Looking for a healthier bread recipe? This whole wheat molasses recipe turns out light and tender loaves with just a hint of sweetness. Great for sandwiches and toast.
We love sandwiches around here.
And there’s nothing worse than building an epic Dagwood-esque sandwich on wimpy bread!
Lookin at you, grocery store bread!
This Molasses Whole Wheat Bread is a rock star when it comes to sandwich making. It holds up to most anything you can throw at it.
And it’s great for toast as well!
We love to use this bread for our Tuna Melt Sandwiches and American style Toad in the Hole.
The molasses in the recipe gives you a beautiful brown bread, but it doesn’t make it sweet. If you use a really dark molasses like blackstrap you’ll get a darker color and a deeper, richer flavor.
And I promise, this will be one of your favorite all around bread recipes.
So let’s go play with dough!
Molasses Whole Wheat Bread
Ingredients
- 2 cup warm water
- 1/4 cup molasses (either light molasses or blackstrap molasses can be used)
- 1/2 cup dried milk
- 1 Tablespoon sea salt
- 2 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
- 2 1/2 cup unbleached all purpose flour or bread flour (approximately)
- 1 1/2 Tablespoon active dry yeast OR 2 packets of dry yeast
- 3 Tablespoon softened butter
Instructions
Mixing the dough
Put the water, molasses, dry milk, salt, yeast, butter, 1 cup whole wheat flour, & 1 cup unbleached flour in the bowl of a stand mixer.
Beat for 1 minute on high.
Add the other 1 1/2 cups of the whole wheat flour to the mixture and beat on high speed again for 3 minutes.
Switch to the dough hook and gradually add the remaining flour a little at a time just until it forms a rough ball on the dough hook.
You can turn it out onto a lightly floured surface to knead, or continue kneading in the mixer. Knead for 8 minutes until the dough is elastic, added flour sparingly if needed to keep the dough from sticking.
First Rise
Now butter a large bowl. Shape the dough into a ball and put in the bowl, turning it over to butter the top.
Cover with a damp bread cloth or plastic wrap and allow to rise until doubled in a warm place. That should take about an hour.
Butter 2 loaf pans. Set aside till needed.
Shaping
After the first rise, punch the dough down and form into a ball. Cut the ball in half and form 2 loaves.
Form the loaves by flattening out the dough ball and rolling the dough into a log. Tuck the ends under and pinch the dough together to seal it.
Place the loaves seam side down into the prepared loaf pans.
Second rise
Cover again with a damp bread cloth and allow to rise a 2nd time.
Let rise until the dough is 1/2 to 1 inch above the top of the loaf pans. That should take about 45 minutes.
About 20 minutes before time to bake, preheat your oven to 375°F.
Baking
Bake in a preheated 375° F oven for 35 – 45 minutes.
Remove the beautiful molasses brown bread from the pans and put them on a wire rack to cool.
If you want the top crust soft, brush melted butter on the top.
I almost always put butter on the top.
Let cool completely before slicing for the best texture.
This whole wheat bread recipe freezes beautifully. You can freeze it whole or slice it first. I like to freeze it sliced because it’s really handy to pull out a few slices at a time as they’re needed.
So go ahead.
Build your dream sandwich!
You’re welcome. 🙂
Frequently Asked Questions About Whole Wheat Bread with Molasses
This bread will keep on the counter for about 3 to 5 days, or 5 to 7 days in the fridge.
Absolutely! You can freeze the loaves whole or already sliced. Just put in a zip top freezer bag and toss in the freezer.
To thaw a whole loaf simply remove it from the freezer and let it thaw on the counter top. For individual slices, I usually just pop them into the toaster.
Yes you can! To slow the rise you can put the bread dough in the refrigerator for 3 to 5 hours. Then continue with the directions above.
Absolutely! To freeze the bread dough, after the first rise form the bread loaves and put them on a cookie sheet and set that in the freezer. Once the loaves are set, transfer them to an airtight container or freezer bag. The loaves will last several months in the freezer.
To bake, remove a loaf from the freezer and put it into a prepared loaf pan. Cover it with plastic wrap or a damp bread cloth. It will need to thaw first and then double in size before baking, 2 1/2 to 3 hours depending on how warm your kitchen is.
More bread recipes you’ll love:
Molasses Whole Wheat Bread
Ingredients
- 2 c hot water
- 1/4 c molasses
- 1/2 c dried milk
- 1 Tbsp sea salt
- 2 1/2 c whole wheat flour
- 2 1/2 c unbleached flour approximately
- 1 1/2 Tbsp dry yeast OR 2 packets of dry yeast
- 3 Tbsp softened butter
Instructions
- Put water, molasses, dry milk, salt, yeast, butter, 1 cup whole wheat flour, & 1 cup unbleached flour in a large mixing bowl.
- Beat for 1 minute on high.
- Add the other 1 1/2 cups of the whole wheat flour and mix well. Then beat on high speed again for 3 minutes.
- Switch to the dough hook and gradually add more unbleached flour. Add it a little at a time until it forms a rough ball on the dough hook.
- You can turn it out onto a lightly floured board to knead, or continue to knead in the mixer. Knead for 8 minutes, added flour sparingly if needed to keep the dough from sticking.
- Butter a large bowl. Shape the dough into a ball and put in the bowl, turning it over to butter the top.
- Cover with a damp bread cloth and allow to rise until doubled. That should take about an hour.
- Butter 2 loaf pans. Set aside till needed.
- After the first rise, punch the dough down and form into a ball. Cut it n half and form 2 loaves.
- Place the loaves seam side down into the prepared loaf pans.
- Cover again with a damp bread cloth and allow to rise a 2nd time.
- Let rise until the dough is 1/2 to 1 inch above the top of the loaf pans. That should take about 45 minutes.
- Bake in a preheated 375° F oven for 35 – 45 minutes.
- Remove the bread from the pans and put them on a wire rack to cool.
- If you want the top crust soft, put butter on the top.
- Let cool completely before slicing for the best texture.