Fast No-Knead Whole Wheat Bread Recipe (2024)

Recipe from Jim Lahey

Adapted by Mark Bittman

Fast No-Knead Whole Wheat Bread Recipe (1)

Total Time
45 minutes, plus 5 hours' rising
Rating
4(653)
Notes
Read community notes

This recipe is a variation on the original no-knead bread, which Mark Bittman learned from the baker Jim Lahey. It's an attempt to bake a loaf with a higher percentage of whole grain. The results are wonderful: you can use 100 percent whole grains, you can vary their percentages all you want (though all-rye bread doesn’t rise much at all) and you can add nongrain flours, sweeteners or dairy. If the proportions of liquid, solid and yeast stay the same, the timing and results will be consistent. —Mark Bittman

Featured in: No-Knead Bread: Not Making Itself Yet, but a Lot Quicker

  • or to save this recipe.

  • Subscriber benefit: give recipes to anyone

    As a subscriber, you have

    10 gift recipes to give each month. Anyone can view them - even nonsubscribers.

    Learn more.

    Subscribe

  • Print Options

    Include recipe photo

Advertisem*nt

Ingredients

Yield:1 loaf

  • 2cups whole wheat flour
  • ½cup whole rye flour
  • ½cup coarse cornmeal
  • 1teaspoon instant yeast
  • teaspoons salt
  • Oil as needed

Ingredient Substitution Guide

Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)

224 calories; 2 grams fat; 0 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 1 gram monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 46 grams carbohydrates; 6 grams dietary fiber; 0 grams sugars; 7 grams protein; 147 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

Powered by

Fast No-Knead Whole Wheat Bread Recipe (2)

Preparation

  1. Step

    1

    Combine flours, cornmeal, yeast and salt in a large bowl. Add 1½ cups water and stir until blended; dough will be shaggy. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let dough rest about 4 hours at warm room temperature, about 70 degrees.

  2. Step

    2

    Oil a standard loaf pan (8 or 9 inches by 4 inches; nonstick works well). Lightly oil your hands and shape dough into a rough rectangle. Put it in pan, pressing it out to the edges. Brush top with a little more oil. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest 1 hour more.

  3. Step

    3

    Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake bread about 45 minutes, or until loaf reaches an internal temperature of 210 degrees. Remove bread from pan and cool on a rack.

Ratings

4

out of 5

653

user ratings

Your rating

or to rate this recipe.

Have you cooked this?

or to mark this recipe as cooked.

Private Notes

Leave a Private Note on this recipe and see it here.

Cooking Notes

Erich Hayner

By weight:240g bread flour51g rye flour82g Coarse cornmeal340g water1tsp yeast1½tsp salt

Darrin

Typical bread flour reacts better with yeast which helps to create more gluten and more rise in breads. The bran and germ present in whole wheat flour makes it harder for the dough to rise thus creating a denser loaf. If you want more rise, replace half the whole wheat with bread flour and adjust the water (you should use less).

David

This is a fantastic recipe if you like a nice sturdy ready. Very flavorful and satisfying, extremely easy to make. I'm on my sixth loaf now, every one has come out perfectly. Good for sandwiches and toasting, plus a decent shelf life.

recox

I agree with Sarah -- this isn't the greatest recipe for no-knead whole wheat bread. Search instead for the "Speedy No-Knead Bread" recipe and use the whole wheat/rye recipe posted by Christine Staples under the cooking notes. You will need wheat gluten. Also, she uses her oven light to keep the oven warm enough to proof the bread overnight. That is a great idea!

Debbie Crane

I like this, but you have to have the right expectation. If you like fluffy light bread, then this is not for you. But if you, like me, are looking for breads that are totally whole grain (so much of what is billed as whole grain actually contains substantial non-whole grains) with a really good taste, then you will like this bread.

Sarah

Hey folks,
Don't waste your time and flour on this recipe. The "bread" is pretty awful. It is barely edible and looks like a heavy stone. I have no idea why this recipe is still on NYT Cooking.

Rachel

This bread was wonderful. I substituted wheat bran for the corn meal and baked it in a cast iron bread pot. Will be making it again and will add pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds. It is a very dense bread, but I love the fact that there is no regular flour in it!

Andy Q

A bit dense and no dome, but I liked it! So easy. Am going to try the hints from the video under speedy no-knead bread and add a 1/4 tsp of red wine vinegar and use hot water, and see how it turns out! Also, seeds. I'm going to add seeds...

Bettina

This bread is so dense it could serve as a murder weapon (once it cooled down I had a very hard time even slicing it). It becomes more fluffy if you add some wheat gluten and some molasses/maple syrup. There are great other recipes out there for whole-wheat no knead bread.

Meta

I didn't have any problems with this recipe. Rose fine, flavorful - nice bread. It is whole wheat so its going to be a bit denser but not bad at all. The only think is I might cut the salt back to 1 tsp. as I found it a bit salty.

Judy

I tried to make this 4 times and it always looks and feels like a small brick. The flavor is good, but too dense.

Ed

I have used two cups of bread flour and one cup of whole wheat, eliminating the rye and corn. First two loaves were wonderful with a nice top, not flat like the picture. Tasted very very good without too hard a crust. Making a second batch now for comparison.

Silbermuti

Love this recipe - fabulous cut thin for toast as others have noted. I have also variously added in soaked wheatberries, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds and toasted walnuts.

Redsoup65

I've had trouble getting the internal temp all the way to 210. After about 30 more minutes baking I was satisfied with 200. Hope that's safe!

Barbara

I'm a bread novice and this was my first attempt. Recipe is easy and while the bread doesn't rise much and is hard when it leaves the oven, once it cools it becomes a very tasty loaf that's wonderful toasted. I sprinkle wheat bran on top before going in the oven and slice and freeze what I don't use right away.

Gina Betcher

Everyone: USE PARCHMENT PAPER unless you want to lose a loaf pan.

Nina

I’m a fan. Couple of tips:*I measure by weight: 240g of whole wheat flour, 60g each of the other two (I use rye and einkorn), 355g of water.*My kitchen is very cold right now, so I use water at about 100 F and let rise in a briefly (1min) preheated oven with the light on*This dough is more of a batter. Don’t try to shape it. When it’s risen enough to be open and webby when pulled from the bowl, just scrape into your prepared loaf pan.

Ann Parkin

Wow! This bread met and exceeded my goals and expectations! I was looking for a bread that was cheap, convenient and tasty so not to have to buy the cardboard loaves from the major grocery stores. Here are my modifications after 35 of bread-baking: I used AP flour to make up for no rye or cornmeal. I used 2 t yeast and 1 t table sugar. Hot tap water in my cold measuring cup. Followed rising instructions exactly. Loaf was just right - for sandwiches to my husbands deli

Susie

I love this recipe! It makes a textured, crunchy toast with lots of flavor!

Debbie

This is a good recipe, if you want something simple and easy and don't object to a dense bread that won't rise much above the pan. Otherwise, choose a dough with some white flour. There's an easy King Arthur "No- knead Oat Bread" that includes both whole wheat and white with excellant results. As to comments the dough contains too much water, the easy way to deal with that is to use a silicone spatula to form a rough loaf while still in the bowl, then transfer to your pan as best you can.

Lauren

I added seeds to this bread, sesame, pumpkin and walnuts to increase the density and make it higher fiber and protein. It's great with kippers or a slice of thick Jarlsberg and a pickel.

James

I am not sure why the negative comments it produces a great multi grain bread. Lots of texture, some rise but very dense.

Nico N

I’m a fan of this bread. The other reviews that say it’s too tough and dense have a point, but I enjoy the texture and the chew and it reminds me of a dense rye bread you get in Nordic restaurants. Slice thin, add butter and cheese and it soothes my peasant heart.

Brian

Easy and great for toasting. Seeds are a lovely addition. Parchment paper helped avoid sticking to the loaf pan.

Lauren

I just made this and it came out great. The crust is hard and chewey. It's dense. It has a ton of flavor. I think it would be perfect with smashed avocodo and an egg. Or kippers? I added a small handful of pumpkin seeds and a few rolled oats to the top and a few inside while I was shaping the loaf. Reminds me of a bread I had while in Iceland, though not as dark.Try it if you are looking for substantial bread, not a lofty airy loaf.

Harry

This bread is one of my favorites. My thoughts:1. If you want a light, fluffy, nicely domed loaf of bread, find another recipe. 2. Embrace the consistency, reminiscent of a bagel. Great with cream cheese and a sprinkle of everything seasoning, perhaps some lox. Try cream cheese and a good fruit preserve (absent the everything seasoning). 3. 1/4 cup of quick cooking rolled oats to the mix is worthwhile addition.

John

This is a take on the Grant loaf, Lahey just added four hours of rising time. It is very dense, not quite as dense as the Grant loaf (a bread that I love, especially toasted). I've also made whole grain versions of the no-knead bread, with more yeast and some gluten flour added, a full 18 hour rise time, cooked in a dutch oven. Works really well--great crust, a little denser but still fluffy. I like the suggested oven-light proofing idea a lot.

BM

Reading the notes, it seems those who thought this bread turned out well had subbed one or more ingredients, which I think negates the right to review a recipe, no? Sadly, I subbed zero ingredients and the result was a barely edible loaf of bread fit for the gulag. I added two stars for the fiber content only, as this bread will keep you, um, regular.

Private notes are only visible to you.

Fast No-Knead Whole Wheat Bread Recipe (2024)

References

Top Articles
Latest Posts
Article information

Author: Aracelis Kilback

Last Updated:

Views: 6628

Rating: 4.3 / 5 (44 voted)

Reviews: 83% of readers found this page helpful

Author information

Name: Aracelis Kilback

Birthday: 1994-11-22

Address: Apt. 895 30151 Green Plain, Lake Mariela, RI 98141

Phone: +5992291857476

Job: Legal Officer

Hobby: LARPing, role-playing games, Slacklining, Reading, Inline skating, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, Dance

Introduction: My name is Aracelis Kilback, I am a nice, gentle, agreeable, joyous, attractive, combative, gifted person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.