This is the best whole wheat loaf I have ever made. I can say this because all my previous whole wheat loaves have pretty much sucked. They just don’t turn out right—at least one thing always goes wrong. But this. This Sexy Thing was perfect all the way through. From the kneading, to the rising, to the shaping, to the slashing, to the oven springing, to the perfect victorious crackling. 

Let’s be dramatic here: This loaf restored my faith in bread making. 

The crust is so thin and crunchy, and the crumb is so soft. So soft, as in pillowy! And it doesn’t do that awful thing where it’s overly dense near the crust and gets all hole-y toward the middle. It’s even, balanced. I think it’s because of the big ol’ slash I made down the middle that released a lot of the air bubbles that were trapped inside.

It’s absolutely wonderful as breakfast toast, which is always my final test. Basically, I’ll be making this bread a lot from now on.

Recipe adapted from Peter Reinhart’s Artisan Breads Every Day. 

Ingredients for 1 loaf:

• 400 g / 14 oz / 3 cups whole wheat flour 
• 7 g / 0.25 oz / 1 tsp salt (or 1/2 tbsp of coarse kosher salt) 
• 14 g / 0.5 oz / 1 tbsp granulated or brown sugar (or 3/4 tbsp of honey or agave nectar) 
• 5 g / 0.16 oz / 1/2 tbsp instant yeast 
• 315 g / 11 oz / 1 1/2 cup lukewarm water 
• 14.3 g / 0.5 oz / 1 tbsp vegetable oil

Dissolve the sugar or honey in in the lukewarm water. Stir in the yeast and let dissolve, then stir in the oil. Add the salt, then add the flour. Mix with a large spoon. The dough should be very supple and slightly sticky. Transfer to a floured work surface and knead for 5 to 8 minutes.

When dough is smooth and elastic, lightly coat with oil and transfer to a lightly oiled bowl. Cover tightly with plastic wrap. 

Good ol’ Pete likes to stick his doughs in the fridge and wait 1-4 days before using them. I have neither the patience nor the fridge space, so I just let my dough sit in the kitchen for a few hours until it rises to double its original size, about 3 hours. 

After rising, transfer the dough to a lightly oiled and floured (I like to use corn meal instead of flour for this step) baking sheet. Give it a quick knead, just enough to make the surface smooth again. Shape the dough into a nice ball and let rise for another hour or two.

Your dough is probably as big as a half a basketball now. Preheat the oven to 500F (260C) and place a different, clean baking sheet in the lower rack. This is your steam pan. Steam pan = hearth baking.

15 minutes before baking, score the dough with a sharp (Seriously, it needs to be sharp. Let the knife do the job; don’t press down hard!) knife or razor blade. Leave dough for a few minutes to rise a little more—the slash you made should expand and release more of the air bubbles that are trapped inside. 

Transfer the dough to the oven, pour 1 cup of hot water into the steam pan. This can be tricky and dangerous—do quickly but cautiously. Lower the temperature to 425F (218C). Bake for 15 minutes, rotate, then bake for another 15 minutes. The bread is done when the top and sides are a deep, rich brown. The loaf should sound hollow when thumped on the bottom. Cool on a wire rack for at least an hour before slicing. And don’t forget to get close and listen to that crackling!