Can I use a stand mixer?

We love mixing this dough by hand in a large bowl, but you can certainly use an electric mixer (like a KitchenAid stand mixer) fitted with the dough hook if you prefer! Just keep an eye on it as the mixer runs: Stand mixers can often trap pockets of flour on the very bottom of the bowl, which makes the mixing process take a lot longer. If your mixer feels like it's not really making progress, turn it off, remove the bowl, and flip the dough over a few times by hand to help it get back on track!

Can I let this bread rise in the fridge overnight?

Yes. After finishing your final set of stretch and folds, cover the dough with an airtight lid or a piece of plastic wrap and transfer to the fridge overnight (ideally 6-10 hours). The next day, let the dough come back to room temperature for a few hours on the counter. Shape and bake normally. You'll have a slightly taller, more compact loaf with a more developed flavor:

Have another question?

See even more detailed FAQs about bread baking in our Easy Crusty French Bread post, or enroll in our Everyday Artisan Bread course for step-by-step training lessons that take you through every technique, buzzword, and more!

Whole Wheat Crusty Bread

Description

This easy, crusty whole wheat bread is baked in a Dutch oven for a crispy crust and soft interior. Instead of kneading, you'll gently fold the dough over on itself - a technique called stretch and folds - as it rises. This creates an elastic, easy-to-shape dough and a taller loaf with minimal effort!

Ingredients

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9 grams active dry yeast (2 1/4 teaspoons)
12 grams honey (1 Tablespoon)
320 grams warm water, about 100° Fahrenheit (1 ⅓ cup)
120 grams All Purpose Flour (about 1 cup when measured correctly by scooping and leveling), plus extra for dusting
295 grams Whole Wheat Flour (about 2 ¼ cups)
12 grams kosher salt (3 teaspoons)

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Instructions

Proof the Yeast

Mix yeast, honey, and warm water in a large mixing bowl. Let it sit for 5-10 minutes, until yeast is foamy.

Mix the dough

Add all purpose flour and whole wheat flour to the yeast mixture. Use a wooden spoon or sturdy spatula to stir dough about halfway, then sprinkle kosher salt across the surface of the dough. Continue stirring until no dry flour remains.
Cover dough with a clean tea towel and let rest at room temperature for 15 minutes.

Three sets of stretch and folds

Run your hands under a bit of cold water to prevent the dough from sticking. Gently slide your hands under the dough, stretch one side up towards you, then fold it in towards the center - kind of like folding an envelope. Repeat this process on each side of the dough, until you've done 4-6 of these stretch and folds. The dough may feel loose and sticky here - that’s ok! Just run your hands under a little more cold water if it’s sticking too much. You'll notice the dough get smoother and feel a bit tighter the more you fold it.
Re-cover the dough with a tea towel and let rise another 15 minutes, then perform another set of stretch and folds. Repeat this process one more time for a total of 3 sets of stretch and folds.
After your third set of stretch and folds, cover the dough and let it rise undisturbed for 45 minutes, until it's not quite doubled in size.

Shape the dough & final rise

Preheat the oven. Place an empty dutch oven (with the lid on) in your oven and heat to 460° Fahrenheit.
Lightly flour a large cutting board.
Gently tip the dough out of the bowl and onto the cutting board. Don't punch the dough down - you want to preserve all those air bubbles!
Shape the loaf. Pull each edge of the dough in towards the center (like folding an envelope) a few times, until you feel the dough tighten up and start to resist your folds. Flip the dough over and gently pull it towards yourself to tighten it into a nice round loaf.
Flour a proofing basket or a small mixing bowl; place your loaf into it seam-side down. Cover with a tea towel and let rise another 30 minutes while the oven heats up.

Bake

Gently tip your bread dough onto a piece of parchment paper. Make sure the seam-side is facing up this time - that will create the beautiful cracks across the surface of your finished loaf.
Use oven mitts to carefully remove the hot dutch oven from the oven and set the lid aside. Use the edges of the parchment paper to carefully lower your loaf into the hot dutch oven, use oven mitts to return the dutch oven lid to the pot, then slide the whole thing back into the your hot oven.
Cook bread for 30 minutes.
After 30 minutes, use an oven mitt to remove the lid from your dutch oven. The bread should be crusty and lightly browned.
Return the dutch oven to the oven and cook, uncovered, for 5-10 minutes more, until the bread has deepened in color. Carefully remove bread to a cooling rack, and let cool at least 30-60 minutes before slicing.

Notes

If you're new to bread baking, we recommend starting with our no knead crusty bread recipe before moving on to whole wheat. We introduce a new technique - stretch and folds - in this recipe; we highly recommend reading the FULL post above before you start baking for best results. You'll find step by step photos and lots of important tips to help you along!

Please use a kitchen scale! Measuring flour by volume (with cups) is notoriously unreliable – for best results, use a scale to measure by weight with the gram measurements provided! We use and recommend Escali kitchen scales. If you don’t have a kitchen scale, measure ingredients (especially flour, which is the most finicky) with the scoop and level method for best results.

Equipment. We used a 6-quart Dutch oven in these photos; we have also tested this recipe with 4- and 5.5- qt. Dutch ovens. As always, please consult the care instructions on your individual equipment.

Whole wheat flours can vary by brand. We test all our recipes with - and highly recommend - King Arthur Flours for bread baking. This recipe works best with fresh, high quality wheat flour: It should smell nutty and slightly sweet straight out of the bag, but not musty.