White Whole Wheat Bread with Olive Oil

If you’re looking for a lighter bread that still uses whole wheat flour, this White Whole Wheat Bread with Olive Oil is amazing!

PIN 100% White Whole Wheat Bread with Olive Oil!

I’m guessing there must be at least one regular reader of the blog who’s looking at that White Whole Wheat Bread with Olive Oil and thinking I’ve abandoned my carb-conscious diet principles and succumbed to the joys of freshly baked bread. And while it’s true that this bread isn’t especially low in carbs, here’s the ingredient list for this bread: white whole wheat flour, yeast, salt, vital wheat gluten, olive oil, and water. This is a pretty healthy recipe if you’re making bread at home and it’s easy to make as well!

What ingredients do you need? 

• White Whole Wheat Flour (affiliate link)
• yeast
• sea salt
• vital wheat gluten (affiliate link)
• water
• Olive Oil (affiliate link)

Where did I find the recipe for White Whole Wheat Bread?

This White Whole Wheat Bread with Olive Oil recipe is from Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day (affiliate link) from the talented team of Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois. (Full disclosure: I received this book from the publisher back in the day when I used to accept books, although I did get to meet the adorable Zoe from Zoe Bakes at a Conference in San Francisco.) Jeff and Zoe wrote this book after fans of their first book, Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day (affiliate link) asked for bread recipes with whole grains, and I know readers of Kalyn’s Kitchen who are avoiding white flour will be thrilled to hear about this healthier way of making bread.

What is White Whole Wheat Flour?

White Whole Wheat Flour is a whole grain flour that’s milled from the hard white wheat berry. Read more about white whole wheat flour and why you might like it even if you’re avoiding traditional white flour.

How I madeWhite Whole Wheat Bread with Olive Oil:

(Scroll down for the complete recipe with nutritional information.)

1. White whole wheat flour is a whole-grain flour made from a lighter variety of wheat, and it has a less-assertive flavor than most whole wheat flours. You can also make this bread (and many others in the book) from regular whole wheat flour.
2. Start by mixing the flour, yeast, salt, and vital wheat gluten. And I’m mixing those ingredients in the bowl of my new KitchenAid stand mixer (affiliate link)! I resisted buying one for years, but finally succumbed and now I see why everyone who bakes loves their KitchenAid!
3. I used the paddle attachment of the KitchenAid to mix the olive oil and water into the dry ingredients, but the book says you can mix it by hand as well. (Don’t use the dough hook, this bread is not supposed to be kneaded! The recipe is also not suitable for making in a bread machine for that reason.)
4. Once the dough is mixed, cover it with something that’s not air tight and let it sit at room temperature until it rises and collapses or flattens out on top (or about 2 hours.)
5. Here’s how my dough looked after 2 hours. Jeff and Zoe say the dough is easier to handle when it’s been chilled, and I need all the help I can get, so I put it in a plastic container with the lid not completely sealed and kept it in the fridge overnight. (Forgot to take a picture of the bread in the container, blogger error!)
6. My oven is broken so I was going to try baking this in a toaster oven. Besides the sheet you use to bake the bread (or a baking stone, which I didn’t have), you need a container to pour water in to produce steam. This is the system I rigged up, with a roasting pan to hold the water, a little baking sheet for the bread, and some parchment paper.
7. Sprinkle the surface of the dough with flour, remove a grapefruit-sized piece of dough, and put the rest back in the fridge for another baking day.
8. Sprinkle the grapefruit-sized piece with flour again, and then fold under until you form a ball with a smooth top. You can stretch it out in a loaf-like shape like I did or keep it round. (This little baking pan is only 8.5 inches long, so this piece of dough is smaller than it looks in this photo.)
9. The dough has to rest for 90 minutes, but I wanted to preheat the baking sheet (since I didn’t have a baking stone), so after 60 minutes, I slid the parchment off. You can see how the dough has expanded.
10. When the oven is hot, brush the surface of the dough with water, then use a bread knife to cut slashes into the surface of the bread. I wasn’t very creative, but I’m sure I’ll get better as I make this more!
11. I removed the heated pans and carefully slid the parchment paper holding the dough back on the baking sheet, then put it back in the oven and poured 3/4 cup water into the tray. (Recipe called for 1 cup water, but my little rigged set-up wouldn’t hold that much!)
12. Here’s how my White Whole Wheat Bread with Olive Oil looked after I baked it for 30 minutes (removing the parchment paper for the last 10 minutes to brown the bottom.) Not bad for a complete amateur baker who didn’t have the right equipment. Credit goes to the book, not my bread-making skills.

More Recipes Using White Whole Wheat Flour:

Sugar-Free Whole Wheat Pumpkin Muffins

Brown Irish Soda Bread

Bread Machine 100% Whole Wheat Bread with Oats, Bran, and Flax

Continue to Content

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Yield: 20 slices

White Whole Wheat Bread with Olive Oil

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 35 minutes

Additional Time 3 hours 30 minutes

Total Time 4 hours 25 minutes

This White Whole Wheat Bread with Olive Oil is amazing, and this is easy to make if you want homemade bread that's made with whole grains!

Ingredients

• 3 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour (or use whole wheat flour)
• 3/4 T yeast (I used active dry yeast, not instant)
• 3/4 T fine sea salt (original recipe used kosher salt, which I didn’t have. I increased the salt a little.)
• 2 T vital wheat gluten
• 1 3/4 cups lukewarm water
• 1/4 cup olive oil

Instructions

1. In a large bowl (or the bowl of a stand mixer if you have one) mix together the White Whole Wheat Flour (affiliate link), yeast, salt, and vital wheat gluten (affiliate link).
2. Then, using the low speed of mixer with the paddle attachment (or a large spoon) mix in the olive oil and water, until all the dry ingredients are incorporated. (The book says use wet hands to mix in all the flour if necessary if you don’t have a stand mixer.)
3. Cover the dough (not air tight) and let sit at room temperature until the dough rises and collapses or flattens out on top (about two hours.) Then you can use the dough right away, or for easier handling, refrigerate for a few hours or as long as ten days.
4. To prepare dough to bake, sprinkle the surface of the dough with flour, then remove a grapefruit sized piece of dough.
5. Sprinkle with flour again, shape the dough into a ball by folding the sides under and stretching the top to a smooth surface. You can leave it as a ball or make more of a loaf shape like I did.
6. Put dough on a pizza peel, parchment paper, or cookie sheet to rest. (I was supposed to cover it loosely, but I missed that part of the instructions!)
7. To bake the bread you need a pizza stone or baking sheet with parchment paper or silicone mat, plus another metal baking dish to pour the water used to make steam. (The steam crisps the surface of the bread. You can put the metal dish anywhere that it won’t interfere with the bread rising, and in a regular oven I’d put it on a rack under the bread.)
8. The dough needs to rest for 90 minutes, but after 60 minutes, begin preheating the oven to 450F/230C (and heat pizza stone if you have one. I didn’t have one so I heated the baking sheet.)
9. After dough has rested for almost 90 minutes, use a pastry brush to brush the surface with water, then using a serrated knife, cut parallel slashes into the surface of the bread.
10. Then slide the bread (and parchment paper if using) on to the hot pizza stone or baking sheet, and immediately pour 1 cup hot water into the other baking dish and shut the oven door. (My baking dish would only hold 3/4 cup water, but it seemed to work.)
11. Bake bread for 30-35 minutes, or until firm and nicely browned. If you’re baking on parchment paper or silicone mat, remove them after 20 minutes so the bottom of the bread will brown. (I baked the loaf in the photos for exactly 30 minutes and it was perfectly done and even a tiny bit overly brown.)
12. Try to force yourself to let this 100% White Whole Wheat Bread with Olive Oil cool before slicing and eating it!

Notes

This is half of original recipe for 100% Whole Wheat Bread with Olive Oil and makes enough dough for 2 loaves of bread or about 20 slices.

Recipe very slightly adapted by Kalyn from from Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day (affiliate link) to due to lack of correct equipment and no kosher salt!

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

20

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 102Total Fat: 3gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 264mgCarbohydrates: 16gFiber: 2gSugar: 0gProtein: 4g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated by the Recipe Plug-In I am using. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee 100% accuracy, since many variables affect those calculations.

Did you make this recipe?

Did you make this recipe? Please leave a star rating (under the PRINT button in the recipe) or share a photo of your results on Instagram! THANKS!

Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
Of course this recipe isn’t low in carbs and bread is reserved for phase 2 or 3 of the original South Beach Diet, but every ingredient in this bread is South-Beach suitable.

Find More Recipes Like This One:
Check out Desserts and Baking for more breads and quick breads! Use the Diet Type Index to find recipes suitable for a specific eating plan. You can also Follow Kalyn’s Kitchen on Pinterest to see all the good recipes I’m sharing there.

Historical Notes for this Recipe:
This bread recipe was posted in 2010. It was last updated with more information in 2021.

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