Italian Style Whole Wheat Bread

Whole Wheat Italian Country Bread
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This fresh baked Italian whole wheat country bread is the perfect choice for sandwiches or served with your favorite pasta dish!

For the flour I like to use a combination for durum and emmer. The durum contributes to the light and fluffy crumb and emmer adds a hearty flavor. If you cannot find either substituting a high quality whole wheat flour will yield good results.

5 from 1 vote

Italian Style Whole Wheat Bread

Prep Time 15 mins Cook Time 30 mins Rest Time 2 hrs Total Time 2 hrs 45 mins
Servings: 1
Best Season: Suitable throughout the year

Description

An Italian whole wheat country bread with a light and fluffy interior made with freshly milled flour.  

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. Mill the flour

    Weigh and mill the durum and emmer flour. 

    This step is optional if you have whole wheat berries. You can substitute a high quality whole wheat flour such as King Arthur.
  2. Mix the dough

    Combine all the flour, salt, yeast and water. Mix using a dough hook or by hand for 10 minutes. 

    Form into a tight ball. 

  3. Rest the dough

    Lightly oil a bowl then place in the dough. Cover and let rest for 1 hour. 

  4. Shape the dough

    Shape the dough to your desired shape and length. 

    For this recipe I like to make a thin baguette shaped dough. Flour your work surface and the dough. Pat the dough into a 14x10 inch rectangle. Roll from the side closest to you then add water to the ends to seal. 

    For a thicker loaf roll out thicker and not as wide. For a round loaf you can roll back into a tight ball.
  5. Rest the dough a second time

    Place the dough on a baking sheet, cover and let rest for another hour. 

  6. Bake the bread

    Place the bread in a preheated oven at 425. Bake for 20 minutes or until a dark golden brown. 

    Allow to cool for at least 30 minutes before slicing. 

2 responses to “Italian Style Whole Wheat Bread”

  1. Becky R Avatar
    Becky R

    I have been looking for an Italian style bread that has durum in it! Do you think it would be possible to do all fresh milled flour? I love a semolina loaf but I hear it doesn’t have very good gluten forming ability. I have several wheats including black emmer. Thanks!

    1. Marc Avatar

      Great question! I have tried this with all fresh milled durum and it was dense and didn’t form well. What I do find to work is using a hard red spring that is sifted. Emmer is another great choice and what I used last weekend! It is the addition of the extra bran that will cause it to be dense so sifted is recommended.

      You could also use all re-milled semolina (semola) to make an Altamura style bread, but it is really difficult to mill semola at home so I use this recipe as my alternative.

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