Mom’s 4 Loaf Wheat Bread Recipe
on Mar 19, 2018, Updated Mar 21, 2020
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A simple and fool-proof Wheat Bread Recipe that makes four loaves of bread in one batch. This recipe comes from my mom, and it’s certainly a keeper!
Mom’s 4 Loaf Wheat Bread Recipe
I have so many recipes that I make often that I haven’t shared on the blog. This year, I’ve made the goal to get more of my favorite go-to recipes out of my family cookbook and onto the blog so that you can enjoy them as much as I do. This recipe is one of those tried-and-true recipes that I’ve been making twice a month since my daughter was a baby. Now here we are, 10 years later, and I’m just now telling you about it.
This is my mom’s wheat bread recipe. It’s not a whole wheat bread, but a mix of white and wheat, which makes for a light and fluffy loaf of bread that is still brown and hearty. It’s a great middle for anyone who doesn’t eat whole wheat all the time! My mom has been making this recipe for as long as I can remember. It’s made with simple ingredients that I always have on hand and it just turns out well each time.
What’s unique about this wheat bread recipe is that it makes four loaves of bread in one batch instead of the traditional two loaves. I know that might sound like a whole lot of bread, but that’s my favorite part of this recipe. When I make it, I always think of the saying, “one for you, one for me.” I make this recipe with the intention of making warm comforting food for my family and also sharing that gift with others. This wheat bread recipes is meant to be shared with your friends and neighbors.
Tips and Tricks for making Homemade Wheat Bread
- This recipe is meant to be made with a mix of white and whole wheat flour (it’s not a 100% whole wheat flour recipe; I do have a great one of those coming soon). The ratio of white to wheat flour is up to you, but 50/50 is always a good place to start.
- Don’t skip the buttering of the top, this helps to make the crust soft and it also creates a bit of a “seal” on the crust that helps prevent the inside of the bread from drying out. That being said, out of butter, you can totally skip it 🙂
- I feel like you have some flexibility when it comes the loaf pans that you use (these enamel ones are fun). I have a few sizes, and though the shape of the loaf might be slightly different dependent on the size, the rising and cook time remain the same. Loaf pans that are 8-9 inches long generally work the best.
- This bread is great by itself with butter or jam on it, it makes great french toast, and it can go on the side of your favorite soup (like Instant Pot Broccoli and Cheese). There’s no wrong way to eat this. Plus, it makes a great gift! Who doesn’t love fresh baked bread?
Now all you need is a thick warm slice with a layer of good salted butter on top. That’s the stuff after school memories are made of.
Need help getting excited about making this recipe? I taught it in a free cooking class! You can find the video here:
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Mom’s 4 Loaf Wheat Bread Recipe
- Total Time: 2 hours 5 minutes
- Yield: 4 loaves of bread 1x
Description
A simple and fool-proof Wheat Bread Recipe that makes four loaves of bread in one batch. This recipe comes from my mom, and it’s certainly a keeper!
Ingredients
- 4 cups warm water
- 2 tablespoons instant yeast
- 1/2 cup honey or 3/4 cup white sugar
- 1/2 cup oil
- 1 1/2 tablespoons salt
- 11 cups flour (a mix of 1/2 whole wheat flour and 1/2 all-purpose is best)
Instructions
- Dissolve the yeast and honey in the warm water. Add the oil and salt and stir to combine.
- Add 5 cups of the whole wheat flour to the bowl and stir to combine. Stir for 3 to 5 minutes.
- Stir in the white flour, a cup at a time, until a smooth dough starts to form. You can use a stand mixer or your hands.
- Knead the dough on a well-floured surface until the dough becomes soft and elastic and doesn’t stick to your hands. I like to knead this for 6-8 minutes by hand, it helps the end texture a lot to work the dough well!
- Let the dough rise in the bowl until doubled, covered with a heavy towel or plastic wrap.
- Once the dough has risen, divide it into four pieces. Shape the dough into loaves and place them in 4 greased loaf pans.
- Let the dough rise in the pans until it is an inch above the rim.
- Bake the bread at 350 degrees for 35 minutes. The crust will be golden brown and you’ll hear a hollow sound when you tap the bread with your fingernail.
- Remove the bread from the oven, then remove the bread from the pans and place the hot loaves on wire racks to cool. Rub a stick of butter on the top of the hot loaves.
- Allow the loaves to cool slightly or to room temperature before slicing and serving. Store cooled loaves in an air-tight container and use within 5 days.
Notes
- So flexible! You can use all whole wheat flour (thought it won’t rise as much), half all-purpose and half whole wheat, all all-purpose, and even bread flour! I like to use 1/3 whole wheat and 2/3 all-purpose flour, but really, you can play with the ratios and use what you have on hand.
- You can use just about any oil or even melted butter or shortening for this recipe.
- Feel free to half this recipe to make 2 loaves instead of 4, it’ll work great.
- To freeze extra loaves simply let the bread cool completely. Store it in an old bread bag or wrapped well in plastic wrap and freeze. Let it thaw a few hours at room temperature when you’d like to use it. You can also slice it before you put it in the freezer to make thawing a little faster.
- No need to proof the yeast, it doesn’t need it.
- Prep Time: 90 min
- Cook Time: 35 min
- Category: Lunch
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Other great simple recipes you might love:
- Mom’s Jumbo Dinner Rolls
- Super Simple No-Knead Bread
- Easy Homemade Pizza Dough Recipe
- The Best Homemade Cornbread Recipe
And there you have it. One of my all-time favorite recipes from childhood comes the blog!
Are we supposed to use a dry measuring cup to measure the oil, as you did in the video, or a wet measuring cup? I ask because the difference in cup can (depending on the recipe) make a world of difference in the final product.
I have used both without any issue, use what you are accustom to or have on hand!
Your directions and your video are so well made. When I was looking for a bread recipe you made me feel like I could do it, and I did!
I have made this twice-a half at a time. It is more manageable for me. I love the fact that it tastes wonderful and it is so versatile. I made a raisin bread and a regular loaf. I really enjoyed the process. I am, however doing something wrong in that my loaves rise beautifully but by the time they bake the dome has fallen flat. The flavor and texture is so good and by the time its sliced no one notices, but I know it’s not very pretty. Any idea what I may be doing to deflate my dome?
Generally that is because the yeast has proofed too long, I’d try shortening your second rise in the pan by quite a bit and then it should still rise a little in the oven and shouldn’t fall flat while baking. I’m so glad you are liking the recipe as much as we do!
I have to tell you, with everyone staying at home we’ve been baking a lot more than usual, and I’m trying different bread recipes that I haven’t had time to try before. Your bread recipe is the one my family keeps asking me to make, again and again! I’ve made rolls with it too, and they love them! Thank you for sharing your recipes!
If I only have active dry yeast will it still work? If so do I need to do anything differently?
It’ll work fine, no need to change anything!
I gave it a try and it turned out great! Your video was so helpful and detailed. I have tried making bread in the past without success. This was a very different experience! It was perfect! The texture was soft and wonderful. It sliced beautifully and the best part was that the family loved it! I will be making this again tomorrow.
Would love to share a picture; however, for some reason the camera icon is not showing up eventhough I believe I am logged in.
Ohhh I want to see a picture very much! So yes, you need to be logged in and then when you are leaving a comment, down in the comment section, that’s where you can add a picture!
About how long do you let it rise for?
The after mixing up the dough let it rise for about 30 minutes and then in the pans, let it rise 45 min to 1 hour, or until it’s about 1 inch above the rim of the pan.
Hey there! I have zero whole wheat flour; can all white be used with great results?
Yes, it’ll work just great.
I made half of the recipe and can’t wait to taste it! Thank you for the video! That helped me visualize some steps that I would’ve gotten wrong otherwise. I did wonder about the measurements in the video versus the measurements in the recipe though. It seemed like you used a different amount of sugar or salt, or both, than what would be 1/2 of the written recipe. Maybe I’m wrong, or maybe it doesn’t matter.
It looks so good!! Thank you for uploading the pictures, that’s so much fun!
Love this recipe. I made it today – half as my KA book said no more than 9 cups of flour. It is beautiful. Wish I could figure out how to put a photo here so you could see. For some reason Google won’t let me do it. I think this is probably one of the best and easiest recipes I have tried. I used Prairie Gold white wheat flour mixed with high gluten flour and a little bit of rye flour. Added honey from my parents property. It’s delicious!
If you sign upon my, you’ll get a simple log in and it’ll let you upload videos and save your favorite recipes. I would LOVE if you uploaded videos!
I just made this bread, and it turned out perfect! I halved the recipe since my mixer can’t handle 11 cups of flour. But it made two good-sized loaves, and my house smells heavenly. We didn’t even wait for it to cool completely before we cut the end off one loaf….just to make sure it was as delicious as it looked. It was!! 🙂
I only have Rapid Rise instant yeast fast acting packets. How many do I use for this recipe? It says each packet equals 2 1/4 teaspoons.
Use two packets, it’ll only be 1/2 teaspoon off and that’s A-Ok