I was in graduate school the first time I made bread. Years before I became vegetarian, I was trying on vegetarianism as a weight-loss diet and cooking vegetarian dishes out of a popular cookbook of that era. For some reason, the book’s authors recommended cooking whole wheat bread in 2-quart cans, the kind juice comes in, and I followed that advice. (With what we know today about BPA, I shudder to think what leached into that bread.)
In those early days of my bread making, there was no white whole wheat flour, no vital wheat gluten, no bread machine, just me and my muscles and the most basic whole wheat flour, and the tube-shaped loaves I created were better suited for weight lifting that eating. My bread made even avowed bread-lovers like my parents run the other way when they’d see me stagger up their driveway with a basketful of heavy, brown cylinders.
But that was a long, LONG time ago, and I’ve learned a few things since then.
First of all, I let my new bread machine do all the kneading, shaping, and even baking (in a rectangular pan, thank you very much). And I’ve learned that white whole wheat flour makes a much lighter loaf than traditional whole wheat flour and that vital wheat gluten helps trap more air bubbles so the bread rises higher. Finally, thanks to a tip by Philippa Sonnichsen, a reader of this blog, I found that one small substitution makes an even better loaf of whole wheat bread. And that secret ingredient is…
…bean broth. Or aquafaba, as people have started to call it. It’s simply the liquid in a can of beans or the broth that’s created when dried beans, usually chickpeas, are cooked. As it turns out, the liquid that most of us have been pouring down the sink can be whipped into meringues and used to replace eggs in lots of recipes. If you want to see some amazing uses of aquafaba, check out the Facebook group where I first learned about it.
We’ve been told for years to rinse the liquid off our canned beans (because it tastes bad, because it contains too much salt, because…), and though I do use the liquid from a can of chickpeas in my Hummus in the Blender, I was really reluctant to go much farther with aquafaba. The meringues and other desserts made with it depend on sugar to hold their shape once they’re whipped, so I couldn’t see any healthy uses for bean water. But when Philippa wrote to tell me that chickpea broth was improving the quality of her homemade bread, I just had to give it a try.
First I substituted it for the water in the bread I’d been making with a blend of whole wheat flour and bread flour, and it was a definite improvement. Then I decided to put it to the test in 100% whole wheat bread, and I was amazed. The whole wheat bread was almost identical in height to the bread made with a blend of flours, and though its texture was a little denser, the difference was hardly noticeable.
I used the liquid from two cans of chickpeas in the following recipe, which gave me about 1 2/3 cups of aquafaba. I topped it off with water to get the full amount of liquid needed for the recipe. (I used the chickpeas to make 3-Minute Chickpea Salad.) The chickpeas I had were salted, so I reduced the amount of salt in the recipe to account for that.
Fat-Free Whole Wheat Bread for Bread Machines
Ingredients
- 1 7/8 cups water or chickpea broth (aquafaba)
- 4 2/3 cups white whole wheat flour
- 4 tablespoons vital wheat gluten
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoon salt (1 tsp. if salted aquafaba is used)
- 2 1/2 teaspoon rapid rise yeast (2 tsp. active dry yeast if quick cycle is not used)
Instructions
- Place the water or chickpea broth in the bread machine’s pan. Add the remaining ingredients in the order listed (or as recommended by your bread machine’s manufacturer.) Make sure the yeast doesn’t come into contact with the liquid by placing it in a shallow well at the top of the ingredients.
- Choose either a quick-bake whole wheat cycle (use 2 1/2 tsp. rapid rise yeast) or a regular whole wheat cycle (use 2 tsp. active dry yeast). Press start. Remove bread when baking is complete. Bread will slice best if allowed to cool first.
Notes
2 2/3 cups white whole wheat flour
2 cups bread flour
1 tablespoon vital wheat gluten
2 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon salt (1 tsp. if using aquafaba)
2 1/2 teaspoons rapid rise yeast (2 tsp. active dry yeast if using regular cycle) Preparation time: 10 minute(s) | Cooking time: 2 hour(s) 25 minute(s)
Number of servings (yield): 12 Nutrition (per serving): 134 calories, 6 calories from fat, <1g total fat, 0mg cholesterol, 221.5mg sodium, 154.6mg potassium, 27.6g carbohydrates, 4.4g fiber, 1.7g sugar, 6.5g protein. Makes approximately 12 slices. Nutrition data is for one slice.
Nutritional info is approximate.
If you’d rather not use chickpea broth, I understand, and the recipe will still make a great loaf of bread. But if you give aquafaba a try–in this recipe or any bread recipe–leave a comment to let me know what you think.
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Chris
October 12, 2017 at 5:37 amHi Susan! I was gifted a bread machine yesterday and would love to try your recipe. If I sub homemade date paste for the sugar and omit the salt, would it affect the result? I’m not a baker and have never made bread before, so I hope it’s ok to ask =). Thank you!
Susan Voisin
October 12, 2017 at 9:14 amI’m always happy to answer questions. The salt probably can be omitted, though it’s used to control the rising of the bread, as well as the flavor, so it might affect the uniformity of the loaf a little. Date paste will probably be okay in such a small amount, though if the bread turns out gummy, that may be why.
Chris
October 12, 2017 at 4:51 pmI forgot I actually have date sugar, so I’ll probably use that instead of date paste. And for the salt, I will use half. I’ll report back! Thank you again Susan <3.
Diana Locki
January 30, 2018 at 5:58 amI just made this bread, and it came out as promised. Thank you for sharing this recipe. I was looking for a whole wheat bread recipe for my machine for a while now, and I found it. Next, I will experiment with adding flax and seeds.
Jenny Addison
February 11, 2018 at 11:05 pmWow. I’m impressed! I just put this recipe in my Zojirushi and for once, it made a pretty dang good mostly whole wheat loaf! Since I don’t have any gluten at the moment, I made the loaf with 2 2/3rds whole wheat flour and 2 cups all purpose flour. I was afraid 100% WW without gluten would be too dense, or not raise well. I sifted both before I measured them. I also put the dough thru an extra knead cycle to help release more gluten since I didn’t add any but I feel this would do very well with a regular knead if the gluten was added.
I’d like to try this recipe with more whole wheat flour, so I’ll be making it a few times this week, increasing the WW and decreasing the AP until it either stops making good bread, or bakes the perfect 100% whole wheat loaf!
Pros:
THIS CRUST THO. So crunchy! Much yum!
Moist, light and not too sweet like some whole wheat recipes.
Nice sized loaf!
Worked well with pinto bean aquafaba and water to make it 2 7/8ths cups
Cons:
Aquafaba isn’t always available, so I don’t know how it would work with only water.
The top still fell in slightly, a problem I have consistently with whole wheat breads in this machine.
Crust was SO crunchy it was difficult to get out of the pan/stuck on the paddles!
Ducky
February 19, 2018 at 11:49 amI’m sure this is sacrilege, but would it hurt to add a little oil or butter?
Susan Voisin
February 19, 2018 at 2:53 pmI don’t know. I’ve never made it with oil and designed it to be made without it.
Suzanne Goodenberger
March 6, 2018 at 1:30 pmAfter using your bread machine for awhile how do you store it(Bread box) Do you freeze it? If so How? Do you have any other Esselyton approved bread/dough recipes I just bought your recommended bread machine but am frustrated that I don’t have recipes I can use forRsselyton diet. THANK YOU@
Carla
April 7, 2018 at 1:59 amI’m sorry but I had to laugh at the ‘struggling up the driveway with my heavy brown cylinders…lololol. AND THIS IS ONLY BECAUSE I had the same experience and I’m sure my attempts were worse. I baked wild yeast sourdough breads, yes, and they were just horrible. Seriously get your description of better for weightlifting, sigh. We tried to eat these…just couldn’t…and when I finally threw them out Honest To God the garbagement refused to take them. Apparently heavy weight triggers something that says you have I don’t know ‘construction detritus’ or something?…b/c they really believed I had bricks in there and refused to take the garbage can two weeks in a row!!! I finally threw them individually or a couple at a time. 🙁 Oh my gosh! We have all been there!!!!!! Love your apt descriptions and delightful sense of humor!! Looking forward to trying this recipe. 🙂 Carla
Deirdre Hulihan
May 13, 2018 at 9:37 pmThank you for your website. Thanks for all of your recipes. I’ve been alternating between the whole wheat bread recipe in the Cuisinart bread machine book and the one in the Oster bread machine book with some success, but this is the best, the tallest, and the most even whole wheat loaf I’ve ever made. It’s delicious. It’s a keeper. Sorry to report that the Cuisinart leapt off the counter while kneading and self-destructed last year. The Oster mad me very happy today.
E. preisman
September 16, 2018 at 1:56 pmHello and thank you….
An always problem(!)….can the salt be reduced?
Thank you
Susan Voisin
September 16, 2018 at 2:12 pmYou can probably reduce it by half without affecting the texture of the bread.
Janet
December 9, 2018 at 4:56 amSusan… you’re sure is my favorite. I don’t think I would have survived with this WOE when I started 4yrs ago without your recipes! I’m going to make this bread today but I’m don’t have white whole wheat, just regular whole wheat flour and whole wheat pastry flour. Why do you use WHITE whole wheat…. and does it matter?
Susan Voisin
December 9, 2018 at 10:02 amThanks for your kind words, Janet! I use white whole wheat because it has a lighter flavor than regular whole wheat, but it doesn’t matter which one you use, especially if you like whole wheat flour. I hope you enjoy the bread!
Deborah
May 5, 2019 at 12:33 pmMade this twice in one day,(with homemade unsalted aquafaba) 2nd batch decreased (sea)salt to 1tsp. Added 1/4 c dried cranberries, 2T whole flax seeds. Perfect rise. Also forgot to say in 1st comment, baked on 80 min quick bread cycle. I find that if you remove the bread shortly after it’s done the crust will be hard but if you unplug the machine when done, keep lid closed and let it sit in and cool completely the crust will soften and the bread will firm up very nicely. Also wanted to ask, is the 4TBSP gluten supposed to be 4tsp? As the recommended is usually 1tsp per cup of flour?
Susan Voisin
May 5, 2019 at 12:36 pmGreat tip on letting it sit in the machine! I actually do use 4 tablespoons of gluten. It might work with less, but I haven’t tested it,
Jennifer
May 22, 2019 at 4:33 pmMy dough looks so dry! Is that normal?
Susan Voisin
May 22, 2019 at 7:51 pmNo, that doesn’t sound right. How did it come out?
Allyson
June 5, 2019 at 5:51 pmHello! I just got a bread machine and excited to try your recipe with aquafaba. I am a bit confused on the active dry yeast and hoping you can help! I have to add water to the active dry yeast before I put it in, no? If so, then should I still add it last or should I add it with the liquids in the beginning? Thank you so much if you can help!
Susan Voisin
June 5, 2019 at 9:40 pmNo, please don’t get the yeast wet! Don’t add water to it. Put it on the top of the flour so that it isn’t touching the water.