Whole Wheat Sourdough

You might be familiar with the challenge that whole wheat can present in baking. It can result in dense baked goods. But don’t worry, I’ve got a trick up my sleeve that’s going to make your whole wheat sourdough as soft and fluffy as a cloud.

It’s called autolyse, and it’s essentially a short rest period after you’ve mixed the water and flour, but before you add the sourdough starter. This little pause allows the proteins in the flour to fully hydrate, giving your dough a head start.

I’m an autolyse convert, and after you try this recipe, you will be too. The results are nothing short of magical – a beautifully risen loaf with a perfect crumb. And the best part? You don’t need any special equipment or ingredients—just time and patience.

This whole wheat sourdough bread recipe is dedicated to head starts.

Key Ingredients

Sourdough Starter: For this recipe, you want to use a fed and active sourdough starter. This recipe is based on a sourdough starter with 100% hydration (equal amounts of flour and water by weight, not volume.)

Honey: I am using raw, unpasteurized honey straight from my homestead honeybees. If you don’t have access to raw honey, regular honey will work. Maple syrup would be another great option.

How To Make Whole Wheat Sourdough Bread

Autolyse:

1. In a large mixing bowl, combine 340g warm water with 45g honey, stir until completely combined.
2. Add 250g bread flour and 250g whole wheat flour and mix until a shaggy dough forms. Knead the dough with your hands until all the dry bits are incorporated.
3. Cover the bowl and set aside to autolyse for 60 minutes.

Add Sourdough Starter:

1. Uncover the bowl and spread the dough in the bowl, I just dimple it damp fingers, and sprinkle 14g sea salt over the dough, then spread 100g sourdough starter across the surface of the dough.
2. Then grab the dough and gently pull it until the flap is long enough to fold over itself, then fold the flap, rotate the bowl 90 degrees, and repeat 4 times to fold in the starter.
3. Recover and set aside for 1 hour.

Stretch + Fold:

1. Using damp hands, grab the dough and gently pull it until the flap is long enough to fold over itself, then fold the flap, rotate the bowl 90 degrees, and repeat 4 times to fold in the starter. This makes 1 set of stretch and folds.
2. Recover and set aside for 1 hour before performing another set of stretch and folds before recovering and resting for 1 hour.
3. Repeat once more, for a total of 3 sets of stretch and folds. Then cover, and set aside for 2 hours to finish the bulk ferment.

Shape:

1. Uncover the dough and transfer to a lightly floured work surface or countertop. Gently press and spread the dough into a large rectangle.
2. Fold up the bottom third of the dough as though you were folding a letter, and then fold the top down.
3. Rotate the dough 90 degrees and roll up into a large log. Cover with a kitchen or tea towel and rest for 30 minutes.
4. After the rest, flip the dough over, gently press the dough flat then roll it again. Pinch the ends if you’re making a batard or tuck them in if your making a boule.
5. Dust the dough with rice flour then tuck seam side up into a banneton.

Don’t have a banneton basket? I have a guide on bannetons and banneton alternatives!

Prove + Cold Retard:

1. Prove your whole wheat sourdough loaf in the banneton for 2 hours before covering and placing in fridge to cold retard for up to 3 days. If you want to bake it right after proving, you’re welcome to, but the flavor is better after resting in the fridge.

Bake:

1. Place your dutch oven, cloche, or desired baking dish in the oven and preheat to 450f. If you don’t have a dutch oven, I do have a guide on baking sourdough bread without a dutch oven.
2. Once the oven is preheated, invert the banneton onto a sheet of parchment paper.
3. Use a lame, sharp knife, or clean razor blade to score the dough, I usually like to make one deep curved slash, but you can get as fancy as you like!
4. Carefully remove the dutch oven from the oven, and using the parchment paper as a sling, transfer the sourdough loaf from the counter into the dutch oven.
5. Bake the dough at 450f covered for 30 minutes and uncovered at 450f for 10-15 minutes, or until the loaf is cooked through and the crust is nicely browned. You can test the doneness of the loaf with an instant-read thermometer. Bread is cooked once it reaches 205 – 210 degrees Fahrenheit internal temperature.

Cool:

1. Remove baked bread from the dutch oven and transfer it to a wire mesh cooling rack to cool completely before slicing. I like to leave it for at least 2 hours before slicing, as slicing too soon can affect the crumb and texture of your loaf.

Try These Sourdough Bread Recipes:

Batch + Storage

Batch:

This whole wheat sourdough recipe makes one large boule or batard. This is enough for my family of 4 to snack on for at least 2 days! It can be doubled to make 2 loaves, or tripled, if desired, simply portion in to 2 or 3 dough pieces, as required, before shaping.

Storage:

If you’ve got leftover sourdough, you’ve got serious willpower! There are a couple of ways to store sourdough bread  to help prolong its quality after cutting.

Your loaf can be kept cut side down on a cutting board for up to 12 hours before the crust becomes too crisp. This is our go-to. I recommend transferring it to a bread bag after 16-18 hours though.

Your sourdough loaf can also be frozen. To freeze sourdough, cool the loaf to room temperature, then tightly wrap it in plastic wrap, slide it into a bread bag, seal it up, and stick it in the freezer for 1-2 months. To use after freezing, remove the loaf from the freezer, unwrap, and allow it to come to room temperature (1 -2 hours) before slicing and enjoying.

Recommended Equipment

Cast iron dutch oven: Much of the success of this bread depends on having a heavy-ass cast iron dutch oven, as it traps in steam and boosts the oven spring of your sourdough.

The blue one in these photos is a large oval dutch oven that I find perfect for baking batards. As an added bonus, due to the shape, I can fit this dutch oven and a round one in the oven to bake double the volume! If you don’t have a dutch oven, I have a guide on how to cook sourdough without a dutch oven.

Scale: It’s really hard to make sourdough without a scale. Sorry, but them’s the facts! bread baking and bread dough are a bit of a science. A good kitchen scale will treat you well over a huge range of recipes, not just sourdough. Think of homemade bacon!

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📖 Printable Recipe

Whole Wheat Sourdough Bread

Allyson Letal

Savor the rich, complex flavors of this whole wheat sourdough bread recipe, carefully created using 100% whole wheat flour, robust bread flour, natural raw honey, and a lively sourdough starter. This recipe employs a long fermentation process, resulting in a tender, delicious whole wheat sourdough loaf.

4 from 2 votes

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Prep Time 18 hours hrs 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 45 minutes mins

Total Time 19 hours hrs

Course Sourdough

Cuisine American

Servings 1 loaf

Calories 257 kcal

Ingredients

 

• 340 g warm water
• 45 g raw honey
• 250 g bread flour
• 250 g whole wheat flour
• 100 g active sourdough starter
• 14 g fine sea salt

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Instructions

 

autolyse:

• In a large mixing bowl, combine 340g warm water with 45g honey, stir until completely combined.
• Add 250g bread flour and 250g whole wheat flour and mix until a shaggy dough forms. Knead the dough with your hands until all the dry bits are incorporated.
• Cover the bowl and set aside to 

  AUTOLYSE for 60 minutes.

add sourdough starter:

• Uncover the bowl and spread the dough in the bowl, I just dimple it damp fingers, and sprinkle 14g sea salt over the dough, then spread 100g sourdough starter across the surface of the dough.
• Then grab the dough and gently pull it until the flap is long enough to fold over itself, then fold the flap, rotate the bowl 90 degrees, and repeat 4 times to fold in the starter.
• Recover and set aside for 1 hour.

stretch + fold:

• Using damp hands, grab the dough and gently pull it until the flap is long enough to fold over itself, then fold the flap, rotate the bowl 90 degrees, and repeat 4 times to fold in the starter. This makes 1 set of stretch and folds.
• Recover and set aside for 1 hour before performing another set of stretch and folds before recovering and resting for 1 hour.
• Repeat once more, for a total of 3 sets of stretch and folds. Then cover, and set aside for 2 hours to finish the BULK FERMENT.

shape:

• Uncover the dough and transfer to a lightly floured work surface or countertop. Gently press and spread the dough into a large rectangle.
• Fold up the bottom third of the dough as though you were folding a letter, and then fold the top down.
• Rotate the dough 90 degrees and roll up into a large log. Cover with a kitchen or tea towel and rest for 30 minutes.
• After the rest, flip the dough over, gently press the dough flat then roll it again. Pinch the ends if you're making a batard or tuck them in if your making a boule.
• Dust the dough with rice flour then tuck seam side up into a BANNETON.

prove + cold retard:

• Prove the whole wheat sourdough loaf in the banneton for 2-3 hours before covering and placing in fridge to cold retard for up to 3 days. If you want to bake it right after proving, you're welcome to, but the flavor and rise is better after resting in the fridge.

bake:

• Place your dutch oven, cloche, or desired baking dish in the oven and preheat to 450f. If you don't have a dutch oven, I do have a guide on BAKING SOURDOUGH BREAD WITHOUT A DUTCH OVEN.
• Once the oven is preheated, invert the banneton onto a sheet of parchment paper.
• Use a lame, sharp knife, or clean razor blade to score the dough, I usually like to make one deep curved slash, but you can get as fancy as you like!
• Carefully remove the DUTCH OVEN from the oven, and using the parchment paper as a sling, transfer the sourdough loaf from the counter into the dutch oven.
• Bake the dough at 450f covered for 30 minutes and uncovered at 450f for 10-15 minutes, or until the loaf is cooked through and the crust is nicely browned. You can test the doneness of the loaf with an instant-read thermometer. Bread is cooked once it reaches 205 – 210 degrees Fahrenheit internal temperature.

cool:

• Remove baked bread from the dutch oven and transfer it to a wire mesh cooling rack to cool completely before slicing. I like to leave it for at least 2 hours before slicing, as slicing too soon can affect the crumb and texture of your loaf.

Notes

Batch:

This whole wheat sourdough recipe makes one large boule or batard. This is enough for my family of 4 to snack on for at least 2 days! It can be doubled to make 2 loaves, or tripled, if desired.

Storage:

If you've got leftover sourdough, you've got serious willpower! There are a couple of ways to STORE SOURDOUGH BREAD to help prolong its quality after cutting.

Your loaf can be kept cut side down on a cutting board for up to 12 hours before the crust becomes too crisp. This is our go-to. I recommend transferring it to a bread bag after 16-18 hours though.

Your SOURDOUGH LOAF can also be frozen. To FREEZE SOURDOUGH, cool the loaf to room temperature, then tightly wrap it in plastic wrap, slide it into a bread bag, seal it up, and stick it in the freezer for 1-2 months. To use after freezing, remove the loaf from the freezer, unwrap, and allow it to come to room temperature (1 -2 hours) before slicing and enjoying.

Recommended Equipment + Ingredients

• Nature Nate’s Honey
• King Arthur, Special Bread Unbleached Flour
• King Arthur, 100% Whole Wheat Flour
• French Grey Sea Salt
• Kirkland Signature Non Stick Parchment Paper
• Lodge 7 Quart Enameled Cast Iron Dutch Oven with Lid

Nutrition

Serving: 1gCalories: 257kcalCarbohydrates: 54gProtein: 9gFat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gSodium: 682mgFiber: 5gSugar: 4g

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