Whole Wheat French Bread

By
Elizabeth Yetter
Elizabeth Yetter
Bread expert Elizabeth Yetter has been baking bread for more than 20 years, bringing her Pennsylvania Dutch Country experiences to life through recipes.
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Updated on 05/10/22
Whole Wheat French Bread

Katrin Ray Shumakov / Getty Images

Prep: 2 hrs
Cook: 25 mins
Total: 2 hrs 25 mins
Servings: 10 servings
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
101 Calories
1g Fat
21g Carbs
4g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 10
Amount per serving
Calories 101
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 1g 1%
Saturated Fat 0g 1%
Cholesterol 0mg 0%
Sodium 118mg 5%
Total Carbohydrate 21g 8%
Dietary Fiber 2g 8%
Total Sugars 1g
Protein 4g
Vitamin C 0mg 0%
Calcium 8mg 1%
Iron 1mg 4%
Potassium 77mg 2%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

Sure, you can buy some whole wheat French bread at the store, but you won't get the same delicious flavor as homemade French bread. This is a very easy recipe to use, great for beginners, and it does not require any fancy pans—just a baking sheet.

Ingredients

Steps to Make It

  1. In a medium bowl, mix water and yeast. Add brown sugar, salt, and whole wheat flour. Mix well. Slowly add in remaining bread flour, enough to make a dough that follows the spoon around the bowl.

  2. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 4 minutes, adding more flour as needed until the dough is soft and smooth to the touch.

  3. Place dough in a medium-sized greased bowl. Turn dough over in a bowl so that the top is also lightly greased.

  4. Cover dough with a clean cloth and let rise in warm, draft-free place for 1 hour or until doubled in size.

  5. Grease and sprinkle cornmeal over a baking sheet. Punch down dough. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured board and knead for 4 minutes or until the bubbles are out of the bread.

  6. Roll out dough into a long rectangle, about 15 inches in length. Roll up dough along the long side. Pinch seams and tuck under ends. Place loaf on a prepared baking sheet.

  7. Cover and let rise in warm, draft-free place for 45 minutes or until doubled in size.​

  8. Use a sharp knife to cut 4 or 5 slashes across the top. Bake bread at 375 F for 25 minutes or until golden brown. Remove bread from the sheet and let cool on a rack.

Tips

  • Bread flour has a higher amount of gluten than all-purpose flour. This means that bread made with bread flour will rise higher than bread made with all-purpose flour. You can make your own bread flour by adding 1 1/2 teaspoons gluten to each cup of all-purpose flour you use in your bread recipe.
  • Keep yeast stored in an airtight container and in the refrigerator. Heat, moisture, and air kills the yeast and prevents bread dough from rising.
  • Store flour properly to keep it from spoiling.
  • Spraying rolls with water while they bake will produce a crispy crust. Brush rolls with egg white before baking to produce a shiny crust, brush with milk to produce a dark, shiny crust, and brush rolls with butter immediately after baking to produce a soft crust.