Baking Vegan Tall Sandwich Bread

[lovemyfamily6]

We buy whole grain wheat bread in the grocery store that is delicious and organic. Unfortunately, it also contains honey which we no longer consume.

I have wasted more time and ingredients in the last couple weeks attempting to bake bread. I have tried several recipes, all more than once to see if a slight change made a difference. I have either gotten short loaves that barely went over the top of my pan, loaves that smelled VERY yeasty, loaves that rose and baked beautifully, only to crumble when trying to slice it. I'm getting very frustrated!

I have white whole wheat flour from King Arthur. I'd like to only use that and not add white flour. I'm not good at hand kneading I guess because I always follow the directions and it never forms a really good dough ball. I've been letting my bread machine knead it for me and the I put it in the pan and shape it and let it rise again and bake. My ingredients are all fresh.

Does anyone have any suggestions for me? I'm getting desperate for some great sandwich bread. My son is getting tired of taking crackers to spread his filling on and wants a sandwich. Please help! Thanks.

[EnglishRose]

I use Martha Stewart's white bread recipe. Simple, basic and fool proof!

[lovemyfamily6]

Could I sub my wheat flour?

[dharmamama]

I have been making my own bread for several years, and I have found that the King Arthur white whole wheat simply did not work.

I use a bread recipe that calls for 1 1/2 cups whole wheat and 1 cup white flour. I use King Arthur's unbleached all-purpose flour for the "white" flour and it works great.

dm

[lovemyfamily6]

Thanks! My husband ordered a Vita Mix for me and it should be coming soon. I'm going to buy some wheat berries and grind my own flour and try that. I really want to bake delicious sandwich bread! I need it to be tall enough because I often use large cookie cutters to make sandwich cut outs for my boys.

[rootzdawta]

I find the key to a tall loaf of bread is adding extra vital wheat gluten. King Arthur makes unbleached white bread flour--I use that for the white flour a recipe calls for. I add 1.5 tsps of gluten for every cup of whole wheat flour I use. I'm pretty sure adding the gluten will help a lot.

Whole wheat bread generally doesn't form as nice a dough ball as breads made with other flours, I find but as long as it is staying together, I think you're good to go. I don't hand knead either . . . just use my Kitchenaid and I sub maple syrup for honey.

[catnip]

I am currently making bread that is 2 parts whole wheat (with an extra tablespoon of gluten in the bottom of each cup) and 1 part white (with a tablespoon of wheat germ in each cup).

[dharmamama]

Originally Posted by rootzdawta

I sub maple syrup for honey.

I sub sorghum for honey. It's high in iron and calcium.

dm

[Dakota's Mom]

Originally Posted by lovemyfamily6

We buy whole grain wheat bread in the grocery store that is delicious and organic. Unfortunately, it also contains honey which we no longer consume.

Does anyone have any suggestions for me? I'm getting desperate for some great sandwich bread. My son is getting tired of taking crackers to spread his filling on and wants a sandwich. Please help! Thanks.

This recipe came with my bread machine. It does have milk in it but I have left the milk out and there was no difference in the bread. I'm wondering if the bread is not making a good ball if it is the machine itself and not your recipe. I also can't knead bread any more due to arthritus, but I love bread from my bread machine.

White Wheat Bread.

1 1/4 + 2 TBL Water
2 TBL Oil
1/4 cup Sugar
2 tsp Salt
2 TBL Dry Milk
3 1/2 cups Bread Flour
1/2 cup Whole Wheat Flour
2 1/4 tsp Active Dry Yeast

In my machine you select the Fruit & Nut Course. It says you can add Sunflower Seeds when it beeps.

Another Favorite Recipe of Mine is
Wheat Dinner Roll Dough
1 1/2 cups water
2 TBL Oil
1/4 cup Brown Sugar
2 tsp Salt
2 TBL Dry Milk
2 1/2 cups Bread Flour
2 cups Whole Wheat Flour
2 1/4 tsp Active Dry Yeast.

I process it on the course for whole wheat bread instead of shaping it into rolls and baking in the oven.

Leaving out the milk has not hurt either of these recipes. I do use King Arthur Bread Flour. It's a lighter texture than whole wheat flour. That might be part of your problem as well. There is not a single recipe in my book that does not use at least some bread flour. The texture of the white wheat may be just too heavy for the bread.

Kathi

[HelloKitty]

Originally Posted by dharmamama

I use a bread recipe that calls for 1 1/2 cups whole wheat and 1 cup white flour. I use King Arthur's unbleached all-purpose flour for the "white" flour and it works great.

I do the same thing, works great.

[lovemyfamily6]

Does anyone have a successful vegan recipe to share that has at least some whole wheat flour? Easy is good too!

My Vita Mix came and I'm going to buy some wheat berries today to grind flour. I really want to bake some bread today!

Also, my pan size is 9.25 x 5.25. Is that okay or do I need to buy an 8.5 x 3.5? Thank you!

[dharmamama]

1 1/4 c warm water
1 T oil
2 T sweetener of your choice (I use sorghum)
1 t salt
1 c white flour (I use KA unlbeached all-purpose)
1 1/2 c whole wheat flour
1/2 c gluten
1 1/2 t dry active yeast
To this I add: 2-4 T ground flax seed

This recipe came with my bread machine, but I don't have the bread machine anymore. I just mix everything with a bread hook in the Kitchenaid for 20 minutes, let rise, punch down, let rise again, and bake for 40 min at 350 F.

dm

[lovemyfamily6]

Originally Posted by dharmamama

1 1/4 c warm water
1 T oil
2 T sweetener of your choice (I use sorghum)
1 t salt
1 c white flour (I use KA unlbeached all-purpose)
1 1/2 c whole wheat flour
1/2 c gluten
1 1/2 t dry active yeast
To this I add: 2-4 T ground flax seed

This recipe came with my bread machine, but I don't have the bread machine anymore. I just mix everything with a bread hook in the Kitchenaid for 20 minutes, let rise, punch down, let rise again, and bake for 40 min at 350 F.

dm

Thank you! I have a few questions because I seem to stink at making bread.

I'm going to use my vita mix to knead it. When it's done, would I put it in my bread pan and let it rise in there? For how long? Is the second rise supposed to last until it looks about how I want the loaf to look when it's done? Will my 9.25 x 5.25 pan work okay? Sorry for all the questions, but I haven't made a decent loaf of bread yet!

[lovemyfamily6]

Originally Posted by dharmamama

1 1/4 c warm water
1 T oil
2 T sweetener of your choice (I use sorghum)
1 t salt
1 c white flour (I use KA unlbeached all-purpose)
1 1/2 c whole wheat flour
1/2 c gluten
1 1/2 t dry active yeast
To this I add: 2-4 T ground flax seed

This recipe came with my bread machine, but I don't have the bread machine anymore. I just mix everything with a bread hook in the Kitchenaid for 20 minutes, let rise, punch down, let rise again, and bake for 40 min at 350 F.

dm

OMG!! I made this today. I think I'm going to buy an 8.5 x 4.5 loaf pan and I didn't oil the pan well enough so it stuck, but the part that worked is so awesome! It's delicious bread and made lovely slices. My boys loved it too. Thank you so so much for sharing your recipe. Bread making has been such a challenge for me and I'm excited to have a great loaf to make. Thanks again!

[lovemyfamily6]

So now that I have this great bread, are there slicing tips? My bread knife just saws back and forth but takes forever to cut through. Maybe I need a new one? It isn't *that* used though. Also, I don't do uniform slices very well. They're either way too thick or so thin it falls apart.

[dharmamama]

Originally Posted by lovemyfamily6

So now that I have this great bread, are there slicing tips? My bread knife just saws back and forth but takes forever to cut through. Maybe I need a new one? It isn't *that* used though. Also, I don't do uniform slices very well. They're either way too thick or so thin it falls apart.

Wow, I am glad you liked the recipe. I had a horrible day today, so seeing that this worked so well for you makes me

Here are some tips: Invest in a bread pan made from baking stone material. I got mine from Pampered Chef, and it is incredible. After a few months of using it, I didn't even have to oil it anymore. I have found that the loaves it produces are superior to all my other loaf pans, especially my glass pans, which allow the bread to "puff" too much.

Also, I have a Pampered Chef bread knife, which I love. Make sure the bread is cooled before you cut it. That makes it much easier. If you have to (or want to) cut it warm, lay the loaf on its side.

You could also buy a bread slicer.

Oh, and btw, I let my dough rise in the Kitchen Aid first, covered with a towel, and then, for the second rise, I put it in the bread pan.

dm

[lovemyfamily6]

Just thought I'd update. Today I bought a new loaf pan from Chicago Metallic. I liked the Pampered Chef one's too, but I'm impatient. I also bought a new bread knife. It works so much better than our old knife. The loaf definitely rivals our storebought for shape and is much better when it comes to flavor! I will probably rarely buy bread now.

Again, thank you so much for this recipe. It's delicious and is definitely something I can work in to our daily schedule.

[dharmamama]

Originally Posted by lovemyfamily6

definitely something I can work in to our daily schedule.

I bake two loaves at a time and I only have to make bread every three days.

dm

[rootzdawta]

Originally Posted by dharmamama

I bake two loaves at a time and I only have to make bread every three days.

dm

Same here!

[Kimber47]

I'm going to try your recipe dharmamama! Looks so good!

I have molasses and agave nectar, have any of you used these in the recipe before? I'm wondering which will be better. (Leaning towards the agave)