Fresh bread

Making a Simple Cracked Wheat Bread, Plus some Bread Baking Tips

I love making bread – it’s an iconic kitchen smell of rising dough and freshly baked loaves coming out of the oven. I also try to eat healthy, so I found a basic cracked wheat bread recipe and have modified to our tastes.

I start with some hard winter wheat berries. I bought a Kitchen Aid grain mill specifically to grind the small amounts of wheat (or other grains) I need for bread. For grinding a lot of flour, a heavier grain mill would be needed, but this one works fine for my needs. It has settings for grinds from larger pieces to fine flour. So for this recipe I grind wheat berries, and sometimes mix in hull-less barley for a multigrain bread.

The bread recipe also has a small amount of rolled oats, so it truly is multi-grain.

It does take a while to make, since the dough rises twice, and then again after the loaves are formed. So it’s a good thing to do when you have a whole morning or afternoon. The recipe makes 4 loaves or 3 really large loaves – so great when there’s a crowd to feed or to give away as gifts, but it also freezes well. You’ll need a LARGE bowl for rising, or divide in half and place in two bowls.

I also use my larger more heavy duty Kitchen Aid stand mixer (vs a small one), and spend 5-10 minutes kneading by hand to work the dough and get the gluten activated.

Lovely puffy rising bread dough in an oiled bowl

IN order to make the loaves equal – they need to bake at the same rate – I cut an measure the dough before I form the loaves. I have an old Salter Scale with a lid that closes, and though it’s not made anymore, Salter makes other food scales available today, and there are also plenty of cheaper options on Amazon.

portioning the dough equally

I prefer my cast iron bread pans, which form a nice crust, but today I also experimented with a clay bread pan. It was given to me years ago by a girlfriend. Mine works by soaking it in water to let the clay become damp, which also can create a crispy crust, then drying, a quick spray of oil, and let the bread dough rise in it the second time, just like any other pan.

rising loaves
Dough risen and ready to bake
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Easy Cracked Wheat Bread

Freshly ground cracked wheat or wheat and barley mix makes tasty loaves of fresh bread.

Course Bread
Cuisine American
Keyword yeast bread, cracked wheat bread, multi-grain bread
Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 35 minutes
Resting times 1 hour 30 minutes
Total Time 1 hour

Ingredients

  • 2 tbsp yeast
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • 2 cups warm water
  • 1/3 cup honey
  • 1/3 c vegetables/olive oil
  • 1 cup cold water
  • ½ cup quick oats
  • 1.5 cups white whole wheat flour
  • 1.5 cup cracked wheat or a mix of freshly cracked grains
  • 6-7 cups bread flour
  • Butter for top of loaves

Instructions

  1. Prepare the yeast mix – mix yeast, sugar and warm water together and let sit for 15 minutes to proof and grow.
  2. Add the honey, oil and cold water in mixer bowl. Stir it well. Then attach a dough hook and add the oats, whole wheat flour and cracked wheat. Mix well.
  3. Start adding bread flour one cup at a time. The dough will start to pull away form the side of the bowl when you reach enough flour. Turn out and knead a few times

  4. Place in a greased bowl and let rise until doubled.  Depending on how warm your kitchen is, it might be only 30-40 minutes or it might be an hour.

  5. Punch down, form into a ball, and re-grease the bowl. Let rise again until double in size.

  6. Punch down and form into a ball. Divide into 4 pieces. Form each into an oblong loaf. Place in 4 well-greased bread pans,  and let rise until doubled.

  7. Bake 350 F for 35-40 minutes. Remove from pans to cool, and brush tops with butter. Do not cut for at least 30 minutes.

Recipe Notes

Wrap tightly to freeze. It freezes well.

Bread baking tips:

  • To clean up the batter bowl, fill with warm water and let it sit. Once all the dough bits have loosened and gotten pasty, dump out most of the water carefully, then wipe the bowl with a paper towel to remove all the gooey dough that you don’t want in the sink. Dump our the bit of water and dough in the bottom into the garbage.
  • To make a warm place for dough to rise, turn your oven onto a low temperature for a few minutes, then turn the oven off. Put the dough into to rise when the oven is just warm.
  • Another warm option is to use the drawer beneath the oven (if you have one), which usually get plenty warm when the oven was on.
  • Yet another option is to use a heating pad, set on low, and just place the bowl or loaf directly on the pad. It will warm the bottom enough for dough to rise.
  • On my stove there are vents on the back of the range where heat comes up from the oven – this works for me as well.
  • Make sure to knead dough long enough to encourage the gluten to form, which makes the dough rise. The dough should be smooth and elastic. A small piece of dough should stretch without breaking. A mixer with a dough hook works fairly well, but I prefer to finish the kneading by hand. When you think you have kneaded the dough long enough, so it for a few more minutes!
  • Let the dough rise long enough to double or triple in volume & height. I want loaves of bread with a rounded top.
Cracked Wheat Bread ready to eat!