My life has forever been changed by a new bread recipe. You might think I’m exaggerating, but as soon as you try this, your life will also forever be changed and you’ll be like, “She was actually not even exaggerating. My life, too, has forever been changed by this bread recipe.”
As we all know, I have been avoiding the act of kneading bread lately. My No-Knead Cinnamon Rolls proves this. (You also need that recipe so click over to get it.)
This new Whole Wheat Bread recipe not only skips the kneading, it also skips many other normal bread-making steps. It’s basically like stirring together ingredients for a quick bread, only easier if you can possibly imagine.
This bread is so easy, even a three year old can make it. Whether you have time or not, gather your entire family and all of your neighborhood to watch this video. This kid is three and he shows us all how to make this bread – for real. I can’t get over how brilliant this is. (Click here to view if it isn’t showing up for you.)
Cooking Guy is a friend of ours (along with his sister, his mom, and his dad). This is my new favorite cooking show. I hope Cooking Guy will remember our house with its very fun legos and train set after he has become famous.
When his mom first gave me this recipe last week, I tried it by pouring the ingredients into a cake pan as directed by her (and now Cooking Guy). We cut it like cornbread and devoured it (with butter, obvs).
Later I wondered how it would work in regular loaf pans. I buttered a 9-inch loaf pan, poured in the batter, and hoped for the best.
I’m so happy to report that the best is what I got!! When I pulled this out of the oven, this is when I knew my life was changed forever (see first paragraph).
Make this for breakfast, make this to go with soup, make this to go with salad, just make this. We ate one loaf fresh out of the oven, then I hid the other one, which we ate for lunch the next day with Chicken Salad. So good.
- 4 cups whole wheat flour (I use freshly ground hard white wheat)
- 2 teaspoons active rise yeast
- 2 Tablespoons sucanat or sugar or honey
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 egg (optional)
- ¼ cup heavy cream (optional)
- 2 cups warm water
- Stir all ingredients together.
- Cover and allow it to sit for 30 minutes.
- Pour contents into a well-buttered cake pan or 1 well-buttered 9" loaf pan.
- Bake in a 425° oven for 20-25 minutes (cake pan) or in a 350° oven for 45-60 minutes (loaf pan) or until evenly browned.
I calculated that this bread costs about $1.00 per batch. That’s pretty impressive, seeing as it makes a lovely loaf of whole grain bread.
Thank you, Cooking Guy! You have now changed the lives of thousands of women. Not too shabby for a 3-year old.
Thank you Laura and Cooking Guy! Lately I’ve been putting off making bread ; now you’ve inspired me to try a new recipe!
Anyone can make this bread! I’ve been avoiding making bread too. Now I have no excuses. :)
What adorableness to start the day!!! Thank you for introducing us to The Cooking Guy and his bread recipe.
I KNOW! Isn’t he just so full of cuteness?!
Wonderful post, Laura! Thank you.
Hey, thanks. Thanks for the recipe and for having such a cute kid.
Oh. My. Goodness.
I will be making this TODAY.
But probably with half/half white/whole wheat flour and no cream. I’ll let you know how it turns out.
I pronounce this a success. Kind of like english muffin bread. Delicious.
Yay! So glad you tried it already and it worked well for you. Thanks for the report! :)
YUM, thanks! What size cake pan, 8×8?
That’s what I wondered, too.
For the 20 minute cook time, we just dump it on a cookie sheet with short sides, it’s not thin enough to run off the pan, a 9X13 would work too. We let it stay where it falls and it rises up however it wants. With an 8X8 you may need to increase your cook time to half an hour or so.
OH MY!!!!! So adorable. By the time we had finished watching the video, my whole family had gathered around the computer. That was too cute!! The bread looks good and easy too and I can’t wait to try it. Thanks so much!
Doesn’t he do a great job for being so little?! I’ve watched it more than I have time for. Worth it. :)
This is such an easy recipe! Does it make a big difference if you don not use cream?
In my experience, with the cream and egg it gives it more of the standard sandwich or dinner roll texture, without the egg and cream it has a more airy and bubbled artisan bread texture. But it would all depend on how long you let it rise and what type of pan/bakeware you use.
Thanks!
I’m wondering about the texture. Is it more dense/heavy like a quick bread or fluffier/lighter like sandwich bread?
It’s about in the middle, leaning more toward a sandwich bread texture. :)
Ohhhhhh, Laura–I liked you ALREADY I’m off t try this now. Thank you so much!
Hope you love it!!!
Is the sugar amount 2 teaspoons or 2 tablespoons? Printable recipe is different from the recipe in the post.
Oh goodness, I hate it when I do that. Tablespoons. I’ll go fix it. :)
Either one would work! You may have noticed, Cooking Guy used about 5 tablespoons. Sweet bread! I’ve used maple syrup before too with yummy results.
How would you adapt this to make rolls?
I’d actually go with this recipe for rolls: https://heavenlyhomemakers.com/one-hour-whole-wheat-yeast-rolls-no-kneading-required :)
So sweet! We will HAVE to try this soon! Especially with the cooler weather upon us now, we love having homemade soup and bread for dinner. Thank you, Laura!
Yes! It is so perfect to go with soup. Oh happy, happy recipe. :)
Do you think I could use raw whole milk instead of heavy cream? Or would it be better to just leave the dairy out altogether?
You can definitely use raw whole milk in this. :)
Life changing is right! So often I’ve avoided making yeast breads because I didn’t have the time or energy to hassle with it. This will be perfect! I can mix up the bread first and then work on the rest of the meal while the bread is resting and baking. Thank you, Laura & Cooking Guy!
Awwww! The video has been taken down from youtube. Maybe you can have your sons (AKA the Cake Boys) make a video on how to make this bread and post it on your website so I can see how it’s done?
Actually, I posted the incorrect link! (Ugh!) Click here to see! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yYh_P0JHH8s
I watched this yesterday! So cute! As a busy new mom I am always looking for healthy, time-saving recipes, so I will be trying this!
Will this work if I switch the whole wheat flour to all-purpose?
Yes, I believe so!
I read a lot of the comments but not all of them. Can you make a sandwich with this bread or is it more of an eat along side another dish type bread (like w/ soup or salad etc.)
Thanks.
It’s more of a side dish bread. BUT, it is great for sandwiches if you use tuna or chicken salad. :)
Thank you for the recipe. I’ve heard of active dry yeast and rapid rise yeast. Can you tell me what active rise yeast is please? Is it the same as rapid rise yeast?
I think they are the same. :)
Oh my this looks delicious! I’ll have to make it sometime this week. Quick question: what size loaf pan did you use for the loaves?
I used 8×4 inch pans. :)
LOVED it!!! I made a batch at lunchtime today to eat with our beef stew. My family loves warm bread from the oven! The second loaf will be for tuna sandwiches tomorrow!
I used hard white berries as you suggested. I was out of cream, so whole milk it was, and I chose honey as the sweetener. My gas oven must be really hot, or it could be the stones I use, but my two loaves were perfectly done in 32 minutes!!
Does it have the texture of corn bread?
No, mine is definitely like a regular homemade bread texture. I use freshly ground hard white wheat. :)
I just made this and I must have done something wrong. I had to sift my wheat flour because the wheat flour I can get has lots of the grain in it – like big huge pieces of it. Would the sifting had made a difference? HELP!! I’ve been trying to make bread forever and it never consistently comes out. It doesn’t help that I live in a place where I don’t have access to good wheat flour.
Oh, that is not a great quality flour at all! Are you able to order some online since you can’t get any locally that is good? Yes, sifting out the large grain pieces should help, but sounds like it’s still tough to make a good bread with the flour you have. My most recommended flour is this one: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00S1ITLKS?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creativeASIN=B00S1ITLKS&linkCode=xm2&tag=wwwheavenlyho-20 although you should be able to shop around online to find it for less $ !
Loved this. I was skeptical but it was delicious. We added some millet flour and a little bread flour for gluten delicious!!
I tried the recipe. I wasn’t sure how long to mix after all ingredients were in the bowl. I mixed for about a minute at medium speed. Was that too much? The texture after baking, cooling completely and slicing was a little gummy so I thought I mixed it too much and developed the gluten too much. But it was still delicious. I want to try it again. How long do I mix the batter and what should it look like?
I’m not sure how long it should be mixed in a kitchen aid as I just mix by hand (only until ingredients are well combined). Sounds like yours could have used a little more baking time, or yes, maybe a little less mixing time. :)
Thanks Laura. I will mix next time by hand (easier clean up too) and watch my cooking time. I took it out at 50 minutes and it probably needed closer to the 60 minutes. But we are loving it! So simple! I sliced it with my meat slicer for perfect slices.
Just wanted to say that it worked great for pizza dough the other day. I made two thin crusts (plenty of olive oil on my hands to spread) then poured the rest in a small loaf pan. We enjoyed toast the next day and today I cubed the rest of the loaf and dried the cubes for some pre-Thanksgiving dressing. Thanks for sharing Cooking Guy and the easiest whole wheat bread recipe ever!
I can’t wait to try this!!!
Thank you for this recipe. I can’t wait to try it!!!!
What am I doing wrong? I’ve made this twice and both times the dough is way too thick, definitely not “pourable” . It’s almost the consistency of regular bread dough. I made sure I got the ratio of flour to water correct.
Sharon, I would call it more like dumping than pouring each of the times I have made it. It hasn’t been as fluid as a cake mix, but definitely wetter than kneaded dough, and I did need to scrape out the bowl because a lot was still stuck in it. Hope that helps! I am loving this recipe!
I am going to see if I could add some sourdough to this recipe and come up with an easy stir and pour sourdough bread. Once again Thank You for the insperation!!!
Ok, I was hesitant for a while. I wanted no more bread bricks…but wow, this bread is FANTASTIC!!! Where has this been all my life??? Wow. The first loaf I made barely survived the evening. I made the sandwich bread version…It is the best, easiest bread recipe that I have EVER made. I’ve already passed it along as bread mix gifts for Christmas this year! It did overflow my biggest loaf pan, but who cares…it was good! Start before dinner and it’s ready when we are. Thank you so much.
Hi! I love this recipe, but I’m a little bit confused. Here the recipe says it makes two loaves and on the tags for the bread in a jar it says it makes one. Am I missing something? I am trying to make the bread in a jar for gifts, but I don’t want anyone to try to make it work for one loaf if it needs to be for two…
Sorry for the confusion! When I wrote this post, I had only tried it in two separate pans. Since then, I made one big loaf as described here: https://heavenlyhomemakers.com/whole-wheat-stir-and-pour-sandwich-bread-yes-it-works
I find it much easier to make one big loaf, so I should edit this post to reflect that and stop the confusion!
Laura, thank you so much for this recipe! Tried it for the first time today since we didn’t have any bread in the house. Even though I over-baked it a little, it was still delicious. My bread machine has been broken for a little while and this is such an easy way to keep making homemade bread. Thank you!
This makes my family so happy. :-)
Hi! I just made this bread tonight and as someone commented above, I could not pour it at all. But I will try it with milk next time to see if that helps. It also did not rise. What am I doing wrong? And do you have a loaf pan you recommend?
I suppose the word “pour” can be misleading as it’s not necessarily liquidy as we think of for “pouring.” But it does scoop out of the bowl into a pan without having to knead, which is the main point of this recipe which makes it so easy! I’m not sure why it didn’t rise other than perhaps your water was too hot and killed the yeast? It should be warm, but comfortable enough that you can dip your finger in comfortably. I use a 9″ brad pan, stoneware. One like this is great! http://www.amazon.com/Good-Cook-Inch-Ceramic-Loaf/dp/B0026RHIA0?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creativeASIN=B0026RHIA0&linkCode=xm2&redirect=true&tag=wwwheavenlyho-20 :)
Can u put all the ingredients in a bread machine and let it go?
I’ve not tried it before so I’m not sure how to advise. I would imagine it would work!
I love this bread.
But now it is getting too hot to make bread, so i tried making it in my crock pot with the baking instructions from other breads. It worked beautifully!
Make it normally, but don’t rise it (it’ll rise in the crock pot). I lined the inside with parchment paper and dumped the dough right in. I set it on high and set the lid slightly ajar so the steam could escape. After two hours I turned it over and cooked it another half hour. The crust is soft but the bread itself tasted just right.
Would this work as well with white flour in a pinch?
I think so, but I haven’t tried it to know for sure. :)
Hi Laura!
I love this recipe! On your most recent recipe it calls for a 350 degree oven, but this recipe says 425. I have personally found success with 350 degrees. Oh. Yum. Maybe it works both ways? Just double checking. Thanks for all the work you do!!
350 is best for a regular sized loaf of bread. I’ll go back and make sure my recipes are consistent!
I tried this and I love it. I am wondering if this can be used in a 2 lb bread machine. I bake in the winter but our summers are 100+* and hate to turn on the oven. Ever tried this? Thanks, Carmen
I don’t have a bread machine so I’ve not tried it. But I can’t see why it wouldn’t work!
Tried your bread today and it was just perfection! Who would have thought a 100% whole wheat bread could be so delicious & so easy?
I made it with all the ingredients, plus 1 extra tbs of honey. I think next time I might replace 1/2 cup of the water with fresh-squeezed orange juice, just for fun.
I am passing this recipe along to my mother who is no longer able to knead (arthritis) but still loves a hearty, old-fashioned homemade bread. She will be so pleased!
Thank you for this wonderful recipe!
Made this last week. So easy. The taste and texture are perfect for sandwiches. Will definitely do again.
I tried this recipe and followed the instructions exactly. I did use sugar in place of the honey and I included the cream and egg. After an hour, I took the bread out. I cooked it at 350 in a loaf pan. I cut a slice, and it was still raw … gummy would be an understatement. I put it back in the oven for 20 more minutes, but it is still not done and the center has sunken in some.
I don’t know what went wrong? The dough looked way too liquidy to me to be bread dough, but I didn’t second guess that because I followed the recipe exactly. :(
I can’t imagine why it didn’t work! I suppose next time you might need to add more flour (or less water) to the mix. But why the recipe didn’t work as written is a mystery!
Soaking the fresh ground whole wheat flour up to 30 hours makes the bread more digestible so I am going to try this leaving the salt and yeast out until I am ready to bake it. I use 3 cups of flour as that is the size that fits my bread pans. I will try it with 1 1/2 cups water.
Super easy. Wonderful sandwich bread.
So glad that you enjoyed it!
-Bethany (Laura’s assistant)