Whole Wheat Sourdough Bread

This 25% whole wheat sourdough bread is an easy and almost undetectable switch from white sourdough. Even more so if you’ve got our classic no-knead bread recipe down pat, and you’re craving a little more wholesome goodness in your daily slice of toast!

This post was originally published in October 2019. It has been updated as of April 2020 with new photographs, some improvements to the recipe, and a video.

Can You Substitute Whole Wheat Flour In A Sourdough Bread Recipe?

The short answer is yes! Adding some whole wheat flour into a sourdough recipe shouldn’t negatively affect the structure of your bread. Whole wheat flour adds fibre, protein, and flavour to the loaf, but won’t make it more difficult to work with or dense. That being said, whole wheat flour can sometimes require added moisture. We recommend trying this 25% whole wheat sourdough bread recipe to start if you’ve been wanting to transition into baking more wholesome loaves.

Lower Gluten Flour Substitutions For Sourdough

Lower gluten flours, like spelt, rye, or einkorn, can definitely be used in place of the 25% whole wheat flour! The structure of the loaf may end up a little more dense but shouldn’t be hugely different.

Is Sourdough Bread Hard To Make?

It may seem intimidating at first, but the only true challenge in making sourdough bread is being patient. In order for the fermentation process to work it’s magic, you simply need to give your dough time to develop that lovely sour flavour.

Our 25% whole wheat sourdough is a hands-off bread, with no stretching, folding, or kneading required. Some basic shaping, and a hot oven, and you’re all set!

What Kind Of Flour Is Best For Making Sourdough Bread?

We prefer bread flour for making sourdough, specifically because it has a higher gluten content than regular flour. Extra gluten helps form the sourdough loaf and gives it good structure without a lot of extra work.

Substitutions

To Make 25% Whole Wheat Sourdough Bread With Yeast Instead Of Sourdough Starter:

Follow the recipe exactly as written and in place of starter use ¼ teaspoon of yeast. None of the other instructions or quantities need to change.

To Substitute All Purpose Flour:

Follow the recipe as written, using 100% all-purpose flour, however, do three stretch and folds over the course of half an hour, once every ten minutes. This will help increase the gluten strength in the dough, and should result in a well-structured loaf even if you don’t have high-gluten bread flour.

Baking Sourdough Bread In A Dutch Oven

We’d argue that, not only is a Dutch oven desirable for baking sourdough bread, it is a necessity. A Dutch oven creates a humid environment for the sourdough, ensuring an optimal rise as soon as it goes into the oven. We remove the lid of the Dutch oven partway through the baking process to improve browning and flavour.

If you don’t have a Dutch oven, any oven-safe vessel with an oven-safe lid will work as long as it’s big enough. You can even use a baking pan or baking sheet as a “lid” to cover a large oven-safe dish in a pinch.

25% Whole Wheat Sourdough Bread Baker’s Schedule

Days 1-3:

Feed your sourdough starter until bubbly and active.

Day 3, Evening:

Make the dough, and let it rise overnight.

Day 4, Morning:

Shape the dough, let it rise again, score, bake, and eat!

Looking For More Bread Recipes? Try:

Easy Focaccia Bread Recipe (plus 40 Focaccia Topping Ideas)
Braided Rosemary Garlic Rye Bread
No Knead Maple Oat Spelt Bread
Honey Oat Bread
Gluten-Free Seeded Millet Sandwich Bread
Pumpkin Millet Sandwich Bread

If you make this recipe, let us know by tagging @baked_theblog + #bakedtheblog on Instagram! We love to feel like we’re in the kitchen with you.