Here is the recipe I use for whole wheat bread:

Whole Wheat Bread

• 1-1/4 cups warm water
• 1/3 cup honey
• 2 tsp instant dry yeast
• 1 egg
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
• 2 Tbsp powdered milk
• 1/4 tsp ascorbic acid (optional)
• 1/4 cup Vital Wheat Gluten
• 3-3/4 cups whole wheat flour (up to 4 cups, if needed)
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt (or Okinawan sea salt)

Mix the honey with the warm water in a large bowl and add the yeast. Set aside for 5 minutes to allow the yeast to proof.

Add the egg, butter, powdered milk, and ascorbic acid, and whisk to combine.

Stir in 2 cups of the flour and VWG until combined.

Stir in an additional 1-1/2 cups flour and the salt, until dough pulls away cleanly from the sides of the bowl. This can be done with a dough hook in the mixer.

Knead on floured surface, adding 1/4 to 1/2 cup additional flour, until dough is smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. This can also be done mostly in the mixer.

Place dough in large bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise in warm place until doubled in size, about one hour.

Oil a 9x5-inch loaf pan with olive oil.

Punch down the dough and fold it over several times, and then shape it into a loaf. Place in oiled pan, cover loosely with plastic wrap, and let rise in warm place until doubled in size, about 45 minutes to one hour.

Preheat the oven to 400°F.

Uncover dough, and put in oven. Reduce heat to 375°. Bake for 35 minutes, or until internal temperature is 200°. Remove from pan onto wire rack, and butter top and sides, for a softer crust.

I find it helpful to add vital wheat gluten when using whole wheat flour, and I use 1 Tbsp of VWG for each cup of whole wheat flour.

Pretty sure the yeast was good. I bought it last week, kept in its usual fridge spot, and used it Friday when it worked as usual. The oven proof helped. It is having its second rise now and it has some bubbles. I think it is worth the electricity to see the business through. Not sure I would use this recipe again with WW, however. Thanks!

Carol is correct. The bran can cut the gluten strands in a way that they don't recover. Whole wheat is less elastic, even so. The structure isn't as strong even with a high gluten content. High hydration, which is the kind of recipe most dutch oven breads are, also weakens the structure—that's what gives you the larger holes, the bubbles popping and combining like in bubble bath. Rule of thumb is to have at least 60% white flour, preferably bread flour (more gluten), or use a recipe designed for whole wheat flour, like Lars's above. Note the extra gluten in it.

Whole wheat flour is often lower gluten, plus the bran which can affect the gluten structure, which then equals less rise and denser bread. I find the hard-wheat whole grain bread flour bitter, so I use the AP white whole wheat flour, which is middle of the road. I love the taste of the soft whole wheat flour, that's what I use in quick baked goods, pies and cakes, but in yeast bread, soft wheat flour, if used, is usually mixed with bread flour, and it does give a softer, denser rise to the bread. If I want whole grain, I often just incorporate some whole grain cooked cereal into the bread. Tastes good too. Whole wheat flour often gets a rancid taste, particularly if you don't use it fresh and use it up fast. I keep mine in the freezer but I still don't use it fast, with just hubs and I eating lower carb for health.

Soft wheat has less protein = less gluten. It's for cakes and the like where you don't want gluten development, not just the flavor. It's poor for bread. ”White“ whole wheat has lost some of its flavor with the color (genetically), so tastes closer to refined flour. There are also strains of red wheat which are stronger flavored than others (again, genetically). Any whole wheat flour when it is freshly milled is sweet. The bitterness comes on the road to rancid, Sugar/honey isn't necessary if your flour is freah enough, though, of course, the yeast likes it.

Well, dunno about this one. Might be edible but it is more dense for sure. The oven proofing seemed to help, but I won’t try this again. Thanks for the help.

Unless you have access to a store that sells specialty flours, you don't usually have that much choice in whole wheat flours in ye olde average grocery store. The whole wheat flour sold is usually AP flour, with a gluten content somewhere in the middle of the road, making it suitable for both pastries and yeast breads, but not ideal for either. And who knows how fresh it will taste, what experiences it has had on its way to your grocery shelf. My experience with it is it very often has a slightly rancid taste.

Sometimes I see whole wheat pastry flour offered in my local grocery, either Hodgsen Mills or Bob's Red Mill brands. I often purchase it from Bob's Red Mill through mail order and keep it in the freezer. I love it for non-yeast baked goods, as pllog mentions. It is sometimes called "graham" flour or technically "soft wheat flour" and you can also get "white" versions of it with all the bran and germ removed, such as the white cake flours and pastry flours. About the only thing close to that at my local grocery is the occasional appearance of a box labeled "cake flour." But it is not used extensively in bread, due to the aforementioned qualities.

I have occasionally bought hard wheat whole wheat bread flour when I have seen it when visiting health food stores in larger cities, and just haven't really liked it, again who knows how fresh it was. Hence my resorting to white whole wheat as a middle of the road alternative in my commonly made breads, although mostly I just use cooked whole grains kneaded into the bread. Occasionally I splurge and experiment with some fancy flours that I get mail order from King Arthur flour company. My latest was a specialty "artisan" bread flour that was supposed to be superior for making rye breads due to higher gluten content I guess. It didn't perform noticeable better than regular ol bread flour, which is plenty high enough. In fact, who knows if it wasn't the exact same product just packaged differently. Not sure how many flour mills grade their grains and flours with such fine specificity.

Your best bet for better flours, especially whole wheat, is to find a local mill that will do consumer sales. Sometimes, that's only at their office-store, but since the pandemic, more are better about shipping. KA isn't the best quality flour. I don't know much about Bob's. If you google your state with the words "flour mills", you should get a good list. We don't grow wheat here, so I've been happy to order from Central Milling, who just got better shipping prices. They do list their protein and ash.

And they have a pizza flour (Central Milling)!

https://centralmilling.com/product/tony-gemignani-pizza-flour-california-artisan-type-00/

I love the Tony G flour. It's blended for flavor. Not organic, though :/ It's good in bread, too.

Guess most of you questions are covered....but what it boils down to is the WW has less percentage of gluten than white flour. Same amount of gluten in the wheat, but it is diluted by the bran ( which is what makes it whole wheat!!) and bran inhibits the elastic dough that gluten makes.

Next time, don't be so healthy and only use 1/4 whole wheat with the white!

Good advice all around, thank you. The bread was a decent hit at dinner — one BIL said he actually preferred it over my whites. I did not, but it still was better than what I could have bought at the grocery.