not the biggest fan of the flavor of whole wheat breads.

And two, I approach food and recipe development from an anti-diet culture perspective, and the requests for whole wheat bread recipes often come from people who disparage white breads because they think white flour is inherently "unhealthy" or "bad for you". Repeat after me: Food is food, food is morally neutral, and food isn't "bad" for you unless you're allergic or intolerant.

As to whether whole grain flours are radically more nutritious than refined flours, the answer is not as cut and dry as you might think. White flour is refined, but, unlike white sugar, it is not a purified compound; it does contain protein, vitamins, and minerals alongside all that starch. And wheat starch, unlike sucrose, is a complex carbohydrate, not a simple one. Yes, white flour is lacking in fiber, but you can get fiber elsewhere in your diet, and, more importantly, the health benefits of fiber are not incontrovertible.

— Bread Educator Andrew Janjigian, "Wheat or White?"

But some people do just like how whole wheat bread tastes. And as a recipe developer, I wanted to challenge myself to come up with a whole wheat bread recipe that was beginner-friendly and tasted good for those of you who want to enjoy whole wheat bread! Whatever your reason is!

From a purely baking science perspective, making bread with whole wheat flour is a lot harder than making bread with white flour. This is because bread-making is all about developing a gluten network in your dough. The strength of the gluten network is what allows the dough to trap air and hold its shape as it rises and bakes. Whole wheat flour contains the bran and endosperm of the wheat berries, which cut through that gluten network and weaken it.

Whole wheat flour is also more absorbent than white flour, which is why whole wheat breads often have a reputation for being dry. They need more water than their white bread counterparts. And more water = stickier dough = dough that's harder to handle.

So when I decided to make a whole wheat bread recipe, I wanted to make a loaf of whole wheat bread I genuinely enjoyed eating from a dough that wasn't a total pain to work with. I wanted to push the amount of whole wheat flour and water as high as I could without sacrificing too much strength, structure, and, most importantly: taste. And I wanted to do it while keeping the ingredient list as simple as possible.

My Perfect Ratio of Whole Wheat and White Flour

Like most whole wheat bread recipes, this recipe uses a blend of whole wheat and white flours. In this case, a blend of 42% whole wheat flour and 58% all-purpose flour.

To develop this whole wheat bread recipe, I started with my easy no-knead crusty white bread recipe and began experimenting with replacing a portion of the all-purpose flour with whole wheat flour in increasingly larger amounts. I was shocked and delighted to find I could go as high as 42% whole wheat flour and still produce a dough that was relatively easy to work with and a loaf of bread that wasn't dry.

On average, no-knead breads to range in hydration from 70% to 90%. My white no-knead bread recipe is an 80% hydration loaf (meaning the amount of water is 80% of the total weight of the flour).

But whole wheat flour is more absorbent than white flour, and I did not want a dry, dense whole wheat bread so I increased the amount of water in this whole wheat bread recipe to 85% hydration.

Even with more water, which usually produces larger air bubbles in the final bread loaf, this final whole wheat loaf has a relatively uniform interior crumb. That's because of the weaker gluten network from the whole wheat flour — it can't stretch as much to trap larger air bubbles.

Ingredient Notes

You only need five ingredients to make this easy whole wheat no-knead bread! See recipe card (at the end of the post) for quantities.

All-Purpose Flour - I use King Arthur Baking Company's all purpose flour which has a higher protein content (closer to bread flour) than other brands of flour. If you're using a grocery store brand of flour, you may get better results using their bread flour.

Whole Wheat Flour - You can use whole wheat or white whole wheat flour (sometimes called golden wheat flour) in this bread recipe. They are the same nutritionally and in terms of the way they behave in baking. The only difference between them is that whole wheat flour is made from hard red spring wheat, while white whole wheat flour is made from hard white spring wheat. White whole wheat flour has a milder taste, ideal if you're someone who doesn't love the aggressively nutty taste whole wheat flour often brings to baked goods.

No-knead bread relies on time (instead of kneading) to develop a gluten network. The gluten network traps the gas produced by the yeast, creating air bubbles in the dough.

Thanks to the long, slow rise time you have a big window (about 2-4 hours) where this whole wheat bread dough is perfectly proofed and for shaping.

Depending on how cool or warm your kitchen is, your dough may rise faster or slower.

Make adjustments based on your kitchen environment as needed!

Then, turn the dough out onto a generously floured counter. It's very sticky dough, and the flour will prevent it from sticking. Dust the top lightly with flour too — just enough so your hands don't stick.

Whole wheat dough can feel particularly fragile during this process, so, if it helps, slide a bench scraper or plastic bowl scraper under the edges to help lift and fold the dough edges over the center.

The dough may stick to your hands slightly, but that's okay. You want it to stretch, not tear, so don't stretch it past its breaking point. Use a light touch and flour your hands or the bench scraper as needed to prevent sticking.

When all the edges have been tucked into the middle, flip the dough over. Now, the dough ball will have a nice smooth top.

Dust the top of the shaped loaf with flour, then cover it with a clean kitchen towel to rest. This final resting step after shaping allows the gluten network to relax and strengthen, and also regain some volume before baking.

During the final 30 minutes of rising time, preheat the oven with a covered Dutch oven inside.

Scoring and Baking

Scoring bread creates a vent for steam to escape in the oven. Without scoring, your bread will burst open unpredictably during any weak spots in the crust and might even blow out at the bottom.

When I make whole wheat bread like this, I like to use my lame to cut a design with a shaft of wheat into the top of the loaf to indicate it's whole wheat. But you can also just do a single slash down the middle or side if you prefer.

A dutch oven is the best way to get a nice crusty loaf

The tight space of the Dutch oven traps the steam released by the dough as it bakes, creating a moist environment that creates a super crunchy crust. It also helps control how the loaf rises in the oven — you'll get a rounder, taller loaf in a Dutch oven.

When you first take the lid off, your loaf will look pale. That's normal. The final 10-15 minute uncovered bake time is when the top will take on that gorgeous brown color.

Carefully remove the whole wheat loaf from the Dutch oven to a cooling rack. Let the whole wheat bread cool completely before slicing it. If you slice it before it cools, the steam trapped in the bread will turn the starches to mush.

What if you don't have a dutch oven? I tested this on a sheet pan in a 450°F oven with a couple ice cubes tossed on the sheet pan to create steam and it does work, but the crust isn't quite as nice and you won't get quite as dramatic a rise (oven spring). The confined space of the Dutch oven really will give you the best results.

Practical Tips & Recipe Notes

• Head over to my no-knead bread recipe for instructions on how to use a banneton or brotform to shape this whole wheat dough, for more detailed tips on doing a longer cold rise in the fridge, and more!
• Experiment with adjusting the hydration levels and the ratio of whole wheat flour to all-purpose flour in this recipe to find your perfect version!
• Getting a tall, domed loaf of bread depends on proper proofing, your shaping technique, and can be affected by the size of your Dutch oven. I got the best results baking this whole wheat bread in a 5.5 quart Dutch oven. If you used a bigger Dutch oven, if your dough was overproofed at all, or if you didn't create enough surface tension when you shaped the dough, these are all things that can cause a loaf to bake up with a flatter shape.

📖 Recipe